#my rant on the ancient history of this planet

[sergioguymanproust]

They are long gone but left us with their art and craftsmanship.Many cultures have existed for almost a thousand years and mysteriously vanished.We know so little of their ways and daily habits ,not even their language,some suggesting that they were simply taking off world to seed other planets in other galaxies,and why not.It is us the one civilization that it is so arrogant and narrow minded that we keep repeating old mistakes and assumptions about our beginnings not budging an inch and stuck in our own brainwashing perpetrated by those in power.Aztecs,Mayas ,Olmecs ,Incas,Anazasi, they all had one thing in common they knew their gods came from outside this earth,they all shared and had astronomical knowledge and wisdom and learned of the ways of interstellar travel and the calculations of our planet,well ,our solar system. Earth was visited and explored by our galactic ancestors .Think of thousands of pyramids all over this planet in every continent hundreds still buried deep in the jungles ,deserts ,Antarctica and let’s not forget in our oceans. All built not by us but extraterrestrial races ,it seems all far fetched to us ,a civilization still in diapers that only things of warmongering and destruction of our present home. In my view this is why they put us here ,far away from other planets because of our innate and dangerous and destructive tendencies,our truly disgusting ways of destroying ourselves. Yes ,there are indeed civilizations far more intelligent and advanced than us,that seek to create and maintain a spiritual connection that abhor the lower vibrations of a third dimension, think of us so lowly that want nothing to do with them .We are indeed still wallowing in mud and killing any being that can elevate us from this world of illusions. Yes , it is true too that there are also reptilian races here that vibrate even lower than us.That have infiltrated our societies and rule us like puppets and some even abduct us to feed their kind,they being much more savage and more evil than us.The proof is in our government who have no qualms in keeping the Status quo with them by allowing them to raid some cities and villages to take away the homeless, children and sick for fodder. This reality does exist ,we already know of abductions in National Parks ,by the hundreds every year. But it is kept hush by our own government. Well, friends not everything that goes on under our very feet is a conspiracy theory ,a hoax,or something weird and paranormal,nope ,but first we need to awake. Do your research and see where does the rabbit hole leads us.Words by Sergio GuymanProust.

Olmec greenstone miniature mask (c. 900–400 BC)

from here

[honeybewrites]

Writeblr Intro!!

Figured I should do an introduction for my little crevice of the internet! 

I go by HoneyBe, or just Honey, or just Be, or really any other name you feel like! I mostly use she/her, they/them pronouns, but feel free to use whatever. I’m in my 20s and on the AroAce spectrum. I’ve been writing on and off since middle school and I’m hoping to get better at improving my skills, because 12 year old me didn’t care about that but 20 year old me does. I’m hoping to find (or build) a little community to support and help each other with all the writing things. Mostly though, this is just me gaslighting and guilt tripping myself into thinking that by not writing and posting, I will disappoint a nonexistent audience on the internet and not just myself, because apparently that’s the only way my brain will cooperate with me. 

Couple other little tidbits about me:

Big fan of the found family trope. Literally will make me squeal at a highly obnoxious volume.

LOVE extensive world building. I want to know every detail of a magic system and how a planet operates. I will listen to you rant about lore for hours, just please let me do the same every once in a while. I am begging, please, I want to tell you all the things.

I’m a little funky photographer trying to start her own little funky photography business, mostly to give myself more time to travel and write and also to get out of my full-time retail job (it’s pure hell and I hate it with an unholy, unmatchable heat of a thousand suns).

I love flowers. They’re just so pretty and as a little honeybee myself, it’s part of my job.

If you mention dragons, you will summon me. I have an obsession with the magical creatures and it knows no bounds.

My Main WIP, or I guess world, is what got me into writing in the first place, and I’ve been messing with it for years. You’d think that would mean I have it decently fleshed out, right? Nope. Unfortunately, The Plot keeps escaping my basement and causing a train wreck. If anyone has better restraint suggestions, let me know. My neighbors are starting to get concerned.

Anywho! The whole world is called The Seven Realms, or as my docs are titled, 7R. I know, so original. She wants to grow up and be a series with little series siblings, all connected in one Big Family. Seriously, I have OCs all over this world’s history and very vague vibes, aka, The Plot, to go along with them. Here are my two main ones.

Eclipse of War Chronicles (EoWC)

Colliding Stars (supposedly book 1)

The Realms are in chaos. A war started nearly a hundred years ago, still raging today, has wrecked both sides. The original intent of the war has long left everyone’s mind; it’s now a fight over territory and unification. The Realms border on complete and totally collapse from the strain of this ongoing blood bath and neither side refuses to admit defeat.

Project Viall, created during the hight of the war, was set on creating superior fighters. After many failed attempts, two successful subjects were created from the genetic experiments.Trained side by side to be flawless and merciless loyal weapons of death, they end up on opposite sides of this vicious war. Both intent on destroying the other, while their partner and closest friend hides behind the mask. Bonds are tested. Secrets revealed. Loyalties made and destroyed as two partners threaten to destroy the entirety of the Realms in their hunt for blood.

Legend of the Ancients (LotA)

The Fallen Dragons (supposedly book 1 of another series)

A brutal war has left the dragons all but extinct. To preserve the species, the remaining dragons have gone into hiding, leaving behind a subspecies borne through the war to fend for themselves: the Tanimoriem. Generations later, no one has seen or heard of a dragon, leaving the Tanimoriem as their only remains to once was. Knowing little of their history and being hunted simply for being kin to dragons, the Tanimoriem learned how to fight viciously and keep to themselves, earning a reputation as vile, unfeeling demons.

Accepting a bounty mission, Ryuk, a seasoned Tanimoriem, gets more than he bargained for. He had been told this was another monster that needed killing. A dangerous beast. Instead he’s met with a child who finds his horns and wings fascinating. Ryuk is forced to look after the child until he can figure out what secretive plot is brewing, because it might just involved the Tanimoriem.

Of course, my goblin brain has given me plenty more snippets and random characters in different times in this world that I have yet to do much with. The world of the Seven Realms has consumed me for years and I have been shown no mercy. I’m planning to do a proper intro post to each WIP and their characters at some point… *puts twenty reminders in phone to write intro posts*

Also!! I will take all asks, tags, and DMs you can throw at me. Literally. Ask me about anything. Books, WIPs, OCs, hell, even ask about my least favorite color or my favorite bread. I do not care. I will answer. I want to be friends will all of you!! I don’t sting! I promise!!

[dragonfly0808]

Snippets of the next chapter…

I’m really excited for the next chapter so, to build up hype and cause I’m just super excited here are snippets of chapter 28:

Roxy’s Interlude: Crossroads of Destiny

—————————

Helia smiled gently as he joined her, “What do you think?”

“Somehow… it’s both exactly what I was expecting and not at all what I thought it’d be like.”

He chuckled, “That’s Magix for you. A strange culmination of dozens of different planets and cultures and all that good stuff. You’ll never find anyone who’s straight up ‘from Magix’ you know? Everyone has some planet they or their parents are originally from.”

“I’m straight up from Magix.” Timmy protested from the control panel.

Helia rolled his eyes, “Aren’t your grandparents from Gader?”

“…that doesn’t count.”

“Sure it doesn’t.” Helia made a face at him and Roxy chuckled.

—————————

Red Fountain was huge, all red and silver metal and golden stone and falling water.

It was also a floating island. The boys had seemingly forgotten that little detail when telling her about their school. 

—————————

“Oh, this is one of my favorite spots.” Naten guided them past a threshold, which guided them to a platform open to the outside air, ancient stone with red runes beneath Roxy’s feet, the jagged ending giving way to the long fall.

“Whoa.” Roxy approached the ledge cautiously, crouching to inspect the old runes with clearly old scratches that did not match the rest of the building, “This… is a lot older than anything else.”

“That’s cause this particular floor,” Alexa said as she tapped her foot on the stone, “is a part of the old Red Fountain.”

“…what do you mean the old Red Fountain?”

The others suddenly paused, trading glances as they clearly realized she didn’t know what they meant.

“Well…” Shirley hesitated clearly unsure of how to explain, “This technically speaking isn’t the first Red Fountain. They had to rebuild.”

“…why?”

—————————

Cloud Tower was a bit more like what she’d expected. Despite Shirley’s previous rants about the perception of witches, their school was all fog, shadows, bats, spiders and medieval architecture in shades of blacks, greens and purples.

—————————

“Maude?”

Shirley, perhaps for the first time since they’d met, blushed lightly, “It’s my middle name. Riven’s is worse though, his is Knox.”

Roxy gently nudged her, “I like Maude. It’s really pretty. Fits you.”

She ignored how, over Shirley’s shoulder, Alexa had opened her backpack just in time for Naten to fake-puke in.

—————————

Alfea was somehow more impressive in person, the building was a pale pink with accents in sky blue, whites and creams. Vines growing over certain columns.

She wasn’t quite sure how to describe the aura the building held, but it somehow felt almost ethereal. She could just barely see small motifs all over the walls and arcs, in the stone of the fountain, in the cobblestone of paths, everywhere she looked there seemed to be hidden tiny paintings of wings and butterflies and clovers and bells and pearls and crystals and fungi.

It was really quite something.

—————————

“Sure thing, and- oh! Hold up,” Naten suddenly turned around, yelling at the boys to get closer, “After we give Roxy the tour can we take her to a cafe in Magix? She hasn’t seen the actual city.”

Timmy grimaced, clearly disapproving, “I don’t know…”

“Pleaaaaseeee?” Alexa pleaded, “We won’t go far. And we will not split up for even a second.” She finished making puppy eyes at the boys.

“You can go.” Helia told them, “Just update us when you leave and… don’t take the bus, you can call your Windriders.”

—————————

Roxy carefully turned the computer on, glancing around. The others were nowhere in sight, she’d left Chimera and Naten looking at a history book on Zenith, Naten telling Chimera stories and myths of his hometown and the villages around.

Alexa had said she’d check if there were any technical books on archery or Earth since she was curious about her brother’s mission. Shirley had gone straight for the potions section.

She was alone, unwatched.

Roxy stared at the search bar for a long moment. A part of her feeling guilty.

But she had to know.

She just had to.

————————

“What is in Lake Roccaluce?”

Chimera blinked, surprised, “What?”

“I was gonna look it up cause Sky was clearly lying or avoiding but… I wasn’t sure how to spell it.”

Chimera sighed, gesturing for her to sit down, carefully adjusting her velvet skirt, “Do you… do you know about Daphne?”

—————————

“It was our pleasure, now, we gotta show you the best part, actual Magix city.” Alexa told her as they stopped in front of three of those motorcycle-like machines that didn’t have wheels and hovered in the air.

“Are those… safe?”

“Oh yeah, Windriders are standard for every Specialist.”

Roxy tilted her head in silent question as to why there were three.

Shirley smirked, “My brother is off-planet, someone has to take care of his windrider.”

“And you were kind enough to take on the burden.” Roxy teased.

“Precisely. Now come on, you can ride with me.”

Damn her. What gave her the right to also be a motorcycle girl? Roxy hadn’t even known she apparently had a thing for motorcycles until Shirley casually threw a leg over it to get on, the way she flipped her hair as she did it had to be intentional.

Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one as Chimera was a shade of scarlet as she went to hold on to Naten.

Alexa sighed heavily, “Strike me down now.” She implored the sky above her.

————————

Ogron chuckled in a low tone, Gantlos and Anagan appearing behind him, “Impeccable invisibility spell. Moon fairies are quite rare,” he looked in Chimera’s direction, clearly somehow able to see her despite the spell, starting to reach towards her, “but I’m afraid you have yet to master the art of fully cloaking your very essen-”

Chimera used the staff like a baseball bat, hitting Ogron right across the face, the other Wizards freezing in momentary surprise, “GO!”

[crisiscutie]

Mother dearest...

JENOVA. The Calamity From The Skies. The "Mother" of Sephiroth.

A wonderful ramble/rant/analysis/whatever by C.C. about hers/its truly...

I've always found this lifeform to be so fascinating, and it's not because I am fond of monsters, okay my bias may have played in a role in it. Yet, what frustrates me is the lack of definition for it. The abilities of it seem so boundless, but obviously, it has some limits, which is why it was eventually defeated by the Ancients, right? But what exactly are those limits? The range of its powers is INSANE. Besides the obvious shape-shifting, it can read the memories and thoughts of almost anything, spawn monstrosities, and grant immense strength, healing factors and heightened senses to those who possess its cells, surpassing human and most other beings by several levels... How the hell was JENOVA defeated!? Then again, you might as well ask why the Black Materia exists while you're at it.

And then there are obvious questions like if JENOVA was controlling Sephiroth during the Nibelheim Incident, or if it is still sapient around the time of OG FF7/Remake even through Sephiroth at the helm...

I'm really hoping that the 7R trilogy will expand on its history and its species (if applicable). We need answers. Plenty of them. The more we learn about it, the more we learn about Sephiroth...

I'm especially hoping for the theory of JENOVA being an Omega Weapon from another planet is true because that would make a lot of sense... And I'm especially curious about how they will handle JENOVA's single line in the FF7 series in Rebirth.

This happens not long after THAT MOMENT... So how it will be portrayed? Will they get another voice actor? Use a distorted version of Aeriths voice? I will be annoyed if it's rewritten as a Sephiroth line.

Another aspect that I find interesting is how Sephiroth's perspective on it contrasts with everyone else's. Despite his intense disdain for human-like attributes such as emotions and sentiments, Sephiroth humanizes JENOVA, while others perceive it as nothing but a monster. Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm fairly certain that the only people who even refer to JENOVA with feminine pronouns are Sephiroth and his remnants.

Now, on the flip-side, Sephiroth objectifies everyone else, only using their names when necessary and discarding them like tools once they have served their purpose. When he treats someone more than a tool, then they're just a parasite waiting to be executed. It's interesting how JENOVA is ALSO a tool for him. A special one, deserving of his love and praise. It serves as an effective weapon for the obvious reasons given in the first paragraph. It also satisfies his unmet need for a maternal figure, something he had craved pretty much his whole life. He's really putting the "everything and anything" abilities of JENOVA to the test, huh? And in a twisted way, it holds some truth, just like there is always an element of truth in Sephiroth's web of deceit. And I bet he empathized with it too when learning of his "origins". Being a monster that was used and locked away, similar to himself...

But anyway, Ignoring JENOVA would be like ignoring Sephiroth since it's so integral to his character. Especially when you consider he literally becomes one with at some point in the games. It played a significant role in shaping the Crisis Cutie we adore and love! It's who he is.

Also fun fact: I'm pretty sure that red-pink glow in the Rebirth logo are definitely JENOVA'S eyes.

[magpie-sherlock]

Oh gosh it is the evening and I realize I never told you about High Fantasy Star Wars like I said I was going to

Okay SO

Some exposition: It's January of this year. I'm about halfway through my Clone Wars binge with my brother, rewatching it in its entirety for the first time since I was like, eight. I also happen to be a Heroforge addict, having already made several Legend of Zelda-themed miniature sets. I decide to apply my love of Star Wars to my addiction, and then decide that since Heroforge has way more options for fantasy than science fiction, that I will lean WAY into the whole "Star Wars Is Just A Fairy Tale Set In Space" thing.

Things get WAY out of control, and instead of a simple "Here's all the main characters of The Clone Wars in a miniature set", I wind up with a whole AU.

A lot of the story and stuff can be found under the #hfsw tag on my main blog, or by going to my (somewhat; I'm working on it) dedicated AU sideblog, @high-fantasy-sw, but since those are kind of chaotic at the moment, I'll also have a brief rundown here:

The main body (and by that I mean the fic adaptation that I'm writing) of the AU focuses on the Prequels, The Clone Wars, and the Original Trilogy. However, me being the Star War-crazed nerd that I am, I also do have stuff for Rebels, The Bad Batch, Tales of the Jedi/Tales of the Empire, and sometimes the Sequels (the first three are canon to the AU even though they aren't part of the main story; the Sequels are not, but I still like to mess around with them a little).

The plot remains nearly identical to the canon universe, just tweaked to fit the Fantasy worldbuilding.

Because I liked the idea of needing to travel long distances on ships to reach other planets, I decided to not make the setting a single continent with each of the planets being a country on the continent. Instead, the world is set in an archipelago on a great sea, with each of the planets as its own island or chain of islands.

(Side note but one thing I'm very proud of is that each character fights with a distinct weapon, and even each Jedi's individual lightsaber is unique to them.)

I haven't really posted much about this either under the tag or on the main blog, but as I am a sucker for symbolism and motifs and what not, there are several distinct fantasy... "subgenres", I guess you could call them, in the AU that are supposed to symbolise what a character or organization or what-have-you represents. To name a few, the Jedi are heavily influenced by Arthuriana (because holy monk-knights and the ideals of chivalry), the war-like and highly-traditional Mandalorians are inspired by Ancient Rome, Padme specifically has a very classic-fairy-tale motif because of her high ideals and hope for the future, and the Empire (and the island of Coruscant, to an extent) is represented by a very grim version of steampunk, because of its desire to dominate and control through mechanical means.

I do have to put a disclaimer on this work: I never claimed historical accuracy in this AU. My whole thing is, "If I think it's a cool idea, in it goes", and so while several aspects of the story and worldbuilding are drawn from history (especially the Jedi and the Mandalorians), it's more of an inspiration than a strictly accurate thing. If historical accuracy is your thing, I would suggest going and checking out @/an-old-lady's Medieval Star Wars AU, which was a huge inspiration on my own idea, VERY cool, and with much more historical authenticity than my story.

Oh gosh I hope I wasn't overstepping with this infodump, and if I was feel free to ignore. But if you enjoyed this rant, I'm so glad! I hope you have a great day :D

ahsjfkfbbdnfkejnfkekrnd I LOVE THIS

I need to go to bed but i am most definitely looking into this more tmr bc YES I AGREE

and ur so real for the “if i like i add” thing. frfr

the archipelago idea is EXQUISITE. and i love the arthurian addition to the jedi

you did not overstep at all! i love infodumps, and i am currently eeting this one. feel free to infodumo any time friend!

[lion12211221]

[Writing Prompt]

I would, but my muse blocked my number like a jilted ex.

"what is this place?" "A temple. A shrine. A bastion of a once great empire. A golden age of splendor, of enlightenment, of boundless technological advancement…" "A tomb. And a message. A warning to all those who would come after, that no matter the heights, the power or the ingenuity, eventually, everything falls. Everything rusts or decays. Everyone, every structure, every line of poetry or prose, every institution or bright new idea, none of it lasts, not forever. Nothing endures the inexorable march of time, not even the stars in the sky or the planets on which we so briefly stage our fleeting existence. Flickers of light, fireflies before an approaching dawn." "It's poetic, in a way. A comfort to some, I'm sure; a somber, existential reminder for others."

Some Context: (Not part of prompt, just my own thoughts if you want them (I write like I rant, fair warning))

I'm a big sci-fi and sci-fi fanfic fan who regularly organizes spelunking expeditions into the depths of the Star wars, Mass Effect, Halo, Titanfall and Warframe fandoms, and sometimes when I strike a precious vein there is more than one mineral present if you catch my drift[er] (I'm a regular comedian, I know, sue me).

Well recently, on one such subterranean enterprise, while playing Warframe till oh-shit-my-shift-starts-in-4-hours o'clock for the umpteenth time I had an idea (find cover, this is not a drill).

What if Warframe was simply the very distant past in the Star Wars (works better than Halo imo - more diversity of timeframe/characters/not already well established history/Obi-wanturnedmegayer...) universe. So I started connecting some dots.

What if the tenno (who as far as I can tell were essentially made immortal by the Zariman incident, I mean apparently the Orokin-Sentient war lasted 'generations' and the operators still look like they could put you on a list) were like the original force sensitives in the galaxy. The big bang of Ashla and Bogan if you will.

And what if, after living for a long time and seeing more beings begin to develop and exhibit powers like theirs, they decide (in their galactic guardian/caretaker wisdom) to try and bring these beings together to train and learn from them, and to study the void [the powers the Tenno have]/the force (The void itself/the rift can be hyperspace - little understood in modern Star Wars times as knowledge so lost they don't even know that it is; they can use it, just don't ask them exactly how).

Thus begins the Je'daii order. (The Tenno have access to Orokin tech, and have had a long time to refine it themselves (these people out here collecting PHD's like trading cards they've been alive that long), they could have built the Tho Yor pyramid ship thingies)

Je'daii order around for a long ass time (like 36,453 BBY to 25,783 BBY long according to wookiepedia) before the great jedi/Sith schism. Most Tenno at this point kind of regard the whole thing as a 'it was fun while it lasted' type deal and peace out (thus no/very few Tenno to start the Jedi order) while some of the more sadistic Tenno (Sevagoth/Nidus/Revenant/Nekros type Tenno) basically become the original ancient Sith lords (Who are said to be ungodly powerful and make more contemporary (give or take ten thousand years, I mean what's that between friends anyway?) Sith look like loth kittens.

Haven't quite figured out how these guys were killed off/gotten rid of yet. Maybe the rest of the Tenno just decided they'd gone insane and banded together one last time to take them down/banish them to God knows where.

Fast forward to a more familiar era in the Star Wars universe, where the Tenno and the Orokin who birthed them have basically completely faded from memory/record (There were never that many of them to begin with, for all that they were incredibly powerful), and in steps our fateful Tenno Operator/Drifter (They can switch between like in the game depending on what is most advantageous in the situation. It would suck being tens of millennia old, getting ID'd and never being able to get a drink because the real age on your ancient ID is not just in a writing system no one has ever seen, but looks like an integer overflow error in a warlord Gandhi civ game) just cruising through life, chilling in some seedy cantina on some outer rim dust-ball when all of a sudden our [sparkles emoji] protagonist [sparkles emoji] character, who inevitably drags said Tenno into their shit/back onto the galactic scene after millennia of laying low, trying out every hobby and career under the sun, and refreshing their PHD collection (Why do they have to do the damn medical - read neurosurgeon - exams over and over again what seems like every other week! (actually like every couple decades when someone bothers to check their long expired medical licenses).

That's basically as far as I've gotten with it in my head, just kinda plugging different characters/scenarios/eras into my head to see what sticks. I'm partial to pre-Mand'alor Jaster Mereel if you want to take it the mando route, or on/post Bandomeer/Melida-Daan Obi-wan if you want to take it in any number of directions from there (or why not combine the two?).

So the Prompt is a little snippet I wrote of our lucky Tenno bringing a character to an ancient Orokin temple, no idea for what purpose though.

[crypticroyals]

Ok. This might sound controversial but I need to get this out there.

Some people (not a lot and definitely not everyone) are saying it's cultural appropriation to use their or native American folklores for things outside of the native's context.

Alright I guess Greek and Norse and Japanese mythology can't ever be used again anymore guys. Remove all the fiction we have ever made. Library of Alexandria style.

Like, yes, I get the concept of not bastardizing a folk myth in the sense of like, "oh here's a w*ndigo, they're a hero!" when the creature is an embodiment of evil and represents all the negative things racist people ever associated with native Americans. Yeah I get that, but that shouldn't mean someone can't take the story and use it in their own in the right context.

That's what native America groups have done in so many different tribes. There is like 5+ different versions of the myth that are all native culture (all are Algonquian in close region iirc but still they have different things) so why can't I keep the main features that all cultures explain, use it in the same context but the lore is changed slightly to fit the story I'm representing it in?

THAT IS WHAT FOLKLORE IS

Don't get me wrong, if someone took a creature/being from folklore and made it something completely different and than tried to use the name of it, that isn't the same myth anymore and should be given a different name, not the one they tried to say was their new depiction. But that still shouldn't mean I can't use a myth. The main reason Im upset about this is because you have a small amount of people saying it's bad and shouldn't be done even if used accurately even tho pretty much every other culture does.

Norse mythology? Look at Marvel with it's Odin, Thor, Hel and Loki. Greek mythology? That existed years ago and a few modern day pagan Greeks use it outside context and allow others to use it because it's ancient stories full of culture heritage. Same with Roman mythology which is basically Greek mythology but changed for a new context and many use that. Hell we have planets named after them!

I'm not saying "take a myth and make it something no longer that myth but claim it is" because that would be super rude as it ruins what the myth ment and stood for. But things change constantly. No two versions of a myth are exactly the same. Who's to say I can't represent it in my own way? I love learning about cultures and all sorts of myths and tales and cuisines and traditions. But if people can represent Zues or a Kirin and no one bats an eye than why do some people get mad when someone uses a native spirit of greed and winter hm? I know some people of native groups prefer to not speak certain terms as they see it as taboo. The W*nd*go for example. But some do. So why can't I represent cultures in a fantasy setting? Sure the myths aren't real life and consist from cultures all over with different contexts, but if we can't use windigos why can we use fairies and elves and gnomes? Is it because those are white myths? If so that seems very rude. But I'm not sure that's what it is because we have Asian myths and Greek myths in which are used. So I suppose it's because how people back than treated Africa and the Americas. That and how some "modern" takes resemble nothing of the cultures' actually things. Like in Africa Voodoo is now some "heebe jeebies murder witchcraft" and in Algonquian cultures the windigos are now for some reason weird deer minotaurs???? Like, why are they deer now? That's a new thing now, give it a new name please.

Anyways, I do not wish for people to believe this is some angry rant about how people should be allowed to steal and bastardize cultures. Because that isn't true. That's also something wrong people really shouldn't do. But what I guess I mean by all this, is that cultures spread and change over times everywhere and so many connect and change and show heritage and history. We should love each other and other's cultures no matter differences. In the end, we're all human. We shouldn't be fighting someone who wants to make a story about some sorcerers and rogues trying to hunt down a monstrous thing of evil that has been torturing a scared town that represents native cultures. We should be fighting the people who try to make a movie about a myth for the thrill factors that completely change the myth till nothing of the old tale remains and dare to call it the same.

I'm pretty sure this won't get a lot of representation besides hate from the few I spoke about but I felt the need to at least get this off my chest and I apologize if this offends anyone no matter how.

Hopefully one day humanity can get along better than it does. 🤞💕🤝

[stra-tek]

Yet another excerpt from I Survived Kirk, my forthcoming fanfic autobiog from the POV of a bitter redshirt on Kirk's crew

I’m going to step outside the usual retelling of events in a vaguely chronological order here to talk about hypotheticals in a particularly vague manner.  Perhaps I’m just making up bollocks to sell more copies of my book, or maybe I’m dancing around subjects that were deemed “no no” by Starfleet Command.  You decide.

The Vulcan Science Directorate determined that time travel was impossible, centuries ago.  That’s what they claimed, at lest, and what they drilled into generations of Vulcans.  “It’s not possible.  We tried it.  You don’t need to try it, just take or word for it.”

WHAT IF… what if… it were possible?  Some of you might have heard of Zefram Cochrane’s legendary drunken rant and rave at Princeton, about cybernetic creatures from the future attempting to interrupt his warp flight.  What if he was telling the truth?  Maybe the Vulcans were lying because the implications of time travel being possible could be devastating.  Or perhaps they were just plain wrong?

So… strictly hypothetically, if time travel WERE possible… surely some of the ancient aliens we know of would have discovered it too, yes?  They’d probably have perfected means of using it.  And used it repeatedly, to go anywhere and anywhen in time and space.  Probably for all the reasons any of us would want to use it today.  Changing things.  Big things, like maybe the equivalent of stopping Hitler or Green, or preventing the Xindi attack or the Romulan war, or small things like saving a loved one or completely trivial things like getting to see a famous concert.

Which opens up yet another quantum fuckton of worms. How would you feel about finding out the life you live is in some kind of heavily modified timeline?  The whole word you now is the result of someone else fucking with the universe?  Perhaps things are better than they might be otherwise.  Or maybe it’s much, much worse.  You don’t know, you never will and it’s something you had no input in. You’re not who you’re supposed to be, but some weird alternate you that exists as the result of some douchnozzles tampering with something, somewhere. Even little tiny things can have massive consequences.  Imagine for a second, your Dad was doing something important, heard a suspicious noise outside (our hypothetical time traveller running through your yard) and your Mum’s the worrying type so she made him check it out, he never finished what he was doing.  What was the important thing he doing?  YOUR MUM and because he didn’t you were never conceived.  Imagine every life you’ve affected.  Even if you REALLY don’t matter, even if you have no friends and never had sex with anything other than your left hand and are the biggest failure ever.  Even then, you’ve slightly impacted the day of your schoolteachers, or your doctors or even random passers-by have looked your way and either seen or not seen something that had a similar crazy spiralling effect on their lives. It’s called The Butterfly Effect, named after some theory or other that a butterfly fluttering its wings can cause some kind of wind-related chain reaction that ends in a hurricane somewhere else.

So maybe, due to obscure and completely unpredictable effects of ancient aliens altering events in time, your life might not be what it should.  Does that bother anyone else?  It drives me nuts.  It makes my skin crawl.  Fuck whoever the hell it was who may have affected history on their planet or maybe even mine which rippled through time and made my life different to how it should be.  What would the universe be like if none of this happened?  And what’s it going to become when more and more aliens figure it out and start doing all the bad things?  What happens when we figure it out?  Once there was a Basic State, a history untampered with.  Am I a better person there?  Worse?  More or less successful?  Am I happier there?  Was I even born, or are my parents meeting off-chance knock-on effect of one of these tamperings?

[danpuff-ao3]

Why astrology is so complicated

With the surge of interest in my astrology stuff (and in part due to a conversation I had with Ephie yesterday), I figured I'd give a little rundown of "when I say astrology is a complex study, I mean it." (Also explains why skeptics' "there aren't only 12 personality types 🙄" nonsense makes no sense, and really maybe you should do at least 5 minutes of research before crapping on a subject, but I digress.)

You can check out the #hp astro tag, or my HP Astro link compilation for more "me having a good time" and less "me ranting and lecturing about astrology because I love it and no one takes it seriously at all." (Like it's fine not to believe in it, but like...at least have appreciation for how complex and deep and ancient a study it is! Please at least understand that there's more to it than you think, even if you don't buy into it. Maybe appreciate how fascinating it all is, between all the symbolism and history and moving parts!)

I'm making this as simple as possible, and the details themselves don't really matter, because I'm not trying to teach you details, I'm giving you an idea of the scale we're working with.

By using the time, date, and place of birth we freeze where the planets are at that given time.

That placement is thrown into 2 charts divided into 12 parts: the 12 signs and the 12 houses.

You have not only the sun sign, but the sun house. And also moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. As well as your rising sign (the sign rising on the eastern horizon.) And various other small planets like Chiron that some people study. There's also your True Node. And really all number of objects with their own meaning, but unless you're an astrologer or a mega nerd you probably just wanna look at the main planets.

Planets

Each of the planets has its own "realm" so to speak

The planets represent "what"

"What" part of you is being represented.

The sun is the core and sense of self, moon is emotions, Mercury is communication, and so on and so forth.

Signs

The signs are the "how" of each planet

How each planet's speciality is portrayed. The specific flavor of energy powering that realm.

Each sign is made up of multiple parts.

We have 4 elements: fire, earth, air, and water.

There are 2 polarities: traditionally called masculine and feminine, but can better be understood as "outward-focus" (or extroversion) and "inward focus" (or introversion.) The fire and air signs are more outwardly focused while the earth and water signs are more inwardly focused.

There are 3 modalities: cardinal, fixed, and mutable. There are 3 signs in each element, and each sign in those element has a different modality. So there's one cardinal fire sign, one fixed fire sign, and one mutable fire sign.

Each sign is ruled by a planet: Sun rules Leo, moon rules Cancer, Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo, Venus rules Libra and Taurus, etc.

The symbols: each sign has a symbol. Aries the Ram, Taurus the Bull, etc.

Seasons: you can also take into account the seasons each sign take place in. Cardinal signs mark the start of a new season (Aries for spring, Cancer for summer, Libra for fall, Capricorn for winter.) The fixed signs are the middle of the season (Taurus for spring, Leo for summer, Scorpio for fall, Aquarius for winter.) Mutable signs are the end of a season (Gemini for spring, Virgo for summer, Sagittarius for fall, Pisces for winter.)

Age: the wheel "grows up" through each sign, starting with Aries "the youngest" sign to Pisces "the oldest sign."

Each sign has its opposition sign. For me, knowing the oppositions helps understanding of the sign itself. Oppositions are an intense connection, where the signs are too similar in some ways and dissimilar in others.

By knowing each part that builds a sign, you can understand that sign better, rather than general stereotypes. All signs have their good and bad. All signs have their potential, that can be used or squandered.

The Houses

Houses are the "where" of it all. What part of you (planet), how it's being expressed (signs), and where it's being expressed (houses.)

The Houses have a very loose association with the signs. I have to stress that. Do not confuse the signs and the houses. They are different. But they come from a similar place, so if you keep in mind their differences, you can use the connection to better learn about the houses. Houses 1 - 12 correlate to the signs by order of the signs, wherein the First House has a connection to Aries and the Twelfth House has a connection to Pisces.

This also means houses are sometimes thought to have their own element. As in, the First House is fire, Second earth, Third air, Fourth water...

Aspects

This is where it gets really complicated.

If you see a circle chart and see a lot of lines....those lines are the angles, or "aspects." These are the planets' relationship to each other.

You can look at sign-based aspects to get an idea of how the energy of those planets works together. Remember: water and earth go well, fire and air go well. Fire and earth? Less good. Air and water? Less good. Planets in different water signs will be trine. Planets in an earth and water are sextile.

You have harmonious aspects, such as trine and sextile, where the planets have an easy relationship. You have hard aspects like square and opposition, which face more challenges. Then you have conjunctions, which can be both or neither (the planets are very close and very similar; aims might blur.) There are also minor aspects such as semi-sextile (hard) and quincunx (neither.) Quincunx relates to planets that might not otherwise have a relationship and is more or less those planets making eye contact.

The aspects are formed by angles. Each planet is in a degree and minute of a sign. So its exact placement will determine exact aspects. 3° Taurus forms an exact trine with 3° Virgo. But there's an orb of anywhere from 5 to 10° to determine aspects. So 3° Taurus still trines 8° Virgo.

Exact aspects indicate those planets' aims are coming together, and how those aims clash or blend.

Rulership and Dignities

Each sign is ruled by a planet, yes?

Those planets when in those signs are said to be "domicile"

When that planet is in an opposition sign, it is said to be "detriment."

Each planet also has a second sign it's happy in, which is known as it's exaltation. And the opposition of the exalted sign is when the planet is in fall.

These are called the "essential dignities"

The planets work "best" in their domicile and exaltation (the purpose of each planet in a sign with the right energy for its purpose) while the planets face a bit of struggle in signs of detriment or fall (this charger was not made for this device, but it's making do.)

For the sake of the next section, I'll also explain:

The rising sign, while not a planet, is an important part of the chart. The planet that rules the rising sign is called the chart ruler. So that planet has a bit more prominence.

The sun and moon also have rulers, which are called the dispositor of the sun and the dispositor of the moon respectively. This is obsessive nerd type details, but I will say I do care about the dispositors if the sun or moon is the chart ruler.

Priority List

Not all planets are equally important. They all have some level impact on you, but some will be more impactful.

The sun, moon, and rising sign are called The Big 3 and, as you can tell, are the Most important. The sun and moon the luminaries. The sun is the core of who you are. The moon is your inner world. The rising is how the world sees you.

Mercury, Venus, and Mars are called the "inner planets" which are also known as the "personal planets." Closer to the sun, so closer to who you are, and cover more personal matters such as communication, relationships, and drive.

Jupiter and Saturn are intermediary planets and are of moderate importance. Some people group them with the inner planets, but not I. Jupiter governs "abundance" and Saturn governs "discipline." Luck and life lessons.

Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are the "outer planets", also called "generational planets." Farther from the sun, farther from who you are. People in your generation will have these same sign placements. The house placement on the planets matter more than the sign, because that's more tailored to you.

If an outer planet is the chart ruler, or has a connection to an inner planet, then we might examine the outer planets more closely. But the outer planets govern things like "progress" (Uranus), "dreams" (Neptune), and "transformation" (Pluto) so...yeah kinda hard to fully grasp and explain what they mean.

Example Placement

Imagine, if you will, Venus in Taurus in the Second House.

Venus: love, relationships, hobbies, interests

Taurus: fixed earth sign. Also: the bull. Second sign of the zodiac. Springtime.

Second House: possessions.

Venus is domicile in Taurus.

Taurus is stubborn, sensual, loyal, hard-working, luxury-loving.

Taurus wants to have a good time and a good life. It wants to relax and enjoy itself. All fit into Venus' harmonious aims.

Taurus is an earth sign, and earth represents the physical, material world. So Taurus likes luxury. Or more specifically: comfort. Cozy blankets, good food, good music, etc. Taurus wants to feel good.

Taurus also values tangible items. Jewelry, sure, but also things like keepsakes, mementos, etc. Taurus can be quiet sentimental in this way.

Taurus is very sensual and sexual: think love (Venus) + physical (earth.)

As an earth sign, Taurus values security. As a fixed sign, Taurus is stubborn and steady. Taurus is prepared to work hard to have a good life. But Taurus is also set in its ways. Taurus is prepared to dig in its heels and work hard to hold onto its comfort and security. Even if it means eating hte same delicious meal 10 days in a row, or listening to the same sweet song on repeat.

Venus covers hobbies. For Taurus, this could be earthy things such as gardening, comfort things such as knitting, yummy things such as cooking, sensual things such as music. It covers interests, so maybe an animal-lover, or candle-collector.

Venus represents relationships (romantic and platonic.) So Taurus is loyal. Affectionate (physically, especially.) There is a focus on the physical world, so perhaps sharing an interest or hobby. People they can be at peace with and relax with.

Then all of this...in the second house. House of Possessions. There is a focus on money and material gain.

With Venus, perhaps being drawn to people of status, or people who can help you get what you want.

This gives an extra enjoyment (Venus) of luxuries themselves (the tangible objects, second house) and owning them.

The Second House is how you make money. In Venus, this could mean through relationships (marry rich!), other connections (friends in high places), or even earning them through hobbies. A star baker who decides to monetize their skills and what they love.

Taurus and the second house view objects and money as security. So first and foremost, possessions as survival and safety. Then, once attained, it's about comfort and joy. Or, even, hedonism and indulgence if taken too far.

So much potential and so much to it! And this is only Venus.

There are still...2 other inner planets to account for. And the Big 3. Alone. Then...what if Venus is aspecting another planet???? That's extra consideration!! And one should at least be aware of the outer planets!

So...yeah. There's a lot to it.

Don't even get me started on synastry (comparing 2 charts; as in...how your chart works alongside someone else's) or transits (your chart vs. where the planets currently are and how that impacts your day to day life.)

[cmuabroad2025]

This is gonna be a long wait

I started the process for this study abroad program in March, even thought the program doesn't start until the Spring semester next year. I'm glad I have plenty of time to prepare, but I know I'm going to get sick of waiting. The anticipation actually might kill me.

I am very excited to stay in Chiang Mai! Coming across this program and its courses was honestly like striking gold. As an anthro and religious studies major, finding study abroad programs that fit course requirements is basically like finding a needle in a haystack. There's countless programs for business, poli sci, engineering, and even biology majors. And I completely understand why, those fields are in high demand, with countless departments existing at universities all over the planet. Anthropology can't exactly say the same for itself because it's a lot more niche.

But CMU has a very fascinating anthropology department, which includes plenty of religious studies topics related to Buddhism! I'm taking a class on Buddhist psychology, exploring the mental process of Buddhist monasticism. I'm also excited for their class on Highland Ethnic Peoples in Northern Thailand. The area has an amazing cultural history that I'd never heard about or considered before finding this program. The general area of Mainland Southeast Asia (i.e., Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar) has a history that has been incredible to research. It is such a rich, beautiful, and ancient tapestry of cultures that is never really touched on in American education outside the Vietnam War, which is the most infuriating context to put Vietnam into. There is more to a country than any war, especially a pointless war that forced their hand. The United States literally lost that war, but you would never be able to tell that from reading most history textbooks.

As a queer person (bisexual, nb "woman" lol) I am also interested in seeing Thailand's queer culture first-hand. At this point in the west, I feel like one thing Thailand is really known for is their cultural openness to queer people, specifically transgender individuals. The term "ladyboy" is thrown around a lot, and while I have heard several trans women in Thailand use this word to refer to themselves, I'm not sure how appropriate it is for others to address them this way. I'm also aware that the queer culture most think of in regards to Thailand is based more in the region of Bangkok in Southern Thailand. I haven't heard a lot about the LGBTQ community in Northern Thailand, but I'm sure there's some kind of presence. If such a large queer community in my Alabama hometown can exist, I'm sure they have something there.

Anyways, up until the semester begins, I'll probably just use this blog to talk about any interesting information that I learn about Mainland Southeast Asia's histories, cultures, and religions. I also might rant about the process from time-to-time, ask for input if I get any engagement, and cry about how expensive everything is. If you've been to Chiang Mai/studied at CMU, please hit me up! I have autism and ADHD so I think it would help me a lot if I had a better idea of what to expect.

[travelerofthetimestreams]

While I acknowledge and respect those that came before me, where I may happen to be at any given moment, I will not entertain the very short-sighted notion of "anti-colonization".

Were it not for colonization, neither side of my family would have had the opportunity to leave Europe and come to the US in the early 1900s. It is conceivable that had they not left Europe for a "better life", they might not have survived. If that had happened, I would not be exist.

So again, I acknowledged that the land I currently exist on, and lands that I have visited, were once populated by others. And I also acknowledge that in some cases, those people may have been forcibly removed.

However, the privilege of "the west" to rant against colonization would no be possible without colonization.

EDIT:

Furthermore, human history is a history of violence against each other. Every "nation" on this planet has had a population displaced due to a conquering outside force. Ancient Arabic tribes, ancient African tribes, ancient Asian tribes, ancient American tribes, ancient Pacific tribes, ...and every other tribe I can't think of. All of them have "colonized" the other through an act of violence. It's not a "white people" phenomenon.

[drgamenstein]

If I may have a weird rant about something weighing on me, with no tags, and just to get it out of my system, with no intention of offending anyone. As a white man, with north/eastern European heritage, from a non-christian denominational background, and who's family came to america either as indentured servants to the Mob, or were war refugees from WWII, I feel as though the discussion of race, racism and Racial politics in America is being severely oversimplified in our country on all sides, and that's why it brings up so much tension.

I feel like there are a good portion of people who saw "race" in my prompt and "white man" in my self description, and thought "this guy should really not be talking," and to you I say, you're who I'm referring to when I say the problem is being oversimplified.

The thing that nobody on either side wants to admit, is that racism isn't about bone structure or levels of melanin, but it's something deep rooted in our core instincts, and that's something we all share. The reason why the concentration of racial crime and tension in America is so high is because we are the most diverse country in the world, not just in terms of continental races, but also in terms of racial Ethnicities.

Humans by nature are a tribal species, and we crave community, but in for all of us throughout history, war and violence was common between different tribes, and due to cultural differences that makes it nearly impossible to fully track your lineage if you're from a ethnic group who used oral and artistic traditions to pass down your lineage instead of written. The reason why we have a black history month instead of several individual days like with Irish or Italian heritage is sadly because of those inter-tribal wars, more so than the slave trade, which is hard to say and probably really hard to hear, but is sadly how it is, because the African slave trade started when warlords would conquer other nations, and sell the people they didn't want to take care of to Europeans in exchange for weapons to win more wars, sadly meaning most African American heritage begins in America, after their African nation was rendered extinct.

This isn't exclusively an African issue, though, and that's why I started this by saying it's a more complex issue than we give it credit for. Because African Americans are not the only race in this country to have their culture rendered completely extinct, leaving any remaining descendants to guess and try to rebuild their culture. Asia has too many of these to count honestly and is incredibly hard to map out, considering how China in the modern day treats its own history. North Korea has Propaganda mimicking Nazi and other Eugenicist Propaganda to try and illustrate their superiority to South Korean Citizens, the Middle East is the Cradle of humanity and has been in constant war since the dawn of our species on this planet. Like with the many ancient nations of Asia, American peoples both north and south had many different extinctions to the point that it became a part of their codified religion in South America, and now, almost nobody refers to themselves as "American" and only a few call themselves "Native," a term which I don't think I've ever heard used to refer to South Americans outside of the untouched peoples. As for the Europeans, most of their extinct ethnic groups are either also still being discriminated against to this day, get crowned on as "weirdos" and memes, or nobody even knows what they are or what happened to them. Nords, Vikings, Celts, Armenian, Romani, Wicca, all terms we can recognize, but all either no longer exist, or if they do, are such a vague terms that most don't know what they actually are. There are a lot of people who recognize the term Gypsy, but most don't recognize it in america as a slur, and it's almost been romanticized to refer to "world-wise traveler," instead of a nomadic people that were almost completely exterminated in the holocaust.

I need to cut myself off, or else this will become a very long lesson of world history, like I said Asia had too many extinct cultures to count, I glossed over the Middle East, and I barely touched on Europe, but I literally have sat here typing for 2 hours, and had to edit this down to cut long long diatribes about the waring states, Egypt, Persia, India, Rome and Greek Kings. Like Sparta was an actual country, with a king, independent from Greece but sharing a common religion, and this sentence is why I needed to stop myself.

Look, race is a highly complex issue, but continuing the conflict by shutting down the conversation with phrases like "you don't understand, you can't understand, etc" only serves to prolong the conflict more than resolve. Racial and ethnic tension, violence, and the pursuit of superiority is something common among all modern cultures, so while you may be correct in saying "you don't understand," you should also recognize that same statement can be applied directly to you. None of us can or will ever truly understand each other's history or the feelings that come with them outside of our own communities, but accepting that gap and listening is the only step toward build a new community rather than shutting others down.

The hard truth is that because America was the final continent to be inhabited, even by natives, for 99% of us in this country, if you take any of our family trees back far enough, we're only here because we weren't wanted where we came from, so we need to be welcomed here.

[lets-talk-spirituality]

https://at.tumblr.com/lets-talk-spirituality/httpsattumblrcomlets-talk-spiritualityhave-y/sb3y2bhk4s24

Ooooo I love history! Fun fact about me: that was my original major in college. I always loved it because history is just stories. I love projecting into that time period and feeling and thinking about how that must be. I used to love history channel (when they used to do history programming) and they had a show called Battles BC that was so fucking cool. There’s also a YouTube channel I like that’s about like cooking food and dishes from different time periods. 

😱omg that’s so cool, I love history and seeing how everything connects and the context of the past and how it leads us to today. What form of history were you majoring in? Or was it just a general study of history or did you have a focus?

And history was my best subject in school, I sucked at math / science but I could write the f*$k out of a history paper. And the history channel was my jam, ancient egypt, ancient rome, WWI and WWII etc always fascinated me. I always knew I had past lives so whatever intrigued me I would study it. I feel like I find past pieces of home. 

And I think I know the YT channel you’re talking about, is it Max Miller? It’s such a unique way to learn about history. I just watched this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMWrk_94L8Y

This channel I like a lot https://www.youtube.com/@BBCArchive and I go to this website a lot https://archive.org and dig around.

Anyway! What’s you’re favorite book ever? Mine is a thousand splendid suns. I love that book so much. 

Ohh I have to check it out, for me I’ll always hold near and dear is Because of Winn-Dixie.

I also love dark erotica lol.

https://media.giphy.com/media/IbBq9Xn0qe9VUYsiEx/giphy.gif

Did you see the one book series going viral on TikTok? The ice planet thing?

It was only my first year so I didn’t get too deep into it. That’s part of why I want to travel. I love history and culture and have an insatiable curiosity and restlessness. But my college class was all about history till I think 1300, so lots of Charlemagne. I love the American Civil War to study. Just because I find it fascinating. I read all of Gone With the Wind, but I don’t romanticize the antebellum south, just find it fascinating psychologically ya know? Like I can’t imagine the mental gymnastics you have to do to own a human and be okay with it. But I want to know more world history than I do. I love all the ancient time periods too—Egypt, Greece, Rome.

I have been saying for awhile that I’m a why person. There are how (science and math) and why (English history) people. The only math I’m good at is money math :) Yes Max Miller! I agree because I’ve always wondered how people ate and just like their day to day fascinates me.

I saw that movie with Anna Sophia-Robb! It’s Khaled Hosseini and he wrote the Kite Runner too. I’ve read most of his books. And yes! My friend told me to check it out sometime last year. Ice Planet Barbarians. Some of my fav dark erotica is on kindle and I can just get sucked in. Escapism is what carried me through my depression and the pandemic. I like them because sometimes I like things that make me feel that magic of love, despite the odds. I kept track of all the ones I read and can share if you want. But if I share I will have to rant about the term reverse haram.

[spandexinspace]

what are some cosmic concepts, or planet/extraterrestrial culture that you'd like dc to expand upon if you could?

Ah, damn, all of them really. There are just so many cool concepts in the DCU that go to waste because it keeps rebooting and focus on everything but space and world-building.

I'd love to see them expand on some of the more established planets, because they have a tendency to fall into a very character-serving role where there's not much world-building outside of what's needed for specific characters. Give them varied cultures and multiple languages and all that jazz, or don't and make a point out of it.

Also because I'm that obsessive: I'd really like to see the story of Colu rebuilding after the Tyrants. They all wake up one day just to discover that they've all been living in a trance for at least hundreds, if not thousands, of years and their planet has birthed one of the worst villains in history. How do you rebuild from that? How many records and ancient texts and artefacts had been entrusted to and subsequently lost with the Tyrants? How do you deal with organisations like the GLC who did nothing to aid you?

And on the subject of the GLC, it'd be great to see someone expand on their regular work. No big world-ending events, just the corps trying to do their job, and to some degree failing to do their job. They can't be everywhere, they can't save everyone, but they've appointed themselves the police of space and not living up to that should have consequences. How do they interact with organisations like the other corps, L.E.G.I.O.N. and Darkstars on a more regular basis? How do they deal with being so isolated and having to cover so much space more or less on their own? Recent GL has been so big and bombastic, often in a bad way, and it'd be nice to just see something more normal and what they're really supposed to look like.

I recently read the Auctioneer arc in Action Comics, and that's one of those things that just makes me think. 21st century space is very hostile and still not fully space-faring, but you have this dude who'd running an intergalactic auction house. You've got L.E.G.I.O.N. that's protecting hundreds of planets. But you've also got entirely hostile entities like the Dominion who are running rampant through perfectly populated parts of space, and whatever's going on in Vega att any given time. There are so many little nodes and points that could be tied together into a sprawling, complex world, but they're not.

Sorry for the rather long rant. My point is that there are a lot of things I'd like to see more of Most of all a consistent, fleshed out world.

[icecreamkink]

watched all of the untamed / cql in two weeks after my friend 1 told me abt mdzs a hundred years ago and my friends 2 and 3 tried to get me into cql for like two whole years and there are.

feelings.

very first scene is a very dramatic death in the middle of nightmare battle on sith planet land . i will forget abt it in the next tenish episodes and then will be very surprised when it becomes Extremely Painful

anyway magic flying gays and possession and human sacrifice! we are off to a great start

in retrospect, chaos goblin wei wuxian must have had a blast pretending to be so cRaZy and be as disruptive as he could as mo xuanyu lbr

listen. why is fire always evil coded. cant a magic clan wear red, black and orange and have flame motif while being wholesome?

For Legal Reasons These Are Not Zombies

i wish the politics of the sect were a bit clearer, especially at the beggining when the wen clan had sm power, was wen ruohan the chief cultivator? is that why they were so slow in responding to the attacks? im v confused by the pre yiling patriarch politics

fighting in the roof by the moonlight as way of flirtiiiiiiing. as i understand this is a wuxia/xianxia trope and honestly...... thank u for ur service

slight bullying and being a nuisance in general, as a way of flirting we love to see it

wwx: if i drink on the rooftop, thats not inside the cloud recesses! hmmm check and mate :D lwj: i will fuck u up so help me god   wwx: :0

i lov them

through hell or high water (quite literally) wei wuxian rem ains a trashfire gremlin till the end and i love him with my whole heart

in the pt subs wei wuxian calls jiang cheng a stubborn duck and i dearly wish that had come back

my opinions on almost every character goes from love to hate u - Hmm Me Like U - BABY. ILY. and i am Very Pleased w that. its been a while since i loved such a complete cast so much i think

no really. i WONT go into a detailed rant abt what i love about each of these characters and each of their relationships to each other. but i COULD. 

some lan disciples in the loudest whisper ever: YEAH THATS THE JIN BASTARD MENG YAO HEARD THE GOT SUPER HUMILIATED BY HIS DAD LOL SURE HOPE HE DOESNT TAKE SLIGHTS TO HIS CHARACTER TO HEART

lan xichen, immediately: i must Love him 

being into problematic ppl is in the Lan genetics, we come to realize

wen qing deserves so many awards for so many things but not snapping and just stabbing wen chao is at the top 

that scene at lan qirens class where wwx talks about using resentful energy to fight a violent spirit. exquisite.

 It establishes Good Student lan wangji, wei wuxian as curious and questioning and not afraid of taboo,  lwj sees that wwx is not, in fact, a dumb ass hes just a Dumbass,  shows us the audience (esp. a western audience) how shocking the idea of disrupting the dead/dying and controlling resentful energy actually is,  the theoretical foreshadow arguing, everyone else like ‘shUT UP’,  “and how could you ensure that the resentful energy would obey you and not hurt other?” “well i havent thought that far” and of course, lan qiren just straight up lobbing a hard object at wwx head,. chefs kiss

fellas is it gay to bother the hot rule obessessed nerd from ur school and make drawings of him with flowers in his hair and then hide gay porn in his book to antagonize him and ask him to hold ur hand and be ur friend and talk to him all the time and get him drunk and give him bunnies bc you know he likes them and give him a lantern and always want his attention and dedicate yourself to getting him to smile-

and after all of that wwx rly said oh i Admire him, aksd like yeah we all were there in high school buddy

i have Learned. caves = gay.

 accidental marriage +beint physically tied together with the sacred married ribbon+ gay panic+foreshadowing+bunnies! in the cave (1)

the story abt lan yi and baoshan sanren tho. i would like to see it

early days wen bros pull my heart strings like a guqin 

EVERYTHING about the lantern scene; disaster hets jiang yanli and jin zixuan; how wwx made lwj a bunny lantern. how soft and touched lwj was. wwx gleefully pointing out he was smiling and lwj IMMEDIATELY PULLING HIW SWORD ON HIM LMAO. tragically foreshadowy promises to do right by pepople, living without regrets. lwjs 'oh no do i love him??' face. just. all of it. 

i have it on good acc that in the novel lwj is explicitly Repressed Gay Panicked Big Horny which is delightful and rly Adds to the performance

 baby lwj is really just conceal dont feel dont let them know u have EMOTIONS (derogatory)

jiang cheng rly went "why dont.u go play with HIM if u like him so much"

jc and wwx have big BIG annoying sibling energy dont think too hard abt it or youll cry

lotus pier is soo pretty :((((((((((((((((

up until episode 13 you could think this could be a magical ancient chinese gays pride n prejudice w swords and shenanigans ................youre just not prepared for the game of thrones of it all

seriously ha ha ha i cried so much w this show my eyes genuinely swelled up . like. physically. fun timez fun timez

that being said, its hilarious that wen xu goes to cloud recesses like 'come out or ill kill all these hostages' and then DOESNT WAIT FOR AN ASWER AND KILLS THEM ALL IMMEDIATELY. do u know how blackmail works sir

 would like to make it recorded that from day one i was like 'CALL A GODDAMN CULTIVATION G20 THIS ASSHOLE SECT IS LITERALLY MASSACRING YALL!!' and it took them like 3 or 4 massacres to do anything and they STILL sent their heirs into their territory  LIKE

when wwx cites the gusu lan rules to wen chao tho. that rebel/attention whore/cutie pie 'look lan zhan i DID memorize the rules after all' ‘also a big fuck you to the wen sect :D :D’ sweet spot that scene achieves . delicious

all the cultivator young masters being petty af even though they are practically prisoners at the cave is hilarious and i love them

hurt and comfort + gay mistunderstandings + watsonian gay declaration music + accidental evil acquisition! at the cave (2)

its like where do i start? the fact theyre both trapped and kind of heavily injured inside an isolated cave with a murder turtle? wwx gay panicking lwj into coughing up bad blood? lwj being jealous as wwx babbles abt mianmian? telling him he shouldnt play with people and wwx saying he never played him? wwx going Oh. I See what is happening. YOU like mianmian, and lwj absolute done face ??? (iconic) wwx touching the sacred married ribbon Again? the telepathic communication? the sword? WEI WUXIAN ASKING LAN WANGJI TO SING TO HIM AS HE IS PASSING OUT AND LWJ SINGING HIM. THE SONG. HE WROTE. FOR WWX. AND THAT HE CALLED. THEIR SHIP NAME????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

they are SO insufferable pleeeeease

in the words of my friend 1 : “CQL is so gay we were all amazed how it got past the censors Ofc unfortunately it can't be novel level gay But they did their best And we love them for it”

in the theme of songs THIS OST. WUJI HAS BEEN LIVING IN MY MIND RENT FREE SINCE I FIRST HEARD IT the whole ost is so so sO beautiful.

 the costuming in this is also soooo exquisite. the embroidery? the fabrics? the details? how every sect and clan has a distinct style and architecture? (also ik they based each off of dif periods in chinese history which is REALLY fucking cool) just chefs kiss

the direction too!. i enjoy the unusual camera movements and i think they give it that Vibe, also their composition is PARTICULARLY good when it comes to telling the subtext through position of camera/position of character (like nhs off to the side in scenes he at first glance doesnt need to be/ how lwj is often centered when hes Jealous Yearning at wwx being affectionate w other ppl, wwx return from burial mounds etc)

ik madam yu is like Badass Milf Check and shes not getting any mom of the year awards but im delighted at how messy she is. IMAGINE that woman on tiktok

you better have enjoyed gay cave (2) bc its Just Pain from here on out! 

jiang fengmian and madame yu win the Most Dramatic Way to show they do care about each other, actually ..... ever :)

i thought jiang yanli jiang cheng and wei wuxian forcing themselves to escape yunmeng barely holding on after their parents are killed was going to be the height of pain in this show. ha. 

the family dynamics in general on this showwwww, both blood/ adopted/ found families, brotherly bonds and lifelong friendships just. rly. truly. fucked me up. theyre all so important and complicated and well rounded and beautiful and tragic

and beyond being a Win For the Gays im so glad the relationships w wwx and jiang yanli/ wen qing were NOT changed from platonic bc they are so much better like that imo. like maybe if we didnt Live In A Society it wouldnt be so, but the fact wwx and others can love and value them so much and theres nothing romantic or sexual abt it is like. so refreshing. especially @ jyl, with the way he and jc are overprotective of her and shes such a nurturing/care taker figure for them, it would just not vibe as well if they made it romantic

i love that this is a story abt Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch aka Actual Satan/Boogey Man/Village With/Public Enemy Number One , my dude is literally a necromancer who only dresses in black and has evil smokey black tendrils wafting out of him, but the really edgy one is still jiang cheng, pastel purple fashion icon

and speaking of best/worst siblings wei wuxian and jiang cheng *immediately starts crying* 

The Golden Core Transfer i just. no thots only tears 

wen qing and wen ning putting themselves in so much danger just.... to help them. wn saving jc from wen chao. wq finding a way to get wwx to transfer his core. like thinking about the monumental work these two did to help wwx and jyl and jc... jyl trying so fucking hard to be strong and keep on moving and giver her little brothers comfort after losing everything... jiang cheng. losing his parents and his home and his ability to do anything abt it and his complete desperation and lack of self worth and turning on them with agression  when he didnt realize all that they did for him ... hhhhhhhhhhhhh

me, pointing at the whole cast “i just LOVE them mom!!!”

its sad tho, that BARELY ANY of the women have like.... actual important conversations let alone relationships with each other at all in the story. and like wq and jyl have stayed at the same place for extended periods of time, where wq actively took care of her TWICE,  and still! not one measly convo, nothing! ................ .𝓌ₕᵧ

everyone in this show need a good sip of Self Worth and Stop Sacrificing Yourself juice 

ngl the sword flying looks very dumb 

“a-cheng, please bring a-xian back.” “i will, i promise.” ;-;

the whole calling each other by the More Intimate Version of the name, first as teasing and later as true intimacy. mmmhmmm yes

untamed where everythings the same but wwx evil flute song is eoeo

related that scene when wwx comes back from the burial mounds for the first time w demonic cultivation and he acts all formal and calls lwj hanguang-jun and keeps being evasive and distant and mean and soooooo................. facetious 

and how hes kind of desperately trying to keep intense lwj at bay (A FIRST) and avoiding actually talking to either of them and its all tension ughhh and then he MOCKS his and lwjs relationship, he jokes w him in this like... mean echo of their usual ~banter~ oof 

 and like!!! uncertain but so relieved jc who just HUGS him w no reservations for once and its not like he isnt just as worried as lwj abt wwx and what hes doing, but he chooses in that moment to enjoy getting him back first and mmhmMMMmMm yes (maybe my favorite scene in the whole show? MAYBE SO. ) 

highkey hurt me but also. i might be into mean wwx. i will take no criticism.

lan zhans sad eyes tho :((((((((( 

on one hand i wish we could have seen what happened at the burial mounds but on the other the timeskip adds so much flair to his return so im hnnn

also i love that hes been missing for 3 months reappears kinda melancholic and bloodthirsty and knowing malign tricks and jc is like 'so. are u sad bc of lan wangji'

when ur bae survived the war but he thinks ur evil/ might be evil so you cant kiss :///

hmmm talking at the rooftop under the moonlight not mentioning everything that stands between usssss

they are the two jades of lan and we’ll be the two heroes of yunmeng is the type of line u dont even need to know whats gonna happen to know thats gonna be sad

when they fight wen ruoshan at the nightless city i thought that was the battle we see at the first ep and its not and its so easy and theyre all like ‘yayy we won go wwx!’ i was just. SCREAMS WHAT is gonna HAPPEN

so like. post burial mounds/sunshot campaign pre yiling patriarch wwx is like. ultra arrogant, ultra mocking, peak lil shit and it gave me e v e r y t h i n g i wanted

even tho having the wen prisoners at the targets at phoenix mountain and still having wwx and jzx shooting the arrows was???? so.... tone deaf 

wwx: fucking w demonic energy   jyl: he has never done anything wrong in his life, ever <3 <3 (mood)

the parallels between meng yao/wei wuxian (and even xue yang a bit?) are Seen and they are Valid

wwx post burial mounds: can yall SHUT UP abt the goddamn sword (suibian left the chat)

LIKE truly, we talk abt the angst and yearning with wangxian. but what abt wwx and suibian. xianbian / xianqing angst and comfort 100k

take a shot everytime someone coughs up blood

zidian is simply the coolest spiritual weapon rip to suibian and chenqing and bichen and sendou and baixa........ but tis the truth 

cons: everyones families died in a nightmare war! everyones homes burned to the ground! everyone is traumatized! pros: everyone gets cooler clothes and weapons!!

wen ning and a-yuan and yanli bestest babes squad dont touch me rn

everyone: brooding and fighting                                                                wq and jyl: why dont you try some acupunture/drinking some soup and calm down huh? how abt that bitch?? 

showing the battle/massacre at the nightless city first was genius actually bc then everytime we have a cute scene w yunmeng bros and theyre like 'we'll be together forever! uwu' youre like oh. oh no. oh no no no. 

justice vs lawfulness vs means and ends 👁

jc: stay in the right path and practice the art of the sword                        wx: yeah thats not gonna happen chief

my reaction to wwx renouncing to the sect politics to help the wens was just that elmo burning gif in succession

the dramatic rain. wen qing desperately calling out to wen ning. the ghosts/puppets killing the guards. how terrifying wn actually was while wwx was controlling him :( lwj goeing after him to try and stop him and then he just; he Sees him and understands him even if he cant actually do anything about it other than let them go. 

“there must be somewhere in this earth we can go to :(((((((((”

"IF I HAVE TO FIGHT THEM, I'D RATHER IT BE YOU. DYING BY YOUR HANDS WOULD AT LEAST BE WORTH IT." oh my god oh my god oh my goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooddddddd

also lwjs umbrella is white w black smoke.. .  . nice

yiling patriarch / demonic farming burial mounds settlement is like one of my favorite concepts. they an "EVIL" FARMING COMMUNITY LED BY THE VILLAGE WITCH COME ON

they planted TURNIPS and LOTUS FLOWERS and ONE (1) baby and made lanterns and a common hall :(((((((

wen qing and wei wuxian, baddest bitches and genius science best friends i absolutely LOVED to see it. they rly went ‘is anyone gonna sibling/project partner that’ and didnt wait for an answer

both wwx and jyl getting lotus ponds at the burial mounds and in lanling bc they miss lotus pier ;;;;;;;w

;;;;; wish jyl had actually gone into the burial mounds. we were robbed of jyl and wq meeting again and jyl meeting a-yuan and seeing the settlement and the homes and all ;w; at least jc did go, stab wounds and broken arms and all

wwx like... having thrown his whole life away to help the wens (yeah the sect leaders and jin guangshan in particular wanting his stygian tiger amulet was an Element but still) and not.... necessarily regretting it, but grappling with all of the consequences of it... becoming moody and drepressed at times, missing his family and lotus pier and his friends and probably simply missing being around people and causing trouble, extrovert that he is, lashing out at the wens and at a-yuan, just in general the whole messiness of that experience

the way the resentful energy does affect his temperament is rly nice bc its not too in your face,(i mean outside of the Shaky Hands of Rage) but like he clearly has a much lesser control on his anger and impulsivity (tall order) than both before bm and after hes ressurected

on that note A-YUAN BABIEST BABY BOY BEST BOY

lan zhan being like oh hey there wei ying fancy meeting u and our son here. just passing by u know how it is hmmmmMm and then PLOT TWIST having defied orders to go see him and being punished for it. oof;;

 they habent seen each other in like? a year? and now theyre tgt 10 seconds and are already parenting a child together

also lwj rly kneels down in the snow way too much to be healthy

wwx: calm down guyssss i wont lose control of demonic cultivation omgggg  .   spoiler alert: he loses control of demonic cultivation

did u enjoy cute children? good bc now the Real Pain Begins

jiang yanli and jin zixuan rly out there APROPRIATING both disaster gays AND bury ur gays huh ;w;

i KNEW jin lings birthday was gonna fuck something up but the GASP that left my body when wwx lost control of wn and killed jin zixuan .. . . 

im sorry and thank you aaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAaAAAAA 

when wen ning and wen qing were telling wwx their plan i was saying NO NO NO NO NO NO out loud in despair 

also can we talk abt how wq is definetely talking about only the both of them surrending themselves but then? everyone else just surrenders w them? IT MAKES NO SENSE LIKE WHY WOULD THEY what would be the Point

 sometimes there are some pretty gaping jumps in logic and continuity that are just like                     ?          ?

wwx: oh so when you try to murder me its justified but when i survive through dark magic and murder all of you its a "war crime"

unsurprisingly, his most feral, most spiraling moment talking to the sect leaders on the roof and attacking them and even fighting lan zhan is among my favorite scenes... its like, so painful to watch but also   so       thrilling   (and maybe my wen bbs dying arose some resentful energy in me what can i say) 

and its JUST, all they ever wanted was to do good but then... war. and trauma. and hubris. 

jiang cheng on the ground clearly thorn between what to do and feel is a Mood, lets just say

i was already crying when jyl showed up, but if i wasnt-

 i suffered SO MUCH through this series trying to figure out WHY jc would kill wwx. and when i understood. its somehow not as bad as i thought and also MUCH MUCH WORSE

a look into my group chat during the last flashback episodes:

SO ANYWAY. after the BLOOD BATH and RIPPING YOUR HEART OUT and FEEDING IT TO YOU  the untamed goes ‘ayy back to the present!! tu du dud ud du�� 

literally it ends a quarter into an episode and then KEEPS GOING i had to pause and stare blankly at the ceiling for an hour

babie cultivators and detective soulmates . i do need some cute after All of That 

(not that the pain is over LOL)

lwj is significantly less emotionally repressed in the present and its delightful. hes just ALL IN with wwx. and not just in the ‘i would and have killed various men and risked my reputation for you’ but also ‘ur tired here have a drink i brought it up cause i know u like it and it want you to be happy, always’

“when everyone praised me and wanted my power, you were the only one that challenged me. now that everyone hates me and wants me dead, youre the only one that stands by my side.” hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 

and just filling in the blanks how lan zhan searched for him. for all of those 16 years he searched for him and was punished for it and raised a-yuan, the only survivor of the burial mounds settlement, as his own in gusu......

and jiang cheng.  being the tough love uncle . having raised the yunmeng jiang clan from the rubble all alone, his whole family dead, some of it on the blame of his own brother, his siblings, his closest friends gone.......and only jin ling there needing his guidance. 

THE PARALLEL BETWEEN JIN LING BEING A LIFELINE FOR JIANG CHENG AND A-YUAN FOR LAN WANGJI AFTER THE BATTLE AT THE NIGHTLESS CITY  

great now i made myself sad

and like . the fact! that lwj and jc dislike each other!!. jc projects blame onto him for wwx both “leaving” him and indirectly causing their families deaths and when hes so consumed by it he makes wwx an enemy, lwj is there now? trying to protect him?? and lwj, who can never understand the pain that wwx , indirectly or not put jc through, but who was right there when jc tried to kill him and will never allow him to hurt wwx again. and how they like. in a way project blame of their tragedies onto each other while dealing with some type of survivor guilt and in their own way still loving wwx through it all???  amd in way its kind of fundamentally selfish but also tragically understandable? and like when u put it against the fact that after he disappears during the sunshot campaign they were looking for him together and fought together??

JUST. THE CHARACTERS. AND THE RELATIONSHIPS IN THIS. MAN. UGH. GOD. 

and like i think thats what makes it so good? its such a sad and painful and violent story, edgy even, but its compelling bc at the center of it there are all of these relationships and different types of love and hope and. :( i love it

enough crying lets talk abt wwx sleeping at the jingshi with lwj and wearing his under garment for a minute 🙏

 jin ling just has that Was Raised by JC energy tho lmao i love him

babie cultivator squad is the perfect ammount of cute and comedic relief while still bearing the weight? of the narrative in a way, both from sizhui and jin lings existences, and also. like. how do i put this. they feel hopeful? they were born after a war, they came of age at a time of relative peace, they dont hold on so closely to the resentments of their parents/father figures, they are specifically shown as more accepting and open minded. and its like.... Hope for the future  

one of the ?? things  i love the most is the fact that the main cast are often in situations where theyre hunted/running but they like. never wear disguises... just going around in their gorgeous expensive clan clothes and hair ornaments and distinctive spiritual weapons.... maybe w a straw hat on, just for kicks

wwx teacher 🥺🥺🥺

so this is why its called Yi City Misery huh

a-qing is such. an icon. im so sad. my girl even knew to leave xys dumb self rotting by the road but no one listens to her thats why theyre all dead or sad 

her and xue yang measuring each other up was so entertaining lmao

 its the funniest thing when hes like. HERES MY SAD STORY. FOR WHY IM A SADISTIC MURDERER. I BROKE MY HAND ONCE. 

like ok someone broke his hand in a horrible way, and like Poverty, i get it but also like.......... that lost the brunt of a proper sob story like, 50 sadistic murders ago bby

and i love that xingchen does not entertain that for a second hes like ‘not ?????? good enough???’ and the best thing is he wasnt even like 'u hadto be the bigger person' or sth but ' well then break that dudes hand back, rip his arm off for i care, what do the rest of us have to do w anything???” 

anjo sensato :(

xue yang is like..... the sexy sadistic evil version of a himbo..... a meanbo...

the fucked upness of xy’s feelings for xxc/ xxc and sl feelings for each other... like my dude literally gave his bf HIS EYES. and xy getting so attached to xxc .... the fucked up fake domesticity.... having him hurt sl..... then desperately trying to bring him back ...................... oof

song lan........... literally had his eyes AND tongue removed, his bfs eyes put in place, was almost killed, turned into a puppet by his bf unknowingly, manipulated by xy, sees his bf killing himself in despair.... and STILL finds the strenght to get up from there, and keep on traveling and helping people and attempting to fix xxcs soul.......... like, my man. damn. 

wangxian looking at songxiao and seeing an Actually more painful parallel for themselves. ft. that Color Coding. 

THE A-YUAN/SIZHUI REVEAL PUNCHED ME IN THE HEART but in a good way for a change

should have know that he would be the Best Boy the cute one w all the braincells

the butterfly AND the bunny lantern. i see how it is

u know is very convenient that no one can see the stark black veins on wen nings neck, ever 

BAT WEN NING 

wns face when lwj comes into wwx room like ‘:0 omg did u two finally get your shit together? good for you master wei good for u’ 

(they didnt) (yet)

DISASTER DRUNK LWJ. JUST. THRUST SOME CHICKENS TO SHOW UR RESSURECTED BAE THAT U LOVE THEM.

i have absolutely no idea WHY they gave lwj the same punishment for fighting his own sect/allies to protect the burial mounds as when they got drunk on cloud recess class days.... like? its such a ... emotional continuity error again

also is lwj gonna get an actual friend besides wwx , ever

mianmian marrying and having a family and a cute life after saying FUCK U AND UR SYSTEM TOO in a much less unhinged and dramatic way than wwx......... fills me w joy

also lol the idea that like. her husband not knowing that shes friends w satan/the boogey man/the village witch is hilarious

i love nie mingjue bc hes the resident Though Guy but also the most dramatic bitch in this show and thats Saying Something

jin ling cant have one uneventful relative can he

the fact that everyone present already knew “mo xuanyu” was wwx at the stairs is so funny, their faces are like ‘oh............ wow. that. sure is a development. shock” 

in the tradition of extremely loud whispers wwx tells lwj with twelve guards standing like one meter away from them: HEY PSH LAN ZHAN PRETEND IM FORCING YOU TO STAY W ME DO IT

oh my god oh my god

the absolute Yearning on his face when he leaves wwx and a-yuan at the burial mounds and refuses to stay for dinner was already Enough but the fact?? they brought it back?? to this declaration of love?? their expressions??????? strike me dead right now just go ahead

lFor Legal Reasons We Cant Kiss but we will have a very sappy declaration of love and trust and look at each other in way that is the actualization of 💞💘💗💖💓💘💞💗💖💘💗💖💕💞

also icb all the sect leaders and guards are standing there watching them say they like like each other with a dozen swords pointing at their neck

i enjoyed the depiction of the fickle public perception and how easily it can be used to scapegoat people. when the sect leaders turn on jgy and wwx knows thats its more for convenience than anything else...

poor lxc is literally like 'oh so when YOUR problematic boyfriend gets called evil its a misunderstanding but when its MY problematic bf-'

ok like i cant get over nmj let jgy play a song that messed with his temperament at all, like maN u KNEW he might be shady wth

wwx: “hey dont say anything bad abt lan zhan hes not an arrogant dick, thats just his face. 

ME ON THE OTHER HAND"

the cultivators as wwx is poking holes in their narrative is literally *nazaré meme*

"wei wuxian-!" "what did i break your leg, too?" not to be problematic but i laughed so hard

not as hard as "you dont have the rank to talk to me " tho

i Enjoy that, over the course of story, wwx sees that... theres nothing truly to Do, but move on. he saw how his arrogance and his mistakes hurt others, and hes trying to fix what he can, but he already did die for his mistakes and there are things he cant fix and that's. just how it is. even towards jgy, the narrative doesn't go gleefully and completely with "lets make THEM pay bc theyre the big bad" bc its not that simple, and it wouldn't lead anywhere but more pain...

re him and jiang cheng and the wens and kinda. isnt that what nhs did? scheming to displace jgy out of revenge more than any justice and doing so in the most painful way?

idk if that actually makes sense im truly just babbling

i thought the scene at the lotus pond would be CUTE but the context was PAIN again

jiang cheng finding out about his golden core and his conflict with wwx at the guanyin temple .... destroyed me but in a nice way kinda.... same way it destroys him look at his face oh god

and. the fact??? he sacrificed himself for wwx?? first?? and he'll probably never tell anyone much less wwx???? keeps me up at night

i havent decided if the neckbreak transition between jgy does sth super Evil or does he he does OR Does He yes he does O R does heeeee is sth i dislike or not

jin guangyao and wei wuxians most interesting parallel is that... theyve both seen 'hmm hey this system is fucked up' and wwx went 'so fuck it all i will renounce it and challenge it' and jgy went 'so fuck it i will use all of it to my advantage and manipulate it to my goals and whims'

the fact jgys mom was actually great and he loved her and his whole issue w it was more than simply being ashamed of being a bastard kinda got me ngl

never trust a dude with a fan.

nhs and jgy: the first rule to a convoluted and decades spanning violent revenge plot is to have fun and be yourself! 

when a-yuan finally FINALLY remembers ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;-;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; wen ning has someone in his family back and a-yuan has someone to talk abt his wen family and wwx has him back bc he survived and lwj raised him anD HES THEIR SON. THEYRE MARRIED AND HAVE A SON. UGH.

and theyre allowed to heal. everyone is allowed to try and recover and be happy

netflix put all of the 3 endings on top of each other and it looks kinda weird actually BUT I DONT EVEN MIND :’’’’’’’’’)

the gasp that left me when lwj says ‘wei ying’ and wwx turns.........

there was also a screen with ‘thank you mxtx for creating these characters, we hope their wishes come true’ and i might. have cried then too. maybe. 

that was . a ride. as is proven by this behemot of a ramble clearly i just really needed and Outlet. i am currently trying to convince dumb monkey brain to not consume the other medias of mdzs immediately bc i REALLY need to like. live. a life. and take care of real responsibilities.  *longest oh boi ever*

[wingsofkpop]

Hiraeth - I.VIII: These Paths We Walk

pairing(s): Hybrid!Im Jaebeom x Reader, Witch!Mark Tuan x Reader, Werewolf!Jackson Wang x Reader, Vampire!Park Jinyoung x Reader, Supernatural!Got7 x Reader

genre: Supernatural!AU, Dark Magic!AU, heavy Angst, light Fluff, eventual Smut

warnings: Mature language, mentions of death and murder, violence, gore and blood, some satanic themes, etc. 

word count: 7,1k

synopsis: How far are you willing to go to find out the truth about Moon Dye Bay?…

chapter directory

Necromancy is a form of spiritual divination in which the executioner acts in the summoning of and communication with the lost souls of the dead. Its origins date back to the ancient Greeks, as the word necromancy is composed of Greek terms νεκρός (nekrós), "dead," and μαντεία (manteía), "divination." During the European Middle Ages, necromancy grew to be associated with black magic by traditional witches. As a result, its practice became strictly forbidden due to its disruption in the balance of nature. History recalls only one powerful witch ever held the ability to raise the dead at will—

“Still doing research for that special project?” Your mind snaps back to reality at the sudden inquiry. Tearing your gaze from the textbook, you look up to find none other than your favorite student in front of your desk. Hyunjin offers his usual crooked smile at your newfound attention and raises a questioning eyebrow. 

You can’t help but roll your eyes before answering, “You know the point of a study period is to—I don’t know—study? Preferably by yourself?”

He snickers. “I have a question that requires your extensive mastery in the literary arts, Ms. (L/N).”

“I’m sure you do.” You release a heavy sigh, not bothering to voice your annoyance at the use of your surname. Instead, you deliver Hyunjin a shake of your head before gesturing his continuance with a wave of your hand.

“I’m a little confused by the ending of The Grapes of Wrath,” Hyunjin pauses, “okay—a lot confused. I mean, why would Rose of Sharon breastfeed a stranger she literally just met? It’s weird…” 

You chuckle at his scrunched expression. “You’re right. It is pretty weird.” 

“So why’d she do it?” 

“Well, Rose of Sharon knew the stranger was starving to death,” You begin, leaning back in your chair to better hold Hyunjin’s gaze, “so you could say she wanted to give him a second chance.” 

“But why? She doesn’t even know him.” 

“Maybe not, but if you had the ability to save another person’s life—be it a stranger—wouldn’t you?” 

“But even after all her and her family went through, I don’t understand how she was able to find it in herself to do that. Especially after the loss of her baby.” 

“Humanity is a complicated, yet beautiful force, Hyunjin.” You hum gently, “Even among all the cruelty, hatred and hopelessness, it still manages to find a way to prevail—that ending is proof that against all odds, humanity will always win.”  

“I never thought about it like that…” Hyunjin shakes his head in disbelief, “Thanks, (Y/N)...” 

“It’s what I do, kiddo.” 

While the student grows silent to scribble down his realizations, you take the time to skim over your own notes—or lack-there-of, that is. 

After Youngjae agreed, albeit rather reluctantly, to assist you in your mission to return Jackson Wang to the land of the living, you spent the past few days cornering the bookstore and mausoleum’s supply of resources about raising the dead. But just your luck, every text thus far has proven to be less than helpful. According to the siphoner, necromancy is one of the more rare magical arts that is only practiced by specialized, powerful witches, which, unfortunately, also means there is limited access to such information. Neither you nor Youngjae have been able to find a spell or ritual that can guarantee Jackson’s resurrection without some kind of dire consequence. 

Who knew magic could be so complicated? 

“You know, you’ve been out for the past week…” You lift your head to meet Hyunjin’s gaze once again. “Is… Is everything okay? I don’t mean to pry, but it’s just so unlike you to miss any classes…” 

The typical university student probably wouldn’t give a damn about a missing professor, much less an absent TA. Hyunjin’s visual apparent concern spreads warmth throughout your chest—you are powerless to hold back the small smile that stretches across your lips. 

“A couple of my roommate’s friends disappeared out of the blue last week, so I just needed a few days to help her out.” You raise a playful eyebrow, “Don’t tell me you missed me?” 

“What? No way.” Hyunjin scoffs, “Though I did have to use Sparknotes for the past few reading assignments and barely passed Wednesday's quiz—” You burst into laughter, reeling your companion into the same fit only seconds later. After a brief moment, Hyunjin manages to collect his composure and finish, “—I am glad everything is okay… and that you’re back.” 

You nod with a smile. “I appreciate that.”

Aside from the daily meetings with Youngjae and nightly cry-piles with Sana, the past few days have proven to be quite uneventful. Jackson has not appeared in your bedroom since that first night, and true to your word, you haven’t told Mark about your quest for his revival. God knows what kind of Hell would break loose if that were to happen. You also haven’t visited the Prime residence since the day you caught Jaebeom with his drop dead—mind the pun—gorgeous vampire conquest. You’ve been meaning to call Jinyoung, but between your hours pilfering through useless research texts, comforting your distraught roommate and attempting to track down your M.I.A. best friend, you haven’t quite found the time. 

And though you’d never admit it to anyone, you needed some time alone—to think.

A rather obnoxious bout of laughter tears you from your thoughts, which is quickly followed by a scold from Professor Park. In an attempt to find the source, you peer past Hyunjin’s form and the sea of other students to the very back of the classroom where a group of young girls are utilizing the period as social hour. Amongst the familiar faces sits a pretty female student you don’t quite recognize, having never encountered her around campus before.

And although you can barely see her, something about her demeanor seems… off. 

“Hyunjin? Who’s that girl back there?” 

Hyunjin turns to examine the subject of interest before returning with a shrug, “According to my sister, she’s some exchange student from Taiwan. I haven’t met her, but I think Yeji said her name is Tzuyu.”

“And she transferred here this week?” 

He shakes his head. “Actually, today is the first day anyone has seen her.”

You go to inquire further, but the booming call of Professor Park announcing the end of class beats you to it. Hyunjin bids you one final thank you and a goodbye before sprinting off to meet his friends at the classroom exit. It is not until him, Professor Park and the remainder of the students are long out the door do you return to your research. However, the moment you manage to relocate your place, a sugary-sweet voice commands your attention once again:

“If I could bother you for a moment, Ms. (L/N), I need your help…” 

“Of course.” You mask your annoyance with as genuine a smile as you can muster and turn your gaze to the student. “What can I do for…” Your smile immediately falters at the sight of the young woman from earlier in front of your desk—only in this instance, you can definitely recognize her… 

It’s none other than Miss Aphrodisiac herself from the Project Estate. 

She offers a radiant smile, but the feature seems less than friendly. 

“Hello again, (Y/N). I don’t believe we properly met during our last meeting… I’m Tzuyu.” 

“Yeah, um, I-I wasn’t expecting to see you in my class…” You chuckle nervously, cautiously sliding your notes inside your book before closing the cover. “What… What are you doing here exactly?” 

“With how much the student body rants and raves about their newest teaching assistant, how could I pass up the opportunity to see you in action?” Tzuyu elegantly takes a seat on the edge of your desk before running her fingers through her flawless, auburn locks. Something about the dexterity of her fingers sends goosebumps budding across your skin. “Plus, it’s not everyday I meet one of Jaebeom’s… human companions.” 

“It’s not like that.” You insist, “Jaebeom and I barely know each other—”

“Ah. Right.” She giggles, “You’re close with the other brother. My mistake.” 

You bite your tongue, holding back the snide comment that would likely lead to the dismembering of your head from your body. Instead, you swallow what little remains of your pride, rise from your seat and ask stiffly, “You said you needed help with something?...” 

“You’ve read Macbeth, haven’t you?” Filled with both anxiety and confusion, you watch as Tzuyu takes a pencil from the container of writing tools perched on the surface of your desk. She twirls the utensil between delicate fingertips, gazing at it as if it is the most interesting object on the planet. You don’t need your gut to remind you something is most definitely off with her behavior.

“There’s this one piece of advice that Lady Macbeth tells her husband before he goes off to commit murder: ‘Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under ‘t’... ” She pauses, “Tell me, Ms. (L/N)... What exactly could that mean?” 

Your blood runs cold when she fixes her dark gaze on you. No longer interested in the pencil. 

You bite the inside of your cheek, attempting to ground the frantic beating of your heart before it literally leaps from your chest and into the palms of your company. Out of instinct, you chance a quick glance at the door—you may not have a mug, but a nine-hundred page, hardcover book to the face might make a pretty good distraction. 

“Hm, I suppose you’re more of an expert with prose.” Tzuyu says, lowering the pencil into her lap before hopping to her own feet. “Let’s try a bit of Frankenstein then…” 

She begins to stalk toward you, her eyes still locked onto yours like a vice. Your body immediately shuffles backward, attempting to keep as much distance between yours forms as possible. You only get so far—your back meeting the surface of the wall behind you as Tzuyu centers herself a few mere inches away. You can feel her crisp breath on your face as she murmurs:  

“‘I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, then I will indulge the other’...” 

“What are you—” 

Before you can finish your thought, a searing pain paints your vision white. The agony spreads through your veins like wildfire, stealing every ounce of oxygen from your lungs and rendering your knees weak. With a trembling hand, you’re able to save your form from buckling completely to the floor—but not before catching a glimpse of the same pencil impaled in the side of your waist. 

“Poetry is much more tasteful, in my opinion.” Tzuyu sighs, licking the blood from her nails as she backs away. You want to say something—scream and call her a plethora of less than appropriate names—but your mind is literal mush between the shock and the excruciating pain. You collapse to the floor with a breathy gasp, cupping your bleeding side with your opposite hand.

The vampire saunters toward the exit. Just as she makes it to the doorway, she whirls around to throw one final innocent smile in your direction: “Do us both a favor and stay away from Jaebeom… I wouldn’t want to scar that pretty face.” 

With that, she’s completely gone. If it weren’t for the pencil in your midriff and the blood seeping through your clothes, you would have thought you’d dreamt up the entire encounter. 

“Shit…” You gasp, attempting to dislodge the wood from your flesh. It doesn’t budge, deeply embedded between what you assume to be your ribcage. A pained wheeze spills from your throat as you reach for your bag, paying little mind to the bloodied prints your fingers leave in the fabric. After numerous attempts and anguished movements, you manage to fish your cell phone from its pocket. Crimson smears across the screen as you pull up the first contact you can think of. 

You really should have taken the rest of the week off.

 ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾

From his perch behind a tree, Jinyoung silently stalks the movement of a burly stag as it parades across the forest floor. The creature, unknowing of the predator that hunts from a far, approaches a wild berry bush and begins to feast off its bearings—unknowing that its end is fast approaching. 

Jinyoung usually does not like to draw out these moments and would have killed the deer by now. Whether it is due to the absence of his physical strength or the tornado of thoughts tearing through his mind, he simply cannot bring himself to end the animal’s life just yet. There’s something so pure about watching the stag go about its existence, he realizes—he must allow its innocence to prevail a little while longer.

It’s been days since his recovery from the huntress’s attack, but he can still sense the weakness lingering in his bones. While Jaebeom’s blood chased away the fever of the wolf venom, it was not enough to regenerate his body to its full power. If he were to do so, he would need human blood… but that can never happen again. Not in this lifetime.

Animal blood keeps him mobile, and that is more than enough.  

A loud snap of breaking branches returns Jinyoung to reality in time to watch the stag tear off into the trees. He makes no move to chase after it, not desiring to waste his strength. After one final glance to his escaped meal, Jinyoung turns and greets the approaching figure with a tight frown:

“I already told you, hyung. I have no interest in accompanying you on a hunt into town.” 

“You know, it would be a hell of a lot easier than tracking down food out here…” Jaebeom snickers, “Not to mention, one human equals a dozen squirrels.” 

“And as I said, I much prefer the squirrels.” Jinyoung meets Jaebeom’s gaze with a heavy sigh, “I am perfectly fine, hyung.” 

“You’re a shitty liar.” Jaebeom shakes his head. “You need human blood.” 

“What I need is to find a new fare.” Jinyoung pushes off of his perch to traipse deeper into the forest, but the appearance of a hand on his shoulders halts his pace. He allows Jaebeom to maneuver his form back against the trunk of a tree, welcoming the slight relief the support brings to his muscles. He makes sure to keep his expression blank to mask his instability. But like always, Jaebeom sees straight through him. 

“You’re weak, Jinyoung…” 

“Nothing a nice rabbit can’t fix.”

Jaebeom purses his lips. “You can’t deny it forever. At least try a blood bag—”

“Why did you give me your blood?” Jinyoung interrupts his companion’s lecture, peering at Jaebeom with unwavering, unblinking eyes. “I thought you wished to punish me?”

“I was going to—I mean, I wanted to…” Jinyoung watches Jaebeom very carefully, noting the frivolous nature of his typically cocky features and hidden message behind his gaze. If he knew any better, Jinyoung would actually believe there to be some shred of humanity left behind those dark irises. 

“But you couldn’t.” He finishes.

“Don’t think it means you’re off the hook for working with Tuan.” Jaebeom huffs while taking a few paces backward. Jinyoung opens his mouth to respond, but the hybrid’s hushed murmur emerges instead, “(Y/N) came by last week… to see you.” 

Jinyoung holds back a smile. “Did she now?... I suppose you told her about your change of heart then.” 

Jaebeom remains silent. 

“Jaebeom-hyung…” Jinyoung’s eyes flutter shut as an audible exhale blows past his lips, “You need to tell her.” 

“It won’t change anything.” Jaebeom says with a frown, “She made it very clear that she already hates me.” 

“(Y/N) is much different than others, hyung—” 

“What do I care anyway?” The hybrid tsks, his sullen expression transitioning into one of indifference. “She can hate me as much as she wants. I don’t give a shit.” 

“Hyung, please—”   

The shrill ring of a cell phone introduces a bout of silence. Jinyoung has never been so annoyed by modern technology since now, grabbing his phone with a less than pleased sigh. He eyes Jaebeom while lifting the device to his ear, wordlessly communicating that the conversation is far from over.

“Hello?”

“Jinyoung?... H-Hey, it’s me.” 

“(Y/N)?” Jinyoung’s annoyance completely dissipates at the sound of your quivering voice. He notices how Jaebeom also reacts to your audible presence through the stiffening of his broad shoulders. He shakes it off as unease from your previous encounter and focuses back onto you, “Are… you alright? You seem a bit stressed.” 

“Yeah, you can c-call it that…” Your inhale picks up over the line, and Jinyoung cannot help but grow concerned by its unusual heaviness. “You are not going to believe the shitty day I’ve had.” 

“What happened?” 

“Well, the barista at my campus cafe accidentally made my usual decaf, my boss is seeking revenge for my time off through hundreds of ungraded essays… and I was stabbed… with a pencil.” 

Jinyoung’s eyebrows furrow. “I apologize, but I don’t think I understand…” 

“Long story short, Jaebeom’s scary, yet incredibly sexy girlfriend paid me a visit and literally stabbed me with a fucking pencil—” Your explanation cuts out into a yelp, which is followed by an array of stuttered curses, “And it—shit—hurts like hell.” 

“I’m on my way right now” Jinyoung, heart racing and head spinning, forces himself to his feet and hurries back toward the manor—Jaebeom hightailing close behind, having picked up the entire conversation. 

Before Jinyoung can inquire more about your condition, Jaebeom snatches the phone from his grasp and lifts it to his own, “Where did she stab you?” 

“Jaebeom?... My-My side… The pencil is wedged between my ribs, I can’t get it out…” 

“Don’t worry about removing it. Just try to control the bleeding as best you can.” Jaebeom explains, “Jinyoung and I will be there soon.” 

“Wait! Why are you—” Your voice cuts out as Jaebeom ends the call. Jinyoung notices the whiteness of the hybrid’s knuckles as he silently returns his phone. If it were any other situation, Jinyoung would have brought up their chat from earlier, but your wellbeing is on the line.  He delivers his companion a dark glare. To his surprise though, Jaebeom’s expression mirrors that of pure, unadulterated anger. 

Jinyoung pinches the bridge of his nose before releasing a sigh, “Do I even wish to know why your mistress attacked (Y/N)?” 

“I’d like to know too,” Jaebeom scoffs, running a hand through his jet black locks, “considering I told her that (Y/N) was off limits.” 

“You find out then.” Jinyoung hisses, “Or I will deal with her myself, and I won’t be as kind.” 

“Oh, trust me.” Jinyoung can practically sense the murderous lust spilling from Jaebeom’s pitch black irises—far from the light of humanity. “Kindness is the last thing on my list right now, Jinyoungie.”  

 ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾

“—and then she just acts all innocent! As if she did absolutely nothing wrong! I mean, what kind of self-serving, sadistic bitch does she think she is—Mark? Are you there?” 

“Huh?” Mark flutters his eyes open at the sound of his name. He blinks at his surroundings in confusion, still dazed from his abrupt wake-up call, before remembering his phone and the person currently speaking on the line: 

“Mark? Don’t tell me I put you to sleep?” 

“Nope, nope. I’m here.” Mark replies hurriedly, wiping the remnants of his nap from his eyes. “Luna’s a complete and total bitch, I got you.” 

Lia sighs, “Yuna, Mark. Not Luna.” 

With a silent yawn, he lifts his arms over his head and expels the kinks from his shoulders. Once his muscles are taunt and stretched, Mark releases a heavy exhale and murmurs, “I’m sorry, Lia. It’s just… been a long week.” 

“I get it, Mark.” She hums softly, “But I wish you wouldn’t stress so much about this. Minho made his choice, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” 

“I don’t believe that.” Mark rises from his chair before pacing across the room to the mausoleum’s lone window. He pulls the curtain aside, peering out at the vacant hills of the graveyard. “If he would just talk to me, then I’m sure we could figure something out.” 

Hundreds of phone calls later, and he still hasn’t spoken with Minho since the night he claimed to be leaving the coven. No one has. Not even Jisung. And Mark can’t figure out what’s bothering him more: the fact that Minho won’t pick up his phone, or that you have been purposely avoiding him for the last week. 

He’s trying to give both you and the young witch time—truly—but Mark can’t help but feel as if something is off. 

“Minho needs to figure out what he wants himself.” He forces himself away from the window, receding across the room to lean against the lectern as Lia goes on, “You can’t be there to hold his hand every time he goes through one of his moods. It’s not good for him or for you.” 

“What am I supposed to do then?” 

“Nothing, Mark. You do nothing.” 

Mark shakes his head, “You know I can’t do that.” 

“Just give Minho some more time to get it together.” Lia says, “He’ll come around eventually.” 

“I hope so.” Mark goes to grab his coffee mug from a nearby table, but accidentally knocks his elbow against the corner of the lectern. A mass of papers and books slide from its surface, crashing to the floor in a rather vocal descent. He releases a quiet curse, tucking his phone against his shoulder before lowering to the floor to begin tidying the mess. 

…How long does he have to wait until you come around?  

Lia continues to speak as he gathers the escaped pages, “Have you talked to Yugyeom lately? I heard that one of their wolves just up and disappeared.” 

“Yeah. That kid, Changbin.” He says, “Gyeom thinks he probably took off after our fight with the huntress. Remind you of someone?” 

“In this town? A lot of someones.” 

Mark goes to respond, but the title of a particular document clears the thoughts from his mind. Pushing aside a couple other pages, he grabs the flimsy packet before raising it into better view. At first, Mark is confused, unsure why this type of reference would be out and about. But as he surveys the other fallen objects, his confusion gradually shifts to realization… 

Then rage. 

He doesn’t bother to look up as the door opens, nor does he spare the puzzled newcomer a glance. Still clutching the document, Mark rises to his feet and takes the phone from his shoulder with his free hand. He pays his companion no mind as he quietly murmurs: 

“Do you mind if I call you later?” 

“Not at all. Just try to think about what I said.” 

Mark bids a final farewell to Lia before disconnecting the line. He takes a moment to drag a hand down his face before turning to a wide-eyed Youngjae. As soon as Mark raises the document into view, his expression immediately shifts to a panic. 

“So…” Mark tilts his head with a tight frown, “You want to explain why the hell you’re looking up resurrection spells?...” 

Youngjae shakes his head, “Hyung—”

“Explanation, Youngjae.” Mark watches the siphoner’s face shift through a rainbow of emotions. From terror, to anxiety, to dread, before finally settling on guilt. Keeping his gaze to the floor, Youngjae eventually delivers a shrug and whispers: 

“...To try to bring Jackson back.” 

Mark’s heart practically splits open. 

He stares at the younger witch with incredulous eyes. “Are you fucking stupid, Youngjae!?”  

“It looks bad, I know—” Youngjae hurries forward to stand in front of Mark and lifts his hand in good faith, “—but I’ve been doing a lot of research and experimenting with a couple spells and I really think that we can—”

“You aren’t thinking shit.” Mark spits, rounding toward the siphoner until their noses are a mere inch apart. “We don’t screw around with necromancy, Youngjae… It’s dark magic.” 

“We just have to find the right spell! (Y/N) and I are searching—” 

“(Y/N)? What does (Y/N) have to do with this?” 

Youngjae immediately closes his mouth, his eyes growing glassy in the evening light. 

It takes a second for the puzzle pieces to fit together—your inquiries about Jackson, Youngjae’s daily trips to the bookstore, your evasion—but once the realization hits, Mark feels his entire body go numb. 

Youngjae rushes forward to grab Mark’s arm, “Hyung, I’m so, so sorry! (Y/N) thought it would be better not to tell you, so I just—” 

Mark shrugs his hand away, refusing to meet Youngjae’s pleading gaze. “Get out.” 

“Just let me explain—”

“Get the fuck out!” A loud crash echoes throughout the mausoleum as Mark flings his mug across the room, causing the object to meet the opposite wall before shattering to a million tiny pieces. Youngjae doesn’t persist, grabbing his bag and beelining straight out the door. Mark pushes the sounds of the younger’s sobs from his mind as he goes, unable to see past the anger boiling inside his body. But even against all the rage, a sense of sadness remains at the forefront of his mind. 

His best friend betrayed him—again.

 ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾

“You find and take care of (Y/N).” Jaebeom commands, slamming his car door shut with a little more force than necessary. Then again, he can’t seem to bring himself to care above the red-hot fury coursing through his veins like venom. He ignores the curious stares of a nearby group of female students and proceeds to move around the car, “I’ll catch up with you later.” 

“And where exactly are you going?” Jaebeom bites back a glare as Jinyoung halts his movements. His entire body thrums, as if physically yearning for vengeance, but he masks his temper with a sharp inhale and a promise to release his frustrations out later. 

He nods at his companion, “I’m going to do what I should have done before.” 

Jinyoung merely stares at him for a moment, and Jaebeom can only hope he can’t see past the bloodlust in his gaze. Fortunately, Jinyoung doesn’t question him further. He releases Jaebeom’s shoulder and delivers one final nod before turning in the direction of what both can only assume is your classroom. Jaebeom allows himself a moment to watch Jinyoung—his noble brother—sprint off to save the day—to save you. Again. 

Jaebeom swallows the bitterness accumulating in his chest and heads in his own direction. It won’t be hard to track her. He can already smell her Chanel perfume—she’s close by, he realizes. 

She wants him to find her. 

Sure enough, Jaebeom recognizes her silken auburn hair and Louis Vuitton coat beside a towering oak tree, staring down at her phone. He doesn’t bother to check if those students are still watching him and speeds over to his target’s perch. Even when he’s a mere few inches away, she continues to mindlessly scroll through her phone. Jaebeom’s anger grows when he notices the amused smirk etched across her pink lips. 

“It’s about time you showed up.” Tzuyu says, “You know how much I hate to wait.” 

“Give me one good reason not to rip your fucking head off right now.”

“Not even a ‘hello’?” 

Jaebeom growls, “You think this is a game?”

“Perhaps.” She raises her calm gaze to his own before offering a sultry smile. “Beautiful evening, isn’t it?” 

Her flirtations only add fuel to the outrage raging through his body. He speeds forward again, snatches her wrists and slams her smaller figure against the trunk of the tree behind them. Tzuyu winces at his aggressive movements, but Jaebeom feels no sympathy. Your trembling voice and pained breathing echoes in his ears like a siren, tempting him closer to the point of no return. 

It would be so easy to plunge his hand into her chest, to squeeze her heart until it's nothing but bloody ash. Or maybe he should tear her limbs off one by one, make her suffer until she’s begging him to end her—

“You really do care about her, don’t you?” Jaebeom awakens from his imaginary rampage at the question. Her usual smirk is no longer along her face, but instead replaced with a thoughtful frown. 

He growls, pressing her wrists further into the bark of the tree. “I told you to stay away from her. You said you wouldn’t touch her.” 

“I never thought I’d see the day the big, bad hybrid, Im Jaebeom falls for a human.” 

“Shut the fuck up.” His tone is quiet—murderous. “I’ll kill you.” 

“No. You won’t.” 

“Yes. I will.” 

“No, Jaebeom.” She shakes her head with a sigh, “If you kill me, (Y/N) will never forgive you.” 

As if she had taken a red hot iron and plunged it through his heart, Jaebeom lets go of the vampire and stumbles backward. He barely catches himself before he collapses to the ground, and even then, his legs feel like they’ll give out at any moment. 

Tzuyu, still leaning against the tree, tilts her head with a hum, “She’s a good one, Beom. I feel it… that aura that carries around her.” 

“Stop it—” 

“And it’s because she’s good that she’ll never belong to you.” She murmurs, “But you already know that… don’t you?” 

“You’re fucking sick.” Jaebeom hisses. 

To his surprise, Tzuyu’s expression softens. “I’m sorry, Jaebeom.” 

There’s too many emotions swirling through his mind. He can’t think—can’t breathe. His chest feels like it’s caving in on itself, and his hands won’t stop shaking. He can’t get your face out of his head—your beautiful eyes looking at him with such betrayal and hatred. It hurts. It hurts so much. Why won’t his hands stop fucking shaking? It’s too much. It’s all too much—

He can’t help it… He has to turn it off. 

A switch flips inside of his soul, immediately locking out every ounce of pain. His lungs inhale each new breath smoothly, and his limbs remain as still as a cat. With a clear head, Jaebeom returns his eyes to Tzuyu, who is still gazing at him with such tenderness and understanding. For a moment, the warmth of her gaze reminds him of you. 

Tzuyu cautiously takes a step forward, “Jaebeom…?” 

“You’re right.” He nods, “I’m not gonna kill you.”

“What are you—ah!” Her inquiry elevates into a scream as Jaebeom whirls forward and sinks his teeth into her shoulder. His fangs plunge through the fabric of her expensive coat before piercing deep into her flesh. She attempts to struggle, but he is stronger… and the damage has already been done.   

He pulls away, licking the blood from his lips as Tzuyu collapses to the ground. She clutches her wounded shoulder, staring up at him with eyes of betrayal, confusion and fright. 

“You… You bit me.” 

Jaebeom smirks, “I suggest you spend the next day or so wisely… it’s going to be your last.” 

Tzuyu’s expression turns rabid. She scrambles to her feet before sneering at the hybrid, “The sooner you learn to accept your fate, Jaebeom, the sooner you’ll find peace—” 

“Meh. Fate’s overrated.” 

“Just remember this—” The vampire growls, “—after you turned me, you murdered the love of my life… at least I had the kindness to keep yours alive.” 

He snickers, turning to leave. However, just before he takes a step, Jaebeom throws one final comment over his shoulder, “Thanks for all the sex.” 

With that, Jaebeom smirks to himself and saunters off into the glow of the setting sun. 

☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾

Jinyoung rushes down the hallway, careful not to speed for fear of running into a professor or student working after hours. The fragrance of your blood builds with each step, and he can’t help but grow more concerned with that knowledge. At the very least, he can still hear the faint beating of your heart. 

He follows the scent past a couple corners and down another long corridor to a massive, dim lecture room. Fearing the worst, Jinyoung quickly steps through the doorway before immediately spotting your incapacitated form through the darkness propped up against the opposite wall. He doesn’t hesitate to speed across the room and kneel in front of you. You’re unconscious, he realizes, but breathing—that’s enough to lift the heavy weight from his chest. 

“(Y/N)?” He calls gently, lifting his hands to cradle your face in his palms. “Come back to me, my dear… Please.” 

“Jinyoung?...” He’s never been more grateful to hear the sound of his name until now. Your eyes flutter open and dart around the area before drowsily settling on Jinyoung. The vampire in question breathes a sigh of relief, caressing the apple of your cheek with his thumb. 

“There you are.” He murmurs, “How do you feel?” 

“Like I was stabbed…” You raise an eyebrow before peering down at the pencil protruding from your abdomen, “Well, would you look at that.” 

Jinyoung holds back a smile at your sarcasm, appreciating that even wounded, you still manage to bear your usual fiery charm. His own eyes turn down to the object jabbed within your waist. He carefully analyzes the damage, determining the best possible solution to its extraction. As you said on the call, the pencil itself is trapped inside your ribcage. Jinyoung will have to be careful not to accidentally fracture your bones. 

He bites the inside of his cheek before returning his attention back to you. “I need to remove it, but it’s going to be painful. Very painful.” 

You roll your eyes, “It will also hurt a lot less when it’s out. I can handle it.” 

“I know you can.” 

Jinyoung keeps his gaze connected to yours as he wraps his fingers around the wood of the pencil, taking extra care not to brush against the swollen skin of the lesion. Your expression remains fatigued, yet indifferent during his preparation. He waits for your nod before he continues. 

In order to prevent as much further damage and to make it as painless as possible, Jinyoung removes the pencil as quickly as he can. Your furrowed brow and teary eyes slice at his soul, but he doesn’t stop until the object is completely taken out. Once it's free, Jinyoung tosses the pencil into a nearby trash can, pulls the sweater from his body and utilizes the garment to cover your slightly bleeding wound. He ignores the crimson of your blood staining his fingers, instead lifting his clean arm to his mouth before biting down. 

“What… are you doing?” 

“My blood will heal you.” Jinyoung answers, offering forth his bloody wrist. “It’s how I saved you after your assault in the alleyway.” 

“If I die with your blood in my system, won’t I become a vampire?” 

“You aren’t going to die.” 

You shake your head, pushing away his wrist. “Thanks for the offer, but I’d rather not risk anything.” 

“At least allow me to bring you to the hospital then.” He insists, “You’ve lost quite enough blood for one day.” 

Jinyoung curses at the mischievous smirk that spreads along your lips. “You have got to stop saving my life.” 

“Stop putting yourself in danger, and there would be no need for me to.” 

“Last I checked, I had no idea Vampire Victoria Secret was gonna show up and stab me with a fucking writing utensil.” You snort, gesturing over to your desk, “Grab my stuff before we go, please.” 

Just as you requested, Jinyoung goes about gathering your laptop and assorted belongings before sliding them into your bag. One book, however, catches his attention. For a moment, he pauses to stare at the title, then flips open the cover. His mouth runs dry when he discovers numerous pages of notes in your handwriting. 

Jinyoung closes the book before turning back to you, who is struggling to climb to your feet. He moves to help you, stabilizing your body against the wall while asking, “Why are you researching necromancy?” 

“It’s a long story.” You inhale deeply, “But to keep it short… Youngjae and I are going to try to resurrect Jackson Wang.”

At the mention of the alpha werewolf, Jinyoung’s muscles grow stiff. He stares at your face, attempting to read the stars in your dreary irises. After what seems like a long moment of silence, he eventually speaks, albeit quietly, “You understand resurrecting someone from the dead is no simple task… Why would you even attempt such a thing?” 

Your expression softens. “Because Jackson didn’t deserve to die, Jinyoung. The pack lost their leader—Mark lost his best friend.” 

“Resurrection is a dangerous craft, (Y/N).”

“Not if we find the right spell.” You argue, throwing your bag over your shoulder with a sharp inhale. “I know it sounds bat-shit crazy, but I have to try, Jinyoung. For Jackson and for Mark.”

Jinyoung inhales a heavy gust, before releasing an even heavier breath. He curses himself at being so affected by the hope in your eyes. Your determination is too alluring—you are too alluring. 

“I have a collection of grimoires kept by a coven of Dutch witches who specialized in necromancy back in the 15th century.” He finally says, “I will gift them to you as long as you grant me one request.”

Your eyes immediately brighten. “Of course. What do you need me to do?” 

Jinyoung grabs your hands. “I want you to forgive my brother.” 

“Jinyoung—“

“After you left, Jaebeom fed me his blood.” He explains, “He cured the werewolf venom, so I wouldn’t have to suffer.”

Your face first contorts to confusion, then to Jinyoung’s surprise, guilt. “He didn’t tell me…” 

“As I told you, Jaebeom has a good heart.” His lips upturn into a sad smile, “He just… has difficulty revealing that side of himself to others.” 

With that, Jinyoung carefully gathers your body into his arms. He manages to cover your soiled clothes with your jacket before heading for the door. 

“It is your choice. I will give you the grimoires no matter what you decide.” 

Jinyoung’s heart leaps when your head collapses against his chest, right over where his heart proceeds to race. Judging by your silence, he expects your mind to have descended into unconsciousness once more, but is pleasantly surprised when your slurred voice reaches his ears, “Hey, Jinyoung?” 

“Yes?” 

“Thanks for saving me. Again.” 

Jinyoung smiles, “It was my pleasure, (Y/N).”

☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾

“Such a fucking idiot!...” Youngjae hisses, stomping his way past gravestones and monuments through the light of the setting sun. Usually, he would stop to appreciate such a beautiful moment in nature, but his mind is too preoccupied with thoughts of remorse and anger. 

Youngjae knew better than to keep something like this from Mark. His heart immediately drops when he thinks back to the older witch’s furious outburst—Youngjae hasn’t seen him that angry in a long time. Not since Jackson was alive.

He shakes the thought from mind. He should have never agreed to your idea in the first place. Jackson Wang is dead. And he can’t be brought back. End of story. 

A faint murmur of voices awakens Youngjae from his self-loathing. He hadn’t realized how deep he has traveled into the forest until now, so deep that he’s very close to the shore of the bay. His curiosity expands when he notices a strange light emitting from behind a group of closely placed trees. Against his better judgement, Youngjae decides to investigate. 

The nearer he approaches the site, the louder the voices grow. With a closer view, Youngjae can barely make out two figures conversing in front of a large bonfire. Due to the shadows of tree cover, he can’t recognize their faces, but something about their voices seems familiar to him… 

“You’re sure this is going to work?” 

“I’ve been planning this for years. There’s no way it won’t.” 

“Doesn’t this spell need a crazy amount of power?” 

“There will be a blood moon tomorrow night.” Youngjae watches as one of the figures retreats to the opposite side of the fire. If he is a bit closer, he might be able to catch a glimpse of his face. “I will have more than enough power to complete the transformation.” 

“And it won’t kill me? The transformation?” 

“You sound like you’re having second thoughts…” 

“I’m not!” The second figure insists, “The Primes deserve to pay for what they’ve done.” 

“And pay they will.” Youngjae’s blood runs cold as he finally gains sight of one of the figures. “The Primes and Mark Tuan.” 

“Holy shit—” Youngjae moves to make a mad dash back through the forest, but just as he takes a step backwards, his foot catches a large divot in the earth. He crashes to the ground with a faint yelp, cursing the new ache in his ankle. Panic skyrockets through his veins at the sound of approaching footsteps. Even against the slight pain, Youngjae manages to force himself to his feet, ready to make a break for it, but a broad chest halts his movements. 

Youngjae’s heart stops when he meets the gaze of Changbin, the temperamental omega from the werewolf pack. 

He smirks, “Your mother ever tell you it’s rude to eavesdrop?” 

Youngjae hisses, “Screw you.” 

Changbin remains unbothered. “What should we do with him?” 

“Well… we can’t have him warning anyone of our plans.” Minho comes into view, wearing a similar smirk to that of the werewolf. “And besides, he might turn out to be pretty useful to us.” 

“Why are you doing this!?” Youngjae demands as Changbin shoves him back to the ground. “Are you that desperate for revenge that you’d actually kill Mark-hyung!?” 

Minho shakes his head, “I’m not gonna kill him. That special gift is reserved for the Primes.” He chuckles, before lifting his shoulders in a shrug. “I’m just gonna take back what I rightfully deserve…” 

Youngjae sneers at the witch, “You’re a fucking traitor! A sick, selfish—” 

The siphoner immediately grows silent when Changbin lands a harsh hit against his cheek. At the heavy impact, Youngjae goes flying to the earth and doesn’t rise again. 

Changbin glances at Minho, “You sure about all this?” 

Minho only smirks. 

“I’m dead sure.”