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#he's someone from tales for multiple reasons c:
emelinstriker · 4 months
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Have all the current prototype design doodles I drew this past month-
Also bonus doodles of the very first prototype design doodles in celebration of the AU technically being a month old now- Or like a month old behind the scenes at least lmao-
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rottenpumpkin13 · 1 year
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SEPHIROTH HEADCANONS
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[these are my headcanons, meaning the way I view him in my head and may not follow popular fanon]
↘︎ Sephiroth is a big enjoyer of puzzles of any kind. Mahjong, sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, riddles, you name it. He doesn’t see the allure of video games but will jump at the opportunity to play a multiplayer that has him competing against someone else.
↘︎ He’s generally a calm and intorverted person in his day-to-day life, but when angered he becomes scary as hell. For lack of better words, he shows signs of the in-game callous monster he is.
↘︎ He does have a sense of humor, okay?? It’s just what most people would describe as dark and dry. His kind of humor is saying the most off-hand comments with 0 expression and making people lose their shit. He is also proficient in sarcasm but has to be annoyed beyond measure to use it.
↘︎ He can drive, however friends and people who have previously been driven around by him refuse to do it again. He drives likes he’s playing Mario Kart while maintaining a scarily calm composure. He manages to do this while still abiding by the traffic laws.
↘︎ Sephiroth maintains a healthy diet and prefers not to stray from his strict regimen. Having said that, he will never turn down: a) Angeal’s cooking, b) pasta, c)sweets. 
↘︎ Due to his sheltered childhood, Sephiroth was never allowed to indulge himself in sweets and other junkfood like the other kids. So when he’s old enough to control his own diet, he includes moments of utter gluttony where he inhales candy like a madman. 
↘︎ “Sephiroth why don’t you cut your hair?” With his JENOVA cells? If he cut it shoulder-length one morning, it’d be down to his waist again by the following afternoon. After many attempts at keeping it at a reasonable size during his youth, he gave up. 
↘︎ Now he simply keeps it long because he thinks it looks cool. Vanity spares no one. He also has a habit of sitting on his hair accidentally. 
↘︎ He’s notoriously knows as being cold and unwelcoming toward people. However he does a complete 180° when he’s with his friends, and people have even reported seeing him act extroverted.
↘︎ Unintentionally a cocky bastard. 
↘︎ Sephiroth isn’t a very creative person, which is something he laments greatly. He isn’t apt at drawing, writing or anything that could allow him to express himself artistically
↘︎ Give our boy any mathematical equation though and he can solve it
↘︎ Sephiroth takes joy in fucking with troopers and other SOLDIERs. He loves saying weird and uncharacteristic things and watch the realization that he’s joking dawn on them
↘︎ Big into astronomy and loves reading books about it. And he has a disdain for astrology and thinks it’s nothing but drivel
↘︎ He abhors gossip and thinks it immature and unprofessional. But if you feed him certain tales he’ll become angrossed and not let you leave until you’ve thoroughly recounted every detail of it. 
↘︎ Claustrophobic. It may have everything to do with being given mako showers and being kept in those tight tanks for hours. He developed a certian disdain for being enclosed in tight spaces. He also can’t stand to wear multiple layers of clothing and can only handle one layer at a time. 
↘︎ Yes he likes cats. 
↘︎ People who say he’s humorless don’t know he once laughed so hard, he had to be sedated because he was on the floor unable to breathe. Context? Genesis angered a chocobo and it chased him for an hour. Angeal has it on video.
↘︎ Sephiroth can cook. How? Do you really think a SOLDIER trained to survive in the wilderness wouldn’t know how to hunt, prepare and cook his own food?
↘︎ That being said, he can only cook very basic things.
↘︎ He yells at the TV, but only when it’s a nature documentary and the prey is making unwise decisions while running away from the predator. 
↘︎ He makes overexaggerated faces while eating something he doesn’t like, but that’s as far as he’ll go complaining about food-wise
↘︎ Sephiroth’s favorite kind of gifts are the practical and functional ones like socks, blankets and sword oil. 
↘︎ Impulsively buys toys and childish knick knacks. Proceeds to keep them in a secret drawer with a lock and key. Don’t judge him. He’s making up for lost time.
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Hey, you! You should watch Hikaru no Go!
Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: Hikaru no Go/Qi Hun/棋魂.
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Based on the manga of the same name, this drama is the Chinese live-action adaptation of a story about a boy who plays Go, the spirit only he can see who teaches him how to play Go, and all the friends and enemies he meets along his journey to become a good Go player.
...Wait, no, come back. I swear it's more interesting than that makes it sound.
What it is, is a character-driven tale of a charming young boy who, among a bunch of weird and wonderful people who love him, grows up to be a charming young man.
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(You see how his shirt says SWEETIE CUTIE? That is because he is a sweetie cutie.)
It's a sports manga, so you've got Training Montages and The Big Game and all sorts of tense moments like that. But there's also lots of fun, gentle plotlines that are equal parts tearjerking and heartwarming. It is incredibly written, act, and produced, and I can't believe that it's not more popular, because it's so good.
Here are five reasons you should watch it:
1: GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY
Word of Honor is merely the second gayest thing I have ever seen a c-drama do. Hikaru no Go is gayer by an order of magnitude.
I think the way they got it past censorship was by saying, oh no, this isn't gay, it's just a sports rivalry! But come on, what do you mean sports rivalries aren't gay, have you seen how all those Canadian and US hockey players keep marrying one another? This is that. This is the tale of two boys who've been in love since they were seven figuring out that they've been in love since they were seven.
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(And speaking of seven-year-olds, the kid casting is amazing.)
I mean:
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This is an actual still from the show.
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So is this.
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So is this.
These are not taken out of context. The context would make them gayer. That's how gay they are for each other.
But you know what the best part is? They're not the only pairing. And I don't just mean this like, oh, here's two other cute boys, you can imagine the times they kiss -- I mean, the show itself has its own ships! Ships you wouldn't expect! Intergenerational gay Go solidarity!
Now here's the catch: You have to wait for it. But oh boy, the payoff had us clutching our heads and screaming as quietly as we could because it was after midnight and we were losing our minds.
That last episode!! You have to see it to believe it!!!
2: EMOTIONS!
Bring the tissues. There are parts where it was kinda hard for me to watch because I was sobbing.
Because it's a sports manga, there are lots of triumphs and tragedies. Not everybody can make it to The Big Game. Not everybody gets to live out their dreams. Sometimes you try your hardest and it's not good enough. Sometimes you play your best and you still lose. Some people have to give up on what they love. Some people who were there with us at the beginning don't get to make it with us to the end.
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What really makes it is that the show sits with its emotions. Events will affect people's emotional states for multiple episodes to follow. People who have sadness don't just snap out of it. Loving someone doesn't automatically fix them. Shit's hard!
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Of course, this contrast makes the triumphs even more wonderful. I will tell you that the show has a happy ending, but not always the ending you would expect would have been their happy ending. It is overall an incredibly uplifting show. You'll need tissues for that, too.
3: (Nearly) Everything Is Pretty Dang Normal
Part of what I mean by that is that while a lot of the actors are real pretty, they're also done up in ways where, like, if you met this person on the street, you would think, this person is pretty! and not, what the hell fancy-ass magazine cover did you just step off of?
Look at these normal goobers:
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There are two exceptions to this. The first is Chu Ying, because he is a ghost energy being from the distant past, and ghosts energy beings from the distant past get astonishing eyeliner.
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The second is Fang Xu, because his actor, Han Mubo, is an actual idol. Congratulations on your face, sir.
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However, I also mean that the story is delightfully mundane. Sure, there's that one supernatural element to it, but everything else is just a regular story about regular people who have regular human problems. There are characters who disappoint their parents and mentors, struggle to pay their bills, try to balance school and extracurricular activities, have crushes, argue with teachers, flake on responsibilties, get lost in the woods, and do some pretty normal human things. Nobody's avenging anyone or trying to slay anything. It's just people being people.
It's even a bit of a period piece -- the show starts out in 1997, then jumps forward to the late '00s, so everything's just charmingly slightly outdated. Damn, I love everybody's flip phones.
4: Actually Good Television
Okay, if you like c-dramas, you know they can be ... janky. Episodes sometimes end practically in the middle of sentences. CG leaves much to be desired. Obvious cuts and last-minute overdubbing really stand out. You can tell where the censorship mandates got in there and started mucking around with things. That kind of jank.
This show feels different. It feels like someone thought out each episode, start to finish, and then created each piece to fit that vision. Every episode even has a title and beautiful title card. They start and end in dramatically logical places. The cinematography isn't anything particularly artful or experimental, but it's solid and clean and lovely. (And if you're sick of shows so dark you can't see them, you've got no worries here.)
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The CG in the show is unobtrusive, and most of it is spent making Chu Ying subtly transparent.
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There are a bunch of secondary characters, but to me that never felt overwhelming. Most of them are interesting, three-dimensional characters, no matter how short their screen time is. And while there definitely could have been more female characters, the show itself is pretty open about how sexism in the Go world means that it's mostly a boys' club -- and the ladies that are there are great.
In short, this is a show you can show to people who don't have c-drama brain and thus are less inclined to overlook some of the more cringeworthy aspects of their productions. I bet that your Average American Television Enjoyer Who Can Handle Subtitles would have no trouble getting into the groove of it, which I imagine could be very useful for those of you who have people you'd like to watch c-dramas with, except you don't feel like stopping every five minutes to apologize for one thing or another.
5: Better Than The Source Material?
This is the point where I have to admit that I myself have never read the manga or seen the anime. I came into this with only the vaguest familiarity with the source material. I can only tell you that the live-action drama is good; I can't swear that it's better.
However, @jianghootinandhollerin can speak to this comparison more authoritatively than I:
When I was 20, Hikaru no Go (manga) was my favorite thing, the primary obsession, the source of multiple livejournal themes, custom winamp skins, and a fanfic where Hikaru got a go stone stuck up his nose. Because of this deep love in my history, I was dubious about a live action version and the changes it made, but hey, turns out, those changes were exactly what the 20 years older version of me needed. This version of the story benefits so much from having the full, completed story to work from from the outset. The manga didn't know where it was ending when it started, but this show got to, and the story gets to be richer and the characters' stories get to be deeper thanks to that. And also, very importantly: everyone is older and much, much gayer.
Look, I understand if "but it's not the original manga/anime" is a dealbreaker for you. There are adaptations of things I can't watch because no matter how good the end product may be, I'm going to hold it against it that it's not the source I'd rather be seeing, and that's not a fair standard. That's fine. It happens.
But if you can, give this a go (pun unintended). It does not replace the original thing; it is a different take on the same idea. And yeah, it's one that really speaks to me here, on the other side of forty as I am. Maybe I would have missed it at twenty, but the person I am now really respects its attitude that while Being The Best is all well and good, it is not the only thing, and it is absolutely not more important than being yourself and doing what you love with the people you love. Sometimes you peak and can't advance anymore, so you become a teacher, and you know what, that's better than okay, that's actually pretty great. (Do I overidentify with Bai Chuan? Listen: maybe.)
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Have I convinced you to watch it yet?
You can watch it on iQiyi, or you can watch it on iQiyi's YouTube channel. I hope you love it as much as I do.
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the-witchs-cafe · 6 months
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I saw you said Kieran would witch out. What do you think he’d be like as a witch?
Gonna answer this real real quick before a lecture starts- I would be lying if I didn't say that, alongside the Hau essay that is in the works rn, I haven't been gathering resources for Kiki's witch form and have a semi-realized vision of it. His struggles, his grudges, his character development- the potential is there.
So, while I am suffering over the Hau megapost, I can't see why I couldn't share the barebones ideas I got for Kiki's warlock so early!
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Since his development is most demonstrated by his Dipplin evolving into a Hydrapple, I believe a good base for him is "a hollow beast with a thousand faces"; someone who had abandoned the person he was in order to adopt an identity needed to win. Over time, alas, his original self has faded away; leaving behind a formless husk.
The topic on a monster with multiple faces also paves way for the mention of a certain demon in the Ars Goetia; Bune, one of the dukes of Hell possessing three heads; two dragon faces and the one on the center being a human's. Bune is known to be able to move spirits from their graves, grant wishes, and possessing over 30 legions of demons under his command.
Move the dead from their graves, huh? Sounds a lot like his poisonous grudge reviving the loyal three!
So, a multi-headed monstrosity with a kabuki mask in the middle; concealing a hollow shell where his real face was supposed to be. That is terrifying of a witch concept on its own- but, wait, there is more!
After all, a witch needs a reason to target mankind, whether it is in the form of active grudges or a consequence of them stumbling into their ever-lasting nightmare. In Kieran's case, I think it is definitely the active case; he wants to "win", to become strong- that is the whole reason as to why he had abandoned his old identity. In his search for a more resilient, formidable mask, he targets those who have come this far into his labyrinth; the people and magi who have perished by his own hands. After all, his barrier is difficult enough to traverse through- those who made it this far should be strong/intelligent enough to find the center; his residence.
You can see where I am going to with this; he rips out the faces of his victims, magi or otherwise, and turns them into masks symbolizing the most common trend in every lie they have ever uttered.
His nature would more than likely be "obsessive"; what better word is out there that can describe his one-sided kinship with Ogerpon devolving into the sole desire to defeat the MC? His karmic destiny would be enough to nuke BB Academy off the map if he wanted to. (E x - C h a m p i o n), but, really, that is all there is to his power levels.
Bune, the Warlock of Masks, with an Obsessive nature...that's almost perfect!
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His barrier, well, this one might be tricky! Seeing that it is the mental landscape of the magi before/as they became a witch, I think Kieran's deep desire to defeat the MC, driven by the desire for vengeance towards them and his family for deceiving him, I doubt it would be a cakewalk to traverse through.
The first thing that came to mind was the phrase "smoke and mirrors"; perhaps a mirror maze is present in the inner-most sanctums of the labyrinth? Half truths slowly devolving into the bitter lies he and the rest of Kitakami just ate up for most of their lives- concealing the weak and pathetic "Kiki" that he used to be, what a fitting cycle of torment this is!
Since one of his fondest memories is reading about the tale of the Loyal Three and sympathizing with the ogre of the tale - seeing that he, too, was an outcast just like her -, elements from the Festival of Masks is also involved; where else would all the other masks he had cast away in favor for the newest one end up? It is a haunting display; seeing the interior of these exaggerated, demonic masks and finding muscles and veins still attached to them...you drop the one that was in your hands almost immediately; the sight was more than sickening.
As for familiars, I think their role is to play as the characters from the tale; re-enact the story time and time again with him as the ogre. The pain is real; he can't ever change the course of destiny even if his heart wished to do so. He'd thrash against them, pin them to the ground, throw them to the wall- but it always ends in the same way, with him fleeing back to his sanctum, looking for more masks to make him stronger. They resemble Carmine, Drayton, and the MC.
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calamitys-child · 2 years
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*raises tea mug at u* ok Aidan tell us the tale of the pettiest thing you've ever done (that's you're willing to share on tungle.hell, ofc)
Oooooooooooooh good QUESTION omg. I actually don't have a ton I think are worth sharing? Growing up, despite being not infrequently bullied or faced with unfair situations, including by teachers, I tended not to have big fights with folk in interesting ways. Now as an adult I simply try not to be petty I think you should either commit to Negotiating or Mean. That said! I am a little cunt who does not want to deal with bullshit so sometimes petty bitching is the shortest route to a resolution, yken?
I have a couple that stick in my head but the funniest one is probably one that happened when I was a wean, like 9-10 years old.
When I was in primary school my year was split across 2 classes, and we swapped between classes so we could split groups like maths and English into groups based on what level they're studying at. In p7 (oldest primary school age, approx age 10) the Other class was run by a guy called Mr C who FUCKING SUCKED. FUCK that guy. The absolute epitome of "cringe of you, an adult, to have beef with a 9 year old". But unfortunately, I was put in his group a Lot.
He once yanked my chair out from under me so I fell over for no fucking reason. He once yelled at me for knowing the difference between a summary and a synopsis. He sent me to the head teacher's office for being at a dentist appointment which he was informed of a week in advance. He forced me to go out publicly and perform in a dress despite me begging for any other role or costume. I got thrown down two flights of stairs by a bully and he yelled at me for damaging school property because i was holding a laptop (the laptop was fine, i limped for a week). He had an affair with another teacher at the school which was a VERY POORLY KEPT secret and BOTH OF THEM had kids at the school and I take some comfort still in knowing their whole family are never going to live any of that down and everyone knows how embarrassing they are. He's a prick who thinks he's better than everyone and he sucks.
Growing up, my dad worked multiple jobs to keep money coming in. One job was bar manager at a fairly well known local theatre, another was like. Keeping practice areas clear and well maintained and helping out in training exercises for a local sports arena. He worked really hard, I basically never saw him in summer cause he took so much holiday overtime to keep money coming in. We were comfortable enough, but never more than securely working class, we never took holidays or anything.
When my school year wanted to put on our p7 play, we took sponsorships from local businesses to help fund props, script licensing, etc. My dad offered a raffle prize - two ticket vouchers from his theatre job. Mr C did not believe these were from his job, but had to accept it eventually.
A couple weeks later I was talking to my friend as we came back inside from break about something that happened at my dad's sports arena job the day before. Mr C overheard and, like any adult who is secure in themself (deeply sarcastic), dragged me up in front of the class to yell at me for lying. I distinctly remember something like "next you'll be trying to tell people your dad owns Nintendo and plays fitba for Scotland. You're not special. Grow up". Reduced me to tears to make himself feel better for no reason.
Parents evening was the next week. My dad and I schemed together a bit and he showed up in full sports arena uniform with name tag, wearing his theatre keys and ID badge around his neck. He wore that again to our show performance. And my graduation.
Technically my dad's pettiness at least as much as mine, but it sticks in my mind as the first time I ever got so mad at someone and decided to stick up for myself in a way other than just punching the cunt in the face in righteous 8yo fury
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infjtarot · 1 year
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Emperor. Weiser Waite Smith Tarot Emperor
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A man sits on a throne in a sparse setting. His throne is often decorated with rams’ heads. The Emperor represents order and power. He is the patriarch, and so his concern is with establishing a foundation for not only his own work but also that of generations to come. He takes full responsibility for his actions. He provides structure. He is represented by the number four. Where the Empress is soft, the Emperor is strong. Where the Empress is emotional, the Emperor is detached. He wants to maintain order, and he is building something that is going to take the next fifty years to manifest. He is patient and forward looking, because where the Empress wants to express herself, the Emperor wants to gain power.
This might sound a bit icky to some of you. You might not want to admit to yourself that you wish to dominate and control. You might think it’s gross to mix power and art. But someone’s gotta win the Nobel Prize every year, right? And to have that as a goal—not just the ego gratification part of it but also the achieving excellence part of it—is not a terrible thing. Consider the Emperor to be the Germany card. Contemporary Germany, not . . . you know. The trains run on time, there is an order to things, there is a focus on planning for the future of both its citizens and its economy, there is a sense of logic and reason to the decisions the government makes.
The Emperor doesn’t have to be rapacious, taking from others to add to what it has already, which is more of a Seven of Swords or the Devil kind of thing. It’s about tending to its own state in a reasonable way.
Using that energy creatively, we might think of the Emperor as being someone like the British writer C. S. Lewis. He plotted out the Chronicles of Narnia, finding the orderly structure to the seven books before he started work. Unlike other multiple-volume stories, the tone and the structure remain consistent throughout, because the series, published from 1950 to 1956, was planned so carefully. There are no wobbly to-and-fro plotlines like on the long-running television show Lost, which was clearly made up as it went along. Instead, Narnia was based on Lewis’s deep learning of Greek and Roman mythology as well as Christian theology and fairy tales, and it functions both as adventure and as allegory. Lewis is also a suitable Emperor figure because he was the chair of the literature department at Cambridge University. Emperors think in terms of career; they do not up and move from project to project. Everything builds on what came before it. Teaching is a fitting job for the Emperor, because he can spread his influence and leave a lasting legacy through his students. The Emperor might seem conservative to some. Stability is important, rather than spontaneity and experimentation. But stability has its place alongside spontaneity and experimentation. There’s a sense of lineage here, of working within an already established tradition. He is well complemented by the Fool, however.
The Fool, or jester, traditionally acted out the mirth that the king or other leader was not allowed to. He was like the Emperor’s shadow. Together they make a powerful alliance, with the Emperor trying to establish longevity, and the Fool bringing in light and humor. The Emperor paired with other heavy, traditional cards, however, could indicate that you’re thinking too much about what you’ll leave behind and not enough about what you should be doing now. Too much Emperor, and you can become so rigid that if you topple over, you’ll shatter into a million pieces. RECOMMENDED MATERIALS The Chronicles of Narnia, book series by C. S. Lewis Carnegie Libraries Across America, book by Theodore Jones Jessa Crispin
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introvert--weeb · 3 years
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Can I ask for a request for draken who has a crush on fem reader who’s the half baby sister of hakkai and yuzuha and she’s practically the princess of toman and no matter how many times he tries to approach her she’s always nervous (kinda like her brother) of being around him b/c she has a huge crush on him and she plans on confessing to him but she sees someone else confessing to him and she gets pretty sad and after that a rival gang notices she’s the princess of toman and decide to harass/hurt her and she ends up in the hospital, draken finds out and is pissed b/c of what happened and he ends up finding the guys who hurt her and he and the others beat the crap out of them after that he ends up confessing to her at the hospital and it ends in fluffy fluff:3
Hi anon! Thank you for the request! I really hope you enjoy it!!
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Draken X f!reader (angst to fluff)
TW: mentions of injury, hospitalisation, violence
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You could remember the moment you had fallen for the Vice President of Toman. Draken. He had instantly taken your heart and he was all you ever thought about these days.
Being the baby sister of Hakkai (although not fully), you were really close to the lanky male. In fact, you followed him like his much smaller shadow when he would attend Toman meetings. With how often you had turned up alongside the Second Division Vice Captain, you had been adopted as the Princess of Toman. Your cute looks and innocent persona had made everyone feel the need to keep you safe from harm.
Especially Draken. He would even kill a man if it meant you would be safe and happy. The poor boy had developed deep feelings for you, so deep that he would even claim it to be love. This had gone way past a simple infatuation.
To anyone with eyes, they could see how you both were obviously in love with the other but your interactions were awkward to say the least.
Just like your older brother, you had a hard time communicating with the opposite gender. Not so much with Mitsuya or Mikey but anyone else would be victim to your shyness. Stuttering and soft words were evident whenever someone had tried to talk to you apart from those you knew.
Over time, you had gotten better with your shyness with other members of Toman, becoming especially close to Angry (Souya) as you both seemed to be similar. The only person you couldn't talk a single syllable to was Draken.
Draken had tried multiple times to talk to you, to get to know you. But each attempt was met with failure. As soon as he would get close enough to start a conversation with you, you would become flustered. A deep blush took over your face and ears before you would run off to find Hakkai. Ken was confused as he had hardly gotten a simple 'hi' before you had disappeared.
You didn't mean to seem rude. You just felt like your heart would explode if you remained in his presence longer than a few seconds to a minute. He was just so cool and perfect that you had convinced yourself he was way out of your league. But maybe one day you would get the confidence to at least allow your feelings to be known to the tall blond.
That day had finally come. You had finally gathered enough confidence to confess your strong feelings for Ken Ryuguji. Yuzuha had helped you practice what you would say while she dolled you up. She had picked out a cute black skirt with a f/c shirt that went perfectly. Cute is what you thought when you had examined yourself in the body length mirror. Hopefully Draken would think so too.
After another run through with what you would say, Yuzuha handed you your small bag which contained your wallet and phone. You thanked her for all her help before heading to where you knew Draken and Mikey would be. After all, it was lunch time.
It didn't take you long to reach the café, your hands fiddling with the hem of your skirt as you approached nearer. This was it. You were finally going to tell him how you feel and you would find out if he felt the same. If he did, great...if he didn't, you would have to accept it.
Pushing the door open, you were frozen to the spot at the sight that greeted you. At the table where Draken and Mikey were sat, there was a girl who was talking to the vice president. Silently approaching closer, you had caught the words that tumbled out of her mouth.
"I really like you Ryuguji-kun! Please accept my confession!"
That's it. Your world crumbled around you. You were too late. Too naive to believe you were the only one who saw how amazing Draken was. And due to your shyness, you had missed out on telling him your feelings.
Your body had gone into auto pilot as you ran out of the café, tears falling rapidly down your cheeks. How could you be so stupid? Of course Draken wouldn't like someone as awkward as you! He needed someone who was strong and had enough confidence in themselves. Someone the complete opposite of you.
You had been wandering the streets aimlessly for an hour now. All your tears had been shed and you felt empty. You didn't want to head home yet. Not while you were still wallowing.
"Oh hey! It's Toman's princess!" A strange voice called out somewhere behind you. How did they know that nickname? Did everyone know you as this? That you would have to guess was the case as it wasn't long until you were surrounded by high school kids.
You didn't know what to do. You could try to fight but you only knew a little self defense. Thinking about it, you really should have asked Mitsuya or Mikey or even Hakkai to teach you how to fight.
Within moments, before you could truly react, the gang had descended upon you with kicks and punches, knocking the air from your lungs. You had tried to fight back, even succeeding in landing a punch or two on your opponents. However, it only angered them more and the beating intensified.
The gang had left you alone when you could barely stay awake. Your body lay battered on the concrete, bruises and broken bones making themselves known. Maybe it was your lack of energy or maybe it was the intensity of the pain, but your mind had shut itself down causing you to pass out.
The next Toman meeting was that night. Everyone had gathered together at the usual shrine, parking their bikes and engaging in conversations until Mikey would begin his announcements.
Draken was in a pretty foul mood that night. Having received that confession from that girl had really put him on edge. Of course he had rejected her feelings, knowing his heart belonged to Toman's princess. Speaking of Y/N, where was she?
Hakkai had pulled up at the shrine, his face showing just how devastated he felt. Always one to wear his heart on his sleeve after all. He was blaming himself for not being able to protect his baby sister from the fate she had encountered.
Noticing that the lanky boy was on his own, Draken went over to ask about where you were as you never missed a meeting. Hakkai just shook his head, mumbling that he had explained the situation to Taka-chan and Mikey already so he should ask them if he wanted to find out. It wasn't that Hakkai was being rude, he was just emotionally exhausted from having to explain it twice already.
Panic set in Ken's gut but he had no reason why. You were surely safe, right? After all, you would follow Hakkai everywhere and he would protect you with his last breath if needed.
It was during Mikey's announcements that Draken had found out about you being in hospital, placed under a medical coma to help your recovery. No-one knew when and if you would wake up. This news caused Ken's heart to drop to his stomach but also for immense rage to ignite in his chest. He would find the gang that had hurt his princess and make them pay.
Draken along with the rest of Toman had found the gang responsible for your condition within days of your hospitalisation. A huge brawl had occurred which lasted maybe 5 minutes at most. Draken had left no-one conscious, taking his anger out on the scum that dared harm what was his.
Everyone in Toman had decided to visit you once the brawl was over and you were properly avenged. Everyone simply watched as your chest rose and fell with each breath, the only indication you hadn't passed on yet. Draken felt his throat get clogged by the tears and sobs he was holding back. He was the tough vice president after all. He couldn't afford to look weak.
Weeks passed by with Ken spending his time at your bedside, waiting for any sign that you would wake up. He missed seeing your e/c eyes that he could stare into forever. He missed your cute giggles he would hear when you joked around with Angry. He missed you.
Unable to help himself, Draken allowed a few tears to escape past his eyes and roll down his cheek. "Please wake up Y/N. I love you, and I will tell you that everyday when you are back," and with those words, Ken leaned forward to gently brush his lips against yours.
Just like how it happened in fairy tales, your eye lids began to flutter open as Draken pulled back. The poor boy didn't notice you were awake until your hand (which he clutched tightly in his own) began to move slightly. In disbelief, Draken moved his teary gaze to your face where you were smiling back at him. Your cheeks had begun to heat up once you realised that your crush was holding your hand.
"YOU'RE AWAKE!" Ken was so loud that you had to shush him, your voice laced with giggles. Draken was just so happy that you were awake and looking OK that he pulled your face closer to his. Before you knew it, your lips were covered by another pair in a harsh but love filled kiss.
You must have died and gone to heaven, you convinced yourself. Due to that thought, you had the confidence to kiss back, even lifting your hand on his bicep. It was the best feeling you could ever hope to know. Heaven was surely amazing.
"I love you... I love you... I love you..." Draken muttered against your lips in between the soft pecks he was now leaving on you. He was so happy that you had kissed back, almost confirming you felt the same for the blond.
"I love you too..." Your breath came out as a long sigh, your voice dreamy and filled with all your feelings. Ken moved away from your face and relaxed back in the chair he occupied, a grin plastered on his face.
You were finally beginning to focus on where you were. Beeping machines, wires connected to your arm, the distinctive smell of disinfectants. You weren't in heaven after all. You were alive and in the hospital. It was only then that you had realised you had kissed your crush and told him you loved him too.
All the confidence you seemed to have evaporated in an instant. You were left a tomato red and stuttering so much that no words could come up. You had actually confessed and kissed Ken Ryuguji...
It was 2 weeks later when you were discharged from the hospital, accompanied by bandages around your ribs and your new boyfriend. "Make sure you're ready for our date tomorrow babe," Draken whispered in your ear, causing shivers to travel down your spine.
This boy was going to be the death of you.
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geraskierficrecs · 3 years
Text
Modern AU Stories
when midnights break their sleep by SummerFrost
The first Snapchat that anyone ever sends Geralt is a picture of his own irritated face.
shrike_princess: can u believe this dumbass finally got a snapchat bc a cute boy asked him nicely
"It wasn't even that nicely," Geralt says flatly.
AKA: The one where Geralt is a bartender and Jaskier sings karaoke.
(This is one of my favorite stories in the fandom.  I love it so much!!)
Give Me Nothing, Give Me You by dis
Ciri's kindergarten letter comes in the mail on a Tuesday. Geralt opens it, skims it, and frowns at the class his daughter has been assigned.
Dandelions.
Or: A modern AU with Dad!Geralt and Teacher!Jaskier.
Chopsticks by thisgirlsays22
“Yennefer sent me a check for eight lessons for you,” Jaskier said the following weekend, wearing a beige button-down with--
“Does your shirt have owls on it?” Geralt asked, caught somewhere between amusement and horror.
Jaskier looked down and tugged on the front of his shirt as if he had to remind himself what was on it. He beamed at Geralt. “Yeah! Do you like it?”
“Not particularly.”
The smile swiftly disappeared.
“It’s not terrible,” he amended, stepping back to let Jaskier inside the apartment. Then Jaskier’s initial words sank in. “Wait. Yen did what?”
Hanging up on Yennefer was always a mistake.
New Monster Stories by kathkin
“So do you have a name?”
“Yeah.” The man who had saved his life less than an hour ago – the white-haired, absurdly buff, weirdly sexy man Jaskier might have called taciturn if he was feeling charitable and surly if he was feeling less so – dug into his second burger.
Jaskier waited. “Are… you going to tell me what it is?”
The man paused mid-bite, and looked at him reproachfully as if to say how dare you. How dare you interrupt me. Can’t you see I’m enjoying my cheeseburger. Can’t you see this cheeseburger is the most important thing in my life right at the moment. He swallowed, and said, “Geralt.”
It turns out almost getting eaten by a werewolf can make your whole life go careening off in a new, terrifying, wondrous, artistically flourishing direction. Who knew?
Where There’s a Witcher by ghostinthelibrary
Jaskier is a twentysomething recently unemployed journalist and amateur musician looking for his big break. So when he’s saved from the jaws of a wyvern by the infamous Butcher of Blaviken, Geralt of Rivia, he comes up with a brilliant idea: he’ll follow the Witcher around and sing about their exploits. He’ll gain fame and fortune and Geralt will get a much needed image rehab. Everyone wins. Unless Jaskier goes and falls in love like an idiot.
Only Human Series by ghostintxelibrary
It’s a Tuesday, so someone is threatening to kill Jaskier.
Geralt doesn’t know why he’s surprised anymore.
Geralt moonlights as a superpowered vigilante called the Witcher, but his cover identity is the mild-mannered Geralt Rivia, reporter at The Continental Press. Jaskier is an entertainment writer at the Press and Geralt’s ex-boyfriend. He's obsessed with the Witcher, the vigilante who has saved his life multiple times. When Geralt is blackmailed by a powerful sorcerer into pursuing the Shrike, a serial killer who’s been targeting abusive men, Jaskier gets involved, despite Geralt’s best efforts.
(Seriously, all of her stuff is amazing.  Read it all.)
Thieves and Riches
Geralt is just trying to do a favor for an old friend when he finds himself tied up and shoved into a storage closet by a group of robbers. There he meets Jaskier, an enigmatic cat burglar who is a little too good at teasing a reaction of the normally stoic detective.
I’ll Never Be Free From Your Smile by whisperedstory
Geralt isn't sure how he got here, standing in his kitchen in black gym shorts and a baby pink—baby fucking pink—shirt that stretches too tightly over his muscles and has Toss a Coin written in sparkling gold letters across his chest while Jaskier is aiming a camera at his face.
Or: Jaskier is a YouTuber and Geralt is his best friend and roommate.
Next to You by Bean_Writes
Moving to a new town is one thing. Moving to a new town, becoming best friends with his neighbor and falling head over heels for her dad is something entirely different.
In his second year of college, Jaskier struggles with his undying crush on Geralt, Ciri's dad. It also doesn't help that the man's job involves him looking like an absolute wet dream come true, emerging from beneath a car, muscles flexing, slick with sweat and grease.
He's really fucked.
The Tale of Jaskier's Grudge Against Historians (and how they gave him his happy ending anyway) by notebooksandlaptops
[Text Sent From Ciri] Is there a reason why a love letter to Yen and Geralt is in the British Museum signed from you?? -C
[Text Sent to Ciri] Because Historians are nosey pricks. Do NOT tell your parents. -J
[Text Sent From Ciri] ;) – C
The winking face of a semicolon and a bracket stared up at him, composed of unforgiving pixels. She wouldn’t, would she? No. No. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t.
She wouldn’t.
-///-
Or, an exploration of the reason (immortal) Jaskier hates historians (hint: it's because they keep stealing his shit and putting it on display)
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kiuda · 3 years
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Sometimes I think about the idea of the current syndicate time-traveling back to, like, og l’manburg era or pogtopia era. Like, the interactions that could come of that are super intriguing to me, and the fact that they could get some (cough cough c!Dream’s) perspectives that they’ve never gotten before.
Hi! Hello! I am also now thinking about this!! :D
Not my best work, sorry :( I still struggle with writing multiple characters at once, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! :D
warnings: none i think!!
/rp /dsmp
First there was a light, a loud noise. Then? Darkness.
They woke up under a tree, next to a familiar path. But there were many buildings missing from their last visit. Did someone blow them up? Possible. The DreamSMP landscape was constantly changing.
But they couldn't shake the weird feeling. The sky was clearer, the air... softer? fresher? It was so different.
Phil stood up and looked around. He couldn't see anyone. Usually the prime path was busy, with several members running somewhere, but now he couldn't even hear anyone nearby.
"It's quiet." he turned to his friends. Niki was helping Ranboo up, patting his head lovingly. Techno was... what was Techno doing? Phil took a few steps towards the crouching hybrid, who was muttering something under his breath. He put his hand on Techno's back and asked "Hey mate. Everything all right?"
Techno jumped. Weird. He always knew when someone was coming. The Voices always told him if anyone was approaching him.
"I can't hear them Phil." Techno's red eyes were full of disbelief. "The Voices are gone." Phil stilled. How was that possible? How were they gone? He couldn't remember the last time Chat was quiet. It was definitely before...
No. It couldn't be... right?
But it made sense! The different landscape, the lack of familiar buildings, the absence of Chat... either they all got very drunk last night (which was practically impossible) or they went back in time (which was possible, but still unlikely). They had to find some more clues.
"Guys..." Niki turned towards what would probably be the direction of the community house. "Look." she pointed at the familiar lake. The building that stood there was familiar and alien at the same time. It was the old community house, standing proudly in the sun.
In front stood a few figures, arguing. They couldn't hear what it was about, but the voices were familiar.
"FINE!" Some of the figures turned around and started walking towards them quickly. The uniforms, the hats... those were L'Manburg clothes. The Syndicate members hid, not wanting to give them any reason to attack. Better not to fight in an unsure environment after all.
The figures passed them. Tommy. Tubbo. Fundy. Wilbur. All looking worse for wear, with no Eret in sight. Must be after the Final Control Room then. Noted Niki, remembering the tales she heard from her former friends.
"What do we do?" she asked.
"What can we do? We don't even know what's happening." Phil stretched his wings carefully, trying not to dislodge the tree branches, keeping them hidden.
"We are in the past." Niki raised her hand at the beginning of protest from the others. "Please, trust me. I know those uniforms. I know what that fight was - Tommy just challenged Dream to a duel to end the war."
"What... What are we supposed to do?" Ranboo spoke up, voice shaky. "We can't let it just happen! Dream needs to be stopped then!"
Techno looked at the young hybrid in surprise. "You want to stop Dream? Weren't you the one going on about choosing people and not sides?"
"But! It's different with Dream!" Ranboo looked distressed. He shook his head in frustration. "He is the bad guy! The reason for everything going wrong! If he never gets that disk-"
"Then he will try to get it some other time." Techno put a hand on Ranboo's shoulder, trying to calm him down. "I know that guy. He never gives up." he smirks, remembering their duel.
"I sure don't." they all jump, hearing the unexpected voice. And there, looking at them from above, is him.
Dream.
In his green hoodie, with his mask on.
Ranboo yelps in surprise, backing away from the man.
Dream tilts his head like a confused cat and takes off his mask. He looks suspicious and confused.
"Who are you guys? I don't remember whitelisting any of you." behind him appear more figures - Sapnap, George and Punz. All wearing iron armour, with their weapons in hands. Looking like they would be more than happy to put them to good use.
“Uhh…” Techno doesn’t know what to say. He isn’t good at situations like these! “Bruh…”
Dream perks up at the sound. His face goes from suspicious to disbelief to happy in an instant.
“Technoblade?!” he… squeaks? The Syndicate watches in shock as the green-wearing admin jumps down from the hill and approaches Techno, looking at him in adoration. Where is the cruel tyrant? The abuser, the bad guy?
“Bruh…” answers Techno eloquently. The bright-eyed Dream in front of him behaves nothing like the broken man he left in prison. He is open with his enthusiasm and all over the place, seemingly never standing still.
“Dream!” George stills the excited admin, holding him gently in place. “What are you doing?”
“That’s Technoblade! The Blood God! The one I told you all about!” Dream’s face still shows excitement, but he calms down a little seeing his companions' tense faces. Oh right. He didn’t whitelist anyone new. Especially Technoblade.
He clears his throat, clearly embarrassed. Takes a deep breath and asks again. “How did you enter my server?”
“Well mate…” Philza takes over. “We don’t really know ourselves. We just kinda appeared here.”
Punz tsks, rolling his eyes. He doesn’t believe them. They all have that look in their eyes. The look of someone who has been in a war before. Someone who killed or saw others get killed. “Yeah right. You know something.” his accusatory stare meets all of their eyes one by one. None of them answer, but the tension in the air could be cut with a knife.
“We know you are at war.” responds Niki finally. They have to start somewhere if they want to figure out how to get back. And getting into a fight won’t help. “But we don’t know why.”
The four SMP members look at her in suspicion. How does she know that?
“We saw you argue with those other guys.” she adds. “What did they do?”
Dream sighs heavily, rubbing his face tiredly. “What didn’t they do at this point? They stole, griefed and lied numerous times. But you know, that’s normal. Some of them are teenagers still after all.” He looks in the direction of L’Manburg. “Everyone does that sometimes, you know? And as long as others could retaliate, everything would be fine.”
Sapnap speaks up then, still giving them a dirty look. “But then they decided to make their country and ban everyone else from their land.” He is annoyed, mad even judging by his voice. “And then they started calling Dream a tyrant! Because he dared to say no! Can you believe that shit?!” Smoke starts rising from his hair, alarming the Syndicate members.
George just rolls his eyes and puts a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. “We know the truth. And when we win the war everything will go back to normal.”
Ranboo doesn’t know what to think. On one hand - these are some of the people he is most afraid of - most notably Dream. On the other - they don’t seem that bad… Maybe they take a turn for the worse later? But then why did he hear so many stories from Tubbo and Tommy about how awful Dream was during the L’Manburg independence war? Why was he called a tyrant?
Did they lie to me?
No. He knows what Dream becomes at the end. It doesn’t matter where he starts. But a part of him still wonders - maybe there is still time to change the future. Maybe if they told him-!
Phil sends him a look. It’s as if he could read Ranboo’s mind. He shakes his head slowly, mouthing ‘Don’t.’. Ranboo nods. He won’t go against Phil’s judgement. Not yet at least.
Niki feels weird. She remembers the early Dream. Or at least the Dream who greeted her at spawn when she first joined. He was distant, but friendly and helpful. She also remembers the Dream that destroyed her home. The Dream that threatened Tommy and Tubbo in his lair. The Dream that was locked up in the prison he created.
Which Dream stands before her? Can he still be saved? And would he accept the help?
There is just one thing that all Syndicate members think of because of George's words. One thought that crosses their minds at the reassuring looks the SMP members share between each other, as if they were trying to convince each other that everything will turn out okay.
Yikes.
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ngc-5194 · 4 years
Text
so back before the stream started i made a quick theory about mizu (which you can find here) and i think it kinda still stands.
i say kinda because even though it's clear from the books scattered across the place that mizu was in fact built underwater, i think there's more to it. i think mizu is built over the remains of l'manberg (or l'hole, l'chunkerror, whatever).
hear me out.
karl's room has access to the water. which might be easily brushed off as just weird design, but the person/people who wrote the books about the idols, presumably one of the original people who lived in the city, doesn't understand why the trapdoors are there.
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(book found in karl’s room titled ‘???????????????’)
and speaking of the trapdoors leading out into the water, they’re directly above a ravine that seems to run beneath the entirety of the city. a ravine where the key to tommy and tubbo’s rooms is hidden. the two who are widely regarded as the main characters of this arc. a ravine that seems to streach underneath the entirety of the city. where oh where do we now have a massive crater? next we have the book that karl left that the fishermen find outside their door.
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(book found outside the fishermen’s house titled ‘An Adventure!’)
now there’s a lot in this book, (like the implications that karl has/will travel to this future multiple times. enough times to know who these seemingly random fishermen are, enough times to know the coords of mizu, enough times to maybe becoming the cause of the events that take place) but i’m gonna focus on pages 2 and 3.
There are many stories you may have heard of that have been passed down from generation to generation, and many are false(? tales?)... ... But some are true! It is time you take a look for yourself. There is a lost underwater city nearby that holds much truely valuable information of this history of this great world we live in.
now, we know for a fact that the bit about mizu holding “truely valuable information” about the past is wrong. everything is flipped inside out and upside down, but Karl has to have a reason for saying that.
if the written down information about what happened durring the disc wars in mizu isn’t right, then what about it can tell us useful or “truely valuable” info about what happened on the land where l’manberg and such once stood.
maybe the land where it once stood. (also, dream’s idol room is under and off to the side of the majority of the city and karl emerges from his portal in a cave under his library, which is off to the side of l’crater. time travel doesn’t mean location jumping) third, the skull in karl’s room.
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(cc!)karl’s face falls when he looks at it, something that hasn’t happened in response to anything else (i think, might be wrong). he lingers on it for a few seconds, and his face stays downcast, before moving on, leading me to believe it’s important in some way.
but why? what could be important about the skull?
maybe it’s karl. maybe isaac is in some way (reincarnation or simply karl pretending to be someone else) linked to karl. but if it is karl, why would his skeleton be in this random place? the citizens of mizu would have known his name if they were the ones who brought his bones to their city, no? so where could have karl passed away to have his remains wind up here? maybe his library.
it’s unclear, but whoever it is was/is important to (c!)karl in some way.
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yanderecandystore · 4 years
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Rip Tumblr D-do you have any dragon ocs that might kidnap their s/o? Also I know that this is a stupid question but can I call myself Cold anon? ;-;
Hello 🍨 Cold ❄️!! I'm really glad you sent me this request!
 The current app that I use for writing is bugging out a lot, so I'm sorry if there are many grammar errors and mistakes here and there.
 And uh... Cold? I think I fucked up your ask? I think I got a little too excited and went in a different direction?? If you don't like it I understand, I could always do another one 😳😋
 TW/Tags: Guess who is being an emotional ball once again?? Me! Yey! Send help! // look, I'm sorry but, low-key? This is edginess overload lol (medieval bitch times, which by that I mean: dark times with terrible people in it) // deaths // abuse of power // Reader said: eat the rich // non-binary reader just because // cursing // slight plot twist? But, like, bad plot twist // soft dragon boi 
🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭
You curious little thing - [Yandere!Dragon x Reader - Short Fanfiction]:
" Deep in the forest, up in the mountains, legend says that a dragon sleeps deep within the caves. And as the old story goes, gold awaits inside his domain, but only those courageous enough to enter the deep cave and defeat the dragon, would be able to take the creature's treasure.
Many have persuaded the quest of defeating said dragon, yet no one ever came back to tell the story.
And while you sit at the comfort of your small cottage reading about the old tales of the dragon's cave, you can't help but consider the story to be just that, a story. A piece of fiction made to scare the local children away from the mountains, or to enchant those that were easily invested into these types of stories.
It seems like you're one of those that were fascinated by the old tales. Regardless of if you find it true or not. The old tales still hold a mysterious charm that manages to keep you intrigued no matter what age you re-read them.
Tales of the forest spirits protecting their land with mischievous wit, tales of monsters that crawled out of your bed to cause nightmares on the simple minded, tales of mighty dragons who could easily rule the world if they so pleased to.
Yet they didn't. Either because they didn't want to, or maybe they really didn't exist. Who knows, right [Y/N]? Not that you, a simple commoner, would know any better.
Although, from the tales you read, isn't always the common folk the ones to first encounter these things?
It always ends bad, but still.
A commoner would be the first one to be affected by the wrath of such supernatural creatures.
However, as stated before, there is no way of knowing if such a thing is real or not, right? It's been eons since the last time someone even mentioned a dragon's presence in your kingdom, and it's been centuries that the concepts of dragons had fallen into the mythological category.
There hasn't been a single person to mention the beast's names in years. There was no visible way of them being remotely real, right? That sounded absurd.
But of course, like all tales are written, your's seem to have reached the beginning of your own personal adventure when the king mentioned the need of soldiers willing to face the beast inside the cave, who was presumably hibernating throughout this whole time.
And of course, the public had only laughed at this sort of news. You see, your king's authority over the entire land has been dangling by a thin thread. The taxes, the frauds, the imminent wars threatening to occur at any second now, has helped a small portion of people to start questioning if not downright rebelling against him and his reign of terror.
The revolution was rising slowly, yet something needed to push it forward, the straw that broke the camel's back.
"What could it be?" You might be wondering.
How about kidnapping and force recruitment with the help of blackmailing? Specifically targeting the poorest people in the kingdom and taking their family members hostage if they don't comply?
Sounds so evil that you may think it's bullshit right? So inhumane, that the villain of this story might as well be your crazy king, right?
Oh, [Y/N]. You're absolutely right, yet a little bit wrong considering that even if such an evil act sounds absurd, it's absolutely real. It's part of your reality now.
And even if your king is a vile creature of pure hatred and deserves to be fed to the rats, by being a terrible ruler, husband, and father- You were soon about to learn that there are worse, more powerful forces that can easily overpower the insanity of that sad, pathetic evil man.
To your dismay, your family was one of the chosen ones to suffer from this. Because of poverty, you and your father lived in the outskirts of the kingdom. It was perfect for the king and his soldiers, as you and your father lived distant from the main town, if any of you two ever die on the process of going into the beast's cave, or disobey the king's orders, no one would notice if you two were suddenly wiped from the face of the Earth.
And of course, holding hostage just one person was easier than multiple family members. Although your king was absolutely insane if not completely psychotic, you could at least understand how he moved his pieces in this massive game of chess.
I mean, yes, you understand his reasoning. Still doesn't mean he is right.
Soldiers didn't wait too long to show up and try to force your father to go with them. But you didn't take none of that, you wouldn't let your dying father be taken by them.
You screamed, you shout, you let venom spill out of your mouth by each profanity you threw at the soldiers and the king they claimed to serve. It didn't take long before the general noticed that you were one of the rascals forming a rebellion. Well, you didn't really need to be officially part of the revolution, just disagreeing was enough to make the general decide to take you instead of your old father.
You can still remember how he was trying to scream his lungs out, to stop the soldiers somehow.
This was it, right? The day, for you and possibly all these other commoners to die in the name of an asshole. How honoring.
Among you and other miserably unlucky individuals, there were all kinds of different people. From innocent, to criminals. From young to old, from poor to… Well, mildly not as poor. Nobles would never be subjected to this, you know that. All of these individuals were carried away by a carriage. All crammed into one little vehicle, away from the public sight.
After being far enough from the town and now deep within the forest, the soldiers commanded all of you to get out of the carriage as now you'll begin to walk straight to the mountain while carrying… Gold?
"- It's a gift from the king. Survive long enough, and you'll be able to take it with you." The general said, his tone being condescending as ever.
You could…. Technically run away, right now. They haven't really put any restrains in any of you-
"- Over there!" A soldier alerted the general, who looked little surprised by seeing two of your group running away with the gold in hands.
Without hesitation, or even a slight hint of empathy, the general shot both with his crossbow. Their bodies fall flat in the forest ground, with all that gold and jewelry accompanying them. All that gold being wasted and left behind, just like the bodies of the people carrying them.
You felt sick, the need to vomit was surfacing through your stomach. This- This is terrible!? This is so cruel! How can they continue to walk like nothing happened??
God, how did a once prospering kingdom has now fallen in such a low pit?
As you can imagine, the walk was torturous and it felt like it was going forever. Of course, a lot of questions were emerging about the strange situation.
One: how did the king know and was certain that the myth of the dragon was real and that the dragon was awake?
Two: why didn't he call his own army to attend to such issues instead of the common folk being forced to go with his wishes?
Actually, now that you think about it, why are there so few skilled, trained soldiers taking a bunch of people to a cave unprepared?
Carrying a bunch of gold for fucks sake, this stuff is heavy!
If it was truly a gift from the king to your group, then why were you obligated to carry it all the way to the cave? Sounds unreasonable and if anything, absolutely ridiculous. It would only slow your group down, and for what?!
Sounds like a trap to be…. Honest. Wait a minute-
"- Shit!" You whisper to yourself at the sudden realization that you're fucked, which unfortunately, caused a soldier that was near you to hear it.
"- Nothing sir, I just stabbed my foot in a rock." You weren't lying though. This whole walk bullshit your doing has destroyed your low quality sandals, and now you could basically feel the ground stabbing you every time you stept.
The soldier just grunted at you, and as much as you wished to take his sword and shove it up his bum, you couldn't help but go back to your original train of thought before you got interrupted.
You were going straight to death right? You're not supposed to fight a dragon, but rather serve as an offering?? What?!
You can't even speak or alert your fellow companions in any way. The last three people that have spoken without being directed to, were shot in the head.
The realization has sadly come in too late for you to make any plans now, as you forward as your group walk upwards, following the mountain's trail, you find yourself facing not only the entrance to a presumably dangerous cave infested with predators, but also the gates to your inevitable death.
You would now have to think of how to escape the soldiers and their arrows, or how to possibly make your death less painful. Being eaten by a dragon doesn't sound really fun.
When entering the cave you're met with more-
"- Are you fucking kidding me?!" Someone screamed, while easily accepting their death.
You couldn't help but agree with the person. While entering the cave, you're met with a great ravine, going in a spiral fashion deeper into the cave.
In other words, you have not only walked all the way up to a fucking mountain, but you would now need to get down into a creepy cave.
You almost considered asking for some eternal peace before remembering that your father's life was still in line. You just… Don't want to go away like this, you don't want your father to go like this.
And once again your group, that was now a lot shorter due to the amount of deaths along the way, was now following the general once again. Only this time, the soldiers were behind all of you, probably to guarantee no one ran away. Too late for that now anyway, so why even bother?
You didn't realize how you were on the very front of everyone, side by side with the man that was leading you to your doom.
You felt his eyes fall into your form a couple of times, but he never really turned his face to look at you. After a long silence of just a bunch of miserable people stepping closer to a terrible plan that was not well thought-out, he said:
"- You know it already. Right?" His voice was rough and still held the nonchalant tone that was written all over his face. You doubt this man could have ever smiled once in his life.
You almost choked with your own breathing, the nerve of this man! You couldn't help but let out the only thing you have wanted to say this whole time:
"- I hate you." You say as your eyes start to become a little watery. The feeling of desperation was eating you up ever since you entered the carriage, but only now you felt how bad the teeth of despair hurt.
"- I know kid. Me too." He responded, his tone never changed, even while saying that.
You guess he didn't really appreciate his job as much as you thought he did. Yet, you couldn't find in your heart to pity the man, as he was complicit in all of this mess. But I guess, you do hope for this man to find some sort of redemption, either presently or in his after life.
You still think he did a lot of bad things of course, his crimes are probably never gonna be forgiven. But just because of that, it didn't mean he couldn't start to do some good actions now, not for the sake of finding inner forgiveness, but for the sake of others. For the sake of the innocent people being not only met with unfair treatment, but also being ruled by a psychotic tyrant who is a complete imbecile. No wonder the queen and his son were missing for so long, you would probably have run away if you were them too.
When finally coming down, with your feet now hurting like a bitch, you can find some time for yourself to appreciate the beauty of this place.
You know, before you lose your head? To a freaking dragon??
Honestly, you at least hope that the stories you read were true, because holy fuck- Imagine how exhausted your body is from walking for what it feels like an eternity, holding jewelry made with gold, only to find an empty cave?
Then you would be able to go feral kill one or two soldiers before getting your ass beaten. As you don't have enough reason to just do that right now, right?
You expected to be met with disappointment, but what you truly saw while finally getting into the dragon's territory, you were able to not only feel enchanted by the magnitude of these treasure places, but also forget the danger of the situation, as you look around and remember the tales you read.
This is so much better than what you have imagined it to be like. It's… Mesmerising! It 's beautiful! The underground pond, the glowing crystals, the pile of gold, the stolen statues of the great warriors of your kingdom, golden weapons all scattered across the floor, the white feathered looking dragon staring down at you from his nest, that little tea set that is really cute and fragile yet it probably cost way more than your house, your clothes, and all of your furniture all together.
Oh no wait-
"- We came with what you asked for, Artemio." Said the general fast walking his way to be in between you and the beast.
To say you were freaking out would be an understatement. You knew dragons were huge, but you didn't expect it to be so… Huge! You know??
Oh my God, you're dead-
You looked around to see only you, your group of commoners ready to be probably eaten, and the general. And while looking for the soldiers, you noticed them trying to close the opening with a man built gate, created to keep the beast.
But obviously, that gate looks absolutely ridiculous, there is no way this guy couldn't destroy it by simply slapping it. It's quite laughable, yet…
You feel this is not just a coincidence or a bad made joke. You have a feeling they know the gate is essentially useless. It was really old, so, clearly this has been going on from quite some time.
Has… Has your kingdom been doing this for centuries?? Bringing offerings to please the dragon and beg it to sleep for more centuries to come?
"- This is absolute bullshit!" You screamed, not noticing how your heart was racing and your breathing had started to become frantic. You were panicking while coming to terms with the fact that your whole world was collapsing in front of your eyes. Your scream clearly surprised your fellow companions, yet it didn't surprise the dragon or the general.
The dragon had, well, a dragon face, so you have no idea what it was thinking, and the general was still with the same non-expressive face since the beginning of this stupid trip!
"- What?! You have nothing to say?? You brought us here to die, at least say something, you coward!" You were fuming with rage. How can a person like this be so annoying even when he is not saying anything.
He looks at you with an understanding expression, yet you don't think about what it could mean as you reach to one of the many golden weapons spread around across the floor. They were heavy and quite frankly completely useless, yet you still hold into that golden sword like your life depended on it.
And it did, actually.
Have you gone insane or just completely blind with rage and the instinct of survival? You're not sure just yet, but you'll lose your last bit of sanity to stand your ground.
You aren't going down without a fight.
"- Come at me, you big bird!" You yelled, looking kinda epic and kinda goofy at the same time. You probably shouldn't insult a dragon who hasn't decided who he'll first, it may change his appetite.
Before the general could interfere with your foolish behavior, the one and only had spoken:
"- Where exactly is what we had agreed on?" Like in true entitled brat fashion, Artemio asked the general while putting his head in his pawn.
"- We had to eliminate a couple of the troublemakers. In the end some of the gold was left behind in the progress-"
"- No, I mean, where truly is what I asked for? The jewelry is quite frankly ugly, the gold coins don't matter as I already have plenty, and none of these humans look really edible. Or well… Appetising." You could swear a pouty face was appearing in Artemio's face, yet only one thing had taken your attention. That's the reason why they needed so many disposable people? Oh… Wait a minute, did the dragon just call everyone here too ugly to eat?
"- If you can't compromise with your promises, then I think we'll have to change the deal-" Artemio started getting up from his nest, stretching out like a cat.
"- Oh, please no, can't you just-" The general panicked, thinking that the dragon would destroy the village.
"- I want that one." Artemio said. Pointing at you.
"- What?" You looked behind you just in case you were in the way of someone else. No, you weren't.
"- Uhn… What?" Oh look, even the general was confused as you, and well, the entire cast of people that were thrown in this hell hole.
"- Yes, that one holding the spear."
"- Just… That one, or-"
"- Just that one. And I won't get out of the cave for at least a century, I promise!" He sounds and acts like both a child and a cat, preparing himself to pounce on its prey any moment now.
"- ….. Okay then, fair enough. It's your problem now kid." He said, making a motion for all the other captives to follow him. Which they gladly did, because, you know, they aren't the protagonist of the story.
"- What?! You can't leave me here, you bastard!!" You screamed, although subconsciously you already knew his answer.
"- I think I'm just doing that!" He screamed from the other side of the cave, fuckz they really didn't waste no time at all, did they?
Sigh, who are you kidding? If you were one of them, you would have ran away as fast as you could. At least some gave you sympathetic looks before going back to their "freedom".
You heard the heavy gate closing. Well, shit. It's you and him now.
You tried going back into your original threatening stance, but before you could, you saw a glimpse of Artemio coming in at full speed, taking no time to jump at you. This is it [Y/N], send your last prayers to your father and your old life before-
Before he starts licking you... like a dog? What?
He pauses and you tense up, looking up and seeing a dragon powerful enough to destroy villages, looking at you like a precious little gift.
Artemio picks you up and hugs you in an almost bone breaking hug. Confused and frustrated with how the situation was going, you asked:
"- A-Aren't you going to kill me?" Yes, it was a pathetic question, if a dragon isn't killing you, then why ask it to do it??
"- I have been so lonely since the last human that I chose! I usually prefer to have many friends around but all of the other options seemed so boring, you know?" His voice is oddly cheerful and sweet to someone that sees humans as pets, or "friends". So… What is really going on here?
"- I thought you ate people." You said, still frustrated that you were betrayed and lied to through this entire day.
"- Well, I guess I can eat humans-" Says the giant bird-lizard acting like a child trying to lie about doing something wrong- "- But I really don't like doing it, I promise!"
"- I just wanted someone to play with, you know? All the dragons that I know are just so boring and take everything seriously." He huffed in annoyance.
"- Well… Do you-" You started questioning if you really want to to know the answer, but curiosity sure is killing this cat!- "- What happened to the other humans that were here?"
"- Oh, they… Uhn, they died, because of your shirt lifespan and all ya know." He responded.
"- Oh… Then why did the soldiers bring us here saying you were going to eat us?" Why not go full balls in and ask everything, right?
"- It's- Sigh, it's really embarrassing, but I didn't know any other way of how to ask for company down here." He said shyly, which only confirmed your suspicion of this being complete bullshit.
"- And you threaten to burn a whole kingdom just because of that?" You asked.
"- Yes!" He answered with no shame whatsoever. This guy was a dog wearing a dragon costume, you couldn't believe what you were hearing.
"- Sigh, oh my God…"
"- Hey, uhn, what's your name?" Artemio spoke, he thought that he should also ask questions as he wants to be able to enjoy every second with his new pet.
"- It is [Y/N]. And you're Artemio, right?" You can't believe any of this, really. You went from an absolutely terrible life or death situation, to a… Well, you can't even tell what the hell is going on anymore!
"- [Y/N].... [Y/N]! [Y/N], that's such a good name!" The excited dragon repeated your name multiple times before interrupting your peace once again. You can't be mad at him, but-
Come on, you needed some time to accept everything that just went down. You didn't even notice you were on the floor until Artemio was in front of your view again.
"- [Y/N]!" He was so easy to please, that just saying your name was fun to him.
"- Sigh… Hey Artemio." You sighed as there was no way in hell this dragon would leave you to deal with this weird feeling of emptiness arising in your chest.
"- What do you want to do now?" He asked cheerfully, but not completely oblivious to your feelings of being abandoned underground with him by force.
You stayed silent for a second, again, trying to come with terms with this new lifestyle that you were subjected to. You technically could ask Artemio to open the gate, he doesn't seem to have any intention of hurting you. But who knows? He has a different point of view in this whole thing than you do.
Silence was taking over the cave, but not exactly an awkward silence, just… A comforting one.
The water dripped from the ceiling. You felt the ground underneath you shake a little as Artemio followed your "guidance". He decided to lay on his back near you.
He wasn't really doing any self reflection at all, he just wanted to join in with you, yet all he could think is how happy he is to have someone else to spend time with.
You may only see him slightly from the corner of your eyes, yet you still feel a little, strange, by seeing a dragon mimic your ways.
You don't feel nessecerally homesick, but you do miss your father. You absolutely hate the idea of coming back to the kingdom, but… If you could see your father one last time, and probably help him with the gold that is in this place….
Maybe you could even-!.....
"- Artemio."
"- Yes, [Y/N]!*
"- AAH!" He turned himself to meet your face so fast that you whimpered because of his sudden motion.
He was going to check if you were okay, but you stopped him showing that you were fine, just a little spooked.
"- Hey, Artemio-" You said again, as you were still reformulating your question in your head-
"- Do you know how to burn an entire castle?"
🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭
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icasttourniquet · 4 years
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Common Misconceptions: Raising the Dead (CPR)
Let's start with the bad news: basically all the CPR you've seen in movies and TV shows is performed terribly.
Here's the good news: most CPR is performed on dead patients, which means even bad CPR is better than nothing.
What is CPR?
CPR stands for (googles hurriedly) Cardio-Pumonary Resuscitation. It has two parts: 1) chest compressions and 2) rescue breaths. Here's a video in case you're still confused, but most people have seen CPR performed a ton of times during the climaxes of medical shows. It comes right before either a) the nurse yells "Clear!" and the patient comes back to life or b) the EMT says "I'm not losing you" and injects the patient with adrenaline right to the heart, and then they come back to life.
Raising the Dead
CPR is generally performed on dead patients. That is, patients without a pulse. In the first responder business, the situation doesn't really get worse than dead, so it provides a unique opportunity for authors because you can't really get it wrong.
Here are some questions I've heard people ask while learning CPR:
Should I perform CPR on pulse-less patients who have chest wounds?
Can I continue performing CPR if I break a rib?
Should I perform CPR on pregnant people?
What if I can't give rescue breaths? Should I still give CPR?
My patient has a lot of broken limbs. Should I fix those before performing CPR?
My patient was electrocuted. Should I give CPR?
Here's the trick to answering all your CPR questions. Is my character dead (no pulse)? Does performing CPR put a) the first responder, b) another patient, or c) a bystander in danger?
If you can answer (yes) (no, no, no), congratulations! Your first responder can perform CPR, even really crappy CPR, even CPR that is ineffective, for as long as the plot requires (ModN's WFR instructor tells the story of a 6-hour CPR session on a dead patient during a journey to care that included a toboggan ride).
(NOTE: there's actually one solid contraindication: if the patient is severely hypothermic, their heart rate may be so slow and weak as to be undetectable. In this case (and pretty much only this case) chest compressions may actually do more harm than good. Other than that, obvious signs of death like decapitation or rigor mortis indicate you don't need to start resuscitation, but there are still plenty of compelling interpersonal reasons to do it – at that point you're doing CPR for the responder and survivors rather than the patient.)
Otherwise, your character should go for it!
The bad news about CPR
Time for the bad news (other than you having a dead character on your hands). In general,* CPR is not enough to bring someone back. Its role is to continue circulating oxygenated blood while you wait for a defibrillator like an AED to arrive. The AED or manual defibrillator is what actually convinces the heart to stop fluttering/beating erratically, and allows it to resume something like a normal rhythm. That means that in the wilderness, CPR is almost never going to work. That said, ModN's WFR instructors had a couple tales of AEDs falling from the sky (via helicopter, not under their own power), so it's worth trying regardless.
* The exception: lightning-struck patients can at times restart regular rhythms with just chest compressions. This leads to interesting triage considerations when dealing with the aftermath of lightning, but that's a subject for another post.
How to perform non-crappy CPR
There are a million videos on YouTube that can talk you through every sort of CPR. Keeping in mind, of course, that some CPR is better than nothing on a pulseless patient, here are some quick tips that could indicate your character has some training:
Your character distinguishes between adult and pediatric CPR. Because children don't tend to get heart attacks, pulse-less children almost always have a trauma or respiratory cause. This means responders give children more rescue breaths.
Your character keeps their elbows locked. Here's a playlist of some examples of bad CPR (and some are really quite bad). Actors generally can't lock their elbows because they'd risk injuring or even killing their scene partner (so, okay, fine, that's a decent excuse), but people with real training will know better.
They do not always give rescue breaths. Any CPR is better than no CPR. Rescue breaths can put the first responder at risk because they can involve lip-to-lip contact, assuming no PPE is available. I once had a paramedic say bluntly that he really only gives breaths to children—it's just not worth the risk to him for anyone else. If this sounds callous, remember, CPR is (almost) only performed on dead patients, and the number one priority in any disaster is yourself.
(ModN edit: in a professional setting your character will always have some sort of PPE for rescue breaths: a face shield at the minimum, or in the front country a full-blown bag valve mask (BVM) that allows them to use their hands to get air into the patient.)
Your character does a blood sweep before staring CPR in a trauma injury. You may have heard the rule no pulse = chest compressions immediately. This is almost always true, especially in the frontcountry, when most pulse-less patients you encounter will have had a heart attack. However, in the wilderness, we can run into a bad situation: chest compressions that pump all my patient's blood out the gushing wound in their side.
Maybe you're thinking, hey! I thought you said my character could always do CPR on a dead patient and they'd be fine! And yes, I did say that—thank you for listening. If your character performs CPR on a patient with no pulse and arterial wound, they have not killed their patient. This is because the patient was already dead. They have not "sped up" the bleeding out process because this patient has basically already bled out. So, I'm not blaming your character for anything.
That said, the pro-est of pros will do a blood sweep after finding no pulse and stuff/apply direct pressure/tourniquet as necessary. As an added note, your character with no pulse and the arterial bleed? Probably not going to survive.
This leads me to...
Writing more realistic necromancy
If your character's CPR is successful, your character has just raised the dead. Thinking about it this way can help you write more realistic resuscitation scenes. Here's the number one thing that will make all your CPR more realistic:
Your dead patient does not go from dead to walking and talking in a few seconds.
When the body has no pulse for a while, it gets unhappy. This is because all its internal organs are dying and also because it is dead. CPR replicates the pumping of a heart, but not particularly well. Most people whose organs are all dying don't get that shot of adrenaline to the heart (this is not part of any WFR or EMT protocol but whatever) and then go back to swashbuckling adventure after a quick sip of water.
In fact, in real life, checking the pulse of your patient is an important part of performing CPR because sometimes they come back to life and you don't notice.
So how might you accurately describe someone who's just come back from the dead via CPR (possibly plus defibrillation)? May I recommend some of the following words (no need to cite me—just plop 'em in your writing):
Unconscious
Unmoving
Pale
Clammy
Weak pulse
Non-responsive to pain
Not dead!!!
An added point: absolutely no one whose heart stopped is now "okay" because their heart restarted. They are "not dead" because their heart restarted. Admitedly, not dead is pretty good in the first response business, but they need to see a doctor. As soon as possible. This is because something caused the heart to stop and CPR did not treat that underlying cause. Many people who come back from the dead die again soon after, and could come back and die multiple times before picking a state more permanantly.
Wilderness-Specific CPR
In the wilderness, we have get one (1) special CPR-related ability and that is the ability to stop.
In the US, there's a thing called patient abandonment that can get folks in trouble. Basically, if you start treating a patient, you need to keep treating them until 1) they are dead, 2) they are conscious enough to refuse further treatment and do so, or 3) someone else with an equivalent or higher level of training is treating them (ModN: as a W-EMT this is tricky – it's hard to find people more qualified in the wilderness to hand a patient off to!).
Because WFRs and EMTs cannot declare patients dead, and a dead or unconscious patient cannot refuse treatment, that means you are treating them until someone else is treating them. (As a side note, my first first-aid instructor told the story of performing CPR for 30 minutes in an ambulance on a patient missing part of his brain [this is bad] because the police officer at the scene didn't want to declare him dead on the highway, which would mean shutting down the road for a few hours).
CPR is unique, however, because it's performed on dead patients. The law doesn't want a poor WFR to be stuck in an endless CPR loop because they can't abandon their patient, so in the wilderness only, your character can stop CPR:
After 30 minutes of sustained pulselessness.
If another patient needs more help.
If continuing is dangerous to self or others.
Otherwise, backcountry and frontcountry CPR are pretty similar.
Summary
CPR is generally performed on dead people.
It is difficult to get worse than dead.
Garbage CPR is better than no CPR.
Recovering from being dead takes time and always warrants more care.
WFRs have a superpower and it is called stopping CPR.
Good luck raising your characters from the dead!
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teachingtales · 4 years
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I’ve had to answer this a couple times already so I want to share it with you to help make some sense of the Capitol Hill Attack. In bold are the questions/comments from someone else and then my response follows. 
I don't know what these people expected by doing this. We must first remember that these are not the "average person". These are people who firmly believe in an underlying persecution. I grew up in such a cult, where we were taught that everyone is persecuting us, secretly or overtly. To account for the fact that we were part of a religious majority in the US, we were taught that the "other Christians" were not "true" Christians. They were liars who pretended to believe in God hoping for eternal life, but would vote for "worldly and Satanic" ideas like gay marriage or abortion.
These people genuinely believe that the entire political system of the United States is a Satanic cult that sacrifices children. They are told not to donate blood because the Satanic Leaders (politicians and celebrities) steal this blood in order to use it for youth (by putting it on their skin or ingesting it or both). In some cases, young Christian children are stolen and drained of blood for this purpose. They believe that Trump, and only Trump, was fighting a secret battle against the Powers That Be. They believed that Trump's lack of presidential activity/effects was due to him being far too busy fighting the secret Satanists. In other words, the fact he was ineffective (in public) meant he was effective (in private).
So, to your question: what did they expect by doing this? Any or all of the following:
die a glorious death for the man hand-selected by Jesus, thus gaining access to Heaven
they believed they would find the "hidden votes", exposing the Satanic Politicians and showing the world they were really right this whole time
force another recount, which would finally prove that Trump actually won
The election was fair, there's no damning evidence of election fraud and Trump's legal bullshit is baseless and a desperate attempt to cheat the system.
True. But these are not reasonable people we are dealing with. In their minds, the lack of evidence is the evidence, that cheating the system was done so well that they made sure to really cover their tracks. Oddly, they also believe that it was done so sloppily that they do have evidence in the form of a video that Trump referenced multiple times in his Georgia Phone Call. It doesn't matter that the actual, unedited footage wholly disagrees with Trump's accusations; remember, he was hand-selected by Jesus, and the people in possession of the unedited footage are hand-selected by Satan. This, then, means Trump's video and Trump's claims are automatically correct, while anyone else is a liar and holds forgeries. After all, Lucifer is "the Father of Lies", so his agents (politicians) surely can lie effectively.
Again, we are left with this problem: the lack of evidence is the evidence.
Storming the Capitol was a shitty idea, what was going to change? People are dead because of this "overthrow". The government wasn't going to be affected by this.
In addition to what I mentioned earlier, they have a very small view of the world. These are people who typically believe the Earth is only 6000 years old and evolution cannot happen because they cannot fathom the long periods of time it takes. These are people who believe that those of us outside of the US are all collectively lying about the SARS-CoV-2 virus so we can hurt President Trump's reputation. They cannot understand scale. They are the people who watch movies like “Independence Day”, where a single person who has no knowledge of alien computers can take down the entire fleet. They don't understand how complex things really are. Thus, they genuinely think a "last stand" type of attack on a building will bring on the glorious end to this troubled tale.
Trump repeatedly bashed people who protested for BLM and said it was violent, unnecessary, etc. But when people riot and kill in his name he's just like "well they didn't do anything wrong".
This is unfortunately an easy one to answer: if they're against me, they are wrong...but if they are for me, they are right.
This is a classic "in-group/out-group" type of thinking. In-Group: the group you belong to Out-Group: the group you do not belong to (often with directly opposing views) In this type of thinking, you stereotype the Out-Group by their worst actors but your worst actors in your In-Group are different. We can see this in the media in the form of the following examples:
Example A: foreigners who attack something on national soil are "terrorists", but domestic attackers are "troubled individuals"
Example B: if the majority is white, a 17 year-old black male who shoots some people is written about in the news as a "violent man" or "man opened fire on innocent victims". If the shooter is a 17 year-old white male, the news is characterizes him as a "troubled teen" or "boy open fires at school, family wonders where they went wrong"
Example C: if the minority religion has a passage in their holy book that says "Women are less than men", it's because that religion is clearly false and laughably erroneous; if the majority religion has a passage in their holy book that says "Women are less than men", it's not sexist and just needs to be understood in cultural context
The subconscious reasoning for this type of thinking is very tribal but also ego-preserving...that we each believe we are always making the most correct and most reasonable/logical choices, so if someone makes a different choice, that person and choice are unreasonable and illogical.
None of this excuses the behavior, but I hope it helps shed some light on this type of extreme thought process. 
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e-luxion · 4 years
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Can you please explain Johnny’s chart now that we know his rising? I never saw him as a Virgo rising but people say it makes sense and I’m like??? I’m not too into astrology to know
Yeah I agree with you, virgo was the last thing on my mind, even tho I think I first typed him as Leo Rising after thinking I was like 100% earth (more Taurus than anything) + 5th house placements so I wasn't wrong, but not right either 😂 I am actually excited to do this
𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙞𝙩 𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙑𝙞𝙧𝙜𝙤 𝙍𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜:
It is not the Virgo Rising itself, it's actually where his planets fall that makes perfect sense imo:
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Sun and Mercury in the 5th house 
I say Johnny has 5th house energy a little too much but I never actually explain why
Sun in the 5th house people are m a g n e t i c. Whether they want to or not, they unconsciously end up being the centre of attention. More times than not people with this placement feel like they were born to do ‘more’ and to shine
5th house suns are warm, generous, creative and for the most part, can be very confident in who they are depending how well or bad aspected this placement is
Even if they are less confident deep inside, they try to be confident and to be that light for others
MERCURY IN THE 5TH -- holy shit, I share this placement and yes, some people find us a bit annoying but we don’t talk about that 
People with this placement tend to be very talkative, they don’t seem to run out of topics to talk about, you could put them in a room with anyone and they’ll find a common ground. 
Natives of this placement tend to also talk almost with hidden meanings, there is always a tone of innuendo, there is always a joke in there somehow
This placement is very much “primary school teacher energy”
Not great at concentration cos there is just so many things they want to do, they always want to do something new and fun. Mercury shows us how we communicate but also how we think, and in this house it becomes... a lot.
Moon in the 10th house
This placement is very interesting, imo the moon is the most important thing in our chart. It shows you not only what makes you feel comfortable and how you feel, but your relationship with your mother, how you were raised, it’s a one of the most decisive pillars of “you”
It’s cause and consequence, it shows you how you were raised and how that affected present day you
This is stereotypical but his career and status is truly very important to him, he needs it to feel safe and fulfilled. It makes sense how no matter how hard it got, how much they pushed his debut to later, he persevered and is such a hard worker.
A m b i t i o u s 
People with this placement are actually very sensitive and have a natural need to care for others, they are easily affected by the outside world which makes them want to almost protect others
It’s honestly such a dad placement
Things associated with this placement are definitely a parent sort of vibe, they are responsible and caring, they worry about others around them
Fun Fact, people with this specific placement tend to attract admiration from others, they inspire security and trust. Other musicians with this placement are John Lennon and Kurt Cobain, both people who inspired millions of people and to this day are remembered
Venus in the 4th house
This is another thing that just painfully makes sense 
You know how this man is always like blah kids, marriage, sentimental shit?? THIS is why! This right here, is a big reason why Johnny is the way he is half of the time I swear. The homey romantic vibes? Heavy 4th house venus shit
4th house Venus people are so nurturing, sensitive and calm? Venus most commonly tells you how you are in love, what kind of partners you want but it shows more than that, it tells you how you look after things, your possessions, your aesthetic... 
Johnny’s love for soft toys, oversized fluffy clothes, all of that is due to his 4th house Venus. He is also probably very sentimental with things from his childhood, or things that remind him of home 
When they fall in love, it is serious because their mentality is for the long term, they are very family oriented hence why they can be wary of who they date
People with this placement have the nicest houses and rooms cos they just know how to make a house a home, it’s always so cozy and dating them would probably feel like like an early morning, wrapped in multiple blanket with the fire place on, hot cocoa and the rain outside
On the downside, people with the placement can be TOO sentimental, to the point where is hard for them to let go of things 
Mars in the 12th
Actually this was the only one which was surprising to me, but tbh this is not a side we would often see of Johnny since we don’t know him like that. And 12th house “hides” whatever it falls on, it internalises it to an extent that the native might not actually be aware of this energy
His Mars in Leo makes him quick to anger, but mars in the 12th house makes him hide that anger, bottle it up until it comes out in a scary way because it was left undealt with for too long
Other things in his chart tell us that he has no problem going after things, like going after his career or pursuing hobbies and success. But this right here shows me that in some ways, he is scared to fully express himself due to an unconscious fear to be vulnerable
Sometimes they focus to helping people too much to hide this vulnerability and their own issues
Coming to terms with his own sensitivity and release toxic mentality is something he probably struggled with at some point 
On a positive note, people with this placement tend to be very welcoming and open-minded towards other, they show the kindness to others that they don't necessarily show themselves
a lot of bitches with 12th house placements in nct damn
Jupiter in the 3rd 
At its most basic, this literally tells you that his talent (Jupiter) is in communication (3rd). Very agile minds, who love learning and acquiring information about different topics, people, things, everything
People with this placement lead the conversation, very positive and enthusiastic in the way they talk with others. Sometimes can be a bit preachy but for the most part they’re open minded, curious, and say what’s on their mind, super expressive when sharing their ideas
@/astroismypassion mentioned that Jupiter in the 3rd native might have moved hometown more than once in their life which I find very interesting as this man moved across the globe to make his dreams come true
Philosophy, arts, cultures, stuff like that is very interesting to them and travelling is a form of mind expansion for them
Jupiter shows us where we have privilege and here it’s education, and a larger than life mentality that them well received by others; they are gifted at communication which means that people usually take them seriously as they can be very eloquent 
Saturn in the 6th
Another placement I share with Johnny which I think would be a flex if it wasn’t for the fact that Saturn in the 6th is actually a very difficult position to have. Saturn is not necessarily happy in this house
It shows an obsession with work, keeping a routine, organising but also struggling in all those areas. For example, you obsessively plan your life because you really struggle naturally to follow plans, timetables and stay organise
People with this placement have a tendency to overwork themselves until they’re ill, so health problems might be occur often due to this. You fear failure so it feels like you can never stop working hard, just in case you fall behind. Anxiety, self criticism is very common here
Honestly he has a couple of placements that just scream chronic workaholic 
Pisces Descendant:
I don't know if this is weird but I thought he had to have Pisces in a “favourable” house, because he seems to attract or get along with people who have Pisces placements specifically so this is not surprising at all.
I’m ngl this man probably daydreams about his s/o, if he is single he’ll just make up little scenarios in his head or has a very clear idea of the kind of interactions or person he wants
Very idealistic, gentle and compassionate in love but also wants partners that match this energy. Heart on his sleeve kind of vibe
He probably attracts slightly chaotic partners, the dreamy artists types 
This man clearly doesn’t want just any love story, he wants the sort of fairy tale romance he can tell his grandkids 
7th house is also like enemies and shit, but I’m not going to talk about 
Gemini Midheaven 
When you meet someone, there is 3 main things you see about them and that is Ascendant, Mercury and Midheaven. Especially when it comes to celebrities, we see their midheaven more than anything 
Gemini MC people always have something going on, they have like 5 careers at the same time, very multi-faceted people. They’re not quite happy at doing one thing but they’re also very adaptable 
In the work environment, he could adapt to others and very much go with the flow of things, jack of all trades. Whatever happens, he can do it and does it well
For now I am going to go on more explaining why everyone is like uhh it makes sense and later I'll actually make a post with more information, in my drafts I have this one post by xx saved from like a year ago of their personality analysis of Johnny, in which they asked if any astrology people could you know back this up. I had written a whole response to it but now that we know I will make a more detailed response and analysis of his birth chart 👁️👁️
𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊, 𝕷𝖚𝖑𝖚 𝖝𝖔𝖝
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phoenixtakaramono · 3 years
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Does Bing gē Have Descendants in ‘The Untold Tale?’
This topic has come up a few times since The Untold Tale takes place in the PIDW universe (post-Bingge vs Bingmei extra), I figured I might as well compile and archive my official answer here for me to refer my AO3 readers to in the future for convenience’s sake. I hope everyone doesn’t mind. :) I’m always happy to answer questions!
TL;DR
Q: Will we see Bing gē having fathered children with his harem of 600 or so wives in TUT?
A: For TUT, the answer is a definite “no.” There were a lot of factors which’d contributed to my decision. I’ll try to explain my reasoning down below.
Context
In PIDW, it is canon that Luo Binghe has a bountiful number of descendants with his harem of 600-or-so wives. It is a detail that has been mentioned even in ch1 of SVSSS and in ep1 of the donghua.
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(SVSSS Excerpt - ch1)
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(SVSSS donghua - ep1)
I like to plan things ahead of time. So from very early on, I knew this would be something I would have to decide on whether or not to address when I’d finally decided to expand TUT from just a prologue into a full-blown story. And after contemplating it, I decided against adding children into the story. It is because 1) it would make the situation more complicated, and 2) it would take TUT in a different direction that wouldn’t be fun for me to write.
I’m a very decisive writer, meaning when I make my mind up about something, chances are I won’t change my mind. This is because I would have already planned it into my plot outline, which means changing a decision would require me to change other details in the other chapters I have planned for that story. (I’m typically not a spontaneous writer; I try not to write spontaneously because when you’re a writer who rotates through multiple WIPs with different characters across different genres or writing styles, you inevitably have writer’s block because you probably won’t remember all the ideas or the direction you had whenever you return back to a different WIP. To reduce this shortcoming, it helps me personally to have a plot outline. This way I can return to any WIP, read my notes and then transcribe them into legible paragraphs, find a way to transition between the story beats I have to hit for that chapter, and then eventually post the final draft to AO3 when I feel it’s ready.)
Having made a decision, I knew I had to set it up in TUT and give a “reasonable explanation in-story.” Hence, in ch2, we see:
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(Excerpt I - ch2)
Basically the set-up is TUT takes place post-Bingge vs Bingmei, but between “the third or fourth book” of the hypothetical PIDW webnovel series aka before Airplane wrote the fanservicey chapters where the luckier of LBH’s wives give birth to children during the harem drama plots and the children are probably rarely, if ever, mentioned again in the story as a lot of stallion novels tend to do.
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(Excerpt II - ch2)
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(Excerpt III - ch2)
Contrarian Tendencies
You know the saying: Monkey see, monkey do? In my case, it’s monkey see, monkey do not do.
A little fun fact about me as a writer: if I have already seen a fanfic where someone has already written a concept or idea into their story, chances are I will just avoid it entirely in my own stories. I don’t know why this aversion exists, but I’m assuming it’s because of my counterculture hipster inclinations and an intrinsic fear of plagiarism which has been beaten into all of our skulls since adolescence. There’s nothing wrong with being inspired by other people’s works. Technically everything’s been done before in writing so, as a writer, a good rule of thumb is to always try to give it your own unique spin on things. So for me, my brain somehow interpreted this a step further. This is a reason why I try to avoid reading stories from whichever fandom my WIP is from during the writing process of updating a fic, because this is how I get influenced. Once I see an idea or interpretation from another fanfiction, it influences me to not want to write it into my own. This is a very strong unconscious impulse for me. I guess this is just the neurons in my brain’s thinking that this way, it won’t be something my readers will have read before and the story idea will come across as different or fresh, and mine. In a way this is also how I show respect for fanfiction writers in the same fandom—by being inspired to not be inspired, ha. I like to think every story in the world serves a niche audience, so seeing a diverse range of originality and interpretations in a fandom is a good thing. This is also how I feel when I am able to identify certain popular tropes or depictions or patterns in a fandom; 99% of the time, it makes me feel a compulsion to “go against the grain” or write the opposite. For example, you have no idea how long it took me to come around the idea of incorporating the fanon “A-Yuan” into TUT. However cute it is, the moment it dominated the fandom (well, “dominated” is an exaggeration; it’s more like I’ve seen enough, especially in the Original LBH/ SY | SQQ tag), my gut reaction was to nope out of using it. But after seeing a lot of comments in my inbox with readers affectionately calling SY “A-Yuan,” I’d contemplated it for a long time and it wasn’t until ch4 that I decisively decided that yes, I can have Bing gē calling SY “A-Yuan” in TUT—but it has to be at the right moment for maximum dramatic and emotional impact. (See this thread that started it all. And this is the small sneak peek I wrote where LBH will call SY that for the first time.) <- This is the rare 1% where I actually conformed to what’s popular.
In this case, when I finally decided to expand the prologue into a full-blown story, coincidentally I had just recently read a good Binggeyuan (Bingyuan) fanfic which featured a kidnapped Shen Yuan interacting with Bing gē’s harem and LBH’s children/descendants. I’d liked their portrayal and even thought the children were cute. <- However, with me having reading this, the problem came up: I felt the familiar stubbornness in me rearing its head. So knowing myself, if I had included children, it is very likely the direction that I would have gone down for TUT would have been the opposite. To further complicate matters, you have to keep in mind the kind of writer I am. I tend to like grounding stories with a semblance of realism, no matter if the genre is pseudohistorical fantasy, romance, sci-fi, etc. And this writer has seen and read quite a few harem and palace intrigue Chinese dramas/ premises.
For further context, in those types of “historical” C-dramas^, in that sort of environment which fosters scheming, competition, jealousy, etc, it is almost expected to see heirs aka children aka descendants harmed along with the women. Innocent parties are often victims in these sorts of cutthroat premises, to underscore the underlying message the show or novel wishes to present. (See Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace. See Yanxi Palace. See The Legend of Haolan. See Nirvana in Fire. See The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage. Etc.) And me being me, this would be the direction I would take. Remember, while TUT is meant to emulate a legitimate danmei C-novel reading experience in a fantasy world, I do drop pseudohistorical and cultural Easter eggs into the story. So trust me when I say you would not like the direction TUT would have gone down in, had I made LBH have children with his harem. I mean, theoretically yes, we could’ve seen endearing children characters from me, but you would have also seen me addressing a lot of the baggage that comes with (see Comment III Excerpt down below).
The situation with dissolving Bing gē’s harem is already complicated enough. As his romance with Shen Yuan develops, I didn’t want to have an additional headache thinking about how to address the issue of LBH having children already. Divorces in a pseudohistorical context is already a heavy topic—even more so when it’s divorces with children in the mix. Naturally I will still have SY and LBH eventually discuss the matter of legitimate heirs since LBH will essentially become the Sacred Ruler of all Three Realms and it’s a traditional precedent for an emperor to bed his empress, noble consort, and imperial concubines until he has his heirs (plural, because the rate of mortality was high in ancient China). In TUT’s case, at that point in the story SY will remind LBH that he’s essentially an immortal sovereign so there isn’t any need for an heir unless he wishes to retire. Furthermore, he will inform LBH that he could set a new precedent since he’s already different from the other emperors from history (with him being of half-Heavenly Demon and half-human cultivator lineage); as long as LBH is fully aware of all perspectives of the situation, he doesn’t necessarily need to conform to all traditions if this is something he really feels strongly about. But this future conversation(s) is likely the extent of it.
But wait, you say, what about a certain someone who’s going to be transmigrated as an imperial crown prince? Isn’t he going to be in that sort of vicious upbringing? <- Yes. But that’s an entirely seperate matter. In a way, since I’ve decided Bing gē will not have had any children or descendants in TUT, with Airplane, this now presents an opportunity for me to show the consequences of being one of the many children of an emperor with a harem of women vying for one man’s attention—and the power struggle that’d ensue in this kind of environment. It’s an interesting What-If parallel, if you think about it.
AO3 Comments
Although these are just small excerpts from replies I’ve written before, it’s nice and orderly to just compile them here for everyone since these will be buried underneath all the comments as TUT updates:
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(Comment I- ch3)
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(Comment II- ch4)
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(Comment III- ch4)
Because of seeing comments that have asked me for my thoughts on whether or not I will include LBH’s children, I’ve had so much fun seeing theories thrown around: from LBH’s blood parasites being able to control conception, to someone’s headcanon about LBH being a hybrid and all that entails scientifically (think: mules). I will say in TUT, it’s more the former since in PIDW he’s supposed to have descendants; we’re pretending Bing gē doesn’t have any yet (and now definitely won’t, especially after having heard SY’s “prophecy”) because he subconsciously does not want children due to certain fears, trauma, etc. And his Heavenly Demon’s “blood parasites” (blood manipulation) is a convenient story device to explain why no wife has gotten pregnant yet.
I hope this explanation makes sense! Mainly I just wanted to have this archived on tumblr so that I have this post to refer to moving forward.
On a side note: especially since ch4 had been posted, quite a few people have actually mentioned they’ve read my replies to other comments and/or I have seen different people having hopped onto other readers’ comment threads (for example, imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw a reader you lovely person, you helpfully jumping in to respond to another reader’s questions about TUT, and their answers were actually aligned with what I would’ve answered!), so it’s always such a thrill whenever I see this level of engagement happening. I can’t explain why, but seeing this happening is just so cute to me. It really makes this writer feel so warm and fuzzy inside!
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infjtarot · 2 years
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Emperor ~ Bachus Tarot
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  The Emperor represents order and power. He is the patriarch, and so his concern is with establishing a foundation for not only his own work but also that of generations to come. He takes full responsibility for his actions. He provides structure. He is represented by the number four. Where the Empress is soft, the Emperor is strong. Where the Empress is emotional, the Emperor is detached. He wants to maintain order, and he is building something that is going to take the next fifty years to manifest. He is patient and forward looking, because where the Empress wants to express herself, the Emperor wants to gain power. This might sound a bit icky to some of you. You might not want to admit to yourself that you wish to dominate and control. You might think it’s gross to mix power and art. But someone’s gotta win the Nobel Prize every year, right? And to have that as a goal—not just the ego gratification part of it but also the achieving excellence part of it—is not a terrible thing. Consider the Emperor to be the Germany card. Contemporary Germany, not . . . you know. The trains run on time, there is an order to things, there is a focus on planning for the future of both its citizens and its economy, there is a sense of logic and reason to the decisions the government makes. The Emperor doesn’t have to be rapacious, taking from others to add to what it has already, which is more of a Seven of Swords or the Devil kind of thing. It’s about tending to its own state in a reasonable way. Using that energy creatively, we might think of the Emperor as being someone like the British writer C. S. Lewis. He plotted out the Chronicles of Narnia, finding the orderly structure to the seven books before he started work. Unlike other multiple-volume stories, the tone and the structure remain consistent throughout, because the series, published from 1950 to 1956, was planned so carefully. There are no wobbly to-and-fro plotlines like on the long-running television show Lost, which was clearly made up as it went along. Instead, Narnia was based on Lewis’s deep learning of Greek and Roman mythology as well as Christian theology and fairy tales, and it functions both as adventure and as allegory. Lewis is also a suitable Emperor figure because he was the chair of the literature department at Cambridge University. Emperors think in terms of career; they do not up and move from project to project. Everything builds on what came before it. Teaching is a fitting job for the Emperor, because he can spread his influence and leave a lasting legacy through his students. The Emperor might seem conservative to some. Stability is important, rather than spontaneity and experimentation. But stability has its place alongside spontaneity and experimentation. There’s a sense of lineage here, of working within an already established tradition. He is well complemented by the Fool, however. The Fool, or jester, traditionally acted out the mirth that the king or other leader was not allowed to. He was like the Emperor’s shadow. Together they make a powerful alliance, with the Emperor trying to establish longevity, and the Fool bringing in light and humor. The Emperor paired with other heavy, traditional cards, however, could indicate that you’re thinking too much about what you’ll leave behind and not enough about what you should be doing now. Too much Emperor, and you can become so rigid that if you topple over, you’ll shatter into a million pieces. RECOMMENDED MATERIALS The Chronicles of Narnia, book series by C. S. Lewis Carnegie Libraries Across America, book by Theodore Jones
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