#I thought I was being original. Ah well. At least the ouroboros is there (HEAD IN MY HANDS)

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ULTRATOBER DAY 24 /// LEVIATHAN

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Tale of the Nine Tailed: Analysis and Theories of Ep 8

Welcome to another edition of Mind Melt On A Bun’s analysis and theories of TOTNT. I hope you all will enjoy this post, but fair warning it’s once again another VERY LONG POST! So if you want to turn on your thinking cap and face the risk of your brain blowing up into a million pieces then feel free to keep reading!

Snail Bride and Her Husband

Ureongi gaksi (우렁이 각시) or Snail Bride is a Korean legend which tells about a poor farmer who breaks a taboo and marries a woman who is actually a snail. One day while working in the rice paddy field, the farmer says to himself, “Who will I eat this rice with?”. To which a voice replied, “With me.”. Having heard this voice, the man turned around to see who it was, but only saw a snail. After having heard that, the man found that each day after returning home from work, a meal was always prepared for him. 

The farmer was curious of who had been preparing his meal. So one day he pretended to go to work in order to catch a sight of whoever it was that had been preparing his meal. To his surprise, he had seen a beautiful woman emerging from the snail shell. Having been blown away by her beauty, he immediately asked her to live with him instead of returning to the snail shell. However, the woman told him it was not time yet and to be patient. Being the persistent man that he was, he eventually got the Snail to marry him.

The farmer became plagued with the fear that his beautiful Snail Bride might one day be taken away from him so he instructed her to never leave the house. The Snail Bride listened to her husband and did as she was told until one day when her mother-in-law told the Snail Bride to go and deliver lunch to the farmer. And so, the Snail bride did as she was told. However, along the way, the Magistrate who was enamoured by her beauty decided to kidnap her and make her his bride. Despite the farmer’s many efforts, he never found his Snail Bride and ended up dying of a broken heart and being reborn as a blue bird. Tragic I know !!! 

Anyways, when applying this story to TOTNT, you will find that Ji Ah’s boss had shared many similar characteristics to the farmer from the Snail Bride myth such as persistency. Other clues that supports the ideal that Ji Ah’s boss is the farmer can be seen in the conversation between Green Juice Lady. The first clue is his fear of flying. This could be seen as a side effect of him being reborn in a previous life as a blue bird. I bet if Ji Ah used those Eyebrows of a Tiger Glasses, she would see him as a bird blue. 

The second clue was in what the Green Juice Lady said, “ What are you doing here?”. I interpreted this as her knowing him in the past as well as her not expecting to see the farmer’s reincarnated self in the same vicinity as the Snail Bride.

Green Juice Lady Origin 

In Korean mythology, there is a creature by the name of “Dueoksini/Dokeoksini” (두억시니는 ) that kills you by crushing your head (figuratively or literally). In Korean mythology, this creature is seen as an in between of a dokkaebi/goblin and a yokai. Because Dueoksinis have been mostly been forgotten throughout Korean literature, they are usually refer to as being a type of Korean Yokai. 

Or the way I like to view the Green Juice Lady is that she's basically Pennywise, Freddy Krueger, and the Boggart rolled into one. After all its like Frank Hebert once wrote in Dune: “Fear is the mind killer”.

Taluipa

In TOTNT, the character Taluipa is seen as being the goddess of birth and fate, Sansin Halmoni. Besides having the ability of controlling birth and fate, Taluipa also can also foresee the future as well as grant immortality (i.e her husband). Given all of this, it is likely that her child, Bok Gil, would’ve had some pretty powerful abilities because he came from such a superior mother. 

Now not much is known about Taluipa’s son other than he had committed suicide. Furthermore, the act of suicide was seen as a such a bad taboo that ensured he could never be reborn/reincarnated. In the context of TOTNT, it is inferred that even if you sacrifice yourself for the one you love, it is still considered suicide. 

Lee Yeon’s Original Plan For the Imoogi

I think originally Lee Yeon had planned to take the Imoogi into himself and subsequently kill himself. However, when faced with the possibility that this would mean Lee Yeon could not be reincarnated, Ah Eum decided it was better that Lee Yeon killed her because at least she could be reincarnated. 

Now you may think that well if Ah Eum sacrificed herself for the one she loves, isn’t that contradictory to what I said earlier about how sacrificing yourself for the one you love is still considered suicide and thus meant you couldn’t be reborn? It really doesn’t and here’s why. Remember that at this time, Ah Eum already had the Imoogi inside of her so her death by Lee Yeon’s hands were not seen as a sacrificial suicide. Rather, it was seen as him killing a greater evil and preventing the deaths of hundreds. Thus, this meant that Ah Eum could be reincarnated. Had Ah Eum ran into Lee Yeon’s knife or stabbed herself in the temporary moment she gain back control of her body, then that would’ve been seen as sacrificial suicide. 

If both Lee Yeon and Ah Eum were able to find a loop hole at the very last minute that ensured Ah Eum’s reincarnation, I am sure that this time around  Lee Yeon will be able to find a better loop hole given that he has had more time to than previously as well as learning from his past mistakes as it pertains to the Imoogi. I largely believe that this loop hole will have something to do with the favor Lee Yeon had asked of Taluipa’s husband. Maybe the favor Lee Yeon is asking Taluipa’s husband for is the elixir of life that is located in the Underworld (Hint: read my posts about Princess Bari). I think that Lee Yeon will want it just in case either him or Ji Ah dies in their battle against the Imoogi. Such an elixir could revive them!

Taluipa’s Son/Bok Gil = The Imoogi

As previously mentioned, I had theorized that Taluipa’s son, Bok Gil, must have been one hell of a powerful being given that his mom was a powerful Goddess herself. As to what those abilities could have been, it is still a mystery. However, I feel like his powers would’ve been connected the ones Taluipa had (i.e birth, fate, and ability to see what others cannot see). Again, not much was mentioned about him other than he committed suicide and that his name was Bok Gil. 

Now let’s look at the Imoogi, we know that he has the power of life (bringing the bird back to life), death (sucking the life out of his nannies), and rebirth (being reborn as that boy). 

By the way, I think it’s interesting that the cycle of life, death, and rebirth is represented as an “Ouroboros” or a snake eating its tail. Coincidence? I think not.

Anyways back to what else we know about the Imoogi. We know that he was born in a leap year as well as being born in a place between the living and dead (btw Lee Yeon was born in 420AD also a leap year..possible connection somehow?). The Imoogi could also see what others don’t see such as your soul and your deepest emotions.

If you think about it, when Bok Gil committed suicide, his soul/body was neither in the land of the living nor the dead. He was in between those two realms or in limbo. Connecting this to the fact that the Imoogi said he was born in a place between the living and dead, there is a significant possibility that Bok Gil is indeed the Imoogi. Furthermore, if you look at the kinds of power the Imoogi has and the powers that Taluipa has, you will find that they are strangely similar or related. If that doesn’t convince you enough then just compare the voice of Bok Gil to that of the Imoogi!

Imoogi and Lee Yeon

Initially, I had thought the Imoogi had wanted Lee Yeon for his fox bead (a kind of Yeouiju) so that it could become a dragon, but now I am beginning to think there’s more to the story than just Lee Yeon’s bead. If indeed Bok Gil is the Imoogi then I am left to wonder what kind of relationship did Lee Yeon have with Bok Gil before he died. Furthermore, could Lee Yeon have been part of the reason why Bok Gil committed suicide in the first place? If Lee Yeon had been part of the reason why Bok Gil committed suicide, then I can totally understand why Bok Gil/Imoogi would want to try to exact his revenge and/or anger on Lee Yeon. Maybe Bok Gil was jealous of Lee Yeon for getting more attention from his own parents than he was or maybe Lee Yeon got the girl he was interested in or maybe Lee Yeon was really mean and had bullied him or maybe the person who Bok Gil had died for (aka a loved) was somehow connected to Lee Yeon. I don’t know, I’m just purely theorizing and for all we know all the Imoogi wants is just Lee Yeon’s fox bead so that it can become a dragon.

Black and White Imagery

Other things I found interesting is the usage of black and white in Ep 8. For example, the shirts Lee Rang and Lee Yeon wears, the colors of the stones of the “Go Game”, and the cars in the background of the parking lot Lee Yeon was in. 

Typically, the color combination of black and white represents Yin/Yang, Good/Evil, and Life/Death. In either cases, the concept is the same. Both represent the concept of dualism or the ideal that everything is interdependent, interconnected, and interrelated. Meaning you can’t have Yin without Yang, Good without Evil, and Life without Death. Or in the case of Lee Yeon standing in between the two cars and the two doors, both Lee Rang and Ah Eum/Ji Ah’s lives and fate were interdependent, interconnected, and interrelated to that of Lee Yeon’s. 

Episode 9 Predictions

Lee Yeon will get Lee Rang out of the Forest of the Preta and Lee Rang will realize that his brother never really abandoned him in the first place. Additionally, their time in the Forest of the Preta is like a blessing in disguise because it helped both brothers to resolve the misunderstanding that occurred 600 years ago.

Now with Ji Ah, I think she will overcome her fear of the car accident. However I think she will be faced with another fear of hers which is seeing Lee Yeon die. I think she will overcome this too, but the Green Juice Lady will pull out one last trick out of the bag. Instead of making Ji Ah relieve some of her worst nightmares, she will make Ji Ah live in a world where all her dreams have come true such as having her parents back and Lee Yeon by her side. The Green Juice Lady will do this as a way to make sure that Ji Ah would never want to leave. After all, why leave a world where all your dreams come true right? Plus, Ji Ah’s mentality will become weaker because she will start to believe that the dream world she is living in is a reality. Therefore, in order to win against the Green Juice Lady, one must have a strong mind that is not killed by fear nor weaken by fantastical delusions.

This kind of reminds of the creature, “Black Mercy”, from Super Girl. Briefly, “Black Mercy” is alien parasite that makes its host dream their perfect fantasy world while it feeds off of them. The only way for the host to get the “Black Mercy” to detach itself is for the host to realize that the fantasy world they are living in is not real. So for Ji Ah, maybe she would have to do the same on her own or it would take Lee Yeon coming into her dreamworld in order for her to realize this.

Last Remarks

For all of those who are still left confused as to why Lee Yeon chose to save Lee Rang first, you can check it out here:

https://mindmeltonabun-blog.tumblr.com/post/633271037441818624/tale-of-the-nine-tailed-ep-7-thoughts-and

And if you’re too lazy to click/read all of that post, I’ll put it simply here:

In the past, Lee Yeon chose to go after Ah Eum first instead of saving Lee Rang from the villagers burning down the mountain. So this time around Lee Yeon did not want to make the same mistake twice and also Lee Yeon wanted to atone for his past mistakes. Plus, Lee Yeon knew that between Lee Rang and Ji Ah, Lee Rang had the weaker mentality so he would need more saving than Ji Ah would. 

Happy Readings! I need a drink now after writing all of this !

[authorsofparadiseroleplay]

James and Wynter: The Dead Still Speak

Thread transfer for @lxvingdeadgxrl

James

James smiled at the shop’s proprietor as he approached her, effecting a casual air. “Hello, miss. I wonder if you might help me. I’m searching for a first edition of De Civitatum Origine Saeculum in Favillam.” He punctuated his request with a small laugh before continuing in his rich baritone, the syllables and vowels still containing the faint lilt of an accent that most modern people would not be able to place. “I’ve had a devil of a time finding it. Evidently the phrase “rare book” is something of an understatement in this case.”

The book request was a smoke screen. His contact had informed him that the Order of the Ouroboros had been showing interest in this woman, though there had not yet been any planned move to take her, and he wanted to find out why. Was she an intended recruit or a potential victim? Either way, he was there to throw a spanner in the works.

___________________________________

Wynter

God, but it was rather busy that morning, wasn’t it? Far more so than most Tuesdays, that was for certain. She wasn’t aware of anything special going on in town, and it wasn’t exactly the height of tourist season, so where the influx of customers had come from, she couldn’t say…

  Nor would she complain, of course. An influx of customers was always a plus, especially when there was rent to make and bills to pay.

  Wyn had just finished helping one of her regulars, when she was approached by another gentleman. Quite the charming smile on that one, wasn’t there? And those eyes of his…Such a brilliant emerald. But there was something else, wasn’t there? Something just below the surface, though what it was, she didn’t know…

  She caught herself staring about a moment or so before it would have become awkward and rude, the young woman clearing her throat a bit as her smile warmed.

 “Ah…Yeah, bit of a tall order, that. I couldn’t tell you off the top of my head, but I can take a peek?” she offered. The chances really were slim, to be perfectly honest. She couldn’t think of the last time she’d seen a copy come across her counter, let alone a first edition. “If I don’t have it, I might be able to direct you to someone who might.” she added, leading him back to the counter. Moravian was always squirreling away rare texts, and lord knew his collection made hers look minuscule.

  Which, all things considered, was really damn impressive.

 Wynter shuffled around behind the counter for a moment, before pulling out a large, leather bound book. She’d never really been much for computers for her records, so all of her specialty books, first editions and rare titles were logged in that particular volume. “Let’s see…” the young woman hummed, thumbing through the various pages.

   She glanced up at him whilst deftly flipping through to the proper section. “Just looking for a bit of light reading, I take it.” she offered with a chuckle. Not that there was anything at all light about the particular title he was looking for, but hey, small talk was something that came along with the job.

___________________________________

James

Politely, James ignored the stare. A man of his size and appearance became accustomed to such things after awhile, and though it still stroked his ego a fair bit, time and experience had taught him not to allow himself to preen too much. It made it easy to miss little details that could be indispensable.

Such as the large book she referenced. It had occurred to him that the Order might have interest in something she carried in her shop, rather than in the woman herself. He made a mental note to come by later after it was closed and make a detailed sweep of the stock. It was a long shot, but his anonymous contact, as usual, hadn’t given him much to go on, just a tiny morsel of information for him to pursue.

Sometimes he had to wonder if he was being played. Like a chess piece.

Drawn back to the moment, he laughed softly in reply to her gentle teasing. “Always.” He let his eyes wander around the shop, searching for any signs that Ouroboros agents might be lurking. They were good at blending, but he was good at flushing them out. Nothing stood out to him at the moment, though. “I lost a fair number of texts from my collection in a fire some years back. I’ve been traveling about a bit lately, and thought to start building it back up again as I’m able.”

___________________________________

Wynter

A fair guess, in all honesty. Her collection was vast and she had plenty of tomes and baubles that less than savory folks would love to get their hands on. That was why she kept them, honestly, because as long as they were in her collection, they weren’t out on the streets. Dangerous? Sure it was, but the back room of the shop was warded to high heaven, and the second floor even more so.

  So, if anyone were to try to get at them, they’d have a hell of a time.

  Her face fell a bit when he mentioned losing a chunk of his own, personal collection to fire. Honestly, Wynter couldn’t even begin to imagine what that had to have been like. She didn’t know what she’d do if she lost any part of her own collection, no matter how small.

  She’d just…she’d spent so many years collecting them all, and while some might say it was strange, she was so very protective of them. Some of them were the last copies known to exist, others so rare that it’d be next to impossible to track another down without spending a fortune. To lose those books would be to lose a piece of history. Some might argue that it would be for the best, that those books should be destroyed, given their contents, but she would argue till she was blue in the face, that they needed to be preserved.

  “I’m so sorry…That had to have been gutting for you. I certainly hope that you are able to rebuild, though I know how hard it can be with older texts…”

  Her gaze shifted back to the log before her, the young woman finally finding the section she was looking for. A finger traced over the page whilst she scanned the various entries, but it was looking as if he was out of luck.

  “Well, hate to say it, but I don’t think I’ve got it on the shelves. I know I did at one point, but if it’s not listed here…I can check in the back, just to be sure?” she offered, not wanting to send him off empty handed.

___________________________________

James

James nodded, but didn’t expound on his thoughts verbally. He had grown accustomed to loss in one way, when that loss involved personal possessions and property. It still stung, because so many memories clung to those things, but losing them would never rival the agony of losing the people he loved– or of having them turn on him. That was a pain that he had chosen never to feel again. One could never lose what one did not allow one’s self to have.

He shrugged as he watched her comb through her inventory book. “It was long ago. I’ve rebuilt much of it over the years, but I’ve still a few stragglers left to track down. Hence my stopping by here.”

As he waited, he continued his visual sweep of the shop, still on the alert. Perhaps the Ouroboros agents were waiting for him to leave before making their move; certainly he had been a thorn in their side often enough that his face had to be known to them. He wasn’t clear why they had never attempted to assassinate or kidnap him, rather reacting defensively whenever he stood between them and whatever target they were attempting to abduct. True, he moved around a great deal, and his home in the California mountains was well hidden and well protected, but it wasn’t like his was a face that was easy to forget. They had to know he was here.

Perhaps he should slip away into the shadows and keep watch until Ms. Davenport closed for the night, then return to the shop for a less legal form of investigation. He knew she kept her living quarters above the shop; if anyone were to try anything, it would likely be after the shop closed and the crowd had dispersed.

His attention shifted back to her and he nodded at her offer to search in the back, keeping up the pretense of merely searching for a difficult-to-find book. “I would be grateful.”

___________________________________

Wynter

Just because one became accustomed to the loss, didn’t mean it wasn’t still a tragedy. It was a loss of knowledge, information, and that was one of the worst losses that anyone could ever experience. Never mind the possible familial or sentimental attachments that said volumes might have held. Even some of the rarest tomes might have another copy floating around, but items with sentimental value?

  Those could never be replaced.

 Family and friends? Those couldn’t be replaced, either and their loss was far greater than any material possession. She of all people knew that…All too well, in fact.

  “Understood.” she offered. “If anything, you can always check back. I can’t promise the other titles will ever come across my counter, but I get new stock in fairly regularly.” the young woman explained. She wouldn’t mind keeping an eye out, either. Anything to help a fellow collector.

  Well, within reason, of course. Some books didn’t need to pass hands or leave the confines of her shop, no matter how eager the buyer.

 “Right, let me go and take a peek. Won’t take very long.” she promised. Well, it wouldn’t take overly long thanks to her methods, at least.

  Wynter slipped into the back room, the door closing securely behind her. Alone, she allowed a whisper of her magic to search through the various shelves, shuffling through the tomes.

  She gave it a few moments, but her search was coming up empty as she’d expected. Ah well…There went that last bit of hope she had. She waved a hand and dismissed the spell, before heading back into the main part of the shop.

  An apologetic smile curved her lips as she approached him once more. “Alas, no luck…So sorry about that. Like I said, I could put you in contact with someone who might be able to help, if you’re interested?”