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leolo404 · 4 years ago

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🦜Astrology Observations Pt.4🦜

Collaboration with @venusfun 🌈

Huge thanks to my wonderful bestie @venusfun for sharing an amount of observations in this astro notes and helping me with the overall view of this post. Also please check her out if you don't know her yet, she creates a lot of spectacular astrology posts and you can learn a lot about asteroids from her blog❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Part 1. Asteroids

🌈According to research, asteroid Angel(11911) was first discovered when it was still under the sign of Sagittarius

🌈Having your asteroid DNA(55555) in an earth sign can indicate that your children may see you as someone who is grounded, hard working, practical, and very stubborn. They might look up to you because you are capable enough of giving them the best life you could give and they would understand that your hard-work is a way to support the family

🌈Asteroid Psyche(16) in Pisces/Libra craves romance that is fanstasy-like, something out of this world or something magical that just came out of a romantic story. These folks are the types of people who might be actively looking for true love

🌈Vesta in the 7th house might prefer to not get married

🌈People with Psyche(16) conjunct mercury think on the “soul” level (with heart)

🌈Prominent Ceres can indicate being a very loving and supportive mother but if Ceres have many challenging aspects then it can be obsessing

🌈Diana(78) in an aspect with MC(midheaven) can indicate work with animals

🌈Sirene(1009) in 2nd house indicates beautiful voice

Part 2. MBTI & Astrology

Sidenote: There's no correlation between MBTI and Astrology and we are using this only for personality observations

🌈Cancer/Moon dominants fit with the stereotypes of ISFJ. Both are maternal, nurturing, supportive, sympathetic, selfless, always protects their loved ones, and are sick of dealing your shit lmao. Also they tend to be the Mom/Dad of their friend group and the ones who always brings food 😋😋

🌈 I noticed most Sagittarius placements tend be ENFPs or INFPs base on MBTI. Maybe because both are idealistic, goofy, huge procrastinators, creative, and free-spirited. This can also apply to Jupiter/Pisces dominants (For Pisces it's more on INFP)

🌈While Virgo placements are more fitting with ISTJ because they are dutiful, loyal, traditional, organized, reliable, practical, and fact-minded. And with ISTJs dominant cognitive function which is Si(introverted sensing) they can use the past as a guide and lesson to be used in the present which explains them relying on the tried and true methods in dealing things

🌈In my own opinion, Scorpio/Pluto dominant just gives me INTJ vibes. Maybe because of their analytical and reserved nature

🌈Since the earth signs are known for being observant and detail-oriented, they are more of a sensing type because sensors can notice every single detail of a certain thing such as noticing that you change your hairstyle or you changed your signature perfume and they can sometimes miss the bigger picture. Also sensing types are more focused on the present(Extraverted sensing) or in the past(Introverted sensing) rather than the future which fits the earth signs who are more focused on experiencing the physical world

Part 3. Composites

🌈Uranus in the 1st can indicate that people might perceive you two as best friends

🌈Neptune in the 1st can indicate that people might see the partners as very spiritual and "usually not seen around" relationship

🌈Pluto in the 1st can indicate that people might project you two as very intense and "deep" relationship

🌈Sagittarius ascendant in the composite chart will indicate that other people see the relationship as very fun and adventurous. It has a philosophical vibe

🌈Earth Ascendant in a composite chart can indicate the relationship as stable or grounded and loyalty is established

🌈Uranus in the 3rd can show that two of you may have some odd ways of conversing with each other or have an unusual way of expressing things that only the two of you can understand

Part 4. Degrees

🌈People with 8th degree on a personal planet (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus) can find success easily, especially when it comes to business. But if a person has at least three 8th degrees, then the individual can be very materialistic and is only “money-oriented"

🌈Having a good amount of Pisces degree(12°, 24°) in your chart can indicate that you are good or capable enough in balancing your fixation between reality and fantasy but having a lot of it can indicate of you having tendencies of escaping reality and isolating yourself from everyone

🌈Even if your placements are full of feminine/introverted signs(earth/water), if you have a lot of fire/air degrees in your chart especially in personal planets or in your ascendant, you may be more sociable and outgoing. This goes vice versa as well

🌈People with a lot of 5 degrees (at least 3) are actually passionate about going to the gym. A lot of athletes have this degree

🌈Having a Virgo/Scorpio degree(6°, 8°, 18°, 20°)in your personal planet can indicate someone who tends to question anything especially out of either curiosity or suspicion, these people need to be sure that you are trustworthy(they might find ways to trick you or manipulate the conversation to see if what you are saying is true)

Part 5. Random

🌈The house where Leo is in is where you are mostly loved for:

Example:

10H Leo = admired by your ambition and your organizational skills,

11H Leo = admired by how you make friends easily and your networking skills

5H Leo = admired by your passion towards your interests or hobby,

3H Leo = admired by your communication or verbal skills,

2H Leo = admired by your voice and how you handle your finances

🌈Water/Moon/Venus dominant 🤝 Can easily connect to music and would be dancing in their own room till someone enters in

🌈Fixed Moon/Venus/Rising are the types of people who when they find a good music, they would replay it endlessly till they are good enough to stop and feel contented already from listening to it

🌈October Scorpios tend to be more outgoing, sociable, and hot-tempered than November Scorpios but this doesn't change the fact both can be mysteriously alluring and are really intense individuals

🌈Pisces with a mix of Scorpio placements tend to have this dreamlike presence and looks. It's like their physical appearance are just oozing a dreamy yet mysterious vibes

Example: Jungwoo from NCT Pisces Sun + Scorpio Moon

🌈Since the 9th house is the house that associates with religion, it also symbolizes the church and God

🌈The last 4 astrological signs in the zodiac wheel(♐︎ ♑︎ ♒︎ ♓︎)are known as the universal signs, these signs are mainly focused on the outer perspectives of life and are less focused with the self and their relationships. Sagittarius is focused on other cultures, religion, and their own opinion towards things, Capricorn is focused on the understanding of our physical self and the underlying achievements of one's hard work, Aquarius is focused on principles and humanity, and Pisces is focused on the spiritual aspects of life and the connection with the infinite universe

🌈Neptune in 1H/5H/9H/12H/Neptune dominant gives me a feeling like they belong during the renaissance era where philosophy and arts was at its highest peak, these folks tend to be abstract, artistic, and philosophical

🌈Mars in Cancer/Taurus/Libra are mostly seen as people who are very laid-back and many underestimate them base on their energy due to Mars being in detriment/fall with these specific signs

🌈Many people agrees that Geminis are great storytellers but no one talks about Virgos being good at story-telling as well. Both are ruled by mercury and they tend to have great ideas or stories that they can share and express with

🌈Pisces/Aquarius/Sagittarius Rising are the types of people who would wander around the mall(or a public place in general) and accidentally separates from their friends or family and gets lost

Damn, this was a long ass ride 😅😅 hope you guys enjoyed this astrology observations made by me, @leolo404 and @venusfun ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

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franniebanana · 3 years ago

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CQL Rewatch - Ep 21

Note: I will be critical of Jiang Cheng in these posts. If you can’t handle that, please feel free to scroll on.

I really like this hug. I mean, if you've been reading these from the beginning, you know how much I love wangxian, but I'm really glad that Wei Ying's first actual hug after returning from the Burial Mounds is with Jiang Yanli. I'm not counting the hug with Jiang Cheng, because Wei Ying didn't hug him back. That hug was thrust upon him and he did not reciprocate. This reunion is very sweet, and tear-filled, and if I hadn't been up since 3 am, I might be feeling enough to shed a tear, myself. That being said, it's hilarious how they keep showing Jiang Cheng in the middle, looking awkward as he tries to balance joy and sadness. I get what the director had in mind, but it just looks weird lol.

But this part is also super sad, because Wei Ying again makes a promise he can't keep: that the three of them will be together forever. Now, I realize that if you hadn't read the novel or weren't familiar with the story, you should already know from the first two episodes that things do not turn out well for the three of them. However, if you're like me and have the memory of a goldfish, you probably didn't realize who everyone was in the first two episodes and even if you did, you've already forgotten long ago that Jiang Cheng was pissy and angry around Wei Wuxian and that Wei Wuxian's inner monologue reveals to us that JIang Yanli is dead. All that being said, his line about staying together forever hits a lot differently when you're very aware of how the story turns out, because Jiang Yanli dies, Jiang Cheng grows to hate Wei Wuxian more and more every day, and Wei Wuxian, of course, defects to save the Wens from slaughter. I think "let's stay together forever" is something you say and mean, but something that you know can't ever truly be. I think Jiang Yanli is old and wise enough to know that she will eventually marry and leave Lotus Pier, even though she will resist it for a while. The rest is uncertain, but I think at this point, Wei Wuxian really does believe and want to stay with the Yunmeng siblings and to stay at Jiang Cheng's side as he leads the Yunmeng Jiang Sect.

I will never not be heartbroken by this scene--even knowing how everything turns out--by how Lan Wangji looks at Wei Wuxian, how if things had been different in Yiling, he would have gone into that room and greeted him, how Wei Wuxian would have smiled at him and beckoned him inside, how they would have sat and Wei Wuxian would have talked Lan Wangji's ear off, like old friends. It's just so upsetting to me, and I can't ever shake that feeling in the pit of my stomach. I know what happens, but these two episodes, until they reconcile, really get to me. It's a horrible feeling when you want to help someone, but they don't see it as helping, and they only get upset with you. I deal with that on an almost daily basis, and I wouldn't wish that feeling on anyone. I really identify with Lan Wangji here, and I think that's why I get such a visceral reaction to seeing him like this.

I don't know if I've said this, but Lan Wangji is my favorite character in CQL and in every adaptation of this story. He is kind of my perfect character--he checks off all the boxes: one-sided love, pining, standing by the main character no matter what, practically abandoning his own family for the person he loves. I love that he has an almost child-like innocence, but he's still very wise; he's smart; he's strong; he has a strict moral code and he sticks to it without fail, even if it means going against his friends and family; he's a loner, but he loves deeply. When I first started watching the donghua and reading the novel, I liked Wei Wuxian the best, and he's still my second favorite character, but Lan Wangji has stolen my heart.

Of course, Wei Wuxian goes to this awkward dinner party, after spending three months around ghosts (and then killing a shit-ton of Wen soldiers), and all he can think about is that empty seat behind him, the one where Lan Wangji should be sitting. It's interesting how the Yunmeng siblings each react: Jiang Yanli starts to become concerned and commits it to memory. She's probably wondering why Lan Wangji isn't there, and then seeing how Wei Wuxian wistfully stares at the empty seat, she finds it even more unsettling. Jiang Cheng just seems embarrassed by Wei Wuxian here and his motivation is to get Wei Wuxian back on track so he doesn't make fools of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect in front of the other leaders. He obviously knows what happened between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, and I don't think he's bothered by it at all. He doesn't seem to care whether they're friends or not, and I'd say that even at this point, he'd prefer if Lan Wangji stayed out of Wei Wuxian's life altogether. He knows how close they were, and I think he also knows that Wei Wuxian would choose Lan Wangji over him if given that ultimatum. With Lan Wangji out of the picture, Jiang Cheng gets to maintain more control over Wei Wuxian than he otherwise would. Even later on at Lotus Pier, he wants Wei Wuxian around, helping him, being his right-hand man. He doesn't want him wandering around the city or galavanting off with other cultivators. Granted Wei Wuxian was drinking at the time, but I don't think that invalidates my point that Jiang Cheng wants Wei Wuxian to stay in line and stay at his side where he can control him. You know, because he sees the relationship (as Wei Wuxian suggested) as the same as their two fathers: where Wei Wuxian is in a subservient role to Jiang Cheng. Mind you, that's different from seeing him as a brother, and I think, while there's some of that mixed into his other feelings, it's a very small portion.

No screenshot, but the following scene, after Wei Wuxian leaves the dinner party, Jiang Cheng follows him out. And even here, he asks what's wrong--asks if he's upset because of Lan Wangji--but then scoffs at how that could really be what's bothering him. He says something like, "Why did you come here just to be disliked by him?" I think while he gets that they have a close bond, he doesn't really understand the depth of the relationship. He's jealous of Lan Wangji, but doesn't fully understand why. Ultimately, I think Jiang Cheng, because of his parents and the way he was raised, really doesn't understand what it's like to have a good relationship with anyone. And this ignorance isn't his fault--he's a product of his parents and surroundings, and no one, including himself, has ever tried to fix this. So, without being able to really understand how relationships work, he scoffs at how Wei Wuxian could still be upset over what happened with Lan Wangji. Jiang Cheng essentially gave Wei Wuxian what he wanted in that moment, which was unconditional support to carry out his revenge, and yet Wei Wuxian is hung up on Lan Wangji not being supportive there, and in fact being in opposition to him. Jiang Cheng doesn't even really have friends, so he thinks Wei Wuxian should just get over Lan Wangji and move on with his life, but it's not that simple. Lan Wangji isn't just an acquaintance, he's not just someone that Wei Wuxian partnered up with to fight a battle or carry out a mission--he's a soulmate, a kindred spirit (if you want to go down a less romantic route).

I rarely can say anything bad about Jiang Yanli (except how she's almost always making soup), and here's another example: Chenqing. She's so far the only one who supports Wei Wuxian having a first class spiritual tool. She immediately shows interest in the flute, even encourages him to give it a name. Lan Wangji immediately sees the flute as something bad, while she's completely supportive. And this is really what Wei Wuxian needs right now, and I love her for being there. She's also about the only person he will genuinely smile around. He gives everyone else forced or fake smiles, but not Yanli. At this moment, I think he only wants to be with her, and I can't really blame him when everyone else is either opposing him or just wanting something out of him. She really is coming from a place of sympathy and comfort that's different from how the others are handling things. Lan Wangji wants to help, yes, but he tries to force it.

Imagine being in this room, listening to Jin Zixun (I'm not even sure if that's his name lol) trash talk Wei Wuxian, wanting to say something in his defense, but being unable to, not just because it's not your place to do so, but also because you're not even sure if you can defend him anymore. I think Jiang Cheng is struggling with the same. He stands up to Jin Zixun, finally getting him to shut up by saying that it's a domestic affair for the Jiang Clan and none of his fucking business, but Jiang Cheng also struggles to find excuses for Wei Wuxian. And that would certainly be difficult, because Wei Wuxian is somewhat like a stranger now. He's similar, but he's not the same Wei Wuxian that Jiang Cheng grew up with. He's really a shadow of his former self. But Lan Wangji has the added bonus of not being able to speak on his behalf because he's not even in the same clan--who is he to defend Wei Wuxian? He can't even stand with the others at the table (can't or won't, I'm not sure), so he certainly can't speak to Wei Wuxian's honor in front of all the other leaders. I'm sure the conversation back in Yiling is still running through his mind: this is a Jiang Clan affair--and to have that repeated again to someone else. That very much puts Lan Wangji in the "other" position. He's not in Wei Wuxian's clan, therefore, it's none of his business. He should care about him. He shouldn't try to protect him. He shouldn't try to guide him. But the problem is he still cares deeply about Wei Wuxian, and he wants to help him and protect him and guide him.

These scenes are always hard to watch for me (thank god for the special edition cut). It's really hard to watch the clans doing to the Wens what the Wens have done to the other clans. As if war wasn't already terrible enough, you also have what happens to the prisoners of war. In this case, Wen Qing's sect are all healers and have little to do with the war that the rest of the Wen Clan was waging on the other cultivation clans. However, they are still treated as enemies and imprisoned. It's difficult to watch the other clans, who you want to root for, making the same mistakes and transgressions as the Wens, who we are supposed to look at as the proper enemies in the story.

As we've seen a few times in this episode already, Wei Wuxian is having trouble controlling all the negative energy that's surging through him and the Yin iron, and on some of those occasions, he's touched his old wound. As he does this here, everyone looks at him, but he just looks at Lan Wangji. This is the person he cares most about in this room, the person whose heart his closest to his. I have nothing profound to say--I just like it.

And of course Lan Wangji looks right back at him. He knows Wei Wuxian best, even better than his own "brother", Jiang Cheng. He knows what happened in Xuanwu Cave, he saw the effect the sword had on him. I feel like each time they exchange glances, they are both crying out to each other, but Wei Wuxian is too stubborn to ask for help and Lan Wangji doesn't want to force the issue and strain their relationship further.

The way Lan Wangji hesitates here before saying, "I don't know," kills me. To him, it's just further proof of how Wei Wuxian is getting farther and farther from him, how the chasm between them just keeps growing. He's upset here. He doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to force Wei Wuxian to do anything--that's against his clan rules, but more importantly, against his own ethics--yet he doesn't want to stand by and do nothing while his friend destroys himself. I think we see Lan Wangji as a character who always knows what to do, someone who always knows the right path, but here we see how that's not true at all. This is a man who is very smart, very clever, but who is also unsure of himself. He's struggling with what's right and wrong. And he consults his brother here, hoping to get a clear answer, so that he'll know what to do next, but he gets nothing of the sort.

It would have been easier for Lan Wangji if his brother has simply said, "Wei Wuxian is wrong and an enemy," but of course he's more wise than that. Nothing is black and whit, and humans cannot be judged for what's on the surface. You have to look deep inside a person, know their intentions, and then you can judge if they are doing what's right or wrong. The problem is Lan Wangji doesn't know Wei Wuxian's intentions. Months ago, he know Wei Wuxian wanted to defend the weak, protect people who couldn't protect themselves, and live by such a just moral code. But now Wei Wuxian seems like a stranger, has murdered many, many people, and has taken cruel revenge upon Wen Chao and Wang Lingjao.

What I've noticed in this episode is that Wei Wuxian will look at Lan Wangji, but he always averts his eyes fairly quickly. It's as if he's afraid if they make eye contact for too long, he'll be letting Lan Wangji in, which he does not want to do under any circumstances. Letting Lan Wangji in means admitting what's going on as well as opening up Lan Wangji to danger. Wei Wuxian does not want anyone else getting hurt or dying because of him, so it's better to reject everyone and focus on his own clan.

Honey, I'd walk away too. It's hard to tell if Lan Wangji is about to cry or about to punch Wei Wuxian in the mouth--either one would have been excellent, but I'm leaning towards the latter. Lan Wangji had to answer Jiang Yanli. She met him by chance, but it was she who initiated the conversation. Of course, angst rules being what they are, we had to have a misunderstanding a la Wei Wuxian walking into the conversation midway and making the asinine assumption that Lan Wangji was just breaking his confidence by telling her EVERYTHING. Of course, anyone who knows Lan Wangji knows he'd never do such a thing. But when Wei Wuxian's shijie comes to him, voicing her concern and asking about him, he has no choice but to empathize with her and tell her what he knows.

I really like this little exchange. Reliving the fight on the rooftop, before they were acquainted, before they were friends--before Lan Wangji fell for him. This time when he attacks, it's not about malice, it's not about breaking the rules and bringing liquor into the Cloud Recesses--it's a man, looking at the one he loves, scared out of his mind, worried that that man is going to destroy his mind and body, using a taboo cultivation method. This fight is a love letter, as far as I'm concerned. It's an act of desperation.

Also I fucking love that around four or five people have asked Wei Wuxian where Suibian is, and each time he makes up a lie: he forgot it, he isn't in the mood, he didn't bother to bring it. But when Lan Wangji asks him, he doesn't respond. He doesn't lie, he doesn't laugh it off--whatever he does, Lan Wangji will know that he's lying, and Wei Wuxian knows that.

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Or just check out the #CQL Rewatch hashtag

#wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji #cql #the untamed #jiang cheng #jiang yanli #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wwx #lwj #ep 21 #cql rewatch

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spidersbane · 3 years ago

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Hello! Can I get MCU, The Hobbit, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. ship? 💚

Appearance: She/her. 179,5cm tall, rectangle body shape. Fair skin complexion with quite a few birthmarks. Dyed brown with honey-red highlights, shoulder-length, straight hair with bangs. The left eye is a mix of two colors – a smaller portion of (darker) greyish-blue and a larger portion of hazel; while the right eye is just a (lighter) greyish-blue. Heptagon face shape with two dimples on the left cheek and one on the right cheek (only visible while smiling). A gap between the upper front teeth.

Personality (good and bad traits): Ever since I was a kid, I was always quite mature for my age – I identify myself as an old soul. I come off as polite and well-mannered to strangers, yet I tend to keep it to myself by being reserved. But, that’s because I have social anxiety and I’m nervous and shy when meeting/talking to people. The only people I’m comfortable with being with my inner circle – closest friends and family. I am usually more “open” with my friends than with my family. With my friends I can be my “truest-self” – I smile more, I laugh more, I feel more accepted and understood. I am the mom and the fashionista of the group. Don’t get me wrong, I am fiercely protective of my family, especially of my mother and younger sister. But, lately, I’ve been feeling like the “black sheep” of the family, Cinderella who’s been taken advantage of. I express my affection for the people I care about in little, but practical, ways. I can be a little stiff when it comes to open, gushy displays of affection. Others turn to me for help and advice. I’m kind-hearted and generous, always ready to help a person in need. Always have been motherly towards children. Very awkward at keeping small talk (usually with people that I’m not that close with). Absolutely, hate speaking in front of a public, and if I do, because of my nervousness, I tend to mess up my words and/or I practice whatever I’m about to say in my head at first. I appreciate the simplicity and am often most comfortable when I’m not getting too much attention from the world. I am sensitive – both to criticism and to others’ feelings (I sponge up the feelings and moods of people and the environment around me). Have a hard time saying no or expressing my true thoughts, feelings. I get influenced by other people’s opinions/thoughts quite hard (I take everything to the heart), that is why I tend to keep a lot to myself (may come off as a little bit tense, secretive, mysterious). I avoid the harsh reality by daydreaming (almost every day) – imagining myself in situations far from my current circumstances. Sort of like a self-escape. I worry a lot and overthink almost everything. I am easily distracted and my attention span can be quite short. I have an internal struggle between my needs and wants. I can lack focus and be indecisive as a result – when I decide on one route, I am pulled in another direction at the same time (“But what if…”, “on the other hand...”). That is why I’m having a bit of a struggle with deciding what I want to do in the future (career-wise). I am easily overwhelmed by pressure and stress. There is a self-destructive side to me (self-critical, lack of self-confidence) that I’m working on by confronting my fears (coming out of my shell). Don’t like taking pictures, or other people taking pictures of me. I feel most content when I’ve straightened out all the details of everyday life. I have a routine, that I follow by mostly every day, and if something small changes in that routine, I start to have a small internal anxiety attack. Also, I like to do things my own way, like, when it comes to cleaning the house or organizing stuff, etc. I get triggered even if people don’t do the laundry the way I do. I guess you could describe me as a perfectionist, clean/control freak. In triggering situations I can be impulsive, spontaneous, quick to act. Quick flare-ups of anger/annoyance when being provoked on my patience. Even when I’m feeling low, I manage to find humor in life and have fun with whatever I do have. Although I tend to bottle things up, I am an emotional person and my emotions are genuine – I love and care deeply and passionately and wish no ill will upon anyone, yet it hards for me to imagine someone falling in love with me or just liking me.

Hobbies, likes: My hobbies are cleaning, writing (re-writing song lyrics, making small notes, writing stories), listening to any type of music, catching up on my favorite films and TV shows, hanging out with friends, going to the cinema, or the club, being out in nature, reading, traveling. I like history, cooking, fashion magazines (or fashion in general), road trips, spirituality, mythology, books, orange juice, previous decades, cottage-core, dark academia.

Overall: Hufflepuff. INFP-T. Bi-sexual. Pisces-Aries cusp sign. “Looks like could kill you, but is actually a cinnamon roll.” A feminist, support LGBTQ+ community. That’s it, thank you!

hey @pataim ! thanks so much for sending in your request, and thank you so much for your honesty about yourself. like it takes a lot to air yourself out like that, and I admire your strength for it. but also fINALLY a 'Man from U.N.C.L.E' ship! I love that movie and attempt Illya's accent all the time, so this will be fun :)

For the MCU/Marvel - I ship you with Steve Rogers/Captain America !

no one can tell me that Steve doesn’t have a set routine honestly, so let me just get that out there

he seems intimidating at first, esp as a public figure and Avenger, but Steve is nothing but passionate about what he does. so it may clash w your lack of direction, but I could honestly see him envying that a lil bit, like it’s not that you don’t have direction, it’s the fact that you still have a choice in the matter.

your love of history put you in a museum, here you bumped into Steve in a horrible disguise. he struck up the conversation first, and once you got past the whole “holy crap that’s Captain America”, you could actually engage with him in the material and boi was he smitten

he would love to join you when your rewatched your fave things, bc not only is he catching up on more media he missed out on, he’s also getting to know your interests in a way that’s comfortable with you. it avoids all the small talk, but leaves room for discussion after the film/show !

since you tend to sponge up a lot of what other people believe, it’s totally Steve who actually tries to question what you think and what you feel about things. he’s someone who encourages you to have your own opinions and to stay true to those thoughts. so while with him, you can rely on him to learn about yourself, you also gain skills for independence

overall, Steve is super patient, and despite his chaotic job as Cap, he takes comfort in his routine, and would find comfort incorporating a partner’s routine into his life. and as you grow in a relationship with him, he’s patient about teaching you how to be your own person, and helping you learn more about yourself. and while it’s uncomfortable, you grow stronger throughout being with him :)

For The Hobbit - I ship you with Bilbo Baggins !

Bilbo is the definition of introvert, and you're right there with him

not that introversion is ever a bad thing, bc it isn't. but Bilbo is quite content to sit in his little hobbit hole and vibe. like Gandalf had to come find him, ya know. dude disappeared from his own bday.

but anyways. it's not that Bilbo lacks purpose, it's just that he's more content with a quieter life. and it seems like his quiet life would balance you out well! like the Shire is so so chill, and there doesn't really seem to be a lot of pressure on the hobbits to pick a profession. like they just genuinely do what needs to get done.

similarly, Bilbo is the type who seems a little bothered by mushy displays of affection. exhibit a: disappearing from his own bday. like he's much more the type to refill your tea when y'all are reading by the fireplace, which he would totally do w you

it will probs take you a little while to warm up to each, given just how introverted you both are. but when he explains that he has set ways of doing things, then if they're compatible w your ways of doing things, then it doesn't take you long to open up to him

like it'll be a little jarring, but he takes comfort in his routines too. and it'll be an event trying to incorporate both of your ways of life together, but he's willing to do it

overall, yours is a very quaint partnership, built on deep respect for one another. neither of you are going to push the other to do things you aren't into. and y'all just live your best lives together tbh :)

For The Man From U.N.C.L.E - I ship you with Illya Kuryakin !

I love my big Russian spy so much, so this is fun for me

so Illya is the epitome of reserved and generally quiet, so it might take a while to really break down his walls and talk to him. and he's not quite sure what to do with you once you join the team

but, he's playing his game of chess alone, and when you sit down and ask to play with him, he opens up a little more after that

if you're one who get sent out on mission with the team, get ready, bc sometimes those missions require a lot of improvising. but you'd probably be at whatever 'base' was, helping run operations from a more secure place. but Illya and Napoleon improvise a lot, leading to a lot of headaches for you and Waverly

Illya has small bursts of anger, but similar to Gaby, most times, you can intervene and he doesn't get violent. or when he does, he tries to make sure it isn't in front of you. but bc you care so deeply for him, you're there for him in the aftermath. and that's how you show your love for him.

by patching him up if he gets cut, by talking him down when he's angry. and just generally trying to take care of him. and he totally does the same for you, especially if you get sent out into the field

and much to Illya's dismay, Solo doesn't refrain form making jokes about you. but if you can take them in stride, then Solo welcomes you into the team just as well :)

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thehighwaytothestars · 4 years ago

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BRIEF BIRTH CHART ANALYSIS- JINYOUNG GOT7

QUICK DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, we don’t have Jinyoung’s birth time, so we the analyses of his birth chart It’s more focused in the energy of the planets and signs, but we can’t really see how he is manifesting this energy in his daily life, in the material world.

So, this is just my point of view about how he can be, behave, feel things, etc. Perhaps he channels some energies differently, and that is okay. So please, don’t take all the info's down below as if they are 100% accurate. <3 VIRGO SUN - LIBRA MERCURY Jinyoung, having his sun, essence, ego, in this sign show us that he’s a hardworking, dedicated, perfectionist, introspective, shy, compassionated being. He can be soooo hard on himself, super critical about his work, and everything else he does. He just wants everything to be perfect and in the right place. For virgos, usually, having a nice diet, working out its super important, and can help with anxiety problems. His definitely super helpful, and likes to feel useful, Afterall virgo it is the sign of service. They are rational, so they are good in solving problems, really down to earth and pragmatic. If you have a problem, they can totally help you out, and will be really glad to do it, but if you are a little bit too sensitive, better be aware that they are being super honest, and never sugar quoting. In Jinyoung’s case, having libra mercury, tends to make him really thinking about the situation, he’s always thinking about what it’s the best decision to make, he is very analytical and can see the both sides of the situation...So yeah, his great with advices. This placement makes him really impartial, and fair. Jinyoung probably hates fighting, arguing...he is more into debating, which is a thing that makes him learn a lot from...so I can see him totally talking about controversial subjects in order to learn more about different point of views. The libra mercury makes him into art, philosophy, people, habits, history, art, music. I think he’s not the best with numbers, or not really into it. He knows how to talk to people, and can be really charming and pleasant. He knows how to be a true gentleman. He has this judgmental nature, but he tries to keep his mind open in order to understand, feel the person his talking to. ARIES MOON – CANCER MARS Aries moons tend to be really energetic and impulsive, also it can mean that the person shows their emotions in a very direct way, if they like you, you’ll know, with they don’t it’s going to be all over their faces. The person it is usually really honest, it doesn’t have time to waste here. Which also means they know what they and go for it, they are assertive. Hates when people are indecisive. The aries moon people are passionate, driven, dominant, always doing something, they hate when people are sitting around, doing nothing. They like movement, action, so practicing exercise, it’s great for them...specially because they can be really feisty, hot temper, so this helps them to keep it cool. They can get really excited with competition, challenges, and can be really good at sports of any kind. But if this can help them to be cool, just please don’t make them wait, it kills them. They love teasing people, especially the loved ones. Jinyoung can be really moody (cancer mars) and in his case (aries moon), he is not being moody quietly. He can become passive aggressive when fighting, or mad at someone. He’s sensitive, so you need to care what you say around him, because even though he doesn’t want to show weakness, he feels deeply and can be highly offended by your words. Even worst if you are someone, he cares about 🙁 Cancer in mars people sometimes can be a little uncertain with they should do that or not, can be a little scared in taking the first step, since cancer it’s such a defensive sign. So, here we can see that sometimes Jinyoung can battle what to do, and not doing things so hastily. But I think in the end, having libra mercury can help him to balance what he feels doing, and how he should do things. If he cares about you, he will protect and defend you with his life...Cancer mars people totally take care of the ones they love. Sometimes, if someone says something to him, he can hold back, but will never do that with someone said / did something to hurt you. He can be affectionate and really warm, but this is a side that he is showing probably at home, without too much people around. In public, he prefers bickering and teasing you as a way to draw your attention and showing that he cares. SCORPIO VENUS, JUPITER, NORTH NODE AND PLUTO Venus – he is intense when it's about love, really committed in relationships, can take a while for him to open up, because he feels things really in a deep level. He is definitely really faithful and wants someone like that too. Usually, having a scorpio venus means that the person can change, transform a lot during the relationship. I feel like all the people with this placement will grow, and evolve from relationships. Jinyoung is intuitive, and wants someone who can look at him and figure it out what he means just like that. Wants to know the bad and good side of the person he is with, he is really into discover all the aspects, and mysteries from the person he Is with. He wants the person to know she/he can open up about anything with him. He is a great listener, and won’t judge you at all. He understands what it is to experience dark thoughts and events. He likes sensuality, intense glares, feel the desire in someone eyes. He hates lies, and will be able to tell with you are not being real with him. He wants to devour and absorb you as much as he can. Can be jealous easily. But having such a strong and intense position for his venus, and with such a powerful transformation skill Jinyoung needs to let somethings go, and not falling for the low energy that this sign can have (all the signs have good and bad aspects, it’s all about how we use their energies). We are here to learn, so I think it’s important that he lets the changes and transformations happen in his life. This is how we become wise not just in relations but life in general. Jupiter – This position just expands the need for inner knowledge. I think with time Jinyoung will feel the need to understand more and more about himself, his place in this world. Why is he in here, what is his mission in life, and all this thing. It’s a need for deeper meaning and understand of life, and everything else. He is definitely curious about the occult, spirituality, and the mysteries in life. He wants to discover them all, dig deeper about these subjects. He wants to explore the occult, what is hidden from us. He wants to know the real truth. He is an explorer of the soul. Wants to understand his emotions and his mind. Could be interest in psychology too.

North node – our north node it’s all about what we are here to learn, our mission in this Earth. Having this position in scorpio means that we came from a past life (south node in taurus) that we might had being too much into material things, accumulate things, money, e maybe too much into the pleasures of life to the point it wasn’t healthy or good anymore. So, now they are here to learn about the real important things in life, to transform, not being sooo attached to money and the worldly pleasures. He is here to pursue the high values of life. He needs to learn how to let go of things, to follow his intuition, his heart and not to go follow his ego. This is a very powerful position, where changes, growing, development in life are really important to make someone feel that they are in the right path, accomplishing their mission here. We’re all here to learn and evolve, but mostly people with their north node in scorpio. Pluto- the planet that rules scorpio, in Jinyoung’s case, pluto it is in domicile. Which is a good thing, because it makes easier to him to transform himself, to dig deeper in his personal power, and inner questions. In this position, pluto can help to look inside of himself, his shadows, his dark places. So, he can actually put light on these subjects and start doing his inner work, and to be more in tune with his higher self.

#jinyoung #jinyoung got7 #got7 #kpop #kpopastrology #astrology #birth chart analysis #natal chart analysis #jinyoung birth chart analysis #got 7 birth chart analysis #got7 astrology #jinyoung astrology #jinyoun natal chart analysis

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rfaromance · 4 years ago

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HyunHyun

Take pictures of your precious moments-- they last longer.

Memories were fleeting, but a photo could last for eternity, transcending the limits that human bodies faced and living for lifetimes.

Thus, as an actor, as an artist, and as a friend, Zen held an immense amount of respect for the work of Jihyun Kim, or as he called him, V. V was a rather modest, mellow, mild-mannered man, but one didn’t need to have an eye for composition to be able to tell from first glance that he was insanely talented. His photographs captured not only colors and figures, but emotions and energy. They touched so many hearts and minds, and it was that ability to strike deep into the core of a person that had actually led to V finding the love of his life.

Unfortunately, their fairy tale came to an abrupt ending, when sorrow and the sea swallowed Rika whole, leaving nothing but her memory, her photos, and her legacy.

Everyone in Rika’s Fundraising Association had taken a hit when Rika passed, but V had suffered the most of all. That was natural, that was expected-- the two of them had promised their lives to each other.

For the longest time, V had been unable to pick up his camera again, and he had withdrawn into his solitude and despair. The RFA had all struggled with how to handle him, how to help him, how to heal him. Only time could heal some wounds, but… surely they could at least extend their hands and show that they would be there for him, in the same way he had supported them in their lowest moments and brought them together?

V saved Zen’s life-- that was no overstatement. Zen would not be here today if not for V’s persistence, V’s dedication, V’s curiosity, V’s kindness. If V could bring him back from the brink of a physical demise, then as his friend… didn’t Zen have a duty to bring him back from his own spiritual death?

These were the thoughts swirling in the young actor’s head as he stood at V’s doorstep, a bouquet of daffodils in one hand and a 6-pack of beer in the other. He had hit a personal roadblock in his own career; while he had managed to land a minor role in this latest play, he was struggling a lot with delivering his lines. Memorization was rarely a problem for him, but he was having an unusual amount of difficulty grasping the tone and the character that he desired. A lovelorn man was nothing new, but a lovelorn man who was lusting after his taken best friend? How much desperation should he employ, and how much support should he balance with it? He had to strike that precarious balance between desire and restraint, between yearning and withdrawing, between lust and level-headedness. Imagine being in love with your best friend!

Zen hadn’t even had a girlfriend since he could remember. He was dating his job, in a sense. This harsh reality only made the time he spent with his friends even more valuable.

Therefore, even though he was going to be working while he was with V, using V to recite his lines, he was still rather excited to stay overnight. V’s house was a considerable distance from his, over by the sea; why did artists have to live in such bizarre, eclectic places?

At least he had brought some beer to help them unwind when they were done.

As the white-haired young man rapped on the door, he was a little afraid of what kind of state he would find V in. Some days, he seemed to be calm and collected; other days, he was completely lost in his thoughts, and his eyes looked so misted and faraway, as if he could hardly see what was directly in front of him. Would V be at peace, or would he be tormented, when he came to the door?

The sea-blue eyes that greeted him twinkled like aquamarines. The pale face before him was aglow like the sun. The smile that greeted him was warmer than a hearth.

“Hyun.” Even his voice felt lighter than usual, like he were breathing fresh air instead of trying not to swallow water. “It’s a pleasure to see you. Thank you for coming all this way.” As refined and polite as ever, but still somehow… more casual. More relaxed. More… at ease.

“You’re the one doing me a favor,” Zen reminded him with a small chuckle. “The pleasure is mine, V. I rarely get to see you these days. How have you been holding up?”

A dark shadow flitted across his gaze, albeit briefly. “I’ve been… better,” he confessed, and he rubbed the back of his head a little sheepishly. He then ran his hand through his bangs--he had allowed his hair to grow out ever since losing Rika a few months prior, and his minty bangs now reached his chin. Getting a closer look at him now, Zen contemplated making a note to bring V some of his special shampoo; he shouldn’t let beautiful hair like that get either too greasy or dried out from improper treatment. “I’ve really been looking forward to seeing you, though,” he added, probably hoping to lighten the mood and alleviate Zen’s concerns.

Zen was still going to worry--he had a bit of a mother hen’s nature--but he would try to keep himself in check and not dote on V too much. They were friends, equals, companions. And besides, V was someone whom Zen respected immensely. Someone whose artistry, and whose beauty (both inside and out), rivaled his own. “I understand,” Zen told him with a puff of his chest. “I’d be excited to see me, too.” He gave his friend a flirty wink and his trademark smile that he flashed to his adoring fans.

If he had done that to Yoosung, the blond boy would have probably complained. If he had done that to Jaehee, the young woman probably would have melted. If he had done that to Seven, the mischievous hacker probably would have winked back. If he had done that to Jumin, the trust fund kid probably would have rolled his eyes.

He wasn’t sure what he had expected from V, but it certainly wasn’t the soft blush on his cheeks and the small giggle that escaped his thin lips. “Never change, Hyun,” he murmured, and then he returned a slight smile of his own, with his upturned mouth and small dimples shining brighter than the sun.

Oh. That’s why Rika had called him her sun.

“R-right,” Zen mumbled as he entered with a respectful bow. After he kicked off his shoes, he turned to V to ask him where to put the beer. “Hey, I brought these for later. Where should I put--”

Why was V gazing at him so intently?

“Yes, you’ll be perfect for this,” he declared at last with a firm nod and a slam of his fist into his open palm. “Hyun, I… Will you accept my apology?”

Always so considerate of others. He was apologizing before Zen even knew what reason he had to be sorry. “Tell me what’s going on, first,” the actor insisted. “I just got here. You haven’t done anything wrong here, or quite frankly, anything wrong that I can remember.” Was this an old wound that V wanted to close? An unresolved situation that needed closure? Zen tried to sort through the jumbled memories in his mind; V had never done anything to truly upset him. He had gone silent and pulled himself away from the RFA for a while, but Zen wasn’t about to chide him for how he chose to cope with his grief.

Zen, after all, had been prone to taking extreme, dramatic actions when he was feeling emotionally charged, too.

“I promise, we will practice your lines,” V continued, as Zen tried to piece together the different elements of what he was saying. “I have a request first, though, if you would be willing to indulge me.”

A request? Zen raised his eyebrows, but he found himself nodding nonetheless. He had no reason to doubt V, to question him, to suspect him. “Whatever you need,” he promised, with another quick wink and a snap of his fingers. “Let me guess. You needed an otherworldly beauty to model for you, right?” He propped one leg up onto V’s dining room table and leaned forward with one arm leaning against his knee, as if he were a ship captain looking out at the sea. “I understand. God made a mistake when creating me, so nobody else quite compares.” Of course, he knew that couldn’t be the case. As far as he knew, V rarely picked up his camera these days, if he even took pictures at all. When Rika died, his muse had died, too. His creative spirit, his inspiration, his drive, his passion… they weren’t necessarily dead, but they were on emergency life support. Zen wasn’t sure what kind of presence, what kind of power would be able to spur V to take photographs once again. He eagerly awaited that day, though.

“You’re exactly right.”

Zen didn’t even realize his mouth had fallen agape until V walked up to him, one hand outstretched to gently cup his chin and clamp his jaw shut. “You’re a marvel, Hyun. I… I’ve been thinking about what drew her to you in the first place.” His voice dropped, choked for a second, when he mentioned his former fiancee. But he kept speaking, pushing forward. “It wasn’t just your looks. It wasn’t just your talent. It wasn’t just your charisma. It was…” He furrowed his brow, as though searching for the proper words to describe what was on his mind. “Your aura.”

Aura?

Burning blue met confused crimson as V stared intently into Zen’s eyes. “You exude an aura of kindness, but also one of intensity. You’re naturally gifted, but you also work remarkably hard. You have a relaxed, likeable, comforting quality to you that draws people in, but when you get immersed in your work, you’re serious, stern, and disciplined.” His fingertips slid down Zen’s neck to his shoulders, and the tender touch sent a shiver racing through Zen’s spine. Was… V always like this when he got into work mode? This was a side of the photographer that he had never seen.

Why did a voice in the back of Zen’s mind whisper to him, “Did Rika ever see this side?”

“You’re a star, Zen, even if you don’t see it yet.” Now V gave him a pat on the shoulder and took a step back. “I want to help you see it, and perhaps expose others to your light as well.” He turned to a bag on his couch and shuffled around for a moment before withdrawing an exquisite camera-- one of the fancy ones that Zen only ever saw paparazzi use. “Would you allow me the honor?”

Only one possible response came to Zen’s brain and to his tongue:

“The honor is all mine.”

~~~

A can in one man’s hand, a glass in the other man’s grip.

While Zen guzzled beer, of his wine V would take a small sip.

A flick of a white ponytail, a shake of minty bangs.

When these two became tipsy, musical numbers they sang.

As their lips became loose, their thoughts began to spill as well.

Some words, some secrets, some things they never had meant to tell.

V was weaker to his wine, and so he was first to speak,

And the sentence he uttered made Zen’s tender heart grow weak.

“I’ve always admired you, though for a while ‘twas from afar.

You have always had the radiance of a shining star.

At first I was jealous of the way Rika admired you,

Until I realized that I felt the same way she did, too.”

He put his glass down on the table, and then bowed his head.

“I was afraid to ask you to model, so full of dread.

Imagine my delight when you agreed with a whole heart.”

And that’s when he moved a bit closer, giving Zen a start.

“I want to remember this day, the time we spent as friends.”

Why did that word seem to rip Zen’s heart into little shreds?

Hyun and Jihyun were friends, and dear to each other for sure,

But would it be a crime if the two of them wanted more?

Zen put his own drink down, then turned to face V’s minty eyes.

“Say what you’re thinking,” he demanded, much to V’s surprise.

“You always hold back, and today I was happy to see

That you were unafraid to ask for a favor from me.”

V looked hesitant, then finally emitted a sigh.

“Promise not to leave me? Promise not to bid me good-bye?”

Zen reached forward and planted his porcelain hand atop V’s.

With his signature wink, he gave his friend’s hand a firm squeeze.

“I shouldn’t speak, not when Rika’s memory is still fresh.

But I’m bearing a large sin that I think I must confess.”

Zen tilted his head to the side, but gave V a brisk nod.

He wanted to hear this confession, no matter how odd.

“Rika was my first love, the light of my entire life.

But life goes on, despite our ongoing turmoil and strife.

If Rika was my sun, then I must find another star.

And it appears to me that I needn’t search very far.”

Before Zen could question what the mint-haired man’s words could mean,

In towards Zen’s face, the photographer started to lean.

A peck on the lips, a delicate brush of skin on skin.

This was V’s secret, this was the young man’s heavy burden.

V tried to pull away as quickly as he had appeared,

And him leaving was the thing Zen discovered he most feared.

So the actor pushed forth, biting onto V’s rosy lips.

He scooted a tad closer, with a shuffle of his hips.

One might have imagined the kiss tasted of beer and wine,

But on the contrary, it was of a flavor divine.

The tastes of elegant mint and a hearty red bean bun.

A flavor that was mature, but in a way, also fun.

Edges of salt and smoke coated this unexpected kiss,

One marred by sorrow but also decorated with bliss.

When the two finally were forced to breathe and break apart,

They were of two bodies, but now bore only one shared heart.

“I…” V began, but his usually level voice trailed off.

“I think you should go,” he whispered, his voice eerily soft.

Zen jumped to his feet, ready to spit out many protests.

But judging from V’s expression, he now needed to rest.

“Thanks for helping me with my character,” Zen said at last.

“I’m sure I’ll remember this day when the stage comes to pass.”

And with a fond farewell, V waved to his friend as he left.

But as Zen closed the door behind him, his heart felt bereft.

His fingers traveled to his lips, where he still felt V’s touch.

Maybe the actor had just walked in there wanting too much.

“Take a picture to preserve moments,” is what he’d been told,

but no photo would last as long as this memory would.

#hi I'm here for the birthday boy #zen #hyun ryu #jihyun kim #v #mystic messenger #mysmes #mysme #fanfiction #yes i wrote a poem figHT ME

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sebastianshaw · 3 years ago

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Shaw & Skadi for the kid meme!

Name: Sigvid Skadisson Shaw. I know it should be Shawson BUT FUCK THE RULES. “Sig” is a pretty standard prefix for a lot of Norse names from the word “sigr” meaning “victory” and “vid” from the Old Germanic “widu” for forest. Gender: Masc and male-presenting but beyond that I’m not sure? Trans man? AMAB non-binary? Look, he uses he/him (maybe they too) and people THINK ‘man’ when they look at him, that’s all I know General Appearance: Tall and beefy, he couldn’t NOT be. Medium pale skin that gets even paler in winter but tans easily in summer. Black hair, or so dark brown it might as well be black, and very dark eyes. His hair, unlike both parents and most of his Asgardian brethren, is actually kept short, and while he has a beard, it’s not the big one. The reason for this is functional; short hair is better if you’re spending a lot of time in the wild. Stuff gets stuck in long hair, it can get tangled in branches at the worst times, it’s hot in the summer, and it can literally freeze in the winter if it gets wet. His attire is very much out of a Viking fantasy, but less on the “heavy armor” end of things and more on the “wearing lots of furs and skins” side. He doesn’t look like someone you want to fuck with, but he also doesn’t look like he’s going to war. He carefully avoids any kind of dangling amulets, charms, or other jewelry that could get caught on anything, but he’s got a sort of leather toolbelt containing various survival tools made from wood, bone, etc. Personality: Sigvid, as you might guess from his attire and the reasons for it, is an outdoorsman. Not as a hobby, not as a lifestyle, but an EXISTENCE. He thrives in the natural world as Sebastian does in the business world, finding ways to survive in even the most adverse of situation. Whatever Mother Nature is doing around him, he can not only make it through it, he can work it to his advantage. His closeness to the natural world, his close observation of it, means that he sees both the facts and errors in his father’s mentality. He sees that the strongest predators will pick off the weakest prey, that the winter will take those who do not prepare, that mother animals will neglect and even devour their young if they’re sick or runty. He also sees that prey are more aggressive than predators, how some creatures will adopt and nourish infants that are not their own or even their own species, how some will share their kill with no benefit to themselves, and how even the smallest and most humble animals can make it through things that the larger, so-called stronger ones did not. Sigvid is very pragmatic, like his father, very practical, very self-preservationist. He has to be. But he’s also very spiritual, not in a way that connects to some distant god, but the world around him, to earth and nature. Not some idealized hippie-dippie conception of nature as a loving mother that is always in balance, but an acceptance that it is a greater power that he cannot control, he can only hope to survive at best. It keeps him humble. It also gives him a much wider, more relative perspective on things that is not human-centric, or Asgardian-centric for that matter. My Shaw often says that he admires human accomplishments above all else, that no other animal has built cities, computers, cars, and so on. And he is correct in this. But Sigvid always points out, how many termite mounds has man built? How many times do humans migrate thousands of miles using an innate sense of the Earth’s magnetic fields? How many fish have we hunted by literally sensing the electricity in their bodies? Yes, humans are “the best” if we judge them by standards HUMANS MADE. Judge us by the base standard of any other species, and we flop. Same for judging any species by the standards of any other. Nothing is “more” or “less” evolved than anything else, more complex does not mean better, and nor does being bigger, stronger, meaner, or even smarter mean a species is “better” or “more evolved” either. Survival of the fittest is not about that, nor about individuals; it’s about how well a species fits its environment and niche. A slime mold is just as evolved as a person. Sigvid is very passionate about this, though he’s not the type to speak up most of the time; he’s stoic and saturnine, used to keeping his mouth closed and his thoughts to himself, because most of the time there’s no one to talk to. And that also means he’s learned to exist without the validation and approval of others---ironically, something that is much like his father, learned in a completely different environment.

A lot of this, obviously, comes from Skadi. He was at side her since infancy learning to hunt and track, learning the difference between wood sorrel and white clover, how to tell when a moose is about to charge, and what it means when the woods go quiet. This connects deeply to Skadi’s Jotunn side in particular, which in Norse lore are thought to have symbolized the inherently chaotic and uncontrollable nature of, well, nature! Though Sigvid would not, nature it’s chaotic, it’s actually very ordered, people just don’t bother to understand what’s inconvenient to them. But where he differs from Skadi is that he’s not a Disney princess. Animals don’t hang out with him. He doesn’t nurse injured creatures back to health. He doesn’t keep pets. He does not see them as friends. They are not less than him, but they are not allies, they are beings he co-exists with, avoids, or eats. At least, until a thylacine started hanging out with him. Yeah, a thylacine. The extinct Tasmanian tiger. Who knows where it came from or why he’s attached itself to him, but he’s very adamant she’s not a pet and he hasn’t named her, but she is THERE. Sometimes. She isn't at his side like a dog, it's more she's following him from a distance and she pokes her head out from the trees somewhere. She's not a pet. She's more a parasite. But unlike Shaw, Sigvid doesn't use that term in a bad way, and he's fine with her presence. He's just curious where the hell an extinct Australian animal came from? Obviously, Sigvid is not interacting with people a lot, but when he does, he’s far less awkward or boisterous than people expect. He doesn’t have the overt weirdness people expect from a hermit, nor the bombastic warrior cliché of an Asgardian, or the vicious stereotype of a Jotunn. He has a quiet but overwhelming elegance, not like an aristocrat but like a great stag emerging from the forest. He chooses his words carefully, and can say much with just a few. He walks the middle ground between judging by individuals and judging by species; he does a little of both. He has preconceptions and generalities that he believes in about each group, but also believes in room for exception. After all, he’s not what a lot of people expect, is he? Despite this, he’s frequently misread as disliking people, but he doesn’t. He is utterly neutral on them, he just prefers his own way of life. Likewise, he tends to be very neutral towards individuals, and this also is often misread as dislike. One thing he does dislike though, is when people try to endear themselves to him by talking about how they agree animals are better than people, or say stuff like you know only man kills for pleasure. . . .this actually just annoys him. Firstly, a lot of animals do kill for pleasure. Secondly, when people say animals/nature is better than people. . . .they’re forgetting that people---humans, Asgardians, Jotunn---are animals too. This is just another way people, of any sort, try to insist they’re something special and different, whether in a negative or positive way. It doesn’t impress him. What impresses him tends to be how well people work within their niche, whatever niche that is. Like Shaw, he doesn’t really judge in terms of conventional morality, but a person’s success----Sigvid’s definition of success is just much wider. Like, maybe you dive for a living---are you a good diver? A great cafeteria worker? The best toilet cleaner in the tri-state area? He admires that and he commends you. When he is angered, he stays quiet, and his response is swift and physical; he either leaves or strikes physically and then leaves. When he feels sufficiently bonded with someone. . . he is still quiet. He appreciates a person who doesn't need to be filling the silences between them to feel comfortable and kinship. And kinship for him is rare, but he's not lonely----just also not adverse to it, as many assume he is. People assume a lot about Sigvid, and most of it is wrong, but he's also very chill with it. Sigvid is a very chill guy.

Special Talents: Besides the obviously mentioned talents for hunting, tracking, foraging, survivalism, and nature knowledge? Many people think he’s some kind of seer because he’s good at predicting storms and such, but actually he’s just very good at reading the signs most people aren’t attuned to. He also presumably has the attributes of Asgardians and Jotuns (super strength, etc) but if he has a mutant power, it has yet to manifest. Also cannot assume a Frost Giant form. Who they like better: Skadi, though eventually he does respect his father for performing so well at what he does

Who they take after more: I think both equally in different ways Personal Head canon: -He really likes amethyst geodes. -He finds a lot of manufactured foods, like chips or snack cakes, to be WAAAAY too strongly salty or sweet for him to stomach, is allergic to Red Dye #40, and he finds the taste of domesticated animals to be weird. - Not much of a dairy person, but ghee is good -Dislikes when people stereotype hillbillies as stupid; as in like, people who are genuinely living in the hills and mountains of the American Southeast, they're an interesting people with their own unique culture like any other group that lives off the land in isolation---which he respects---and not interchangeable with typical rednecks. -He doesn't typically carry anything with him that's not a necessity, if he knows he's going to be seeing people soon, he will pick up knick-knacks he finds in abandoned places and distribute them like a weird Santa Claus. Who, he's met, by the way, and according to him, Father Christmas is something of a badass. - He will always buy your homemade soaps, and I have no idea what he's doing with them. Yes, maybe he's using them in the normal intended way but IM NOT SURE?? - Pops up in art museums. People never expect him to be here, in these cathedrals dedicated to human creation, but he is. I think he views art a bit differently than the average person, but he's there all the same. - He's an Aquarius but there is a LOT of Saturn in his chart - The first Midgard movie he saw was Forrest Gump. He was expecting it to be about something else because of the title, but he enjoyed it and LEARNED THIS DANCE Face Claim: n/a

#sigvid #kids #kid meme

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ordinaryschmuck · 4 years ago

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Top 20 BEST Animated Series of the 2010s-3rd Place

It’s here that I feel I should give a couple warnings about this next show.

My #3 pick is NOT meant for children. Not in a way that Rick and Morty or Camp Camp aren’t meant for children (as in, as long as you’re twelve years old, you’ll still enjoy it), but in a way that this show deals with topics that kids are not ready to talk about yet. Hell, there are topics that some adults aren’t prepared to talk about.

This brings me to my next warning. If you feel as though your interests are random comedies or if you use cartoons to escape, DON’T WATCH THIS SHOW. It may not seem like it at first, but this series will not only make it clear that you shouldn’t ignore your problems and will actually bring them right towards you in a raging force.

Finally, you shouldn’t just binge this one. It’s best to watch a couple episodes a day and get back to it later because out of all the series that I’ve talked about thus far, it’s #3 that isn’t really a fun ride the whole way through. In a complementary way, that is.

#3-Bojack Horseman (2014-2020)

The Plot: Back in the ’90s, Bojack Horseman was the star of a famous TV show called Horsin’ Around. Years after the show got canceled, he is now a drunken mess just trying to stay relevant in today’s television market. Will he get his big break, or is he just a one-trick pony?

I meant it when I said this is a show for adults. Bojack Horseman has topics and storylines that kids are not ready to see or hear. Or at least, Bojack Horseman has topics that they’re not capable enough to understand at such a young age. Topics that actually utilize what other “adult” cartoons use as cheap tricks to get that mature rating. Most shows just have characters drink and do drugs to look mature. Bojack Horseman uses drugs and alcohol as cautionary tales for alcoholism, opium adiction, and the high possibility of a person dying from a drug overdose. In fact, where most adult cartoons treat death as a joke, Bojack Horseman is a series that, for the most part, actually treats death as the final end that it is. And where most shows use sex as a symbol of maturity, Bojack Horseman actually appropriates sex to tell a story. Whether showing the faults of having angry sex with your partner or even utilizing the chance to talk about abortion. That’s right, there is an entire episode that talks about abortion in this show. Not even Family Guy, a series that relies on crude shock humor, had the balls to deal with this subject...okay, that’s not entirely true. Family Guy actually did have the balls to talk about abortion, but the network cut them off. Still, the point is that Bojack Horseman is a show that doesn’t seem afraid to talk about whatever the hell it wants to talk about.

And trust me when I say talk because this show is the most dialogue-heavy series on this list. This should be a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that the dialogue is fantastic due to how it’s so...real. The conversations, arguments, and monologues that these characters have with each other sounds like things actual people would say to each other. For example, the episode “Free Churro” is just a half-hour of Bojack Horseman giving a eulogy at his mother's funeral. And I’m not kidding when I say that it’s the best episode of the entire series. Because I don’t hear Will Arnet voicing a character. I hear a man explaining to an audience about his mother's life and the complicated relationship she had with him. And just like a real-life eulogy, you’ll hang on to every word this guy says.

Now not all of Bojack Horseman’s dialogue is natural because the show’s surreal sense of humor practically ruins it. Usually, I like it when a show tries to balance darkness with a light sense of humor, and at times this one can be pretty hilarious to watch. It’s just the moments where the characters say something bizarre or meta that the comedy could use a little polish. Because when you’re so used to characters speaking like actual human beings, the immersion is broken when they say something unhuman like. And because of this, the show’s comedy is easily the weakest point of it. It’s not bad comedy, but it would help if it didn’t drag the series down with it.

But what doesn’t drag the series down is its main antagonist. Bojack Horseman has the most unique and original interpretation of who should go against Bojack himself. Because here’s the thing: Bojack’s greatest enemy isn’t an intergalactic dictator, a demon from another dimension, or even a person trying to get revenge. The biggest enemy to Bojack Horseman, is in fact, Bojack Horseman. Every little awful, depressing, and downright life-threatening thing that happens to this character is almost always his own fault. Because everything, to the hatred from Bojack's friends and family, his career getting ruined, and his own alcoholism all traces back to Bojack. The show really makes it hard to root for a character like him due to his actions. In fact, one episode practically points out how it’s wrong to root for someone like him. And you shouldn’t. He’s an awful individual, and no one in their right mind would feel any remorse for him. But you do. Because unlike other a-hole characters in adult animation, Bojack actually wants to change and tries hard to be better. But every time it looks like he takes a step forward, he always ends up taking ten steps back. And again, it’s absolutely his own fault. Because even though he’s the protagonist, he’s still the show’s antagonist. And it amazes me how well this series proves that your worst enemy is yourself.

And I know that sounds depressing, but here’s the thing: Depressing is what the show is. It will make you feel depressed and empty inside with nearly every episode. How? By telling the audience things they don’t want to hear but need to hear. Things such as how people don’t change. How there’s always going to be a voice in your head telling you that you’re an awful piece of s**t, and it won’t go away. How in life, there are no happy endings. And that last one is something that came straight out of the horse’s mouth. Understandably so, not everyone is going to be into a series telling them things such as this. In fact, that’s the main reason why Bojack Horseman is #3 and not #1.

I can’t, in good conscience, recommend it to just anybody. Sure, I can watch it with little to no problems because I’m in a comfortable place, both spiritually and mentally. But some people aren’t, and the last thing they need is a constant reminder of how awful their lives are. Call it selfish, but I call it giving a break to those who need it.

Bojack Horseman isn’t like anything else you’ll find on TV. It has some of the best drama and storytelling I have ever seen, despite minor hiccups I may have with it. Not everyone will be into it, and I’ll always understand why, but I hope those who do will have a great viewing experience. Because I’m not Horsin’ Around when I say that this show is incredible.

(Side note: Half the characters are anthropomorphic animals and the other half are actual human beings. I know it’s weird that I didn’t mention it, but the show rarely does, so I felt it wasn’t too important)

#top 20 of 2010s #bojack horseman #what i thought about

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duskbornbaker · 3 years ago

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Torchwood!Tommy Character Profile

Essentials:

1) What name did they go by as a Kine, and what name do they go by now? Why and how did they choose this name, if it’s different?

Born Tomàs Baker, they were primarily called "Tommy" in life and that continues. As it's been 80 years since they were registered legally dead, they have decided to take on a false surname, as well as to keep Torchwood from knowing too much about them. They borrowed "McDonnell" from their crush from when they were alive. Though, this is moot, as due to a backfire of a ritual, Torchwood 2 now knows their real name.

2) What year were they born (or how old would they be in life), and what age do they appear? What age do they feel?

They were born in 1907 and died in 1925, so they look like an 18 year old, though with the infirmity they experienced and just life being what it was at the start of the 20th century, their "18" looks a little older. They can often pass as early-mid 20s without too much difficulty. In truth, they are 101 years old. The year is 2008, the pyramid has just fallen and to some degree they feel so young and vulnerable. Old World Kindred tend to be older. Princes have held these positions since, some of them, the establishment of the Camarilla nearly a millennium ago. But then, among the Kine they work with, they feel ancient. People reference pop culture from any of the time while they were in the Pyramid and it just flies over their head. They feel out of place among these oh so young and fragile humans. Thankfully, Seòras helps them feel a little more okay with it. Agent Lennox, being nearly 50 years old, also doesn't get the references. They sometimes sit there while Cami and Ash talk about some movie or internet trend and just let the conversations wash over the two of them, absorbing nothing.

3) Which Clan do they belong to? How do they feel about their Clan?

They were Embraced into Clan Tremere and House Tremere. Though, lately, people have started questioning the truth of their affiliation. They're a Thinblood, after all, do they really deserve the title of "Tremere"? This all is compounded by the fall of the Pyramid. The House is in chaos and the childer are unreigned. Kindred openly rebel against their sires and the new House Ipsissimi has been formed. Generally, the Anarchs accept both their status as Thinblood, some among the 14th Generation even going so far as to call the term a slur. They are the Duskborn. Duskborn are burgeoning into a new Clan within the Anarch movement and while Tommy is yet to be forced to choose between the two, they know the time is coming. They are yet to make a decision.

4) Which Predator type do they most align with and why?

Currently: Bagger. It's part of the conditions of their employment. No feeding off living humans. Tommy has given a taste for the blood of corpses, its disgusting but, occasionally a welcome change, as well as animals, honestly somehow more unpleasant than the former and coming with the added issue of needing multiple vessels to even lend themself a somewhat satisfying meal. No, bagged blood is the best of the options available. Further, they don't have to steal it. Torchwood buys the bags at the same rate a hospital would pay and it simply comes out of the food budget. Yvonne *does* question why their food budget is so high, but as of yet hasn't pursued the issue too closely. Thankfully, Lukas covers for Tommy. It's a precarious situation, but one that balances for now.

5) Who Sired them, and into what Generation were they Sired? What’s their relationship with their Sire like, and what were the circumstances of their Embrace?

They were sired by their sister: Somhairlín Baker into the 14th Generation. They were scheduled to be Embraced anyway, by Sam's sire, but before the date was supposed to come, they were struck in a motor vehicle accident while in Galway seeking medical treatment for their chronic anemia. Anemia caused by Sam's clandestine use of Tommy as a Cloven Blood Doll. Somhairlín, feeling guilt, Embraced Tommy. Their parents died. The two bonded closer than in life. This would eventually be a source of great pain in Tommy's life as, in early 2008 following the F1rstlight attack on the Vienna Chantry and the Head of the Tremere Pyramid, Tommy felt need to murder their sister.

6) What level of Humanity are they? Has this changed over the years they’ve been dead?

Tommy's Humanity is very low. Due to the practices of the London Chantry and a development of growing Noddist and Cainite practices, Tommy ended up on the Path of Caine during their time in London. They moved to London to escape Thinblood persecution in the post-War era and it was for naught. In London, Tommy hid themself as Sam's ghoul, and Sam, in turn, entered them into a Blood Wedding, a situation where two Vampires bond themselves to the other threw drinking each other's Vitae. This created a feedback loop where both of them sunk to deeper levels of depravity match for match. And, under Hal Grove, Regent of their Chantry, they began doing research into the Thinblood condition.

The research consisted mostly of Embracing new Thinbloods and finding the limits of the condition: could they use disciplines, could they bond, could they be tapped as a source of Vitae... all of these answers proved to be "sometimes" and the Baker siblings lost grip on their humanity with extreme speed. Since the Fall of the Pyramid, they have been slowly clawing their way back; first: onto the Path of Humanty, a dangerous feat to attempt without personal guidance, and then slowly up the ladder of morality. Now, they sit at humanity 5 -- 6 through 8 being the usual extremes of the average human being.

7) Which Disciplines do they possess, and which do they favor using?

They have the traditional disciplines of Clan Tremere: Thaumaturgy, Dominate, Auspex, but they favor Thaumaturgy. In their role as offensive specialist they favor the paths of Flames and Nebulism. The former as a means of attack and the latter to disable enemies or clear a building of civilians.

8) Who are their Touchstones, if any? / 9) What are their Convictions (moral opinions and standings they hold fast to)?

Cami. A fellow Agent of Torchwood who vouched for them to become member of the team. She represents a value of trusting others judgements. As they say "I take pride in the goodness and strength of my friends and that they, being as such, should care for me."

Lukas. Their boss, the head of Torchwood 2. They keep Tommy in line and enforce the value of the preservation of human life. As much as Tommy is frustrated that Engstrom is blackmailing them to keep them in line, to some degree they are thankful.

10) Do they belong to any sect or are they independent?

They belong to the Anarchs. Hard to be a Camarilla Tremere when you collapsed your old Chantry and murdered your sire. No Camarilla Tremere will touch them. They wouldn't bleed on Tommy if they were on fire.

Life

1) What did they do (as a career or in general) before they were Embraced?

They were a Seminarian, studying to be a Priest. Now, that is just completely out of the realm of possibility.

2) Do they still have mortal family or friends, or descendants of those people? Who were they closest to during life, and is there anyone they’ve contacted after their Embrace?

Still, no. Again? Yes. The people they knew are dead and tracking them down would be dangerous. Once, they tried to find their namesake McDonnell's descendants, but lost track of them when they moved to the New World. Thus is unlife. A series of disappointments. And what would they have said anyway? 100 years ago I wanted to kiss your grandfather? That's not going over well. It's as good a reason as any not to keep pursuing.

3) What were their hobbies, skills, and interests?

They knit. They were rarely able to make the trek to the school at the other end of the island in their youth and so they took up crafts. One of the neighbors had sheep and often sold clothes. With Tommy's health the way it was, they sometimes couldn't get out of the chair for days and spinning wool into yarn by hand and kniting the yarn into fabrics. It was nice. They were always cold so now they had sweaters and blankets to keep themself warm. They also sold some of their wares in town, or, the neighbor sold them and split the profits. A necessary source of income when their father was out at sea so long and money became scarce.

4) Did they have any vices, addictions, or mental illnesses? Which carried over into death?

They smoked. The doctors suggested it as means of strengthening the lungs with hopes of helping them build up the energy to walk. Obviously, this was counter intuitive. When they did feel up to it, and the night air was fresh and cool, Tommy and their friend Larry McDonnell would sneak into the chapel and "borrow" a bottle of communion wine. Red-faced and dizzy, they would fall in love with him over and over again, afraid of what it meant, but craving the times when they felt brave enough to reach out for him. Sometimes Tommy felt like maybe Larry felt something in return. It was hard to peel the alcohol from the desires from the truth, and so they never truly acted on it.

5) What were they most afraid of in life? How has this changed?

They were most afraid of their homosexuality. Did this mean they were going to Hell. Did they have to worry about dragging someone else down with them... This has changed in that they have largely given up on the Catholic faith. Perhaps they'll come back to it, they feel a draw to spirituality to fill the hole left by their lapsed Noddism and worship of their Domitor-and-Thrall. They've attended services a few times lately and it seems like some of the opinions within the flock are shifting. They don't want to get too attached but reattajing to their human faith is helping them feel just that much more Human, an addicting feeling.

6) What were their goals and ambitions in life? How has this changed?

Their goal at the time had been to squash their sexuality with faith. Now, they have embraced their queerness. It's a struggle many days to treat themself with kindness in that front. Hell, it's a struggle most days to treat anyone with kindness. But they're getting better.

7) Did they follow any religion or spiritual paths in life? How did that change when they died, if at all?

They were a Catholic in life, hoping to become a Priest and then in Unlife first abandoned religion but then got drawn in by the lures of Cainite Noddism. Now, with the Fall of the Pyramid, they feel a call to that old religion once again. Who knows where it will take them.

8) When they were Embraced, what was the aftermath like? Did they fake their death, do their loved ones think they went missing, etc.?

Their family died along with them so they faked that they died, too. At least they don't have to worry about their parents thinking they're missing.

Death

1) What have they spent most of their years as a Kindred doing?

Most of it has been spent researching their condition. Now, they are one of the most knowledgeable , probably in the world, on what it means to be a Thinblood.

2) What’s the entire lineage of their bloodline, from them all the way back to their Clan’s Antediluvian? Is there anything in particular that they and their grandsires all had in common?

They were primarily raised by their grandsire. Sam's sire took them on as a second childe, even though they had planned to wait maybe 10 years. So, Tommy got the same education as their sister. His sire, however, I haven't thought as much about.

3) How do they adapt to the changing times around them? Do they still uphold values, styles, or other things from the past?

They definitely dress a little bit out of time. And what's not anachronistic is absolutely horrible. They dont, however, adapt very well. They haven't gone through the back catalogue of media Cami gave them, cultural milestones and things that have happened... Just a few months ago, Tommy found out man had touched foot on the moon. They are more than a little behind the times.

4) Do they have a coterie? What position do they take in that group, if so? Otherwise, do they have any notable Kindred (or other creatures) friends?

Their "coterie" is probably the Torchwood 2 team, deapite being Kine. They serve as a blaster with magic on call they can destroy threats and protect their lives -- especially Lukas Engstrom, who, if he dies, will release a catalogue of all the information he has gathered on Kindred to every intelligence agency in the world, a threat Tommy doesn't take lightly.

They are also connected to Alastríona "Cass" Balach. She is Tommy's sponsor in House Ipsissimi and, by human standards, their Sponsor in Alcoholics Anonymous. The disguise is simple wordplay, but the Ipsissimi hide themselves within the Crowleian "Astrum Argenteum" which they in turn have using Alcoholics Anonymous as a front. This also serves as an out for Tommy. They couch their cravings for human blood in terminology based around Alcoholism and thus they are given a space to discuss their emotions. At meetings is also where a Ghouls of Balach's will give them study materials if need be. New rituals and information about the next step on one of their Paths. It's a pretty nice arrangement.

5) Which of their Clan’s stereotypes apply to them? Which do they act against, or embody the opposite of?

They are a neurotic mess. A perfectionist to their core, and sometimes they apply that perfectionism outward becoming a domineering person. They are secretive and dangerous. They have spent decades engaging in unethical magical experiments. Truly, they are quintessential Tremere.

However, they fight to change that. They want to be a better person and a better Kindred. They want to look at a person and not feel a desire to take them apart and find out how they tick. Thankfully, Engstrom keeps them in line on that front, with the actually follow8ng through of it anyway.

6) How do they feel about the Antitribu of their Clan?

Having very nearly been one, they understand the allure. The draw of Vampiric Supremacy and the willingness to bring human kind to their knees, however, they also pulled away. Once their eyes were clear they put their very existence on the line, revealed to the Prince that they had been a Thinblood illegally living in her domain and turned on the Cainites to bring the White Hall Chantry down. They fear the Tremere Antitribu. Their sponsor was also former Goratrix and, bearing the Mark of the Traitor, she was a fullfledged member who partook of the Vaulderie. Whatever brought her out remains to be seen, but Tommy wouldn't have an in at continuing Thaumaturgical Studies without her, and for that, he's grateful.

7) Have they Embraced anyone? Ghouled anyone?

They have, but not to keep around. And having lived in the Blood Bond for decades, they never want to do that to anyone else again.

8) Do they prowl, or is there a city they permanently reside in?

They seem to have settled in Glasgow, as much to be close to their new Sponsor as anything else. And, with their membership in Torchwood 2, they hope to stick around for a long time.

9) What’s their haven like?

They live at the Glasgow Hub: the basement of a nondescript Warehouse in a district of Warehouses, itself hidden by Vampiric magics. They have a private room to live and sleep in near the entrance. When they sleep, they are the first line of defense if something should come in. They protect the themself and their partners with another spell that will wake them immediately if a danger disturbs their residence.

The Hole itself is cozy. Not very big, about the size of a studio apartment. A single room with a bed, a bookshelf, and a fridge to hold Blood Bags. Not too much going on otherwise.

10) Do they believe they are descended from Caine, or do they follow a different path?

They do not believe they are descended from Caine. They have looked at the information Ash has managed to draw from them and it appears that Vampirism may be of extraterrestrial origin. Its exact origin is unknown, but alien stock seems to rule out the concepts purported by Noddism. And, after a period of time otherwise, they are back on the Path of Humanity.

11) How do they feel about Diablerie?

They wonder often. They wonder if they should have Diablerized Sam. Sure, it's a crime in the Camarilla, but they are no longer Camarilla, and they wouldn't be a Thinblood anymore. They would be a stronger force to reckon with, more able to protect their team... But it's a dangerous line of thought. And there's nothing doing, now.

12) Regardless of whether or not they adhere to Camarilla rule, have they ever broken any of the Traditions?

13) Do they believe in Gehenna? How do they feel about Thin-bloods, and do they believe they’re a sign of the end times?

Absolutely. Most of them. Respect of Domain and Hospitality. Their existence is a violation first of all. And they killed their sire. Even with permission, that's still a violation of the Traditions.

14) Have they ever Frenzied? What happened?

Not anymore. Its been a long unlife, and it was even longer thinking their own existence would draw the death of their people closer. But, they have learned to shrug off these kind of Noddist teachings. And they don't think the world is going anywhere any time soon.

The moment the Blood Bond broke, they frenzied and drank someone to death out of rage. An innocent person dead because they couldn't keep their cool. Other than that, no. They have kept themself well fed these years. And tht hope to keep it that way.

#tw!verse #ooc

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henshengs · 4 years ago

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hunger games au, part 8

(at last...)

Jin Zixun is still training with the silver sword, his movements fluid, graceful. Meng Yao watches him for a bit, wondering if it would be a good idea to approach. There would be more comments about Meng Yao’s mother, that’s almost for certain, but perhaps after Jin Zixun satisfied himself he’d be willing to hear out Meng Yao’s offer. After Meng Yao had accepted the abuse and proved no threat to Jin Zixun’s ego.

He wonders if his father will forgive him, if he kills his nephew.

Meng Yao has no idea how favored Jin Zixun is. He has no idea about any of the dynamics inside Koi Tower.

He should turn back. He shouldn’t leave Nie Mingjue with Lan Xichen for too long. The Wens already know Lan Xichen is Nie Mingjue’s weak spot. And the more time they spend together, the harder it will be for Nie Mingjue when Lan Xichen dies.

On top of that, Meng Yao should ask Nie Mingjue for training, because he isn’t sure if Nie Mingjue will still want to train him, after Meng Yao says what he needs to say in the afternoon interview.

But he doesn’t move, doesn’t turn back.

“Meng Yao,” someone says, behind him. He turns sharply, bowing before he’s even registered that it’s Zonghui. She looks him over, still so blank.

“Come,” she says, and she’s handing him a wooden staff.

She steps onto the black roped-off platform, and, somewhat bemused, he follows, trying to find a good balance for the stick in his hands. The grip is rubbery.

“Put your feet like this,” she says. “Hold it like this.”

He’s seen her training with Nie Huaisang. He knows she ought to be adjusting his grip herself, putting her hands on his hips and shoulders to guide him into the proper stance.

Instead she just demonstrates, three feet away from him. He wonders, like he always does when this happens, if she thinks an unpleasant lineage is catching.

He tries to stand, to hold, to move the way she tells him to. He taps her staff with his, top, middle, bottom. Neither of them draw on their spiritual cores, but her taps in return still make his arms shake. Two years ago he had muscles, he thinks, when he was a common soldier. But since then he’s spent too much time at a desk.

“Mm,” she says. “All right. Pretend I’m holding a saber. You block here.” Tap. Block. “But if it’s a flail, then here, put your feet like that.” Tap. Block. His feet slip. The end of her pole lightly taps his shoulder.

“This one is a bad student,” he says, automatically apologizing.

“It’s not your fault,” she says, and her words are almost gentle. He blinks at her. Is she pitying him? He tries to look grateful, shy, pathetic, whatever she wants to see in him.

“Practice again,” she says.

Nie Mingjue finds them half an hour later. Meng Yao doesn’t notice until he’s finished practicing each position in turn. He pauses to wipe sweat out of his eyes, and sees a tall dark shape standing next to the ropes.

“Sect Leader,” he says, and he and Zonghui bow, him just a little faster, a little lower.

“That looked good,” Nie Mingjue says. “Well done.”

Meng Yao looks at him. He’s different. Calmer, and something else, too. It seems like a positive sign. Lan Xichen said something to him, or maybe had an effect simply with his presence. Meng Yao finds himself imagining Lan Xichen’s hand on Nie Mingjue’s arm. Lan Xichen’s soft smile. He doesn’t know how accurate the image is. He remembers the way Lan Xichen smiled at him at breakfast. He doesn’t know if Lan Xichen would smile at Nie Mingjue the same way.

“Sect Leader is being too kind,” he says.

“Your stance was off,” Nie Mingjue says, and he pushes the rope aside to leap up next to them. As always, Meng Yao is both startled and a little thrilled by his easy physicality. Even with his cultivation sealed, Nie Mingjue leaps up four feet onto the platform as though he’s no heavier than a feather, and yet when he lands, so close to Meng Yao that Meng Yao can feel the air displaced by his passage, can feel the heat of his body- when he lands the platform shakes. “Try it again,” Nie Mingjue says, and Meng Yao obediently moves into position, and Nie Mingjue’s large heavy hands curl around his waist, sliding down to reposition his hips. Meng Yao’s body goes hot and tense at the touch, and then relaxes. Meng Yao’s body craves this touch, would do anything to receive more of it.

He can’t throw this away, he thinks. He can’t. He has to.

He’s forgotten Zonghui’s presence until she moves, leaning back against the ropes with the languid grace of a cat, eyes watchful.

Nie Mingjue practices with him until his limbs tremble and his breath stabs at his lungs, and then Meng Yao and Zonghui switch off. Meng Yao watches the two Nie cultivators moving as though in an elaborate dance. He turns his head to look out at the room. The camera that was watching them seems to have gotten bored and wandered off in search of more interesting targets. Luo Qingyang is still at the natural remedies station. Wei Wuxian has wandered over and seems to be flirting with her, judging by the way he’s leaning against the table and tapping a palm frond against his leg. Meng Yao scans the area until he sees white: Lan Wangji is still sitting meditating under his pillar, but his eyes are fixed on the natural remedies table and his face is a stone mask of displeasure. It’s an entertaining enough little drama. The cameras must be pleased.

Jin Zixun has grown bored of showing off with his sword and has switched to tormenting the blind children, throwing small balls past their faces. The older boy seems to be taking it with a stoic smile; the little girl has a growing expression of fury on her small face. The silent guards don’t seem likely to intervene. Meng Yao looks up, at the glass walls above the training grounds, at the seated observers now enjoying an elaborate lunch as they watch. A few of them look like they’ve noticed the pedestrian bit of bullying going on below them. They watch, mildly interested.

Meng Yao is about to turn away when he sees pale blue again. Lan Xichen’s hand snatches one of the balls out of the air, the sleeve of his robe flowing. The line of his arm down from hand to shoulder is like the furrow of a mountain.

Meng Yao is too far away to hear the exchange of words. But he can see it, when Jin Zixun pushes Lan Xichen’s chest hard enough to send the other boy stumbling back. The observers see it too, some murmuring, some chuckling. No one moves to enforce the rule against fighting. Jin Zixun has correctly made the same calculus Meng Yao has: Lan Xichen is here to be humiliated before he dies, which means Cloud Recesses, as a political entity, is no longer of relevance, which means Jin Zixun can do as he likes to these remnants, without concern for future repercussions.

Meng Yao can feel relief like cool water through his veins, when the sound of a bell rings out through twenty speakers, summoning the competitors to lunch.

They eat privately in their rooms. Lady Qiu is there, and the two stylists. It is a group strategy meeting, in advance of the afternoon’s interview. Zonghui eats steadily, methodically, her plate piled surprisingly high with sweet fruit. Meng Yao never noticed her having a weakness for sweets in the Unclean Realm, and he makes a point to notice such things. He supposes that one might feel free to indulge in one’s last week in this life.

Meng Yao stares at the rice in his bowl and tries to imagine eating it.

“You should ally with Lan Xichen,” Nie Mingjue says. “He’s honorable. You can trust him.”

Meng Yao laces his hands in his lap. He wishes, a little selfishly, that this was not Nie Mingjue’s first year as a mentor.

What Meng Yao prepared for, in the months leading up to this year’s Reaping, was for Nie Mingjue to take two younger children to Nightless City, to train them, and then to watch them die, because he was inexperienced and didn’t know how to collect sponsors, and because the children wouldn’t have any prior training, and because Qinghe didn’t have the resources of the Lans or Jins, and because Qinghe was currently in disfavor with the Wens. Nie Mingjue would watch them die, but Meng Yao would be with him, would have gone with him as a lowly servant, and he would hold and comfort Nie Mingjue, repair any further shattering as best he could, and he would watch and learn how sponsors were acquired. How alliances were made. How to gain the good favor of the Wens. And the year after they would have done better.

Instead he’s the one whose life depends on an emotionally compromised novice mentor.

There is an alternate universe where Huaisang is here. Where Meng Yao is focused on holding Nie Mingjue together and not on preparing to fight for his own life.

But as soon as he thinks that his mind skitters away from it. Huaisang cannot be here.

Meng Yao did not make the wrong choice. There’s no guarantee another volunteer would have been accepted. The case of the Lans has proven the old rules cannot be counted upon this year.

“I would like to discuss my strategy with my stylist,” Meng Yao says.

He glances at their faces, as he walks into the unoccupied bedroom. Zonghui is focused on her food. There’s mild confusion on Nie Mingjue’s face, briefly, before he shrugs it away.

After Meng Yao wins-

After he wins there will be time. No matter what he does, what he has to do in the competition, there will be plenty of time to explain to Nie Mingjue why it was all necessary.

This is, he’s aware, a very big lie to try and get himself to swallow. But it’s something to hold onto, anyway, as he shuts the door behind his stylist. She’s looking at him, quizzical. He spares a moment to wonder about her, about her life, here, in this city of splendor and luxury.

He explains what he wants, and watches her instantly understand.

He tries not to think too much about what that means, that this Wen woman who makes her living dressing children up for death understands his thoughts and intentions far more clearly than the person whose opinion he most values probably ever could.

The interview is at four. Meng Yao and Zonghui emerge from their stylist’s salons without much time to spare. The heavy makeup feels clammy and foreign on Meng Yao’s skin. The glittering powder and tiny sparkling scales painted in stripes at the edges of his eyes are irritating and he wants to rub it all off, but instead he holds himself still, concentrating on making each movement deliberate. The skintight leather is both hot and sticky, but when he steps out into the reception room where Nie Mingjue is pacing like a caged tiger, he knows he and his stylist have made the right decisions. Stillness slams into Nie Mingjue, and Meng Yao watches as his patron is hit by a wave of pure, unadulterated lust. It quickly twists into nausea, but Meng Yao knows by the heavy increase in Nie Mingjue’s breathing that the effect is not a momentary one.

Nie Zonghui snorts, and Meng Yao looks up and over at her, and briefly Meng Yao allows himself to appreciate the skill of Nightless City’s stylists from an outside perspective, because for a moment Nie Zonghui, in her coat and dress made of black void and silver geometric panels, embroidered beasts growling rampant from the lapels of her vest, is such a picture of terrible power that Meng Yao feels his own breath catch, his blood heat. Then he meets those level, passionless eyes and the illusion fades.

“Are you ready?” his stylist asks him brusquely, cinching his belt a centimeter tighter and smoothing a strand of hair back into place, and he bites the inside of his mouth until he tastes blood and answers, “Yes.”

#the hunger games au #nieyao #3zun #meng yao #my fic

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phantoms-lair · 4 years ago

Text

EnergyBending snippets

Takes place late in my Nursery Rhyme/Avatar Zuko Story. Unlike in cannon Zuko’s main focus was bringing back airbenders, so things didn’t go as badly between the group and Wan Shi Tong. Zuko learned Energy Bending rather than about the Day of Black Sun (though that does come in later), but he learned it from a book, so he doesn’t have the confidence Aang had with the Lion Turtle gifting it to them.

“Toph’s asleep.” Aang reported.

Zuko’s breathed out a sigh of relief. He wanted this to be a private conversation and she was the one he was most worried about overhearing. Sure she was brash and forward, but he hadn’t forgotten how sneaky she was capable of being, hiding her second identity from her parents. “Could you wait here too?”

Aang crossed his arms. “Sokka won’t even know I’m there.”

“But I would. And it would feel like I’m ganging up on him, but it has to be his choice and-”

Aang put his hands up. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll stay here.”

“You could always get some lesson plans ready.” Zuko suggested, which had Aang grinning.

Zuko left his tent and went to where Sokka would be standing watch. He was often the last to go to sleep, taking the safety of the group seriously. “Can we talk?”

“I’m not stopping you.” Sokka shrugged.

“I’ve been studying the techniques I learned at Wan Shi Tong’s library. It’s been focusing far more on the Spiritual Side of being an Avatar than I’ve ever done. According to Aang more than any Avatar has done in generations. But I think I’ve got it. I can use energybending to make more airbenders.”

He heard the sharp intake of Sokka’s breath. He understood how important this was. “I just need to put it into action, and the first new airbender...Sokka I want it to be you.”

Sokka crossed his arms, but didn’t respond for a few minutes. "I don't need bending,” He finally said, tersely.

Zuko took a deep breath. "Sokka, you are without a doubt one of the greatest warriors I have ever met. You're clever, adaptive, and pick up new disciplines faster than anyone I've ever seen. If I ever heard anyone suggest you needed to be a bender I'd fight them myself, if everyone one else in our camp didn't beat me to it."

"You don't need to be a bender, it's more...I need a bender to be you."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "And that makes sense how?"

"We don't have much time before the Day of Black Sun. In that time I need to at least create some new airbenders in case I die. But I need to know this is going to work. And for that I need the first new airbender to be someone who can travel with us. But our path in dangerous and they'd need to be able to defend themselves, and not with a bending they're not used to. I need the first airbender to be a warrior who doesn't have to rely on bending, but who's adaptive enough to be able to incorporate it into what they already do. Who else could that be but you?"

"Katara, can we talk?"

Katara looked up from breakfast at the serious expression on her brother's face. He looked like he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. "What about?"

Sokka took a deep breath. "Zuko wants me to become an airbender."

It took her a moment to process what she'd heard. "Wait, you? Why?"

"The long story short of it: I'm adaptable and don't need to rely on bending to fight." Sokka plopped down by the fire. "It's weird, you know? I wasn't the biggest fan of your bending back at the South Pole. Then bending got us mixed up in all kinds of weird stuff after we teamed up with Zuko and Iroh, and I was glad I never had to deal with that. But after a while I got, you know, jealous. You and Iroh, and Toph can doo all these amazing things, and Zuko was the flipping Avatar, and here I was just a guy with a boomerang."

"You know none of us saw you that way, right?" Katara asked, her eyes looking troubled.

"I know, it's just... I'm afraid the part of me that wants to say yes just wants to feel special, while another part of me is how much I'm afraid I won't be me anymore, and I don't know what to do. I know logically Zuko's right. I'm the best candidate we have right now. But I'm scared."

"Okay, let's do this before I change my mind."

"No."

Sokka blinked at Zuko and his instant shut down. "What?"

"We're not doing this unless you're completely sure. There's too much risk otherwise."

Sokka's eyes narrowed. "What risk, you never said anything about risk."

"Because the risk isn't to you." Zuko snapped, then took a few breaths to calm down. "Consensual energy bending like what I have planned has no real risk. But if you panic and change your mind it becomes a battle of will. Your will has never faltered. Mine has. You could shatter me, Sokka, so excuse me for not wanting to risk that until I know my work is done.”

There was a whole lot to unpack there. Zuko's lack of faith in himself, his utter faith in Sokka (who had to admit he was kind of touched the Avatar had no doubts he would be the one to come off better in a test of wills), or Zuko implying that the risk would be okay, as long as he'd made enough Airbenders to know the cycle wouldn't be broken upon his death.

It also helped to know Zuko wasn't so eager that he'd pressure Sokka into it. That took a load off his mind.

"I'm sure." Zuko looked up from his meditation. He didn't have to ask what Sokka meant.

"I thought about it and I had a lot of concerns about a lot of things, but in the end, I think it came down to your concern. You're right. Letting the cycle stay broken any longer than absolutely necessary is beyond risky. Being the Avatar doesn't protect you from death. I swore I'd do anything I could to help end the war. This wasn't what I was expecting, but I can’t turn away from it."

Zuko nodded. Duty and Honor were what he understood best. "Okay. Sit down in front of me. I'm going to need to put my hands on your head and heart to do this. Like I said before, please don't fight me. Also it would help if you focused on Air to give it something to anchor to." Zuko tried to sound wise teacherish, if only to hide how nervous he was about the procedure.

He placed his hands where he said and bent. It was...like nothing he'd ever done before, it wasn't just pulling on an element, it was raising his awareness. He could suddenly see into Sokka's soul, and see the nodes of chakra that governed it. Sokka's elemental nodes were reasonably balanced with a slight weight towards Water. Not unusual for a non bender and oh hey he could raise Sokka's spiritual awareness and give Aang someone else to talk to.

Tempting, but no. He'd stick to what he said and no more.

He strengthened the Air Charkra and pulled energy into it. But almost as quickly it drained out. "Sokka, are you focusing on air?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking of all those dumb temples and everything."

There was a beat of silence. "Sokka YOU ARE NOT A MONK. Those images mean nothing to you. Don't think about the image of what you think an Airbender should be. What does air mean to you?"

To him? Sokka was taken aback. Air was...was...Air was wind. It was blowing snowflakes in a blizzard while Gran Gran told them stories of the North Pole. It was the crisp scent of salt as he stood on the shores waiting for his father's boat to return, which could turn sharp as a knife if it wanted. It was the warmth that filled their balloon and let them travel between poles all the way into the Fire Nation. Wind was Home. Wind was Freedom.

And something in Sokka clicked. He opened his eyes to see an exhausted looking Zuko pulling his hand away, and the others just watching mouths mostly agape, with rocks clinging to Katara’s legs.

"Will someone tell me what's happening?" Toph grumbled, keeping her hold on Katara.

"It was quite the impressive light show, nephew." Iroh observed, stroking his beard. "From both of you."

"Both? Sokka's jaws worked up and down. Sure Zuko glowing was one thing, with his while Avatar dealy, but him too?

"Sweetness here tried to grab you away. I may not know what's going on but, I figured that would be bad." Toph explained.

"It would have." Zuko panted. "But it worked. " He gave Sokka a tried smile. "Congratulations. You're an airbender."

"Hey Zuko, just to be clear. All we're doing is sitting at you families beach house laying low till the Day of Black Sun, right? There's nothing we need to be working on?"

Zuko shot Sokka a look. "Well, you need to be working on your airbending forms, otherwise no." Sokka's face had been pure mischief, Katara had caught it too. As had Toph, though she was grinning in a way that made things worse.

"Well I think this is a perfect time for a little Energy Bending practice. More precisely, I think you should take away Katara's waterbending till we're ready to leave."

Katara let out a squack of indignation and Zuko just sighed. "Sokka, remember when I explained energy bending can be risky if the other person is unwilling? There is no way she's going to willingly give up her bending even temporarily." Zuko pointed out.

"I wasn't suggesting we leave her empty handed." Sokka waved them off. "Something like, say, firebending?"

"Why on Earth do you think I'd willingly become a firebender?" Katara asked heatedly.

"Because when Zuko was having a hard time getting a grasp on waterbending, you made a claim that you could pick up fire much easier than he did water. I just want to see if it's true. Or do you admit you were empty boasting?"

Katara glared at him, then marched up to Zuko. "Fire-ize me."

Zuko sputtered, not expecting that. "Are...are you joking?"

"Do it!" Katara’s tone left no room to argue.

Zuko could feel the headache building, but put one hand on Katara's head and the other over her heart. It was honestly far easier than giving Sokka airbending. The water was well entrenched, but her anger was practically singing for fire. "Done. You might want to ask Uncle for lessons, though. He's a better teacher than me."

She gave a curt nod, then a predatory smile at her brother, then walked off.

"I can't BELIEVE you got away with that!" Toph was rolling on the ground laughing.

"Who says he did?" Zuko smirked. "He got his sister pissed at him, then convinced me to give her the power to shoot fire."

Toph laughed even harder as all the color drained from Sokka's face. "Better throw yourself on the mercy of the Avatar. It's the only chance you got."

"Nope, even the Avatar knows to pick his battles. The entire fire nation army is one thing, I learned my lesson about little sister bending prodigies with fire. Good luck Sokka."

It was good to be free Cheif Hakoda thought as he stepped out of the balloon Sokka and the Avatar had rescued him in. They were in the Western Air Temple, apparently. According to to Sokka the Avatar's Uncle, an earthbender, and more importantly Katara was there as well. He saw her before she saw him. She was doing waterbending forms and he just wanted a moment to stop and look at her, to see how much she'd grown... And then a small gout of fire burst from her hands.

"Sokka, I don't remember your sister being a firebender," Suki commented, staring at the sight.

"We probably should have mentioned that." Zuko admitted.

"Hey Katara, guests!" Toph said with a laugh.

"Guests? Toph who could visit us way up here." Then she turned and saw them. "Dad?" she chocked, before running and squeezing him as hard as she could.

"I'm here too," Suki joked.

"Zuko and I May have staged a prison break. At the most high security Fire Nation prison to get him out." Sokka tried to sound casual, but was obviously pleased with himself.

"Aang wants to point out he was there too." Zuko added.

"Who's Aang, and why is Katara firebending?" Hakoda felt more confused by the second.

"Aang is Zuko's Spirit Guide. As for the firebending, I just thought Katara should put her skill where her mouth was. Or rather her lack of skill." Sokka sounded smug.

"You better be glad I'm so happy Dad's here or you'd be getting a fiery first to the face."

"Like you could manage more than smoke."

"If I may." Iroh interrupted. "When your daughter was teaching my nephew waterbending they came across a common problem among Avatars, a difficult grasping the opposing element. Katara made the claim that if she was in his place, she would be much more adept at firebending then he was at water."

"My nephew learned of energybending, a way to give or take away bending ability, in his quest to bring Air back into the balance. And you son decided to call her months old bluff."

That...sounded like Sokka. "Avatar Zuko, I don't suppose you could set my daughter back to normal?"

"Certainly sir," Zuko couldn't hide the relief in his voice, but Katara grabbed one of his wrists.

"Oh no, you're not winning that easily." She warned.

"Winning? I'm not even in this argument." Zuko protested.

"I'm not giving up on this till I learn Firebending. Even if the day of Black Sun comes, I’ll be firebending into battle." Katara declared.

"Okay no." Zuko put his foot down. "First of all we are not giving up one of the few waterbending masters in this fight for your ego. Second, there is no firebending on the Day of Black Sun. That's the whole point of the Day of Black Sun."

Katara looked pensive for a moment. "Fine. I accept the second reason. But I'm going back to fire right after."

~~~~

I was a little torn on making Sokka a bender becasue, as was said above, he doesn’t need bending by any stretch of the imagination. But thinking with an in universe perspective, there’s no one else Zuko would pick. He doesn’t have the confidence he’d win a battle of wills if someone tried to turn it on him the way Ozai did Aang, so he had to make sure at the very least the first new airbender was someone he’d trust his soul with. And that is a very short list,

#AtLA #Nursery Rhyme #Avatar!Zuko #Ghost Writing

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illfoandillfie · 4 years ago

Note

Hello!!

Just wondering if I could get a romance/ love reading? My initials are RCU and his are MS, thank you!! ❤️❤️

sure thing darling!

tarot: king of wands/the magician, 6 of pentacles, 8 of pentacles, 4 of pentacles, 7 of pentacles, 2 of cups, queen of pentacles, 8 of swords/justice

A couple of things worth noting before we get into the meanings of the cards. Firstly there are only 2 court cards which may indicate that one of them represents you and one represents MS. The king of wands is related to the fire signs so if one of you is an aries, leo or sagittarius it could be a connection there and the queen of pentacles is linked to the earth signs - taurus, virgo and capricorn. If that doesn’t fit though it may be more with the temprements of each card and we’ll get into those in depth in a minute.

The other thing worth noting is how many pentacles cards are here. Usually you look for cups cards in romance/love readings since they’re more tied to emotion but thats not to say lots of pentacles is bad. Pentacles are related to earth so they’re very grounded. Often pentacles are associated with nature, and things in the material realm which could indicate that this relationship isn’t held together by just emotions but something more tangible too. Due to the material connection of pentacles they’re also strongly linked to work situations and finances so if you know MS through work or school that could also be a reason a lot of pentacles are appearing.

Anyway, onto the cards themselves.

Firstly that King. In this deck some of the minor arcana cards double as major arcana as well and the king of wands is one of them. He doubles up as The Magician, so i will take both meanings into account but they’ve got similar energies anyway. Both the king of wands and the magician are related to control. The king is linked to fire which is wild and hard to control but he’s more than capable. He’s a natural leader and symbolises overcoming challenges. Fire can represent passion and love and creation but it can also represent destruction and this king definitely has that duality within him. He’s passionate and action focused and often an artistic or creative thinker but he’s also capable of holding a grudge and being narcissistic or aggressive. Similarly, The Magician is an action card too. He controls the elements to create his magic and harnesses the energy to make things happen. The Magician is a good sign for romantic connections too. It shows a desire there, not just physical desire but also a drive to be a good partner. If this card represents you, it’s likely about trying to manifest this relationship and to make it a strong one. If however, the king of wands seems to better fit MS it may be a sign that there is an interest on his end too.

The Seven of Pentacles is clarifying the king card and it represents hard work, perseverance and diligence. To me this says the king card is representing you but it could still go either way. Basically these cards together are saying that you can draw this relationship to you and you can create a connection but it will take time and effort. Manifestation is half thinking about what you want and visualising it and all of them mental work but it’s also half about taking steps to build it in the 3D physical world. Wanting it is half the battle and the seven of pentacles is a reminder to take actions where you can to make it a reality.

Then we have the 6 of pentacles which is about charity, generosity and sharing clarified by the 2 of cups which is about unity, partnership and connection. To me, this says that once the relationship is manifested it’ll prove to be one full of kindness and care. You’ll find in each other supportive partners who will encourage and help one another. Also, it has to be said, he’s likely a generous lover, if that’s your jam lmao. It’s definitely a positive sign for the relationship though.

Next is the 8 of pentacles and queen of pentacles. The 8 is usually a card that appears in relation to people who have started a new job or apprenticeship of some sort since it’s related to ambition, passion and high standards. But these still aply to a relationship, particularly something only just starting out. It shows that at least one of you (but likely both considering that 2 of cups from before) will be driven to keep working on making the relationship good. Loving someone is as much of a skill as anything else and relationships take work to stay strong and this card shows that even through conflict or uncertainty you’ll be working at the relationship and learning from your mistakes rather than giving up.

The Queen of Pentacles enjoys her creature comforts but is also practical in how she managers her household. She’s warm hearted but also ambitious and hard working. She’ll do what it takes to keep those she loves safe and happy. Sometimes she gets refered to as the “wife card” so it makes sense for her to appear under the 8 of pentacles. She does what she can with what she has and she tries to make the best of every situation. While the relationship may be new, whichever one of you is represent by the queen (or perhaps both of you) will have the drive of the 8 of pentacles as well as the hopeful mindset of the queen.

And finally, the 4 of pentacles and 8 of swords/justice. I think that, while the other sets of cards were about creating the relationship and it’s beginning, these cards are a bit of a warning. The 4 of pentacles is about security and protecting what is yours but often it can be a sign of hoarding or becoming too selfish. In regards to a relationship it may be a sign of becoming too clingy or demanding. And the 8 of swords is related to feeling trapped by your own anxieties and fears. It’s a card of self-victimisation. In this deck it doubles as the Justice card which is about clarity and truth. I think these cards are warning you not to let the desire to create a strong relationship drag you into a spiral of worry that then influences the relationship, if that makes sense. It’s saying not to let worries about not being good enough or anxieties about how the relationship should be developing effect your behaviour too much. You run the risk of becoming overbearing or manipulative if you listen to the negative thoughts. The Justice card is a reminder that balance is essential - a balance between time together and time apart, a balance between working on the relationship and keeping up with hobbies. Don’t let yourself fall too deep into caring about the relationship so that you loose yourself in it. Be truthful to yourself and encourage your partner to do the same.

Okay so for your oracles i pulled 4 romance angel cards and 3 of the lovers oracles. And you got:

Worth Waiting For - Divine timing is at work in your love life / Separation - Time apart from your partner is on the horizon / Calling In Your Soul Mate - Your prayers, affirmations, and visualisations help bring you together / Very Soon - Clearly decide what you want so that it comes to you now

I think all of these resonate with the tarot messages we got. Worth waiting for says to me that the relationship won’t materialise immediately and I think that what the magician and 7 of pentacles was talking about. It will take some time and effort but it will be worth it in the long run. Separation is an interesting one. Obviously the card’s description indicates you may be separated from one another sometime in the near future (or you already have been recently) but my first thought when i saw it was related to that justice card and the reminder that time apart can be healthy for a relationship. Calling in your soul mate ties into that 2 of cups card, regardless of how you interpret the concept of soul mates. if you arent into the whole “one true love” thing it could just symbolise a deep connection. And very soon indicates that the ball will start rolling soon. Keep looking for opportunities to get closer as well as mentally focusing on what you want to happen and you’ll soon find that things will move forward.

Your 3 heart cards say:

My Beloved - Though we may be physically apart, spiritually we are always united, for love transcends space and time. Nothing is missing. / Passion - a magnetic and seductive quality surrounds you at present. Enjoy it! / Healing - imagine yourself and your beloved surrounded by light. Feel your relationship being healed this very moment.

we have another reference to being apart/separated here in that first card. This could be referring to physically separated by distance or just not being together as a couple yet. But again, there are also signs that this connection has the potential to be deep and heartfelt. Passion ties in with the king of wands card. The suit of wands is linked to that fiery passionate energy so it makes sense for you to get cards about it, but also passion is felt in that 8 of pentacles as well, so it’s passion beyond a physical attraction or sexual chemistry.

#card readings #i was hoping to get this posted earlier #but i was out for part of today and had to leave earlier than i thought

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justgottafinishthischapter · 6 years ago

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Building A Character: Creating a Personality

Coming up with a character in and of itself is easy. Let’s use for example a tough chick who grew up on the streets and steals, kills, and spies to make ends meat. So I’ve created an ends justifies the means, self-preserving, and probably loner rogue archetype. So congrats, I’ve made a character. What she lacks however, is a personality. She has no depth or anything interesting about her. For this exercise, I’ll be referring to her as Samantha Pole.

Something that works for me that might not work for others is that I tend to form base personalities and character arcs from characters I’m reminded of when I think of the character I’m creating. With regard to Sam, characters like Raven from Teen Titans and Emma Swan from Once Upon a Time are great models for her character because both are closed-off loaners who have a hard time letting people in. This is helpful for me personally as a way of recognizing traits I see in this character in other similar characters. Then I can evaluate their characters and their arcs and see how the writers handled their characterization, and how I might have handled it differently. This might also be when I look at their character’s tropes on TV Tropes to see what might work for the character of Sam.

Now that we have a base template and outline of who Sam is, let’s start analyzing ways and methods to help give her depth. For me personally, it really helps me to sort my characters. Such sorting includes:

Myers-Briggs Test 4 Temperaments Hogwarts House Avatar Element Game of Thrones Play style Astrological Sign Sense of Humor

MYERS-BRIGGS TEST

The Myers-Briggs test divides people into 16 personality types in 4 fields of traits and dynamics. The first letter is either I (Introvert) or E (Extrovert). What this means is not whether they’re sociable. I myself can be very friendly and outgoing. However, at a big social gathering with lots of strangers, I feel uncomfortable and would rather stay close to someone I know. Thus, I am an Introvert. The second qualifiers are N (Intuitive) or S (Observant). Intuitive types think about the world in the abstract and what could be rather than what is. Observant types see the world for what it is and take the world more literally, focusing more on the present than daydreaming about what might be. The third category is T (Thinking) or F (Feeling). Do they act more on logic or emotion? Do they lead more with their head or their heart? Thinkers tend to plan ahead while Feelers tend to act first. Thinkers are more practical while Feelers are more empathetic. Finally, we reach J (Judging) vs P (Prospecting). Judging types are orderly, procedural, predictable, and well-structured. Prospecting types live on a whim doing whatever feels right in the moment and meeting challenges when they arise. So based on these traits, I would have to label Sam an ISTP type. She’s a loner so she’s not going to like large groups or put her trust in others. She’s in a bleak and realistic situation, so she’s probably not going to have her head in the clouds if she wants to survive. Being a thief and sneak is going to require some forethought, and being able to overrule emotion with logic. And because she’s probably always on the move, she can’t really let herself fall into routine. This may be her most balanced trait, as there would likely need to be a lot of judging in order to look out for herself, but I feel that due to the unpredictable state of her life, she can’t really rely on structure and order. So now that you’ve learned what your character’s Myers-Briggs personality is, it’s time to figure out what that means. But while there are plenty of websites that have tried to paint out exactly what each trait could mean, I personally found a lot of value in videos put out by IDRlabs on Youtube that all follow the format of ISTP in 5 minutes. They use cute little cartoon cut outs to explain in a dry but informative way how a personality type works best when problem solving, figuring something out, how they go about putting their trust in others if they do at all, etc. I recently sorted one of my own characters as an INFJ, and their video helped me figure out when he’d seek the advice of others and when he would seclude himself to try and work through problems on his own, which I found to be very useful.

FOUR TEMPERAMENTS

The four Temperaments or the Four Humors is a construct straight out of Ancient Greece, and was even still upheld in Medieval Europe. It was believed that these personality types were actually caused by contents of the body, and that letting out certain fluids would change one’s temperament. Those being Choleric (Yellow Bile) Sanguine (blood) Melancholic (Black Bile) and Phlegmatic (Phlegm). Cholerics are aggressive leaders who charge into danger, but can be bossy dictators. Sanguines are jolly and cheerful, if not a little immature. Melancholics are reflective artists, but can be aloof and worrisome. Phlegmatic are calm and level-headed mediators, but can be shy and meek. Fun fact, in Medieval medicine, women were always supposed to be Phlegmatic, and being too much of the other three meant she must have been unbalanced and it was time to call the doctor to come bleed her or pull out some bile so that she could return to normal. TV Tropes has a page listing all the different associated traits, and some do overlap so it’s a good idea to arrange these into a graph. It’s also worth noting that unlike other personality tests, this one is not so much about just picking one. Everyone has all 4 types inside of them, it’s more a question of how these traits rank in order of relevancy to one’s personality. For Sam, I would say that she’s primarily Choleric with that aggressive drive to survive, followed by a stoic and reflective Melancholic, a compassionate Phlegmatic, and then at the bottom a jovial Sanguine.

HOGWARTS HOUSE

Everyone already knows this one, I don’t really need to explain it. But if you’re not sure where a character would be sorted, Mawrti on Youtube made videos for Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff that sort multiple fandom characters into houses and have much longer lists of character traits to really help you get a feel for where your character belongs. While I don’t agree with every sorting myself, I still think it’s a useful guide. For Sam, I’d say she’s a Slytherin. She doesn’t have time to let emotion cloud her actions, and she does what she feels is necessary in the name of self-preservation. It doesn’t mean she’s heartless, it just means she knows when to set emotion aside and do what needs to be done. Slytherins understand that sometimes completing the goal is more important than sparing someone’s feelings.

AVATAR ELEMENT

Water is the element of change. It is the element of adaptability and balances offense with defense, able to turn one into the other. Water follows the path of least resistance, spreading in every direction until it finds the shortest and quickest route to the sea. The people of the Water Tribe use wolf symbolism frequently in their culture, as they are focused on the benefit of the group rather than the individual which is crucial for surviving in their arctic home. Earth is the element of substance and defiance. Its people are determined, stubborn, and unyielding. Their spirit and will is as solid as the very earth they bend. Earth benders are hard to rattle, and when something goes wrong, they’ll dust themselves off and push forward. Rather than avoiding obstacles, they ride it out and overcome. Fire is the element of Will. Firebending is the act of taking ones desires and willing them into affect. Firebenders are passionate, ambitious, and merciless in pursuit of goals. They have the foresight to envision what they want to achieve and the drive to make it happen. Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads value peace, harmony, and oneness with nature. They are pacifistic, valuing spirituality and mediating tensions between the other three elements. But they can also be too detached, avoiding problems and running away from responsibilities rather than dealing with them. Sam is tricky because she has the drive to survive and accomplish this goal of a Firebender, the resilience and fortitude of an Earthbender, and the adaptability of a Waterbender. However, I would ultimately rule that she is a Firebender, as she is most heavily characterized by her will to live and overcome by any means necessary.

ZODIAC SIGN

There are multiple websites dedicated to this stuff, so I won’t really bother to go into it here. But something I personally enjoy doing is combining Zodiacs with alchemy ideas to decide someone’s “Core Element” as I like to call it. What I mean is that each Zodiac basically comes with 3 elements. Each Zodiac itself is tied to Water, Earth, Fire, or Air. Each season is tied to an element as well. Spring is Air, Summer is Fire, Autumn is Earth, and Winter is Water, at least in Medieval alchemy. And each zodiac is aligned with a celestial body, each of which is also tied to an element. Combine this with the 4 Temperaments: Phlegmatic (Water), Melancholic (Earth), Choleric (Fire), and Sanguine (Air); and with Harry Potter Houses: Slytherin (Water), Hufflepuff (Earth), Gryffindor (Fire), and Ravenclaw (Air); and the Avatar element you gave them and the element that appears the most frequently across the board is their true “Core Element”. For Sam, I would say that she is a Scorpio. Scorpio is a Water sign starting in November. Sept, Oct, and Nov are the three Autumnal months, so she’s seasonally Earth. Neptune and Pluto sort of both rule Scorpio. Neptune is Water aligned and Pluto is Earth aligned. She’s Choleric, a Slytherin, and a Firebender. Her final element tally would come to: Water (3), Earth (2), and Fire (2). Thus her core element is Water.

GAME OF THRONES PLAY STYLE

Each of the houses in Game of Thrones tend to play the game differently. House Stark are the honorable rule-followers. They keep their oaths, and are very traditional. They bow to the way things are, and tend to die because of this honor. They only start to thrive when they break this honor system and play the game like the rest of Westeros. Their words Winter Is Coming implies a readiness to face hard times, and a determination to survive as a group. A single wolf hunting alone in Winter is far less likely to survive. House Lannister is about upward mobility and maintaining their place. They are cunning and manipulative, able to play the chess game to put themselves into positions of power and influence. But that can also be a corrupting force. Their words Hear Me Roar speak to their ferocity, and their sigil of the lion showcases that with them, Family is about the survival of the pride. But that word pride is also a major flaw of the house, and their pride is one of their biggest detriments. House Tyrell strikes a balance between the two. Like the Starks, House Tyrell is unified with a genuine familial love for one another, like branches of a tree that all share the same roots. Like House Lannister, the Tyrells know when it its time for sweet honeyed words, and when it is time to wrap a thorny vine around their enemy’s throat. Their words of Growing Strong implies that they tend the garden of their schemes and they reap what they sow. They have an eye for the long game and the patience of a gardener to bring that plan to blossom. The exact counter is House Grayjoy, who take what others have made for their own. They are as hard as iron and as cold as the salty sea. They are raiders who take what they must to survive. Their words We Do Not Sow speaks to this willingness to take what is not theirs by right and reflects the pirate and viking origins they get their historical basis from. House Targaryen is the near extinct house of Daenerys, characterized by Machiavellian strategy, cunning, and a merciless iron fist to opposition of authority. While Danny fights for just causes, yelling and burning is a primary method of dealing with her problems, and her stubborn pride causes her to be unreasonable and arogant at times, especially when she was the Queen of Meereen. House Baratheon are really better soldiers than politicians. They make better walls than scholars, and have a temper about them. It is only Renly, who lacks many of the Baratheon traits, who is a genuinely fitting politician. Their words Ours is the Fury speaks to their aggression and wartime tactics. Their sigil of the deer is fitting not only as the king of the forest, but that deer fight a lot among themselves during mating season. Frankly, I don’t know the playstyles of House Martell, Tully, or Arryn. They’re smaller houses in the narrative of the show. If you want to know more, check out their house symbolism videos on Youtube. As far as Sam goes, I think she’s a Grayjoy. Not necessarily looking to claim the Iron Throne, just working to keep herself alive no matter who she has to hurt to do so.

SENSE OF HUMOR

Everyone has some sense of humor. Some have more than one. But the kinds of things they find funny says a lot about the kind of person they are.

Sarcasm (snide remarks, usually pessimistic. Think Daria.)

Irreverent (nothing is sacred, anything can be made fun of. Think Family Guy)

Toilet/Low-Brow humor (bathroom and sex jokes, think Teen Titans Go!)

Gross-out Humor (comedy from making people cringe at the disgusting nature of what they’re seeing.)

Slapstick (physical comedy, laughing at pain. Think Three Stooges)

Satire (parodying and mocking other things, often centered on a theme or running gag. Think South Park.)

Social Commentary (An exaggerated or satirical jab at real world issues facing the modern world at the time the product was made.)

Dry Humor (often pairs with Sarcasm, it’s a witty remark that’s often either a veiled, subtle, or clever jab at someone or something. Think Olenna and Tyrion in Game of Thrones.)

Dark Comedy (humor that comes from joking about a dark subject matter, or making light of a serious topic. can overlap with self-deprecating humor and aggressive comedy.)

Wholesome (jokes that don’t make fun of or belittle anything to make the joke. Think knock-knock jokes.)

Vaudevillian (comedy that often comes in the form of routines or running gags. Coyote and Roadrunner, Bugs and Elmer, and Tom & Jerry are all examples of Vaudeville style comedy routines.)

Self-Deprecating (comedy at one’s own expense.)

Pranks/ Deprecating (comedy at someone else’s expense)

Aggressive (comedy aimed at telling jokes that would upset certain types of people, often with little regard for how they’d respond. Think Ron White or Lewis Black.)

Sight Gag (comedy that is found in facial expressions, costumes, etc. Looney Tunes is a master of expressive sight gags, and Monty Python is no stranger to costume gags.)

Situational (comedy that comes from telling real life events where something funny happened. Think Gabriel Iglesias.)

Pop Culture Reference (jokes that acknowledge other works. Often overlaps with parody or in-universe play-on-word. Think Bojack Horseman.)

Torture Porn/Butt Monkey (comedy focused around torturing and kicking around a single person repeatedly, even when they didn’t do anything to prompt just comeuppance. Think Jerry Smith on Rick & Morty or Squidward in later seasons of Spongebob Squarepants.)

Conversing with the Camera (fourth wall breaking jokes that recognize the media that the story is set in. Ed Edd ‘n’ Eddy and Chowder both used this type of joke a lot.)

Once you’ve completed this step and have a solid idea of your character’s personality, it’ll be time to move on to motivations and character traits, but that’s for a later post.

#writing #writing advice #writing tips #author #writeblr #writer problems #writer tips #writer advice #do it write #write #writer #characterization #character building

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brooklynislandgirl · 4 years ago

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It Gets You Coming and Going: Of all moral dilemmas, what's one that truly stumps you and why? {ginglymostoma cirratum}

Questionable Quotes || Accepting The question is posed in so very Anakin a way that it almost hurts for simply existing. There’s layers built up between the syllables that only someone who knows him well enough can pick out, and only the very rare amongst them that can tell you where they came from. The deepest is the bedrock of his anxiety, that deep down he believes himself so unworthy that it’s compressed down into the core of him and become the basic foundation of the rest of his personality. Closer to the surface is the silt of fear that he’s said the wrong thing and has reached the tether of her seemingly infinite patience with him. That she’s finally going to snap and savage him with tooth and claw, glutting on the softness of his emotional state until all that is left is something that once resembled the bones of his resolve. And she knows she’s mixing metaphors here but that’s how she conceptualises the things about Anakin she can’t pin to a board and press under glass. Not that she would ever do that, she finds it horrifying and cruel, especially when not that proverbially long ago collectors would do that to living specimens, murdering them with chloroform. Ether. She keeps from curling her lip.

And maybe for those few precious seconds when she can feel his gaze sliding off her and back to the edge of the water, so extremely uncomfortable in his own skin, she empathises with him. Finds it easier to make this about wanting to view himself through the prismatic lens he’s made of her, where every fractured splinter can be compared to the raw emptiness that sometimes fills his own mind and pushes everything out of the way. So he can lose himself in his perceptions ~and she can tell, so easily, when he is sinking in the stream of Time, which is almost always~ and escape for just a little while from the weight of everything resting on too fragile shoulders.

It’s entirely possible, too, and dangerously so that she interprets a good many of their conversations this way, focuses the spotlight on Anakin rather than herself because the idea of introspection makes her a little queasy. That she herself hides behind all the preconceived notions that people have of her that she twists and bends herself to fit into because without them she would be as shapeless as the infinite void of the darkness that lingers at the very edge of the Horizon in the deepest umbral reaches.

And of course she would also never admit to maybe spending too much time dwelling on the reasons why the question wounds her as a means of putting emotional distance and actual thought far out of the way ~out of sight, out of mine. Because it is not the easiest thing to answer. In fact she isn’t sure there’s one that would capture intent as much as interpretation.

The problem with morality as it would be defined by most people is that it is an arbitrary system. An socio-artificial construct that puts a distinction between right and wrong, or good and bad behaviour. And much like consensual reality, the guidelines of such behaviour are dictated by people. And all people are fallible. Even the Holy Father, though he’s not supposed to be.

There are other factors to consider as well. Does he mean specifically as the question relates to Sleepers? Does he mean as it relates to the Awakened as they, master and apprentice, are? If they are speaking about the masses, then are there certain cultural borders they’re straying across? What is good for one group of society is clearly not very often understood by others and so what might be wrong or atrocious in belief may have mitigating circumstances if viewed outside of one’s own group. Then of course there’s the difference between an individual's moral dilemmas and ethical ones, which are similar but still vastly different. Not unlike the Traditions versus the Technocratic Union. And this is obviously not what Anakin means because he’s never seen the heated debates that often took a twist at the dinner table between herself and her brothers.

She wants to tell him, that of course, there’s all of these factors to be taken into consideration. Wants to ask him what he means ~specifically~ in regards to whose morals are being questioned and she knows too that by doing so she will somehow manage to trample his self-worth because he’ll judge himself as not having spoken clearly enough, slowly or carefully enough. That he did not adequately set up the scenario and thus given her something incomplete to work with. There will come a stunning display of beautiful if heartbreaking physical manifestations of that internal grief and she might actually expire from the grief of it all. And she isn’t being nasty about it, she isn’t mocking him in that breath of silence as she considers all of this. It is something that she’s come to experience in the almost year that they have spent bound together by practice and...funnily enough...tradition. And she likes to think she knows Anakin this well by now, that however hard he tries to hide it, she will see.

She reaches into the bucket beside her and takes a hold of another chunk of meat and tosses it out across the murky water. It lands with a specific and yet sad little plop before disappearing below the surface. She watches the way his cigarette smoke rises up to wreathe around his curls a little wild tousled today. It’s a little ironic that she could see him as a dragon, and maybe there’s some Mokolé blood in his family tree, as much as there is shark in hers. But he’s still reserved enough that he doesn’t stick his converse down over the side of the decrepit little dock they’re on. To be fair, his legs are far longer, far too close to the dark, algae choked surface. He’s never had his calf nearly torn right off the bone and probably doesn’t need that experience. Not with his hand in the state it’s in, the way cold and weariness make his bones and joints ache with nothing to compensate for it.

And that’s the point where she realises that now she’s just stalling, letting herself drift along the paths of thought, further and further away from the question asked. So she breathes out a sigh and allows a soft curve settle to her lips that is neither exactly a smile or even a smaller grin. It’s something along the lines of patience made manifest, her natural inclination toward indulging Anakin, and it’s also...tired. The kind of thing that appears when she’s worked herself to the bone and hasn’t slept for days but continues to push herself until she’s at the exact point of inevitable collapse. And how often does she do that more and more these days. Doesn’t even try to make it to her room when he’s just as comfortable as his bed and far warmer even if it’s a slightly unhealthy symptom of his body’s attempt to keep his extremities in life-giving blood. She leans back, wiggling her toes out in front of her, though her legs are still covered by the broom-skirt she’s wearing, arms bracing herself from behind, slick and red, sure to leave prints she’ll have to clean up before they leave. “I don’ t’ink dis really a fair question, Anakin. I mean... dere’s factors. A precise synt’esis would define culture as a body of ideas; norms, rules, standards, values, an’ beliefs. So dat different cultures would derefore have different moral an’ et’ical impact. An’ mebbe even between one generation an’ anoddah, like dem boomers an’ millennials. I mean, you an’ me are kinda li’dat too, as technically I’m a millennial an’ you’re Gen Z. Between all people dere’s dis enforced, learned social norm dat are symbolically an’ practically reinforced an’ referenced in displays dat signal adherence to any specific system. Now, I know ya no talk story about all kine people, ya specifically aks me ‘bout my own issue an’ I guess...” She trails off trying to regather herself. When she speaks again she does that thing she does when she thinks something is important enough to give him the best chance of understanding her, but that slows her speech, gives it a brittle edge.

“Even as hapa ~being half Hawai’ian~ my mother taught me about kuleana. Loosely translated it means “responsibility”. It’s dis concept of reciprocal relationships between the person who is responsible, an’ the things or persons they are responsible for. As Hawai’ians, we have a kuleana to our ‘aina, our land. To care for it and to respect it, and in return... the land has the kuleana to feed, shelter and clothe us. Through that relationship we maintain balance within society and with the natural environment. But you look at the world and everything is for sale, raped by greed and the need to consume. To conform. This... this is a sign of what my uncle’s people call the Apocalypse, but not like in disaster movies. Maybe tomorrow, I’ll tell you all about that.

“Another concept is...Pono. There’s no real translation for it, it’s a concept that incorporates many things. But many people use it to imply righteousness, but not like the way it’s used in society today. For us, anyway, it’s a very strong cultural and spiritual concept for a state of harmony and balance. So you can see how they relate? By accepting your kuleana and making sure you act on them in the right way, you are living pono. Living pono means to make a conscious decision to do the right thing in terms of self, others, and the environment. And we make no distinction between human and animal or plant, in that way.” She slants that hazel gaze toward him via one eye slitted open to make sure he’s following along. “And I don’t mean that cutting down a tree is the same as say murder. But in a way, it is. You are killing something that was alive. You are taking its mana. If you do it with proper thanks and reverence, if you ensure that you are doing it sustainably, to feed yourself or build a shelter for your family, then you’re behaving within your kuleana. But clear-cutting an entire rain-forest so you can build a luxury golf-course and resort, displacing thousands and thousands of indigenous wild life and polluting the waters and destroying layers and layers of earth, not to mention the risk of exposing entire tribes of people who have no natural resistance to what are common, immunised illnesses? That is no different than slaughtering those very same lives in a far more expedient way. And I don’t know if you think I’m crazy, or if I am over-simplifying the tragedy that we as an entire world of people are creating and contributing to but you can see...the earth herself is restless. She is angry. And those throes of agony ~the global warming, the spirits crying out, the violence and disease...they are all symptoms of that anger, because people as a whole have lost their way. They trust too much in technology and in coping mechanisms that only breed more trouble...”

She’s momentarily lost in the weeds, but there’s no denying the passion in her voice as it trembles with pure and unbridled rage at society’s ills. And not just the ones that have landed on the Sleepers whom they are, in their own ways, charged with protecting, but the ones amongst their own kind and those of the others. “So I suppose, the dilemma I just cannot begin to understand is...with so much happening, and the world around us vanishing with every breath...why are we unable to reach an understanding. Why do we have to fight this war about whose mana is bigger, is better than someone else’s. And not just the Traditions ourselves. Our infighting is bad but we can typically talk things out. I specifically mean this war with the Technocrats. Their science isn’t doing much to improve lives these days and more and more people are looking for alternatives, for the Old Ways. Why not work with us instead of trying to kill or imprison us? Or why can’t some of us... Verbena and Dreamspeakers... some of you Euthanatos- why can’t we make a pact with the Wolfkin. Or the last of the lizard kings-” She glances askance at him a second time in a very playful and knowing fashion. Which is disturbing considering the nature of the remains in the ice chest she was tossing into the water just moments ago. “It isn’t like some of us hasn’t been busy keeping their kin fed. So I think just like the Traditions coming together, or the Technocrats forming their union, maybe it’s time we put political and spiritual beliefs to the side and just work together for the things we want. We’re all really trying to fight the same enemy, and I promise it isn’t you, and it isn’t me and it isn’t Bil..it isn’t any one person. There is evil out there. Real, terrifying evil. Take this guy. What he did to those kids...He was a disease. And like the healer I am and like...like the man you will some day become, we did what was right, for everyone.” Beth shudders then shakes her head. “I don’t even know how to answer your question, or if I did. All I can say is...there’s no part of me that has any shame for the way I live my life, and therefore there’s no moral dilemma. But if one comes up, I promise you’ll be the first line of defense for my understanding and sanity.”

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chershare · 4 years ago

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Soft Shell

Ao3

For all that Nie Mingjue had been expecting to find a skulking Wen hanging around, he hadn't expected this.

The man, perhaps only a little younger than Huaisang if they weren’t of an age, simply fell into his arms.

Quite literally.

He'd been stepping forward towards an unfamiliar bow of Wen make leaned against a tree, when the owner of said bow fell out of said tree. It had been instinctive to stretch his arms out and catch that meager weight as the young man squeaked in alarm in an almost familiar way. Wide eyes had stared up at him under disheveled, leaf and debris mussed hair dark hair, pink filling soft cheeks.

The Qi in the little cultivator was gentle and warm.

This tiny Wen whom Mingjue had been mistakenly hunting was most definitely not Huaisang's too bold mysterious paramour. The one whom had no qualms with sending Wen owls into Nie territory and directly to his little brother's door.

Shameless!

Of course Huaisang would have a shameless suitor who couldn’t even make the effort of hiding!

This, this little thing that squeaked in alarm was most definitely not whom he had been searching for. Firstly because he tried to bow to the Sect Leader while still in his arms, and secondly, because the boy stared up at him with flushed awe.

The kinds of people who caught Huaisang's eye and gave the prettier Nie attention wouldn't be interested in a man like Mingjue. Even peripherally, as someone who had just caught the young cultivator in the way of damsels. His clever little brother wouldn't be interested in someone with quite this sort of features.

Someone… soft over sweet edges.

Many times in his life he'd felt awkward when dealing with the other Sects, but he was downright flabbergasted at how the young man stammered and stuttered in his arms. How he covered a reddened face with hands too soft in the places a sword would cause, but callused where the bow might sit.

Wen archery was rare to see these days, the same as all the Wen glass art he'd been seeing accumulating around the Unclean Realm. Honestly, Huaisang's paramour wasn't even trying to be inconspicuous anymore, and that meant Mingjue couldn't let it stand any longer. When it hadn’t been quite so obvious he could ignore it, especially since it was mostly gifts, and Huaisang staring dreamily off into the distance.

At least in the beginning he'd been able to pretend obliviousness, but Huaisang would become suspicious if he didn't act now.

Stupid shameless Wen.

"F-Forgive me!" The young man's voice was soft and terribly polite in a soothing way. "I'm sorry!"

"For what?!"

He demanded as he always did, like the thoughtless fool his younger brother often called him, clearly scaring another squeak out of this tiny thing in his arms. It was no wonder people called him a brutish man, considering this waif and how he could treat him without thought.

"Falling out of a tree and nearly killing yourself?!"

"Um, um -"

"Be careful with your body," Nie Mingjue demanded again of a Disciple not of his Sect. "What would your family say if you were hurt?"

That flushed face was glimpsed briefly as those bright too large eyes peeked between fingers at him. Warm but soft Qi swirled in embarrassed worry against the edges of Mingjue's cliff face, like summer rain.

"I um... This one gives humble thanks to Nie-gongzi for catching him!"

While not what he'd meant, it was good enough.

… Why…

Why was he still holding this Wen?

His first instinct was to drop the younger man at the realization, but then he looked into earnest bright eyes and felt his face twitch. Nie Mingjue might be an abrasive, overly irritable man, but he didn't think he was cruel. At least not deliberately, even if he was rough and brutish.

That would be like kicking a small animal.

Never would he admit it, but one time he'd accidentally tripped over a puppy as a child and he'd cried because he's been so repentant. Not something he liked to think about, even if the memory of his father's arms around him silently soothing distress was startlingly clear.

Setting the Wen down on his feet gently, he endured one of those archer's hands tangling in his robe in what seemed an instinctive bid for comfort. Similar to how Huaisang had been when they had been much younger, and he'd been intimidated by something. It, of course, did not instill a need to defend this tiny thing with too bright eyes and awestruck glimmers of innocence.

Why am I like this?

Scowling at his own weakness for cute, pretty little things, Nie Mingjue waited for the younger man to let go before he stepped back. The leaves and detritus in long silky looking hair made his own rough hands twitch with the need to organize, but he withheld himself.

Clucking over Huaisang and even Xichen was fine, but a random Wen in the woods was definitely too much. The time or two he'd done so to Nie Zonghui he'd been mortified, even if the man himself had been somewhat amused and fond. While some complained about his general demeanor and exacting standards in Qinghe, most Disciples seemed to regard him well despite the small amounts of mothering he couldn't control.

He crossed his arms anyway, to prevent temptation.

"Um, this one is Wen Ning, courtesy name Qionglin," the wide-eyed Wen introduced himself. "Thank you, Nie-gongzi. Sister and cousin would be so upset if I got hurt again!"

Again?

Nie Mingjue had the sudden exhausting thought that this was perhaps a frequent occurrence, falling out of trees and the like. For a long moment he stared down at this unfortunately endearing mess before sighing at the way that the world seemed to throw these kind of people at him. Why was it that he got the well-meaning disasters like Xichen and this Wen thrown at him?

Huaisang might be well meaning most of the time, but he was generally a planned disaster, so he wasn’t quite sure he counted.

He'd never heard of a Wen Ning, and he had no doubt that whoever was courting his brother was a high ranked Wen. To so blatantly court his irritating but beloved little brother meant that this Wen was confident enough, and perhaps powerful enough, not to fear Mingjue’s reputation.

While maybe this one would know who it was, he doubted it. He'd seen the maker's mark on some of those admittedly skilled pieces and he hadn't recognized the title.

A court artist, perhaps?

"Nie Mingjue," he stated plainly, scowling up at the sky. "Be careful in trees, Wen Qionglin."

"N-N-Nie... Ming... Ming... Jue...?"

Those wide eyes got impossibly wider as the young man stared up at him. Fidgeting hands tangled together in sudden stillness, and instead of the paling he expected of a Wen realizing who he was, the boy blushed. Soft cheekbones pinking with pleasing color that brought out the shine in those earnest eyes, which ducked shyly, demurely, for a moment. Thick, sooty lashes were glanced through and Mingjue felt his heart squeeze in his chest at the sight.

What.

Feeling a sudden heat of embarrassment in his own features, Nie Mingjue did what he did best and covered it with anger. What right did this young man have to be embarrassed by knowing who he was?! What right did he have to illicit emotions like this in Mingjue?!

Damnit Huaisang, this was all his fault!

"Why were you climbing?" He demanded – again – trying to take control of himself. "A foolish thing for a cultivator to get injured by!"

"I – Um –!”

“Spit it out!”

“Bird's nests!"

Was blurted out quickly in reaction to his order, the Wen ducking his head and tugging at his robes. Soft looking lips were bitten in nervousness before the young man continued what he was saying.

"I was looking for bird's nests."

For a long moment he was stunned.

"... Why?

"Um... I wanted... Egg... shells?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"I'm sorry!"

Sighing perhaps a touch aggressively, Nie Mingjue rubbed a hand over his face.

"Why did you want eggshells, Wen Qionglin?"

"It's good practice for glass blowing!"

"What."

It took a ridiculous amount of time to get the young Wen to explain himself properly, but after a while he got the gist. The stuttering and flushed cheeks were the kind of adorable that infuriated Nie Mingjue, but he managed to control himself. It wouldn't do to steal and aggressively care for a Wen in this political climate, and Qionglin didn't seem mistreated in any way.

Simply absent minded, perhaps a shade too trusting.

Learning that poking tiny holes in egg to remove the yoke with controlled breaths so as not to damage the shell was an art form and correlating that to glass blowing was strange. Mingjue didn’t have much of a head for more delicate art the way that Huaisang did, especially when Qi was added into the mix.

He could carve, but that was about all he could do.

“Is Wen glass so important as a cultivator?” he asked curiously, thinking of the multitude of things that Huaisang’s paramour had sent over. “That you would practice on delicate eggshells first?”

“Um,” pink blurred cheeks again, and the young man tugged on a strand of hair. “It’s… Well. Wen Qi Fire is a staple of our offensive cultivation methods, but the glass is… creation.”

Wide eyes glanced up at him as the Wen grabbed his bow and then slung it into place on his back with grace that bespoke skill.

“And when we create something… Um, has Sect Leader Nie ever thought about how um, how the Wen are?”

Mingjue could feel his face twist into a rictus of incredulity, almost offended by how ridiculous that question was. Instead of squeaking and trembling away, however, the Wen ducked his head with a small smile, lifting a hand towards his mouth as if to hide it.

Cute.

“Well, um, the art of creating Wen glass has been going out of style in the past century. Similar to archery,” he fiddled with the strap for his quiver. “When we use our cultivation mostly for the destruction of things as Wen Qi Fire is directed by Sect Leader Wen, and this effects our spiritual balance.

“My branch of the family are healers, so we don’t use the offensive Qi techniques that the other branches do as often, so we aren’t as effected,” the young man explained, as if he wasn’t suddenly putting many things into perspective.

To be honest, it had been something of a scandal years ago when Wen Ruohan’s father had been Sect Leader, the sudden leap into aggression. People had thought it was simply the passionate Wen being overtaken by arrogance, by their own admittedly admirable strength and turning into hubris.

But if they had lost sight of their own checks and balances…

Was it deliberate?

The Qinghe Nie had always struggled against Qi Deviation, and if there had been a way to prevent it he didn’t think any of his ancestors would have turned away from it. When it ensured that one could live longer with the ones they loved, how could they? What was a little glass blowing to being able to watch Huaisang get married? What was a little egg painting to sitting on a veranda and drinking tea while picking fun with Xichen?

Nie Mingjue would do anything to be able to stay with his precious people longer just so long as it didn’t countermand his morals, and art? Sure it was softer than he preferred, lacking in skill as he was, but for something like that…

It wasn’t even a question.

“At my age now,” continued Wen Qionglin. “I’m expected to use these Qi techniques more, but my spiritual leanings have always been more… fragile. My older cousin from the main branch is teaching me glass art to help combat this, but he’s rather busy with other Disciples too, making sure everyone is as balanced as he can. As healers, there isn’t quite as much demand on my branch, and gathering materials is something I can do on my own.”

Nie Mingjue had an inkling that it was also to keep him out of the sight of main Wen Disciples, considering the young man wasn’t even carrying a cultivation sword.

“So why use wild bird eggs rather than chickens?” he asked after a long moment of silence. “And where is your sword?”

Ah, it almost felt like berating Huaisang about going out without his saber.

Nervous hands fiddled with a well waxed bowstring, and the Wen ducked his head in embarrassment again.

“Um, I um…”

“Spit it out already!”

“I haven’t earned one yet!” he squeaked this time, when Mingjue had expected it previously. “But – but Xu-ge said that he’s commissioning me one anyway, because he and Qing-jie are arguing. She doesn’t want me to get sent out with patrols with the others, but he says that I need to be able to defend myself just in case.”

Well, that told him not a whole lot and was actually rather confusing if Mingjue wanted to think about it any harder.

Despite the matters between them being well resolved, Mingjue found himself somewhat reluctant to leave this little sheltered bit of forest.

Even if this little Wen looked up at him like he was someone worthy of awe and admiration, rather than the unease and fear he normally received from other Sects. It was… nice, to have a hesitant hand that belied a startling grip tug at the edges of his robes to point at a particular bird’s nest and explain the way to use such a delicate shell.

That the shells were surprisingly sturdy, with even just a single hole punctured into them, how they could harden but still look so delicate.

“There are paints we can use,” the young man said with a shy smile, looking up through his lashes, seeming more at ease as time passed. “That can hold our Qi like the glass does. I don’t know how to make them and Xu-ge says they can be hard to –”

“We have paints like this in Qinghe,” he interrupted, thinking of Huaisang’s growing supply. “I will put you in contact with a respectable but affordable seller.”

“Oh! Um, thank you, Sect Leader Nie!”

Conversation drifted towards Wen Qionglin’s use of the bow, something that was generally only open amongst the Jin Sect. Even just the way that he held it, the calluses formed on hands smaller than his own, told Mingjue that this Wen was skilled with his weapon.

Looking over the plain but sturdy wood, the leather wrapped grip and the waxed bowstring impeccably cared for, Nie Mingjue let himself give what advice he could. While the bow wasn’t his favored weapon – Baxia wasn’t overly fond of archery and let him know this quite frequently – he did know how to correct a stance.

What kind of Sect Leader would he be if he couldn’t teach his Disciples, or at least know who could?

“Here.”

Stepping behind the younger man to reposition his arms as he took aim at a white flower several yards away between the trees, Mingjue was again startled by the gentle heat of him. It wafted through silks and pressed like incense smoke against his skin, and he scowled roughly as he resisted the urge to lift the man into his arms once again.

“Straighten your wrist more,” he instructed, pressing carefully against the limb in question, feeling a weight in his stomach at how easy it was to wrap his hand around. “You should be able to fire without the bowstring giving you more welts. Do you normally use a guard?”

“I – I… yes…”

He slid his foot between the younger mans, pulling it back to change the Wen’s stance slightly even as he leaned his torso back slightly to compensate.

“You know to keep your arms and torso as steady as possible,” he leaned down enough to speak into Qionglin’s ear, noting and dismissing the color creeping over them. The Wen was probably embarrassed about the proximity again, but his stance remained impressively unmoved. “That angle should be changed subtly by bending at the knees and hips.”

“… Yes, Sect Leader Nie,” the smaller man breathed quietly, warm Qi pulsing softly like a heartbeat. “I know.”

“You know to control your breathing, to exhale as you release.”

“Y-Yes, Sect Leader Nie.”

“That the circulation of Qi through your meridians can help pass oxygen to your muscles faster.”

“Yes, Sect Leader Nie.”

“Good.”

Ducking down to line up his line of sight with that of Wen Qionglin, he was momentarily distracted by the fluttering of those thick lashes. The little Wen glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, cheeks flushed deep red, and white teeth set into a soft bottom lip. Catching Mingjue looking, the young man blinked rapidly, and his shoulders rose in a sign of nerves before he forced them back to his drawn position.

Subtle muscles were strong, to hold such a position for so long, and it was a mark of how strong the cultivation in this Wen was, that it fed his muscles in such a way. Hadn’t earned a cultivation sword his ass.

Teeth pulled out of that distracting lip, a pink tongue running over indents, before Mingjue focused himself on the target again. He leaned closer to the little Wen who stood in the circle of his arms, never quite touching, stray sensation as lungs expanded and muscles trembled.

Each breath to leave his lips stirred some of that disheveled hair that smelled like sap from his tree climbing adventures and some faintly floral scent. Perhaps a kind of incense he preferred at home, it reminded him of the Cloud Recesses, though he couldn’t match a name to the scent.

He’d have to ask Huaisang when he returned home, even if it would make the troublesome little shit more suspicious. And paranoid.

Ah, yes, he’d definitely have to ask him. It would serve him right to be uneasy for a few days after all the trouble he’s caused Mingjue with his stupid unsubtle paramour.

“Steady your aim. Firm your stance. Read the wind. Feel the tension in your body. Breathe in with the burning of your muscles…”

Wen Qionglin did so, back brushing against Mingjue’s chest as he took a long, steady breath in, their Qi pressing like magnetic poles unsure if they could adhere.

“Now – release.”

A quick, silent breath, the whistle of a bowstring, feathers singing in the air as white flower petals exploded in the distance. The little archer shivered heavily as the tension left his body and he fell back into Nie Mingjue’s hold once more, a near familiar action at this point.

Hands which had been unfalteringly steady until this point trembled slightly as the bow slid out of position to prop against the ground. The drawing arm reached up to grasp at Mingjue’s wrist falteringly as wide bright eyes turned to meet the older man’s. Standing to his full height again, he let his arms settle easily around this skittish thing who looked at him as if he’d pulled the stars from the sky to give to him.

Something hot rolled in his stomach, and Nie Mingjue swallowed against a sudden thickness in his throat pressed with want.

This had not been how he’d expected this little excursion to go, but he couldn’t say that he minded the shy smiles shaped with trembling lips.

Other than his brother, the Sect and Lan Xichen, most people regarded Nie Mingjue with wariness. Sure, Wen tended towards trying to provoke him more regularly than they did staring at him like he was some sort of legend, but this one…

“That was very well done,” he found himself complimenting, that mussed head with flushed cheeks leaned against his chest. “A fine shot, Wen Qionglin.”

“Th-Thank you,” the young man swallowed, taking a shaky breath. “Thank you, Sect Leader Nie.”

“Mm. You may call me Nie Mingjue,” he waved the hand that wasn’t currently being used to hold the Wen upright. “I am not your Sect Leader, and we are not in an official setting. The Qinghe Nie do not hold to as many stringent guidelines as the other Sects.”

“Oh.”

Head ducked and grip tightening on Mingjue’s wrist momentarily, the young Wen looked down towards the ground before looking up through his lashes again. There was something else in bright, earnest eyes, but it wasn’t an expression that he was used to having directed at him, so he couldn’t quite read it. Smooth, pretty cheeks were still reddened, and soft lips were wetted with a quick tongue as the little Wen met his gaze.

“Like – Like the Gusu Lan Sect? I – I’ve heard that… that the Nie and the Lan are good friends,” he barely noticed taking more of the Wen’s weight, sooty lashes flickering on uncertain blinks. “Q-Qishan Wen isn’t very strict, when compared to that.”

“Gusu Lan,” he rolled his eyes with a scoff and absently swung the squeaking Wen into his arms, almost missing the surge of delight the motion brought to bright eyes. Oh. Sometimes he forgot that other than the Lan, the Nie were physically the strongest amongst the Greater Sects. “Has too many ridiculous rules to trifle with. Give me my saber and a restless spirit to cleanse over any of that ‘No Running’ or ‘No Talking at Mealtimes’ nonsense. How Lan Xichen can stand it I’ll never know.”

Bow held carefully in his lap as they approached the arrow the little Wen had fired, Wen Qionglin tangled his free hand in Nie Mingjue’s robes. White teeth dragged against soft pink flesh in what Mingjue was beginning to think was probably a nervous habit.

It was distracting.

“Um Sect Leader – I mean, Nie Mingjue should call this one Wen Ning,” thin, deceptively strong archer’s shoulders lifted to red tinted ears and a pink face ducked to stare at his bow. “Since – since we aren’t standing on ceremony.”

Humming agreeably, he set the young man on his feet again and watched him hurry forward to pick up the fired arrow. It was undamaged and lodged into the soft ground, white petals scattered around the red and black of this little Wen’s robes.

“Wen Ning.”

Testing the name on his tongue he felt a moment of secondhand embarrassment as the young man fumbled the arrow and turned away to cover his near steaming red face with both hands, crouched down. Scowling, he scoffed and looked to the side, hands finding his hips as he tried to avoid the heat in his own cheeks at the ridiculously endearing display.

They rarely even used courtesy names in Qinghe, why was he reacting like this?!

“If you can’t handle it, I won’t use it!” he snapped again his awkwardness. “Do not say things you do not mean!”

“No!” the wide-eyed young man spun around to stare at him ridiculously through his fingers. “I – I mean! Please! Use my name!”

Brows furrowed and features twisting in disbelief, he waited for the young Wen to stand and gather himself.

“I, um,” he fidgeted with his bow as he set it back into place, arrow wiped down and returned to his quiver. “I’ve just… never had someone not family call me by my personal name before.”

“Hmm,” frowning so he didn’t smile – which he’d been told was horrifying to behold once – he turned to face away from this unfortunately adorable Wen. “Then you are Wen Ning.”

“Y-Yes.”

“I must leave soon, Wen Ning,” he informed the younger man, enjoying the way the breeze shifted to give him another whiff of sap and that floral incense. “This was not a misspent afternoon, but I have duties to attend to.”

Unfortunate that he had only been able to clear a few hours to spend looking for signs of Huaisang’s pesky Wen. They had been far more enjoyable with this little Wen than he was sure they would have been had he found the other. It had been surprisingly nice, and he hadn’t felt Baxia rattle with hunger the entire time, not even huffily.

A welcome break, indeed.

“W-Wait!” was called behind him, and he heard the shushing of cloth and the shifting of dirt and twigs. “Wait please, Nie M-Mingjue!”

Pausing so that the young Wen could catch up, he looked down at the hand that tugged at his sleeve before looking into bright, too wide eyes, gaze catching on a partially open pink mouth.

Oh, no.

“Every fourth day!” the young Wen blurted out, red flush in his cheeks and climbing his ears even as it fell down his throat. It couldn’t be healthy, to change color so often. “I’m out here every fourth day!”

The hand tugging at his sleeve slid down, trembling, to rest well maintained fingertips against the back of Nie Mingjue’s larger, rougher hand. He watched that slim throat bob with a nervous swallow, watched thick lashes flutter with anxious blinking and teeth set into soft looking lips. He saw all the makings of fear, but the heat of Qi was full of determination and the Wen’s feet were planted firmly.

“… I may not be able to make time every fourth day.”

“That’s okay! Um, I… I could send an owl if I’m unavailable?” the trembling in that differently callused hand slowed as Nie Mingjue looked down into that earnest face; saw hope intermingled with that nameless something else. “If, if I’m going to be here anyway, there’s no need for Nie Mingjue to worry overmuch about me.”

“Of course I’ll worry!” he snapped without thought. “You don’t even have a sword!”

Ah.

Sometimes, Nie Mingjue wished that Baxia would hurry up and drive him to the grave, so that he didn’t have to bear witness to his own foolishness.

“Oh,” wide eyes practically shone up at him, and Nie Mingjue scowled, wishing that the ground would consume him. “I’ll get one as soon as I can, so that Nie Mingjue won’t worry!”

I’ll still worry, he managed not to say. You look far too breakable and trusting for a Wen!

“Hmph!” turning his hand to engulf the little Wen’s, he took a moment to enjoy bright eyes dipping to stare at it, pink lips parted. “I certainly hope so.”

A small but beaming smile was pointed up at him, and Nie Mingjue realized that he was utterly, and completely outdone.

“This one tries not to tell untruths!”

Utterly, and completely.

Damnit Huaisang!

#MDZS snippets #fanfic #Glass Bones Verse #skeleton building #Soft Shell #Nie Mingjue/Wen Ning #the untamed #mdzs

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