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artzonestuff · 1 year ago

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Differences Between the Southern and Northern Renaissance: A Study Through Jan van Eyck's "Portrait of a Man" (self portrait?)"

Written by ArtZoneStuff, 2024

The Renaissance, a period of cultural rebirth and revival of classical learning, manifested differently in the southern and northern regions of Europe. While both regions shared a common interest in humanism, art, and science, the way these ideas were expressed varied significantly due to differing cultural, social, and economic contexts.

The Southern Renaissance, centered in Italy, emphasized classical antiquity, proportion, perspective, and human anatomy. Artists like Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Michelangelo (1475-1564), and Raphael (1483-1520) focused on idealized beauty, harmony, and balanced compositions.

In contrast, the Northern Renaissance, which flourished in regions such as the Netherlands, Germany, and Flanders, focused more on meticulous detail, naturalism, and domestic interiors. Northern artists like Jan van Eyck (1390-1441), Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), and Hieronymus Bosch (?-1516) were known for their detailed and realistic depictions of nature, landscapes, and everyday life. Their work often contained rich symbolism and a focus on surface textures and fine details.

Jan Van Eyck's self portrait

Jan van Eyck's "Portrait of a Man" (Appendix 1), also known as his Self-Portrait from 1433, is a small-scale Dutch portrait measuring 25.9 x 33.1 cm (Google Arts and Culture, n.d.). The man in the painting emerges from a dark background, with his body depicted in three-quarter view. On his head, he wears a red chaperon, often mistaken for a turban, styled upward rather than hanging down (Nash, 2008, p.154). His dark fur-lined garment resembles the attire in "The Arnolfini Portrait" (Appendix 2), indicative of wealth during an era when textiles were extremely costly (ArtUK, 2019). His detailed face features a faint stubble, white highlights in his eyes and on his cheekbones, non-idealized features such as wrinkles and veins on his forehead, showcasing the Northern realism (Hall, 2014, p.44).

As described by the English art historian James Hall, the painting appears almost fleeting and alive - with the gaze seeming to capture the viewer before the face, and just like that, the penetrating stare turns away, perhaps followed by the light streaming from the right (Hall, 2014, p.43). The portrait conveys that the artist scrutinizes everything closely, including himself, without losing sight of the bigger picture (Hall, 2014, p.43). All these naturalistic details clearly indicate a Flemish painting.

The work is considered a self-portrait due to the frame. Jan van Eyck often used frames he designed and painted to enhance understanding and add meaning to his works (Hall, 2014, p.43; The National Gallery, 2021, 4:45-5.15). The gilded original frame of "Portrait of a Man" is crucial for interpreting the piece. Inscribed at the top of the frame is Jan van Eyck’s motto: "Als Ich can," translated to English: "As I can." At the bottom is his signature, and the date in Roman numerals: October 21, and in Arabic numerals, the year 1433. This results in the inscription: "Jan van Eyck made me on October 21, 1433" (Hall, 2014, p.43). He capitalizes the "I" in "Ich," playing on the pun Ich/Eyck. The motto can be interpreted as either boastful, "As I can," or modest, "As best as I can" (Hall, 2014, p.43).

The inscription highlights the relationship between words and image, indicating his awareness of his talent. His skill in painting surpasses that of a craftsman, which painters in this period was considered as. "As I can" suggests he is the only one capable of achieving such stylistic naturalism which cannot be imitated (The National Gallery, 2021, 5:10-5:58). "Jan van Eyck made me" also reflects a high degree of self-awareness, as he claims a painting of this quality, emphasizing that he created it and is conscious of his own abilities (The National Gallery, 2021, 5:10-5:58). All of this, along with his signing of his works as one of the first artists to do so, demonstrates a desire not to remain an anonymous craftsman (Hall, 2014, p.43; Farmer, 1968, p.159; Blunt, 1962).

The motto "Als Ich can" appears on several of his works, but the self-portrait is the only one where it is so prominent and clear. Additionally, the motto is placed at the top of the frame, where he would usually write the model’s name, thus, the motto can be seen as the model's identity (The National Gallery, 2021, 5:15-6:25). This, along with his direct gaze at the viewer, suggesting it was painted from a mirror, are the strongest indicators that the portrait is a self-portrait (Hall, 2014, p.43).

However, this can be taken with some skepticism, as other portraits by him, such as "Portrait of Margaret van Eyck" (Appendix 3) and "Portrait of Jan De Leeuw" (Appendix 4), share the same penetrating gaze (Pächt, 1994, p.107). This might instead indicate his realism, where the painter’s position does not function as an observer but rather takes an active role. The model’s direct gaze towards the viewer shows that the model has looked at Jan Van Eyck. This shows Jan Van Eyck possessing an active role, which was very different from painters in this period, and by doing so, creating a new respect for the painter as an artist, again showcasing his self-awareness of his position and talent (Pächt, 1994, pp.106-108).

Literature

Books and Journals:

Hall, James (2014). The self-portrait, a cultural history. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd

Nash, Susie (2008). Northeren Renaissance Art. New York: Oxford University Press.

Blunt, Anthony (1962). The Social Position of the Artist. Artistic Theory in Italy, 1450-1600. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press

Farmer, David (1968). Reflections on a Van Eyck Self-Portrait. Oud Holland. S. 159

Online

Google Arts and Culture (n.d.): Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban (selfportrait). Found at: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/portrait-of-a-man-in-a-red-turban-selfportrait/SAFcS1U8kYssmg?hl=en

ArtUK: Butchart, Amber (2019). Fashion reconstructed: the dress in Van Eyck's Arnolfini portrait. Found at: https://artuk.org/discover/stories/fashion-reconstructed-the-dress-in-van-eycks-arnolfini-portrait

The National Gallery (2021). Jan van Eyck's self portrait in 10 minutes or less | National Gallery. Found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMJK1EDG2X8&t=1s&ab_channel=TheNationalGallery

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rickrakontoys · 1 year ago

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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

9/10

Just let George Miller make whatever Mad Max movies he wants. I will witness it.

A very different beast than Fury Road, this is a sweeping, ambitious, character driven story of vengence and violence. Splitting the story into 5 chapters, each having their own narrative goals, makes the film feel very episodic. However, this structure allows each segment to have a distinct feel, while familiarizing us with the key players and the motivating events in young Furiosa's life that lead her on the path to Fury Road. The themes, visual motifs, and symbols woven through the story create a rich tapestry that, like Fury Road, elevates this beyond action spectacle and into something grand and mythic.

Anya Taylor Joy doesn't actually appear as Furiosa until nearly a third into the movie, but once she does, she commands the screen with a nearly wordless performance, glowering with intense resolve and roiling emotions. This gives the few words she does say more importance and weight. Joy has much more to do with the character here than Charlize Theron, and, while evocative of Theron's version, makes it her own. Alyla Brown as young Furiosa is terrific as well in the first two chapters, also saying very little while using only her eyes and body language to convey feelings.

While many of the Wasteland denizens new and old are portrayed impeccably with that signature manic "Mad Max" energy, it is Chris Hemsworth's Dementus that basically steals the show. Equal parts charismatic and menacing, intimidating yet vulnerable, he provides Furiosa with an interesting antagonist whose motivations are as nebulous and volatile as a desert sandstorm. Hemsworth plays Dementus as a true product of the end of the world: a sad, pitiable, broken man acting the part of a cruel, bombastic leader, allowing himself to be corrupted by the unforgiving reality around him, using humor and eccentricity as a thin veneer over his brutal nihilism.

Much has already been discussed about the film's look. While John Seale's cinematography is missed, Furiosa still contains some terrific and creative shots, particularly during its many action scenes. The wasteland is once again presented using a variety of highly-saturated colors, which is always a refreshing deviation from the typical, washed-out appearance of other post-apocalyptic movies. Yet, the compositing, lighting, and computer effects are a step down from Fury Road, and can be distractingly noticeable at times, especially due to the grander scale of the setpieces requiring more CGI effects and background replacements. But these are relatively minor complaints, as the practical effects involving smashing vehicles and flailing stunt persons are still astonishing to behold. Miller's skill in staging action remains some of the best in the business, as even the most chaotic of sequences remain visually coherent.

While not as laser focused as Fury Road, Furiosa is still an incredible achievement in both character and world-building. It is perhaps one of the best prequels made, as it not only expands what was seen before in a satisfying way, but its added context improves its predecessor.

It is rather odd that Miller chose to include a montage of Fury Road scenes in the end credits... This movie would make a perfect double-feature with Fury Road, except it decides to show you "Fury Road: Cliff Notes edition" right at the end...

#furiosa #mad max #fury road #imperator furiosa #george miller #anya taylor joy #chris hemsworth #movie review

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allegorypaintings · 6 months ago

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Mercy's Dream

Artist: Daniel Huntington (American, 1816-1906)

Date: 1841

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Description

"Mercy's Dream" was the first great success of Daniel Huntington's career. In its large scale, the painting utilized the vocabulary of the old masters that Huntington had seen while studying in Europe. The sweetness of the figure of Mercy is reminiscent of a Raphael Madonna, while the elegant curve of the angel's body and upraised hand recall the 'figura serpentinata' of Michelangelo. The subject matter, however, was one that held strong appeal for an American audience: John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress," the epic religious allegory of the seventeenth century that was the best-selling book in the United States in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, after the Bible. In Part II, the character of Mercy experiences a dream that inspires her fellow pilgrims to continue their quest. Alone and downcast, Mercy is comforted by an angel, who blesses her, adorns her in jewelry, and transports her to a golden gateway, where she is brought into the presence of God. Huntington's composition closely follows the narrative, from Mercy's sumptuous clothes to the crown the angel bestows upon her. This vision of salvation struck a chord with the public, appearing as a popular print. Huntington made three other versions of the subject.

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camisoledadparis · 7 months ago

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THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … November 21

1694 – Voltaire, French philosopher, born (d.1778); born François-Marie Arouet, better known by the nom de plume Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, essayist, deist and philosopher known for his wit, philosophical sport, and defense of civil liberties, including freedom of religion and the right to a fair trial. He was an outspoken supporter of social reform despite strict censorship laws and harsh penalties for those who broke them. A satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize Christian dogma and the French institutions of his day.

The name "Voltaire," which he adopted in 1718 not only as a pen name but also in daily use, is an anagram of the Latinized spelling of his surname "Arouet" and the initial letters of the sobriquet "le jeune" ("the younger"): AROVET Le ieune. The name also echoes in reversed order the syllables of a familial château in the Poitou region: "Airvault".

In terms of religious texts, Voltaire was largely of the opinion that the Bible was: 1) an outdated legal and/or moral reference, 2) by and large a metaphor, but one that perhaps taught some good lessons, and 3) a work of Man, not a divine gift. These beliefs did not hinder his religious practice (It is a line from one of his poems that translates "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.") though it did gain him somewhat of a bad reputation in the Catholic Church. He is best known today for his novel, Candide.

Voltaire blew hot and cold on the subject of homosexuality. Although he is known to have sampled the delights of same-sex love on one occasion, he nonetheless admonished a friend who wanted to try it a second time, "Once, a philosopher," he proclaimed, "twice, a sodomite!"

He was locked in a love-hate relationship with Frederick the Great, with whom he spent agonizing, ecstatic years. In her biography of Voltaire, Nancy Mitford writes that "nobody who studies the life of Voltaire can doubt that he had homosexual tendencies, and one wonders whether his feelings for the king were not exacerbated by unrequited passion."

Whatever his personal reservations about homosexuality, the famous French writer was forthright in declaring that sodomy, "when not accompanied by violence, should not fall under the sway of criminal law, for it does not violate the rights of any man." We will never know why Voltaire once signed a letter to a male friend, "E vi baccio il catzo," which, politely translated means, "I kiss your rod."

1915 – James Gleeson (d.2008) was one of Australia's foremost artists. He was also a poet, critic, writer and curator. He played a significant role in the Australian art scene, including serving on the board of the National Gallery of Australia.

Gleeson's themes generally delved into the subconscious using literary, mythological or religious subject matter. He was particularly interested in Jung's archetypes of the collective unconscious.

During the 1950s and '60s he moved to a more symbolic perspective, notions of human perfectibility. At this time he increasingly fashioned small psychedelic compositions made using the surrealist technique of decalcomania in the background, to suggest a landscape, and finished by adding a fastidiously painted male nude in the foreground.

"Totems in Arcadia"

Many of his paintings had homoerotic undertones, something which reflected on Gleeson's own homosexuality. The ideas for these compositions also saw Gleeson move into collage with his Locus Solus series, where he produced a substantial body of work by placing dismembered photographs, magazine illustrations, diagrams and lines of visionary poetry against abstract pools of ink.

Since the 1970s Gleeson generally made large scale paintings in keeping with the surrealist Inscape genre. The works outwardly resemble rocky seascapes, although in detail the coastline's geological features are found to be made of giant molluscs and threatening crustaceans. In keeping with the Freudian principles of surrealism these grotesque, nightmarish compositions symbolise the inner workings of the human mind. Called 'Psychoscapes' by the artist. Gleeson's later works incorporate the human form less and less in its entirety, represented in his landscapes by suggestions, an arm, a hand or merely an eye.

Gleeson died in Sydney on 20 October 2008, aged 92, one year after his life partner Frank O'Keefe.

1940 – Keith Prentice (d.1992) was a Dayton, Ohio-born American TV, film and stage actor, whose most famous role was the part of Larry in both the original stage and film versions of The Boys in the Band. Prentice also appeared on the classic TV soap Dark Shadows during the series' final months in 1971. Until just several years ago, his picture was displayed on the Tasters Choice coffee label.

Prentice studied in New York City at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His stage musical credits include Sail Away, The Sound of Music, Paint Your Wagon, and The King and I. In 1968, he appeared off-Broadway in the non-musical The Boys in the Band, a then controversial play featuring gay characters at a dramatic birthday party - the Summer before the Stonewall gay civil rights riots. He also appeared in the movie version of the play. In 1971 Keith joined the cast of Dark Shadows playing Morgan Collins. Prentice also appeared as Nils Fowler in the 1972 film The Legend of Nigger Charley and had a small role in the 1980 film Cruising which, like Boys in the Band, was directed by William Friedkin.

In 1982 Keith Prentice co-founded Kettering Theatre Under The Stars, and directed summer shows there until the year of his death. He died of AIDS-related cancer on September 27, 1992 in Kettering, Ohio.

1947 – Nickolas Grace is a British actor known for his roles on television, including Anthony Blanche in the acclaimed ITV adaptation of Brideshead Revisited and the Sheriff of Nottingham in the 1980s series Robin of Sherwood. Grace also played Dorien Green's husband Marcus in the 1990's British comedy series Birds of a Feather.

Although Grace had a small uncredited part in The City of the Dead (1960), his first known work in feature films as an adult came with Bruges-La-Morte (1978) directed by Ronald Chase. After this, Grace secured the part of the flamboyant aesthete Anthony Blanche in Brideshead Revisited which filmed off and on from 1979 to 1981.

Following the success of Brideshead Revisited on television , Grace played Richard II at the Young Vic in 1981, and Mozart in Amadeus with Frank Finlay at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1982. He then began working in operetta, playing Koko in The Mikado and Joseph Porter in HMS Pinafore for Sadler's Wells Opera in repertoire from 1982-1986. The film Heat and Dust appeared in 1983. It was around this time that took the role of Robert de Rainault, the Sheriff of Nottingham, in ITV's Robin of Sherwood.

In the "official biography" of the actor Alan Bates, Otherwise Engaged, by Donald Spoto, Spoto quotes Grace describing his "intense affair" with Bates, who was "terrified of exposure": "I told him labels didn't matter, but that we must be who we are. But he just could not accept that. Alan was at ease as long as he pretended - and he insisted on pretending - that our relationship was not what it was, and was not disclosed to or evident to others."

Bates, who was then 39 and married, and Nickolas, who was 25, became in the latter's words "very close and very loving, in an intense affair that was one of the most important relationships of my life".

As he had with previous male lovers, Bates denied to Nickolas that he was truly homosexual. If they travelled by car together, "he made me lie down in the back - he didn't want me to be seen with him. That was an indication of the fear that he had".

When the inevitable split with Nickolas came, it was brutal. "It's been very nice to have known you," Alan told him with astonishing coolness one day, "and I'm sure I'll see you around in London." He spoke as if they had been polite colleagues on a project, or fellow travellers on a train journey. It took Nickolas months to recover.

1963 – The playwright, director and founder of Tectonic Theater Project, Moisés Kaufman, was born on this date. He is the author of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, 33 Variations and is perhaps best known for writing The Laramie Project with other members of Tectonic Theater Project. He was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela and moved to New York City in 1987. He made his Broadway directing debut in the 2004 production of I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Play. Mr. Kaufman is a Guggenheim Fellow.

Kaufman is of Romanian and Ukrainian Jewish descent. He described himself in an interview as "I am Venezuelan, I am Jewish, I am gay, I live in New York. I am the sum of all my cultures. I couldn't write anything that didn't incorporate all that I am."

1981 – Sergeant Charles Cochrane, a 14 year veteran of the NYPD, created shock waves by testifying before a New York City Council hearing in favor of a gay rights bill. Following on the testimony of a Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Vice President who denounced the bill, and declared he didn't know of any homosexual police officers, Cochrane stunned those present by announcing, "I am very proud of being a New York City Police Officer, and I am equally proud of being gay."

Cochrane's public testimony lent significantly toward the official formation of the Gay Officers Action League, Inc., aka G.O.A.L. - NY, which became the first official police fraternal society in the world to represent LGBT professionals within the criminal justice system. Since that time, similar organizations for LGBT Law Enforcement Officers, Criminal Justice professionals as well as Firefighters and EMS personnel have been established around the world.

1983 – Blake McGrath is a Canadian professional dancer, pop singer and choreographer. He was known for being on the first season of So You Think You Can Dance in 2005, and on the MTV reality dance show, DanceLife. He has also developed a solo singing career with a debut album Time to Move in 2010.

McGrath was born in Mississauga, Ontario.

His early television appearances include: Choices of the Heart: The Margaret Sanger Story (1997) playing Stuart Sanger, and the TV show recreation of Goosebumps book "Stay Out of the Basement". He played the brother Casey.

In 2015, McGrath was chosen to perform on Michael Jackson's thirtieth anniversary special. In 2006, he performed alongside Paulina Rubio at the 2004 Latin Grammy Awards. Also in 2006 he had an appearance in the documentary Freestyle (with Brian Friedman). He has appeared in Gap campaigns (with Sarah Jessica Parker), and in advertisements for iPod, Jc Penny (which he also choreographed), and Hummer.

He has danced with stars such as Madonna, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Janet Jackson, Adam Lambert, Ashanti, Destiny's Child, Katy Perry, Craig David, Jewel.

In addition to his appearances on television shows, McGrath has also appeared in the films Butterbox Babies, Life With Mikey, Chicago, and Rent. He was also featured as a dancer in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody in the episode Commercial Breaks. He was a waiter. He studied at both Tiffany Dance Academy in Hamilton Ontario and Joanne Chapman School of Dance in Brampton, Ontario.

He is owner of VIP Dance Events which tours major cities throughout Canada. He also appeared on the magazine cover of Hotshoes and appeared in Dance Spirit Magazine December 2006 issue. Lastly, he appeared on the 9/10/13 episode of Dance Moms as a guest choreographer. He is the lead choreographer for the audition cities and alternating third judge on So You Think You Can Dance Canada.

He is bisexual. "I've been attracted to men and attracted to women," he told Canada's gay mag Fab. "My feelings change all the time. One day I can feel like I'm gay, another day like I'm straight. But I'm not just one or the other, I'm Blake McGrath and I'm attracted to somebody on the inside.

2006 – Israel's Supreme Count recognizes international same-sex marriages.

Today's Gay Wisdom:

Quotes from Voltaire:

A witty saying proves nothing.

All murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.

Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.

Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung.

Behind every successful man stands a surprised mother-in-law.

Better is the enemy of good.

Common sense is not so common.

Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.

Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.

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accio-victuuri · 2 years ago

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WHY WE THINK THE SELFIE WAS TAKEN IN INNER MONGOLIA 🤍

The whole IM CPN started when rumors were going around that LOCH will be moving the shooting there and at the same time Mermaid ( Intercross ) could be filming there too. What is known tho is GG is there and working related to LOCH. This is not a secret. You have proxy shooters waiting on him. Also some journalists who did SBMS promo interviews with GG posted about them going to IM for it.

Fans have analyzed the trees and how some parts of it looked edited. It’s totally fine for his team to edit stuff or even blur things out for privacy sake. Since the photo is most likely recent, and they don’t want people to go there looking for him. Maybe this is why he chose to share that dark selfie so we won’t see where he is. Just his very cool look 😏

This post goes into detail about the parts that appear to be edited, most likely using a ps stamp tool.

The editing really gets me. For example, if I am an ordinary staff member and retouching a photo without wanting to reveal the location, my first choice is to directly crop the entire photo to reveal only the head and a small part of the body (similar to the photo at night). Then clear out the helmet and glasses, and finally add particles to the entire image to ensure that nothing is visible. Easy and effective.

Even if it is necessary to keep the original composition and expose the background. I will choose to replace the entire background.

But the retoucher of this picture chose the most troublesome, time-consuming, and obviously flawed stamp tool to modify the background on a large scale. Who could it be…. 👀

More on the background,

So there’s some news that LOCH had to take a day a break for a day and adjusted the shooting location for ZZ cause he had other work. I’m thinking SBMS promo interviews or ads. This is allegedly the place.

The tree looks familiar. 👀

Fans are saying it appears to be a birch tree. It fits because there is a Birch Forest in Ulanbutong Grassland, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia. So he could be going around there. Also the conditions there is best for someone to ride a motorcycle using the gear he wore.

We could totally be wrong tho and WYB has never left Beijing. However on GG’s side, with the suspicious hiding and black cloth — it only adds to the assumption that there is something going on.

Maybe one day we will know the “truth” about where those photos are taken. For now, we shall clown freely…..

source.

#yizhan #bjyx #there is no science here i’m just clowning like i always do

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moleculegirls · 8 months ago

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my seto lore yippeee ONLY POSTING THIS BCUS DISCORD HAS A CHARACTER LIMIT HEHE

(seto in specific because he's the one i've thought most about and have seen a lot for different interpretations of)

seto lives in the forest far away from many after the end of his village which taught him magic. he lives outside any full civilization and has since he was a preteen. He spent the time studying and learning, to which be became a harpy as result of. he slowly grew back into human civilization as people began leaning on him for help with various magical ailments or situations requiring help. (think like. zecora from my little pony!)

see in my scenario at some point in magic usage, your magic will change your body. that is a natural process, sort of like how sharpening a blade changes its angle! your magic needs the best possible vessel to be truly used to its potential and it WILL find it. magic is a tradeoff in that sense. as such, the further you get into it, the more the changes happen. its not overnight its over several years but CANNOT be undone.

he is very separated from most of humanity, not really having any friends for a while and not seeking contact, in his teenage years he was entirely focused on magic and learning how to wield it. this devotion was something developed within his childhood as he saw how his magic lashed out and was very capable of hurting people, and being recomended to hone in his magic and slowly grow to weild it- eventually connecting the ideas of 'studying magic' with 'being safer to be around'. in these teenage years he neglected his own physical health beyond what would allow him to continue practicing, barely noticing the small changes happening around him and inside of him. by the time he connects the changes in his body to a form he is too far in and much too emotionally reliant on the structure studying and practicing gives him to give up.

okay uhm. hold on im gonna ramble here abt harpy seto simply because i need to tell someone else about this headcannon of mine. in my headcannon, he was born and raised human, just with magic (think of like how evokers have their own society who contains magic users. like that) but his magic happened in a way that caused his body to change to be more birdlike. harpys are NOT an actual species in my headcannon, more one of those 'creatures beyond god' that were originally something else but became that way due to some magical means. think werewolves or manticores or liches. theyre a condition, not a species to themselves, if they were to reproduce itd cause whatever creature the parent started as.

as a kid specifically his magic was simply very chaotic and hard to control, firing off at random moments usually in fear or anger. as seto was a kid who happened to have very big emotions and big magic potential, these could cause occasional lashes out beyond his control. in turn he was encouraged to study and hone in on his magic in order to not hurt anyone. this had the unfortunate side effect of teaching him the basic idea of studying = being safer to be around and viewing his magic as a sort of curse that kept him isolated from others.

in turn, as he tapped into more and more of his magic potential- his body slowly became more and more adept to take the magic and wield it better, changing the patterns of his growth and general composition of his body. (like how dancers joints adjust and change to different levels of strain than the average persons, but to a bigger scale.)

magic tends to adjust the body, thats normal and expected within magic use. his own tendency to neglect his physical needs caused him to not really notice the small things like feathers in his bed and hair all the time till eventually one day it did suddenly strike him as odd that his hands were more claw-like, that even if his nail polish he used to stop himself from biting his nails chipped, that his nails never broke and had sharpened into neat pointy ends. these changes culminating in him waking up in the middle of the night covered in blankets sweating his ass off just. as a fucking bird thing.

the fear ignited in a fight or flight response, even though there was nothing really to fight against. after that faded, the disgust and fear quickly set in. the fear of what his peers would think, the fear of all of these new sensations, how he would hide it, if he could even turn it off at all or would be stuck like this. as he calmed down and settled in the best he could with what in his mind was some terrible curse, he learned he COULD turn it off! or mitigate it, but only if he stayed calm. (again, magic is really just an extension of ones instinct to protect themselves, a bodily reaction to fear)

#uhm hehe

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fictionsoul · 19 hours ago

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The dragon who conquered the sky V

Dragon master fem!reader x Cloud controller Yesung

Theme: Celebrity-fantasy AU

Synopsis: SM's Special Forces Program had demanded the presence of its best soldiers. An idol capable of molding clouds to his convenience and you, a rockstar capable of commanding a legion of dragons needed to join forces to save your world from imminent doom.

Warnings: Description of violent events, war theme (?), written with female pronouns, slight use of "Y/N", fluff, enemies to lovers, humor, slow burn.

w/c: 5.8k

The dragon who conquered the sky V

The silence of your room was something you were used to. You had always found the space you needed to enjoy your solitude there, but things had slowly changed, a gradual change that had been imperceptible.

As soon as Lee Soo Man restored your powers, you didn't hesitate to climb onto the roof of the building to summon a flying dragon; any winged creature would be of help to you in that moment of desperation.

Something inside you felt unstable, your heart was beating in an unfamiliar arrhythmia, your stomach remained in a knot that refused to untie and ―for some unknown reason― your steps always led you to the front of Yesung's room.

The two of you had been successfully avoiding each other. Your practice schedules had changed drastically. You knew the singer would take the practice room at noon, so you used it at midnight.

Mealtimes were something you used to avoid, taking a plate and a glass and carrying them to your room.

The other members only spoke when necessary, as if they feared you, as if crossing your path were a death sentence.

The distant treatment was suffocating you, transforming you into someone you weren't, seeking the company you had never wanted before.

When your hands grasped the dragon's scales and it took flight, you felt tranquility settle back into you, into your inner self.

The icy wind ruffled your hair as the winged reptile soared through the skies. The familiar sensation of warmth emanating from the draconian body embraced you like a warm blanket on a cold night.

You were home. You were with your own.

The apartment you had purchased was located far from the city but close to the family temple where you had grown up.

Your lonely dwelling now felt like a real home. Four walls surrounding you, a soft bed waiting for you, and a room dedicated to musical composition. You couldn't ask for anything more.

Things were slowly returning to normal, everything falling into place to leave those days of training and combat behind.

The room in the SM building was far away, and the only thing that remained with you was the guitar in its case accompanied by the spell book. You didn't need anything else.

That's what you thought until that morning, when the sun woke you from the sweetest and most vivid dream you had ever had. It was then that the silence began to feel foreign and longing threatened to dampen your good spirits.

You never imagined you would miss Heechul's comments assuring you that Yesung and you were in love, or Kyuhyun's intrusion into your thoughts as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

It wasn't just them; there were also afternoons of practice, mornings of cleaning, and evenings of meetings to plan the attacks.

And at the center of it all was Yesung. His constant presence, his words of encouragement and scolding, the exchanges of teasing and banter.

You especially treasured the memory of the moment when you showed him your song. His reaction. His words. His smile.

Although you missed those things, they had also been the reason you had run away, because that wasn't you, because you didn't want to get used to having so many people in your life.

In the solitude of your room, no one pressured you to train, no one called you at breakfast time, much less entered your bedroom as if that space belonged to them. You were definitely better off alone.

The morning had passed without you noticing. It was time to start training.

The roof of the house was empty, all that space was just for you.

You ran, jumped, summoned some dragons, and finally practiced using daggers. Every movement measured, every strike precise.

The dragon you were training with breathed fire as if it wanted to end your life, but you knew it wouldn't. Sometimes you dodged, and other times you attacked, accompanying your movements with shouts and laughter.

When the reptile wrapped its tail around your leg and pulled it to make you fall on your back, Yesung's words echoed inside you.

He always complained about it, always got upset because you acted without a plan and let yourself be carried away by your instincts.

You covered your eyes with your arm and let out a frustrated growl. At this rate, you would end up becoming the worst version of yourself.

You stroked the little dragon that had settled on your stomach as if it were a kitten looking for a soft place to take a nap, and you let the reptile stay there for a couple more minutes, just long enough for its warmth and presence to keep you firmly in place.

When the afternoon broke with blinding sunshine and clear skies, you knew it was time to go shopping at the local market so you could eat something other than instant noodles.

What you didn't expect was for people to spot you right away. It didn't matter that you were wearing a hanfu that was far from your usual style; the merchants quickly realized who you were.

Soon, rumors spread that "the dragon of Guangxi" had returned home.

It took only two days for your photo to go viral, and speculation about a comeback after a two-year hiatus was quick to follow.

Lee Soo Man saw the news. He clearly saw your photo on the tablet resting on his desk. The mission was at risk.

Hearts2Hearts' comeback with a digital single was suddenly brought forward, with the remaining two weeks reduced to a matter of days.

Soon everyone returned to Seoul, the members of Super Junior, Riize, and WayV left their accommodations to focus on their activities.

The only one who remained was Yesung. He had a new mission and would fulfill it despite your protests and hurtful words. They were a team, and he needed you to focus on victory.

His journey to the Guangxi region was easy thanks to the return of his powers. The clouds molded themselves to his will and carried him comfortably while his mind crafted all kinds of speeches to make you come back.

Deep down, he wished his members were still there, that Kyuhyun could read your thoughts to know what was on your mind, or that Siwon could extract the whole truth from you to prevent you from evading him. But things weren't like that, and he would gain nothing from wishing for the impossible.

The rural area was vast and diverse, with people coming and going as they transported their goods. Wooden carts moved from the farming areas to what looked like a local market.

It was hard to imagine yourself in that landscape. A rock singer didn't fit in with the atmosphere of farm fields or traveling markets, yet there you were, wearing that dress that had little to do with the image you always projected.

Yesung shook his head to focus as his eyes scanned the area, looking for the place where you had been photographed.

People hindered his search, preventing his eyes from seeing anything other than themselves and agricultural products.

The search became less complicated when people began to head toward the same spot, all walking quickly and a few running.

The singer stopped on high ground as the warm wind brushed against his face. The place everyone seemed to be heading for was a kind of kiosk.

The clouds descended slowly as the idol gestured with his hands. The thick condensed vapor covered him, preventing people from noticing his presence.

Yesung waited for the perfect moment to hide behind a house so he wouldn't be discovered. The reality was that no one was paying much attention to him, not when all they wanted was to find a good spot to hear you sing.

You had agreed to do it, to give a small acoustic show performing a few songs in order to calm the rumors about a comeback and let everyone know that you were on vacation.

In the center of the kiosk, there you were, sitting on a bench holding a guitar on your lap. Your crossed legs gave your face an air of confidence, but the constant rocking of your foot betrayed your nervousness.

You had spent two years away from the stage, even further away from your hometown. To be back there, with your people, with those who had supported you from the beginning, was… overwhelming.

"Hello?" you said to check that the microphone was working.

Your voice came out of the bandstand's speakers, forcing people to turn their heads and focus their attention on you.

There was nothing like what concert producers used in organizing concerts. That improvised performance lacked pyrotechnics, lights, sound, or dancers, but it enjoyed the charm of the local audience, the affection of those who saw you grow up.

Your fingers caressed the strings, creating notes and chords. A beautiful melody was produced as your voice filled the silence.

The first song went well. It wasn't difficult to change the rhythm from rock to ballad, not when you had composed it yourself.

Yesung mingled with the crowd as he made his way through several people to get closer to you.

To him, you seemed like a completely different person. The traditional dress, your voice in the middle of a ballad, and your relaxed demeanor were the opposite of what he saw in you all the time.

His heart tightened inside his chest as if he were facing an enemy and not you. His gaze immediately changed; he wasn't watching you, he was alert, waiting for the attack to come.

The performance you were giving was pleasing everyone. The audience swayed to the rhythm of the guitar, and reddish clouds began to darken the sky.

The sudden change in lighting alarmed everyone, replacing your music with murmurs and frightened glances.

Yesung waved his hands, trying to dispel the clouds and replace them with some white cumulus and cirrus clouds, but the force that held those reddish ones resisted yielding.

"What's happening in the sky?" asked a girl's voice amid the silent commotion.

Lightning struck, causing the earth to shake with the roar of thunder that followed. The idol was alarmed, his heart racing and adrenaline surging, putting him on alert.

Alarmed, you got up from your seat and walked over to get a better look at the atmospheric phenomenon. What you saw did not please you. The red sky with purple lightning was the obvious landscape of a magical thunderstorm.

There was only one other person there who could summon the power of lightning, the same person who had taught you how to do it.

"Hurry up and evacuate," you said into the microphone. "Run to your homes, get to safety, and don't panic," you ordered as your eyes searched for somewhere to flee, somewhere that would give you a quick escape route. "Everything will be okay."

You left the microphone on the seat and picked up your guitar and its case to escape from there. Your hands tensed on the instrument, clinging to it as if it were the lifeline that would keep you afloat.

You looked around again for an escape route, but everyone was running in all directions. If you ventured to run in your hanfu, you would end up trampled in the stampede.

Another series of lightning bolts streaked across the sky, and the resulting thunder caused the crowd to scream.

The rain began to fall, first as a light drizzle and then intensifying into a storm. She was definitely behind all of this.

Lightning struck, and finally that bright light threatened to hit the kiosk. As best you could, you tried to get out of there amid the rush and confusion.

The impact never came; its force was absorbed by a purple orb that appeared out of nowhere.

You quickly turned your head, looking for the person responsible for that. Nævis was only a few feet away, her body distorted between pixels and fading lines.

"Go, fight her in Kwangya," she gasped, as if the mere act of speaking required enormous effort.

"Go? Are you talking to me and how many others? I think Soo Man forgot to recharge your battery," you replied, feeling the tension in the air.

You didn't want to confront your mother. You flatly refused to confront her, knowing that her strength was superior. The only advantage you had was the book you had carefully stored in the guitar case.

"There's no time to waste. You were trained for this."

"Two years!" you complained. "She's been training her whole life, I'm clearly at a disadvantage."

"We have no other choice. Otherwise she'll take control of everything, and we won't be able to return to the stage."

You ran a hand through your hair in frustration while the other rested on your hip. She was right, and you hated that that was the way things were.

She was against music, she had never wanted you to pursue it, she never accepted that your talent was not the same as hers, and she certainly did not tolerate your refusal to develop it.

Without giving you more time to think, the small orb expanded, enveloping you in a blinding light that seemed invisible to everyone else.

Seconds passed as you moved from your world to Kwangya. Nævis collapsed in front of you and her holographic body began to fade.

"You said we would come together. Hey Nævis, you can't abandon me like this," you knelt in front of her to move her, but she was a hologram and as such your fingers passed through her figure to touch the ground directly. "I'm not going to do it alone. I'll start writing my resignation letter and go find another company," you threatened.

A hand wrapped around your wrist and pulled your arm upward, urging you to stand up.

Instinctively, you threw a low kick and pulled your arm back hard, taking advantage of the distraction.

Yesung appeared in your field of vision as he jumped backward to avoid the blow.

"She's not coming back," he murmured, looking you in the eyes. "She clearly said we had no choice but to fight."

"And how do you know?"

"I was there. I saw you singing with your guitar under the bandstand."

You opened your eyes wide as you remembered the guitar and quickly looked around for the instrument. Fortunately, there it was, dirty, splintered, and with a broken string. The case was lying on its side, intact and still closed.

With determined steps, you walked over to them and picked them up, putting the guitar in the case and slinging it over your shoulder.

"Well done, strategist. Tell me what we need to do to get out of here and return to our reality," you huffed reluctantly.

Yesung did his best to ignore your bad mood as he gathered his thoughts.

He didn't know what to do either.

He didn't know the force they were fighting against, nor did he know where they were. His mind was blank, making strategies useless at that moment.

"Have you finally run out of answers?" you pressed, accompanying your words with a mocking smile.

"Now you need someone who has to think things through a thousand times before making a decision?"

The singer was tired of your attitude, fed up with having to avoid you, of having lost all progress with you and being back at square one.

He knew very well that arguing wasn't going to get him anywhere, but with you it was always like that. There was no other way to engage in dialogue without shouting, hitting in a mist of heated discussion.

You closed your eyes and turned away so you wouldn't have to see him when you opened them. You didn't think he would remember your words, much less use them against you.

"Sometimes you're really annoying," you said irritably, "one of those colleagues whose presence is… well, annoying.

"Would you rather work alone? Come on, your family is the one causing problems, and you've already shown us that you can't deal with your mother on your own," he smiled smugly. "You know what they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

It was the last thing you needed to hear to let the anger flow through your veins.

Without a word, you lunged at the singer, knocking him to the ground.

As if your body weighed no more than a feather, Yesung threw you aside, causing you to fall on your back.

The agile movement took you by surprise. Had it happened at another time, your teammate would have struggled while complaining.

You didn't miss your constant fights, but there was something strange about it all. A sudden and unexpected change that made everything tense and uncomfortable.

"I'm not like her," you declared angrily, a feeling of frustration spreading through your body.

"Let's see," he put his hand in front of him and began to count one by one. "You fight about everything, you hide the truth from others, you know about spells and enchantments… I don't know, it sounds very similar to your mother's behavior."

"No, you don't understand. She's evil," you sighed, "it's her fault that my father died after teaching me to play the guitar. It's her fault that music has been eradicated in this region, it's her fault that I left here.

"What an intimate moment!" shouted a familiar voice.

Your body tensed and your hands clenched into fists as you froze. His presence had always had that effect on you.

Training based on rewards and punishments had made you fear the person you were supposed to love.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think you have something that belongs to me. Isn't that right, Y/N?"

Instinctively, you put yourself on guard, with your legs and arms ready to attack or defend. With her, you couldn't stall or buy time. She was lethal.

"I won't give you anything, that book belongs to me," you muttered through clenched teeth as you tried to think of something other than throwing yourself at her.

It wasn't going to work; hand-to-hand combat would be useless. At that moment, you wished you could have some of Yesung's calmness to come up with a plan on the fly.

"Yesung, sometimes it's not so bad to think things over a thousand times," you said, taking a few steps forward. "It's something I admire about you, and maybe I've even come to envy."

The idol didn't respond, just stared at you as if you had grown a second head.

"What she's looking for is in the guitar case," you informed him, throwing the case in his direction. You looked up to see your mother, who was floating in the sky thanks to a light-weight spell. "Protect that book with your life if necessary. I'll try to buy some time while you think of a way to defeat her."

"What are you talking about?"

"You were right," you continued, completely ignoring his words, "I'm just like her. I fight over everything, I hide the truth from you, and I know some spells."

"Don't even think about confronting her, there must be another way to avoid chaos. You don't have to do it."

"That's why I need you here. You're the one who always plans. When you come up with something, act without me. I don't think I can be of any help, but at least I won't get in the way."

Yesung opened his eyes in surprise and looked at you. It was a look that lingered on you longer than necessary, questioning your intentions and worrying about the outcome.

He was afraid of what might happen, afraid of losing you. The mere thought turned his stomach, forcing him to push the thought away.

"Be careful," was all he said.

Behind those words lay all his concern for you. All the conflicting feelings you aroused in him.

You nodded before whistling to call one of your dragons, a flying specimen that could breathe fire.

The enormity of the reptile took Yesung by surprise, knocking him off balance with its flapping wings. He didn't have time to say goodbye; by the time he reacted, you were already several meters away.

The vocalist took your guitar case and slung it over his shoulder so he wouldn't lose it. He had agreed to protect what was inside, and he would keep his word.

Yesung opened the case and took out the book to look inside. It was useless to read it since he didn't understand Chinese, but he was good at deducing things from pictures, and he would use that to come up with a plan, no matter how risky it was.

You, on the other hand, tried not to endanger the lives of the dragons that had come to your call. They all flew overhead, trying to attack the cause of the situation.

Some risked to get close enough to bite, scratch, or launch an attack, but she was fast enough to defend herself and attack.

If only she hadn't developed so much power, if only you had reported everything that had happened earlier, maybe, just maybe, things wouldn't have gone so far.

You felt responsible for that, as you always had while you were by her side.

"Why are you doing this?" you demanded of her, demanding an answer, trying to talk after avoiding it for so many years.

"Lee Soo Man took you away from me, the industry seduced your father, and they have taken care of driving away everyone I have loved."

Her voice was emotionless, as if it were a rehearsed speech she had practiced countless times, a cheap speech she could recite to anyone.

"Don't you think we all decided to walk away out of fear?"

Finally, she grimaced in disgust, showing how much your comment had bothered her.

"Are you afraid of me?" she murmured in a honeyed voice, moving closer to you and bringing her hand close to your face without taking her eyes off yours. "Honey, you should be afraid of them. You should see what they do to those they discard as if they were a product."

Her eyes conveyed a warmth that you knew she didn't possess, but she was used to deceiving people to get her way.

Her fingers caressed your cheek while one of her sharp nails pressed against your skin without cutting you. It was a warning, a threatening gesture.

You didn't move, your face remained still while your mind focused on her deceitful words.

"It hasn't happened to me, and I won't let it happen."

"It hasn't happened to you? Look at yourself, two years wasted away from the stage while they used you as a weapon. What do you think will happen next?" She finished circling around you and placed both hands on your shoulders. "He's going to throw you away!"

"In two years, I learned more than I would have learned with you."

"In that case, give me the book. You don't need it. Run so that old man can teach you everything I could never show you," she teased, taking a strand of your hair between her fingers and tossing it behind your head.

In one swift movement, you grabbed her wrist before she could leave.

She has been watching Yesung, attentive to his movements, ready to attack him when he was distracted.

"I told you, I learned a lot in these two years," you jumped off the dragon, causing her to fall with you in a nosedive.

No matter how well she controlled her body and surroundings, she was unable to move with you holding her hands, the source of her power. You were falling, but no matter how hard your body hit the ground, you clung to her.

The skirt of the hanfu clung to your legs, fluttering as you moved against the wind. You were afraid, very afraid, but your desire to end it all was bigger.

Your mother writhed, struggling to free herself from your grip until her fingernail found the skin of your hand and tore it, causing a cry of pain to escape from your throat.

The sound of raw pain alerted the idol, who watched as the villain remained suspended in the air, a few feet from touching the ground, while your body continued to fall. Instinctively, he moved one of his hands and a cloud of gas and steam enveloped you, softening the impact.

You had everything under control until that moment.

Without stopping to think, your mother caused stakes to shoot out of the ground, and with cat-like reflexes, you got up and did an acrobatic move to back away. Your legs moved skillfully, avoiding each of the sharp spikes with jumps, pirouettes, and push-ups.

The dress made the task difficult, the fabric fluttering, tangling, and getting in your way depending on the kind of movements you wanted to make.

"Get away with the book, Yesung!" you said, running toward your mother to continue buying time.

The singer did not obey; on the contrary, he stood still, placing the book inside the guitar case.

The spell she had perfected was the summoning of lightning, and he, with his clouds, could absorb it as long as he didn't make any mistakes.

"Take care of her, I need some time."

Yesung looked away from your bloody hand. Your mother took advantage of his distraction to aim a bolt of lightning in his direction.

Regretting what you were about to do, you gave the order for one of the dragons to get in the way, and the lightning ended up striking the animal.

The idol shook his head to concentrate. He couldn't be of any help if he continued to be distracted.

Quickly, Yesung opened his arms and then brought his palms together, causing a thick mist to form over the ground, obscuring everyone's view.

The singer moved quickly to reach the dragon, brought a palm to the site of the wound, and whispered a song. The scorched area began to regain its original color, and soon the reptile was able to stand up.

He wasn't completely healthy, but at least he could endure the pain to return to his herd.

"Yesung, I need help."

Lightning flashed in your direction, and the singer moved his hand to erect a wall of cloud that absorbed the impact, transforming its whitish color to gray.

You smiled with satisfaction at your new discovery, opened your palm, recited a phrase unintelligible to the singer, and struck the cloud, shooting the lightning bolt in the direction it had come from.

The attack was almost accurate; if not for her quick reflexes, it would have hit your mother's left shoulder directly.

Boiling with rage, she launched her attack. The real fight had begun.

Using one of her most basic spells, the fog dissipated, making the battlefield visible again.

Direct hits, attacks, and powers were launched at each other. The sorceress's legion of shadows gave no respite to the dragons fighting to keep those spectral beings out of your own battle.

Your hair fell in messy strands across your face, sticking to your skin thanks to the patina of sweat covering it.

Breathing became increasingly difficult, inhaling a little air amid the dust and dense mist that rose everywhere.

The hanfu was torn and burned in some areas, other pieces of fabric had been used to cover your wounds and Yesung's.

The attacks increased in power, draining your energy and that of the idol. If you continued at that pace, sooner or later you would be defeated.

With both knees on the ground, you tried to take a breath to fill your lungs, but the powerful blow of air that hit your stomach knocked you down instantly.

Yesung moved toward you, placed his hand on your abdomen, and began to sing.

"Doesn't your hair radiate light when you sing?" you murmured as the air returned to your lungs.

"One more comment like that and I'll let you die. This is taking a lot of energy, and at this rate I'll end up dying of exhaustion."

"I know a spell to restore energy. I'll need the book," you requested, looking around.

Yesung had hidden it at some point during the battle, and that had been the last straw for your mother.

"I can't give it to you now. We'll have to wait until we win this battle."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"I've been thinking―

The singer couldn't finish his sentence, as a fireball flew straight toward where both were standing.

By pure reflex, Yesung tried to block the attack with one of his clouds, but he didn't do it in time and his hands were burned.

The idol moved his hands in a new attempt to return the attack, but it didn't work. There was no smoke, not even steam.

"My power," he whispered in disbelief as he checked his hands all over.

It was as if that fire had sealed his ability.

"What's wrong, Yesung?" you asked, alarmed, noticing your friend's confusion.

The singer stroked the palms of his hands again. The skin that had once been smooth now covered in burns.

Despite the pain and shock, he managed to stand up, smiling. He had it, he had figured it out.

"Nothing important is happening," he replied, hiding both hands behind his back and smiling in your direction. "I'll distract her while I go get the book. I need you to summon an ice dragon, and then I'll tell you the rest."

"But your powers―

"This is vitally important," he interrupted, placing both hands on your shoulders. "Bring that dragon here so we can put an end to this silly battle."

Yesung ran through the thick fog, drawing the sorceress's attention with the sound of his footsteps.

The attacks didn't stop.

Lightning, fire, and wind mixed together trying to strike the idol, but he was faster. He had trained for a week without his powers, perfecting his physical abilities so he wouldn't have to rely on his power to control the clouds.

"Now I understand why Y/N is like that!" he shouted to get the enemy's attention. "It seems like the whole family has anger issues!"

She shook the ground and Yesung almost lost his balance, but he didn't stop. He needed to get to the book to distract her completely.

"Did I leave you without powers?" she boasted, descending to the ground, just a few meters away. "If you give me the book, I could give them back to you."

"Why would I need them back? I've heard that book is capable of more than just moving clouds or absorbing lightning," replied the idol, bending down to shake the dirt covering the book.

The villain's eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn't understand how she hadn't seen it there; it was practically in plain sight, and she had been wasting her time in the middle of a silly battle.

Yesung saw the dragon approaching with you riding on its back out of the corner of his eye.

"If it's not your powers you want, tell me the price, and I'm willing to negotiate."

The singer smiled sympathetically, as if he were truly willing to talk with her until they reached an agreement.

"You sound like the genie in the lamp, but the evil version. As if you were going to twist any wish I might ask for in a negative way."

The dragon was close enough for your mother to hear its flapping wings in the distance.

The sorceress couldn't lose control; she had to stay one step ahead of the two of you in order to recover the book. Quickly analyzing what was most important, she turned around and stretched out her hand to shoot a ray.

Yesung moved swiftly, striking the arm that was pointing at you to deflect the attack toward the sky.

Losing her temper, she struck him in the side, digging her claws into his ribs.

Your eyes widened and your lips parted as you screamed his name, as if uttering it would take away all the pain he must be feeling.

The idol was exhausted, his side hurt, and yet his hand clung to his enemy's wrist. He held her there for a moment, her claws buried in his side as she struggled to free herself.

"Freeze her hands!," Yesung ordered in a harsh voice, a grimace of pain reflected on his face.

You didn't hesitate and instructed the perpetual ice dragon to do so. Your mother's limbs began to go numb as ice crystals invaded her hands, preventing her from moving them.

She stood petrified, watching the action. She tried to thaw them with a spell, but it was useless. The magic had been sealed.

"They say that ice burns are often more dangerous than those caused by fire," whispered Yesung before falling to his knees due to loss of energy. "Y/N, take her to the portal and call the boys. I'll wait here."

"Wait a second, I'll look for the spell to heal you. I know it's around here," you replied desperately as you jumped down from the dragon in a single bound.

"You said you knew one to restore energy. Use it on yourself and do as I say, I'll hold out."

"Don't be a fool!"

Yesung smiled sincerely, a broad smile that covered half his face.

"Coming from you, that must be a compliment."

Without answering, you placed a hand on his wound and murmured a series of phrases in Chinese, completely ignoring your mother, who was trying desperately to break the ice.

The singer coughed loudly and air filled his lungs again.

"It's a resistance spell," you explained, "it will stop the bleeding for a moment. I hope it's enough for the guys to come get you."

Yesung nodded and with a gesture of his hand ordered you to leave.

You mounted the dragon again, ordered it to take your mother in its claws, and the three of you flew away in a hurry toward the SM Entertainment headquarters, right where Shindong was supposed to have reestablished the portal.

A small reminder that requests are open, if you don't feel good sending messages in english, you cand send your request in spanish too (since I can work properly with that language).

If you only wanna fangirling or make any question my messages are open for you too

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canmom · 2 years ago

Text

ai analogies

with photography, the 'inputs' or 'creative choices' include the subject, the framing, and technical qualities like exposure, focus, aperture and iso. the output, the thing that's judged, is then the qualities of the image - composition and colour and narrative. since photography is very quick, a photographer will typically take many shots of a subject, and then pick out the ones they like best to share with the wider world, so there is also a curative element.

with collage (and also photobashing, and even the limited space of a dollmaker game), the 'inputs' are the choices of existing images, and the composition created by arranging them. so there's a curative element in selecting what to collage, and then new meaning is created by juxtaposing two previously unrelated images, the spatial relationships between them, and so on. (see also graphic design!) the visual qualities of the original image are relevant insofar as they affect the composition, but you don't judge a collage containing a painting or photo on how well-painted the painting or well-shot the photo is, rather on how well it uses that painting or photo.

with 'readymades' and similar genres of conceptual art, it's kind of similar, right? you put the existing objects in a new context and create meaning through how they're arranged. people respond to whether the idea it communicates is interesting. (often these days they come with some text which gives a key to inform you how to interpret the artwork.)

anyway. with drawing and painting, which are comparatively laborious to create, you are constantly making thousands of creative choices, from the broad scale - composition, value structure, how you construct a figure - to the tiny, like line weight, rendering, shape design. to navigate this vast space of possibility, you will be informed by your memory of other pictures you've seen (your personal 'visual library') and techniques you've practiced, reference images you've gathered, and so on. the physical qualities of your body and the medium will also affect your picture - how you move your arm, how watercolor moves across the paper, etc etc.

broadly the same is true for other very involved media like sculpture or computer graphics or music (of all kinds!). more fine-grained control implies both more work and more scope for creative choices.

when someone sees an image created by whatever means, they take all of this in at once, for a gestalt impression - and if they feel like it, they can look closer and appreciate the particular details. many artists will think about trying to create a composition that 'leads the eye' to take in particular points of interest and convey the narrative of the picture.

so then, 'AI'. your inputs are the design of the neural net, the selection of training data, the text/image used as a prompt and then finally the selection of an image produced by the program. (you can modify that image of course but let's not get into that for now). chances are you don't have a lot of control over the first two since the computation involved is too unwieldy, though some image generators can be 'finetuned' with additional training data.

'AI art' is like photography in that you typically generate a lot of images and select the ones that 'come out well'. like a photographer looking for a subject, you might search around for an interesting prompt. it's unlike photography in that you have very limited control over all those other parameters (at best you can try to verbally describe what you want and hope the AI understands, or ask it to generate similar pictures and hope one has the qualities you want).

'AI art' is like collage in that you are taking existing images and creating new meaning of of them, by generating a latent space and transformation algorithm that approximates them. it's unlike collage in that you have no real knowledge of what specific images may be 'most' informing the corner of latent space you're probing. you can look at an AI generated image and say 'this looks kinda like a Nihei manga' but it's not using a specific image of Nihei. still, there is something similar to the relationship between images in collage when you do things like 'style transfer'.

'AI art' can be like conceptual art or for that matter political cartoons in that often it's just providing illustration to a concept or joke that can be expressed in words. 'Shrek in the style of The Dark Crystal' or 'cats that spell "gay sex"' is what you're getting across. but 'AI art' as a subculture places very high concern on the specific aesthetic qualities, so it's not that simple.

briefly, sampling in music often tends to foreground that it's a sample, either one the audience may recognise - the Amen break for example - or just by being noticeably different from the texture of the rest of the piece. even when the sample isn't easily recognised, though, the art of sampling is to place it in a new context which brings out different sonic qualities, e.g. by playing it rapidly in succession, or heavily filtering and distorting it, overlaying it with other sounds, or playing it right before the drop. it's similar to collage and photobashing.

paintings then. AI art rather obsessively tries to imitate paintings, drawings, 3D graphics etc. some of its proponents even try to position it as obsoleting these art forms, rather than a new derivative art form. a lot of the fear from artists who work in those media is that, even if the AI generated images are a poor substitute for what we make, it will be 'good enough' to satisfy the people with the money, or discourage people from learning how to paint with all its nuances.

so, 'AI' may make results that look like a painting, but the process of making it is hugely different. rather than gradually constructing a picture and making decisions at each turn, you try out successive prompts to get a page full of finished pictures, and generate variations on those pictures, until you find one you like. it's most similar to the client who describes an image they want and then makes requests to tweak it. there is still creativity in this, because it's kind of replicating the back-and-forth between an artist and client/art director/critique-giver/etc. however, in this analogy, it's hampered by the limited communication between you and the 'artist'. and it's a different sort of input, so we respond to it differently.

generating and posting AI art could also be compared to the kind of thing we do on this website, where we curate images we like and share them. you're all looking at the outputs of the same image generator and pointing and saying 'ooh, that one's cool'. what's kinda troublesome in this analogy is that AI obfuscates all that stuff about credit and inspiration, collapsing it all into one mass. unless their name was used in the prompt, you can't tell if the 'AI' image is 'drawing heavily' on any particular artist. this isn't a new problem - firstly websites full of uncredited images abound, secondly any creative process is inspired by loads of things that we can't enumerate or hope to divulge, so the idea of tracing the paths of inspiration is perhaps a mirage anyway. still, for me (sakuga fan type of person!), knowing what i can about the specific people involved in creating artwork and how they went about it is important, and that's heavily blackboxed by 'AI'.

none of this would be helped by harsher copyright laws. it's great that people can create derivative works and respond to existing art. that is the scaffold that launches us somewhere new and hopefully interesting. simply putting someone's work into an image generator to create similar pictures is not a very interesting statement in its own right, and a lot of AI illustration produced at the moment has a weirdly glossy, overproduced feeling that is offputting and leaves nowhere for the eye to settle (when it isn't just mush), but that's not to say AI is never going to be able to be used to say anything interesting or become a meaningful art form in its own right.

'AI' is kinda like a bunch of things but not exactly like any of them. (this isn't to get into the economic questions at all, that would be a much longer post!). but since there are people very sincerely devoted to this being an art form... I want to know how to 'read' these works - what I'm looking for in there, what a meaningful comment would be. bc right now when I see an illustration and realise it's AI generated image it's like... a sense of disappointment because whatever I was picking up on isn't actually part of the 'statement' in the way i thought. so it's like oh... that's nice. the machine picked a cool perspective huh? all the things i would normally appreciate in an illustration are outside the artist's control, so responding to them feels irrelevant! so what is the right mode here? there's more to it than just the choice of subject. but I feel like I have more to say about even a picrew.

#ai #yet another one of these lol #it's been on my brain i guess

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sierraplus · 2 months ago

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From Cravings to Control: How Crave Burner Helped Me Lose Weight Naturally

Introduction

For years, I battled an insatiable sugar addiction that derailed my weight loss goals. No matter how hard I tried, cravings always won—until I discovered Crave Burner, a natural hunger suppressant designed to suppress sugar cravings and restore control over my appetite.

Skeptical but desperate, I committed to a 30-day experiment with this Crave Burner supplement, documenting every change in my energy, cravings, and body composition. What happened next shocked me.

In this article, I’ll share:

My personal struggle with sugar addiction and why I turned to the best appetite suppressant on the market.

How Crave Burner works, including its clinically backed ingredients and mechanism for weight loss cravings control.

My Crave Burner before and after results, complete with photos, measurements, and lessons learned.

If you’ve ever wondered, "Does Crave Burner work?"—this is the unfiltered review you need.

Section 1: My Struggle with Sugar Addiction – Why I Needed a Natural Hunger Suppressant

The Vicious Cycle of Sugar Cravings

My sugar addiction wasn’t just a bad habit—it was a physical dependency. Every afternoon, like clockwork, I’d experience an irresistible urge for sweets, leading to binge episodes that left me sluggish and guilty. I tried willpower, keto, and intermittent fasting, but nothing provided lasting weight loss cravings control.

Why I Chose Crave Burner

After reading countless Crave Burner reviews, I learned that its formula targets hunger hormones like ghrelin while stabilizing blood sugar—key factors in suppressing sugar cravings. Unlike stimulant-based appetite suppressants, this natural hunger suppressant promised no jitters or crashes, making it a safer long-term solution.

The Breaking Point

The moment I knew I needed help? When I realized my cravings were sabotaging my confidence, energy, and health. That’s when I ordered my first bottle of Crave Burner supplement, hoping it would finally break the cycle.

Section 2: How Crave Burner Works – The Science Behind This Appetite Suppressant

Key Ingredients in Crave Burner

The power of this best appetite suppressant lies in its ingredients:

Gymnema Sylvestre – Blocks sugar receptors on the tongue, reducing sweet cravings.

Chromium Picolinate – Balances blood sugar to prevent energy crashes.

5-HTP – Boosts serotonin, reducing emotional eating.

I researched each component to ensure safety and efficacy, especially after hearing about potential Crave Burner side effects (which, thankfully, were minimal).

The Biological Mechanism

Crave Burner doesn’t just mask hunger—it rewires cravings by:

Lowering ghrelin (the "hunger hormone").

Stabilizing glucose levels to prevent spikes and crashes.

Enhancing satiety signals so you feel full faster.

My First Week Experience

Within 3 days, my afternoon sugar cravings diminished. By Day 7, I no longer fantasized about dessert. The best part? No stimulant-induced anxiety, unlike other suppressants I’d tried.

Section 3: Crave Burner Before and After – My 30-Day Transformation Story

Starting Point: Measurements & Photos

I documented my journey with before photos, weight, and waist measurements. My goal wasn’t just weight loss—it was breaking free from cravings.

Week-by-Week Progress

Week 1: Reduced cravings by 60%, no more 3 PM energy crashes.

Week 2: Lost 4 lbs, noticed tighter clothes.

Week 3: No emotional binge episodes—a first in years.

Week 4: Total loss: 9 lbs, 2 inches off my waist.

Was It Worth It?

The Crave Burner before and after results spoke for themselves. But beyond the scale, I regained mental clarity, confidence, and control—proof that this Crave Burner supplement delivers.

Conclusion

Crave Burner didn’t just help me lose weight—it liberated me from sugar’s grip. If you’re tired of fighting cravings alone, this natural hunger suppressant might be your missing piece.

Final Verdict: ✅ Does Crave Burner work? Absolutely—for cravings and sustainable weight loss. ✅ Side effects? Mild (slight headache in Week 1). ✅ Best for? Emotional eaters, sugar addicts, and anyone seeking weight loss cravings control.

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#health & fitness #100 days of productivity #Crave Burner side effects #suppress sugar cravings #Crave Burner before and after #weight loss cravings control #Crave Burner ingredients #Crave Burner reviews #Crave Burner supplement #does Crave Burner work #best appetite suppressant #natural hunger suppressant

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pucksandpower · 4 months ago

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Hi Nat! In our school system over here, it's been mentioned many times that normal mensuration cycles are, well, the norm. And that's why I grew up always wondering if I was abnormal because I have irregular periods that sometimes miss whole months, or move from the first week to the last week. It was only when I grew older that I realized... I don't really know anyone with a regular/normal period. Which is really interesting, because reproductive health is still a bit on the wonky side of things over here.

Bit of a TW for mensuration stuff - I haven't had my period for about 3 or so months and I just got it, and I'm really happy about that. But I think that with all the factors (me having irregular periods since I started, starting my period quite early (I was arounf 10? I think), me being on the heavier side (I'm hovering around overweight side of the normal scale if we're basing it on the BMI) and my mom having a history of ovarian cysts, I think I should start seeking a diagnosis of either PCOS or Endometriosis. I'm a bit scared, but I think knowing will help me manage my symptoms and I'll be a happier person overall (even if my mom keeps saying that I don't have a period for the past few months because of my hormones and because I'm, well, not on the lighter side of the scale).

Sending you lots of love!

Hi, my love! First of all, I’m really glad you’re thinking about this and being proactive about your health — it takes a lot of courage to start looking for answers, especially when reproductive health isn’t openly talked about.

You're absolutely right that the idea of a “normal” cycle is a bit misleading. Many people experience irregular periods, but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored, especially if it's causing distress or other symptoms. Given what you’ve described — irregular cycles from the start, longer gaps between periods, early menarche, weight fluctuations, and a family history of ovarian cysts — it’s definitely reasonable to consider conditions like PCOS or even other hormonal imbalances like thyroid dysfunction. Endometriosis is also worth keeping in mind, though it usually presents more with severe pain rather than skipped periods (though it can contribute to irregular cycles too).

Your mom’s comment about hormones and weight isn’t entirely wrong since hormones and body composition do play a role in cycle regularity, but that doesn’t mean you should brush it off or that it’s “just” because of that. PCOS, for example, is a condition that affects hormones and metabolism, not just something caused by weight.

Getting checked out by a doctor (ideally an OBGYN or endocrinologist) could help clarify what’s going on. They might run blood tests to check hormone levels and possibly an ultrasound to look for ovarian cysts or other abnormalities.

I totally get feeling nervous about seeking a diagnosis, but knowledge is power! If it is PCOS, there are plenty of ways to manage it through lifestyle, medications if needed, and just having a better understanding of how your body works. No matter what, you deserve to feel good and have the information you need to make the best choices for yourself.

Sending you lots of love too! And if you ever want to talk more about this, I’m here.

#unsexy tips from your friendly neighborhood medical student

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whatt-the · 9 months ago

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Answering some of the questions from the lovely @single-eutanasia

It really is weird isn't it? It gets even weirder when you have the full context.

Remember how I said that there are multiple of her? By multiple I mean hundreds of thousands of her. Their goal is to spread the love, sure, but no one ever tends to ask what this means to them. You see, they're the main (sentient) defense mechanism of a (thus far) type 3 civilization on the kardashev scale, higher if you count their connections to fractal and higher dimensions- though they cannot yet harvest the full potential of any such dimensions.

This civilization has the current goal to take over the milky way, which is... an odd goal. I mean, it is an average galaxy in most criteria, you wouldn't be exactly colonizing that galaxy for it's energy output.

Thing is: they're there for the humans.

The civilization does have a collective (more on that later) goal to become a type 6 civilization, but no further than a type 6, seeing as they find the prospect of reaching type 7 status to be a bore. Perhaps you can tell that they are not so obsessed with effective productivity and power, but instead with entertainment and art. Which is why they are so enthralled by humans: they're incredibly entertaining! Funny, cute, all sorts of different adjectives one of the civilization could adhere to all of mankind.

So, in come the "porcelain" dolls! They are walking makers of the fractal dimensional biochemically engineered drug/pathogen named lovesickness. It maximizes dopamine, norepinephrine, oxytocin and serotonin production in the brain when consumed by mammals. Though, due to it's fractal and subsequently varied chemical composition, it still has similar effects on all sorts of sentient beings! For example, with non biological sentient creatures, the drug induces a state of metaphysical experience of the pure concepts of love and/or pleasure. Yes, lovesickness is highly addictive.

The "dolls" are biological beings with hard shells (thus the "porcelain" bit) that synthesize the drug in their systems. They have life cycles similar to those of butterflies or beetles, considering they have a sort of "pupa" stage (which is when the patterns on their shells are developed), though their reproduction happens exclusivelly through self cloning similar to the process of a sea sponge's cloning. Their insides are quite similar to sea sponges too in the aspect that there are no true organs within them and they are a mass of biological functions with no particular organization to be spoken of. They are soldiers prepared for both war and peaceful takeover, and spreading the love is synonymous to domination.

One could say that! Their entire biological purpose is to make as much of the drug as they can, and by this point it is absolutely a fundamental aspect of their life. And it is also a big part of their sense of identity, the dolls claim that "the best way to get through any mental defense is through love", so the drug philosophically gives her "life", as well as being a big part of their physical inner workings.

Remember when I said I'd get back to the collective goals of the civilization? That's right about now.

The entire civilization shares a mind.

Thousands upon millions of sensory inputs into one singular mind spread through the bodies of anything that exists within the civilization. Billions of thoughts per second, unfathomable quantities of individual actions taken every minute. All being processed by a shared mind.

The dolls share the same mind as the strategists, which share the same mind as the alchemists. Each type of bodily manifestation of this mind does interpret signals differently, so the dolls will have much different thought patterns from, say, the alchemists. This whole mind sharing thing is precisely how the civilization grew to such power in the short timespan of a few decades!

The mad alchemist, first holder of the shared mind, long before it inhabited multiple bodies, knew she'd need protection. The development of an entire species of drug synthesizing creatures was lengthy, but she'd had the plan clear as day from the moment she was in the process of developing the drug. The production of the species took even longer than it should have due to aesthetic concerns from the alchemist, but the outcome of the efforts were truly worth the wait.

Oh yeah, and..

Yes, she will absolutely marry you, she does smell like fresh strawberries and vanilla, and it won't just be one of her that will start following you around if you give any of them a ring

#self insert #I am so glad someone has taken an interest in my little critters #more of the inhabitants from the civilization to be shown in the future perhaps??#can you tell I have one singular self insert for every fandom that I worked on for basically forever

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cosmoknightchaos · 11 months ago

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hi for the ask game,,, can I learn a bit more about Kat,,, specifically with 🧐 and 🍝 (yes I know the obvious answer for the latter but like. does she like any other foods)

This one has been sitting in my drafts for a while. I finished it, saved it before adding tags, and then completely forgot about it lmaooo

🧐- Is your OC more logical or emotional?

Ough. That's a tough one. I'd say overall, Kat is more logical. She's been on the run for long enough that she knows what to do to survive, and she HAS to do that. If she slips up, even once, and word gets out she's a shapeshifter, that's a death sentence. She has to constantly balance staying completely inconspicuous with getting enough nutrients to keep herself in human form- basically, balance being a normal human with having to kill people to live. And because of that, she is very logical.

However, that's offset by the fact that if Kat ever gets in an emotional state, it's awful. Every now and then the stress just punches her in the face and she has a complete breakdown. These are few and far in between (though become more common during her time with Paisley&Crew, since they help her learn to manage her emotions better), but are often so bad she'll be in this mood for hours, even days. And, since at some point, she always has to go back to trying to survive- the more logical thought process- Kat never gets the time or ability to really recover from those breakdowns, which means the stress keeps building more and more until the next. Rinse and repeat.

🍝- What is/are your OC's favourite food(s)?

Haha. Well

Besides the obvious answer (To be fair she does that mostly to survive, she doesn't enjoy it much), Kat... doesn't actually eat that much. There are very few foods she can eat that won't mess up her body composition and appearance, and it's hard enough to stay as a human without other foods messing that up. So that immediately rules out a lot of fruits, veggies, meats, dairies- basically anything that is naturally grown or animal product will mess up her composition.

However, that doesn't mean she can't eat anything else! A lot of processed foods, which have had nutrients taken out/altered, won't affect her enough for it to be an issue! My current scale for how much food affects her depends on how close that food is to it's natural state- so an apple freshly picked from the tree will fuck her up, apple pie or applesauce won't affect her as much. So thank goodness Kat lives in America, land of the overly processed foods!

Rest of the answer below the cut, since this is getting long and I'll be talking about Kat's actual eating habits (TW: cannibalism)

Which. To be fair overly processed food fucking sucks and if I had to rely on McDonald's burgers to live I would also resort to cannibalism

The issue with Kat is that she's stuck between eating highly-processed garbage food, which sucks but at least it won't mess up her composition, and eating human flesh, which tastes delicious but also requires illegalities to acquire. Remember kids: cannibalism isn't illegal, it's how you procure the meat that is.

I really do think that, despite how much she hates it, Kat will always prefer the flesh, organs, bones, and/or other vitals of whatever species she's disguised as over any "normal" food she can eat. Because bodies are filled with a bunch of tasty nutrients that her body needs in order to keep a consistent form, and processed foods don't have those! Where else is she gonna find food that tastes good?

I think it's best described as that feeling you have when you're craving awful food. Like it's late at night and a shitty hotdog or fast food burger sounds fantastic and you buy one and it is the best thing you've ever eaten. That's how Kat feels about cannibalism. Under normal circumstances (her body at a standard composition with enough nutrients to maintain that form), she's disgusted with the idea of eating human meat and will go out of her way to avoid it. But when she's hungry (low on nutrients and struggling to keep a consistent form), human flesh is absolutely fucking delicious.

I mean, she probably thinks human meat is delicious either way. It's just a matter of moralities, and whether or not she needs it to survive in the moment.

But, to finally answer your question: Kat is a very big fan of sushi! Raw fish fucks her up extremely bad, but she doesn't care. As long as she eats it in moderation and not very often, she can recover quick enough. She also has a very big sweet tooth, especially for cake-like substances like muffins (<-Which can often come ultra-processed, so she can eat them with minimal problems), brownies, and cakes.

#Kat is like lactose intolerant when it comes to raw fish #Something about fish messes her up so badly. However she loves it enough to keep eating it despite the harm it causes #Marci Answers #Project Scepsis OS #OC CopyKat #Tw Cannibalism

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mirror-to-the-past · 2 years ago

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Finished KH3 and Re:Mind- holy shitballs.

So *much* was happening throughout that climax, and so little of it was cohesive, and Re:Mind made it so a double narrative was taking place simultaneously alongside the base KH3 climax so yeah, it's going to be hard to discuss everything I probably would've wanted to while playing throughout those fateful final hours. I'm definitely going to accidentally skim over some details or questions I have, purely as a consequence of my head whirling.

The two biggest criminals here impacting my understanding of the plot are one- the aforementioned double narrative and two- the obfuscating nature of Sora's POV (like, the one that comes to the forefront of my mind at the moment was when he came out of the light tunnel with Kairi after resurrecting everyone via Power of Waking and looked off somewhere and appeared confused/surprised). Re:Mind explained what was going on in some suspicious moments where Sora looked like... haha I don't know how else to describe it except by saying he looked like he was dissociating? But yeah, that post light tunnel moment was not one of those so. 👀 Literally have no inkling what they might have been going with there- just a feeling of significance I can't shake. I got that a lot throughout the end of this playthrough. Pain.

The time travel in this game was one of the most bonkers usage of time travel I've seen in media, and I salute the writers for sticking to it and making their plot happen. I think my brain would've fried halfway through and I'd have cried at the keyboard. I am but a mortal stuck on a linear scale. This falls somewhat beyond me. I'll try my best to make heads or tails of it, though.

While the execution felt somewhat... sudden/rushed, I appreciated the follow-up on Sora's crumbling self esteem. 10/10 mini breakdown, you motivated Riku to such a degree that he got you spirited to the Final World- good job, lad. I know Naminé said that Kairi was the one keeping Sora tied to the Final World, but I had to wrap my mind around that statement, assuming its validity, because it felt a bit out of left field for me. I only mention this because after everything I saw (Riku's sacrifice shown twice, a good number of the star people who had very similar sounding sentiments to Riku [lemme tell you some of those stars were very telling], and I thought I was bullshiting on this one at first, but after rewatching the Final World's title card animation thingy, it ALSO looks a lot like a reflection of the composition of the Riku death scene), I felt a bit surprised that it was not said to have been Riku's contribution that kept Sora chained to the Final World- it would definitely have made sense given the context. However, Kairi's love and hope for Sora is definitely not to be dismissed, alongside Riku's love and belief in him, so upon thinking on it more, I see it as a "Riku saved and tethered Sora's heart to the Final World and Kairi helped Sora retain his form" kind of thing. And if you think about the presence of each character in Sora's life, their contributions under that lense would make sense:

Kairi is a symbol of home and memory, maintenance of stability. She would be the one to hold onto her memory of Sora- strong enough that he would maintain some level of physicality and semblance of mortal self, even in near death. Similarly to what Joshua said in DDD: "By ourselves, we're no one. It's when other people look at us and see someone- that's the moment we each start to exist. All they needed was someone to see them, connect with them." <- That fits pretty well with the situation.

Riku focuses more on new beginnings, and the casting away of things deemed as 'unnecessary' (body, home, companionship... debatablely happiness) for the sake of pursuing desires. It would match up with his history of possession and development where he learns relinquishing of control. Without Kairi's contribution, Sora would likely have just manifested as another faceless star person, as retaining Sora's heart would've been Riku's priority in that moment, regardless of what form he would take. (From moments before Riku's sacrifice- "We haven't lost them. They still have their hearts. But we have to protect them." Tie that into Riku's "Protect the things that matter" thing, and boom.)

So uh... go team! Sora may be determined to get himself killed, but with their powers combi- oh... (Looks at the ending)

Also I made sure the 111th Sora I grabbed was doing a funny little jig. I'm proud of me.

Here's a speculative blurb from a previous attempt at a KH3 climax post from earlier that ended up getting scrapped:

"Because of what Young Xehanort said (EN: the "It's already too late for you" line), now I'm wondering if Sora's being baited into an illusion where his friends are safe, because he couldn't handle a world where that wasn't the case, paralleling DDD ending. That, or Sora's just doomed himself by going to the Final World, using the power of waking a bunch and attempting to carry on, business as usual."

While I'm glad that it didn't turn out as bleak as the initial speculation, I do still wonder post ending if, given Xehanort's level of anticipation of his opponents' moves on a metaphysical level, he took advantage of Sora's insistence on breaking reality for his loved ones as a way to bait him and shove him out of the way forever, or if sending him to where it looks like Sora ended up was somehow more advantageous for his ambitions in the long run. And let it be known I predicted my boy was going to sorta-die due to his everything-ex-machina. I cracked jokes about it to cope throughout the entire finale.

Examples:

"Boy Riku, the air that I'm breathing in the Keyblade Graveyard sure is stuffy, but I feel immensely grateful for it for some reason. *coughs forebodingly*"

"Y'know Kairi, I think I'm down to reminisce with you for once. I just feel like I should really look at where life's taken me so far. Oh, no particular reason. Lovely weather today."

On a less upsetting note-

ROXASSS

XIONNN

YYEAHHHH BABEYY 😎😎😎

Literally lost my MIND when Roxas showed up. The hype I felt was immeasurable, and my day was made. The "Other Promise" rendition during the fight was sick, and Re:Mind did the Org. trio even more justice with their attacks. When Xion started crying post fight I was just like... same, babygirl. It was just a lot, and I'm so happy Roxas was yoinked back into existence.

Still extremely intrigued about all of the unknowns in the Org. XIII lore. You can't just take away all the cool guys again and not tell me anything new about them (Marluxia, Larxene, Demyx, Luxord). Especially after Xemnas previously made a big deal literally about how mysterious they all were. Dick. >:0

Very curious about when and how Luxord's wild card will come into play, considering it didn't get mentioned during Re:Mind, as I assumed it might in order to help Sora fix Kairi or perhaps get Sora out of his mess. KH4, maybe? 👀

Also XIGBAR MVP ONCE MORE LFG. OR SHALL I SAY, LUXU?? I really should've put two and two together for that one, because of how all-knowing Xigbar seemed to be at all times, but I wasn't particularly focused on figuring out Luxu's identity, so that's on me. Curious about how he summoned the Foretellers. Thought they were dead, for some reason, but I suppose there was no reason to assume so if Luxu was able to survive that long as well. Wonder what they've been up to? Ava noped out- wisest thing anyone has done this entire franchise, lol. I would assume the Book of Prophecies was inside the box, but as seen by the Union X stuff, Mr. Master was still enjoying prophetic light reading after he sent Luxu away, so all one can assume is that it's parts of the Book of Prophecies hidden away from everyone or perhaps another significant book altogether. We'll seeeee. *explodes*

Speaking of the Union X stuff, loved that moment where Ephemer phased into Sora's reality to stir the lingering wills of the deceased Keyblade wielders into action. I just felt so happy for what I assume were real players who are now forever immortalized in the game as people who come to your side to help you beat the tough baddie, y'know? I got a bit emotional- it reminded me of NieR:Automata. If you know, you know.

Riku and Xehanort's Heartless have finally finished their strange drawn out mentorship/insecurity demon/invasive clingy ex dynamic. I chuckled a little bit at Riku saying "I think I'll miss you." Oh dear, lol.

I love that one scene where all the Guardians of light minus Kairi and Sora were fighting in an Avenger-esque huddle in the sky, and they occasionally chatted with each other. Ventus complimenting Roxas made my heart warm. It's the little things!

Scala ad Caelum is so pretty! And fun to say, haha! It reminds me a lot of a The Mist/Sharlayan city lovechild from FFXIV. Very Mediterranean, bleached white coastal prettiness. Would live there- 10/10. Also, I appreciate the consistency of people's hearts manifesting physically as their homeland. You had Sora's heart in DDD as the island the kids played at in Destiny Islands, and now Xehanort where he was raised and trained (he felt more personal connection to it than say, Destiny Islands, where he seemed to have also spent part of his life). It's sweet, and a bit sad, as both have grown so estranged from their homelands.

The way I SCREAMED when I got to play as Kairi. So sad how she's been thrown into such a disastrous fray so suddenly after becoming a Keyblade wielder, her and Axel/Lea (I don't care about Merlin's time stopping magic man, I Know they needed more time) and suffered the most for it. She was really getting the Sora treatment of being talked down to by the villains (kudos to Axel/Lea, I love him so much for calling Kairi his trump card, they make me so happy), and being seen as easy pickings. It's so good that Sora was in her corner to help her, because like damn. Girlie went through it. And then she comes out the other end only for her best friend who risked life and limb for her to fucking DIE as a result of how hard he tried to make sure she was safe despite the universe working against her (gj for Sora finally stepping up as a Kairi bodyguard this game, by the way. About time 🙄 [I am light-heartedly referencing my own inside joke].)? DAMN. SHE'S PROBABLY GOING THROUGH IT EVEN MORE. Survivor's guilt, anyone? But yeah, anyway, her going "please work!" when fighting Xehanort was so sad... you're doing great, Kairi! Don't let anyone tell you different! Loved the "One Heart" attack her and Sora had! It was so pretty, and they're absolutely my little angels- they deserve the wings! Love how they're both like... the connection pieces between everyone, y'know? I love Kairi's attack pattern of her initial swipe being a long ranged hit that then zaps her to the target- thought that was great design! It was on par with Aqua's gameplay in this game, for me, and I admittedly like the feel of it a little more than Roxas' and Riku's. Side note- was Riku's AI as a party member just wack for me, or does he not have healing moves/items this game? I only ask because I remember how he was like 🫰 On It whenever Sora's health would drop a smidgen in KH2, but here he was like "I saved you in cutscene, if you die now, you die, fam."

That part in Re:Mind where Mickey becomes playable and gets a whole Price of Freedom last stand moment had me in tears, I was laughing so hard from the melodrama of it all. But also the music was genuinely beautiful. It's just... 😂 I'm sorry I loved it so much. I love these games, they're so ridiculous. If someone likes Kingdom Hearts, I can't help but assume they also have a brilliant sense of humor, as well.

Love how every day, Kingdom Hearts becomes more and more Doctor Who. That one battle line from Young Xehanort, the fanatical time traveling icon himself, where he stops time and says "Don't Blink" made me smile.

I really liked that one Vanitas line to Sora- "And I do stand by your side. I'm the shadow that you cast. How much closer could I be?" I am reminded that the main reason I love antagonistic characters is due to their cryptic and occasionally poetic speech patterns.

Speaking of antagonistic characters who are NOT poetic- Master of Masters my GUY! I am consistently delighted to see this guy on screen, he's so loveable- I don't care about his war crimes. Thought it was hilarious how he said "So you're saying the weak feel the need to justify their actions to maintain a sense of self." And it completely goes over Xehanort's head how hard he's justifying his intended actions in that scene. When a guy like the Master of Masters, who seems to pride himself on low involvement passively mentions your strong willed ideologies, I'd get the idea he's silently judging you in his head. "There's no class, really! What happened to letting human nature take its course? Kids these days just can't wait for things to fall into place over the course of millennia anymore." *Cracks open a cold one in the Keyblade Graveyard*

Oh also, Xehanort and Gaius van Baelsar from FFXIV are the same individual in goals and personality and that is immensely hilarious to me. They both have a propensity of taking in orphans that then go through psychological and physical trauma for his agenda, too. You don't understand him, guys! The weak were being propelled into a misguided agenda that controlled the masses, and SOMEONE needed to step up and be the voice of action that would allow the motherland- *ahem* Keyblade Wielders and the worlds to return to their true glory! All these teenagers and twenty-somethings raving to him about friendship and light are too sensitive- they'll give Keyblades to anyone nowadays, and he hates this new woke Keyblade society! Next time, on the Xehanort podcast-

As you can see, at this point in the post my sanity dwindles evermore. So, I'll finish by going over the last major thing that made me spiritually foam at the mouth a little bit:

SECRET ENDING CUTSCENE WAS SO WELL COMPOSED HOLY SHIT. Every single frame was desktop worthy. The LIGHTING. I also like how it looks more Final Fantasy, admittedly. The other style they had in the fancy cutscenes looked a little off-putting with everyone's porcelain doll eyes. But this one? MWAH. BELLISIMO.

The MUSIC. The COLORS. The red/blue thing Sora and Riku kept locking onto while they were gaining their bearings and trying to find each other? The warm/cool tones between each of the boys' sides, both still within an urban setting? The dynamic camera movement that started as slow, unfocused, lingering shots to reflect Sora's (especially) and Riku's disorientation of their new surroundings, all before switching to sudden, sweeping shots over the cityscape as the realization of their circumstances crashes down upon them? Them walking into each other's shots while looking around, showing how they're searching for each other even subconsciously? OH, OH, AND THE RED/BLUE THING CARRIED OVER FOR THE DEFINITELY NOT PLOT RELEVANT (it's not like the game drew attention to how he looks like Sora [I don't see it but whatever] and Riku, and this series has never made character designs plot relevant ever) HETEROCHROMIA IN THE VIDEO GAME GUY TOO, AND YEAH, HE'S THERE LMAO?? Literally did not have "the spoof Riku-esque character from the damn Toy Story World is important and potentially the MCs' secret lovechild" on my Bingo card, but I'm adaptable. I hope that once he and Riku meet there's a Spiderman meme moment. I also hope Sora's like "What? How am I talking to you? You're from a video game!" And Yozora is like "You also are from a video game" and we finally shatter this paltry meta narrative barrier we've been poking at once and for all. Give me more chaos, I must feed.

I was extremely confused as to why Riku was in the same place as Sora, and was like "maybe it's another DDD parallel world separating them from each other" thing, but still, how did he get there in the first place? But then I laughed as I envisioned the natural, sensible progression of this situation in a hypothetical post-Sora disappearance cutscene where everyone stares on, shocked, and Kairi wobbles down the Paopu tree, sobbing, to everyone else on the beach.

Kairi: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, he said he didn't have much time left, but he was happy to spend it with everyone, and he's happy I'm safe and- *sniff* and- I should've asked him something that could help us go after him and-"

Riku: "Don't worry, Kairi. I'll handle this."

Aqua: "Riku, we don't even know where to start, we need to assess the situation!"

Axel: "Aaaand, he's walking away."

Ventus: "What do you think he's planning on doing?"

Terra: "It's Riku. He's a man with a plan. He'll do what he has to to... uhm."

Axel: "Aaaand, he's walking into the ocean."

Kairi: "RIKU, NO-"

Naminé: "RIKU, YOU CAN'T DO THIS AGAIN-"

And from where I left off before getting mercilessly slaughtered by my first Data fight, it's now been a whole year of Absent Sora. Damn. One squad's in hell, Kairi might be in another coma, and Riku's probably gonna take up blindfolds again at this rate. What no Sora does to a mf part 2.

Riku: "We NeEd to BeLieVe in HiM. HiS hEaRt aNd HiS miNd aRe MaDe uP." *Puts his face in his hands* *Silently sobs*

#kingdom hearts 3 first playthrough #kingdom hearts #kh3

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