#ramblings of a mountain hermit

[mossycattail]

best part about working for sbubby?

i get to make my #AutismSandwhich™️

like, i get to make it. i can make it the old way, before Big Sbubby changed the contents of the sandwhich slightly. this is awesome

[cringycorruption]

Muhahahaha I’m the first (I think) to draw government worker griannn hahaha

Now we can all relish in the fact that art of this stupid bit exists cause the idea of drawing this shitting comic has been in my mind since the latest grian episode

[mothheart]

I started exploring my first chasm for the robbie quest and whewww. Really just getting started here huh

[highly-radioactive-nerd]

-Jurassic World Evolution developed for PC, Xbox, Playstation. Launched 2018. Switch port launched 2020.

-Jurassic World Evolution 2 launched late 2021 for XBox, PC, Ps4

-Rumors that devs have Switch Succesor dev kits, suggesting launch in late 2024.

*Kronk it's all coming together meme*

[theminecraftbee]

minotaur Joe for the fanon swap prompts? i feel like he'd do something very philosophical and Joe(tm) about mythology. or butterfly/moth Joe?

After waking up with a headache and looking in the mirror to shave, Joe pauses. He stares at his reflection in the mirror. For the past several days, he hadn't thought anything of it; it's usual enough, for a hermit to start to get weird as the day of the start of a new project approaches. Why, if all that moon stuff hadn't happened, Joe can only imagine what growing snakes would have been like for Cleo.

He wonders if it was anything like this: Joe wakes up, stretches, hears weird clacking as he goes to the bathroom, goes to grab his razor, and rather abruptly realizes that he doesn't have a beard, or, rather, that since he now has a bull's head, he has far more beard than can possibly be reasonably shaved, and he should throw the whole concept of 'shaving a beard' out the window.

"Huh," he says. "I guess growing horns does give people a headache? Who knew?"

If his voice is wavering as he says it, well, no one's around to hear. They're between seasons, and while Joe is sharing a server with several hermits at the moment, his mountain lodge doesn't have much by way of neighbors. He's alone to have this horrible revelation.

"How will the bunny ears look with the bull head?" he asks himself. He tries to picture the result and, determining it a little less existentially terrifying than a sudden, unplanned change of species, decides to put them on. He nods. "I am a Playboy Minotaur," he mutters to himself. "I am confident! Composed! Perhaps even a sexyman? Eh, I'll workshop it. I wonder if there's better-matching armor for this..."

He hitches in his morning routine when he realizes the weird clacking he'd been hearing had been hooves. Realistically, he should now be wondering how well any of his boots will fit, now that he doesn't really have toes, and if he needs to be shoed, like a horse might, to protect the hooves from damage instead. Realistically, he should be contacting Iskall about whatever modifications need to be made for the remainder of his time hunting vaults before season 10 starts. Realistically, he should be hunting down one of the less-human hermits and asking if eating burgers to gain levels is now cannibalism. All of these things are realistic concerns that he can bother people about right now, if he wants to!

Unrealistically, he's thinking more about a conversation he'd had with Cub the other day as he stares at his hooves, hands shaking far, far more than he'd care to admit.

They'd been arguing about who Daedalus was.

It had started when they started planning together. Joe had mentioned wanting to build a labyrinth a little bit ago, and Cub, who apparently loved building mazes, was going to help out with the planning. With any luck, all of the hermits were going to help build it! He'd rambled about giving himself a bit of themeing about Theseus as a result, about conquering this whole labyrinth build, this project he'd designed not to really have an end. About having to guide himself in and out through twisting tunnels.

Cub had then pointed out that if Joe had been building it, that technically makes him Daedalus; the one guy who knew the layout, the genius inventor building the trap for the server, designing its hallways. Joe had argued that was who Cub would be; Cub is the expert madman inventor being brought on, and Joe just like, wanted to build a maze. Cub had said that that sort of made Joe Minos then, but given season seven, the guy who once got cursed to turn everything he touched to gold didn't feel very fitting. Joe had agreed it hadn't fit. Maybe they'd split Daedalus then, if Theseus was a little too thematically muddled?

They'd laughed about it. Joe hadn't really intended for the maze to be based on myth, anyway. That would be stealing Cleo's bit, and he knows better than to do that.

And yet.

"We didn't consider I might be the Minotaur," Joe says to no one in particular. "You know. Of the figures associated with the Labyrinth, we didn't consider the big bull trapped in the middle. I should tell Cub we forgot about that one. It'll be a real laugh."

He can't quite say out loud the thing he's really thinking, which is this:

Well, if the universe has decided the guy with the maze won't be the hero, or the inventor, or the king, but the bull it was designed to trap--well. What's that say about him, exactly, in symbology?

"Maybe it's just in reference to the vaults," he says, trying to hype himself up. It falls a little flat. He takes a deep breath. He realizes he's still holding his razor, even after crossing his house to get the bunny ears. He goes to put the razor down and catches sight of his head in the mirror once again.

Monstrous. He's friends with a lot of monsters, of course; he's known Cleo for more than a decade. And his mannerisms, they're still him. But right then, in that moment...

He pokes the bunny ears.

"I am the Playboy Minotaur," he says, more insistently. "Didn't Iskall have that dress he had covered in flowers? That's what's really important here. That, and the obligatory cannibalism if I want to reach the level 100 goal in time, of course. The Minotaur clearly ate meat, despite being a cow, and ate people, despite being half person, but we really know nothing about what cow would do to my diet. Hold on, I have a very confusing message I can write Iskall about this one."

He deliberately turns away from the mirror and goes to write Iskall something that will explain nothing at all, and then tell Cub about their oversight. It's not like he can change it now.

[gladumfdoodles]

Hello hello! I was curious what your reasoning was for all the different bird wings for different seasons w/ grian, i think they're all so cool and i understand the s7 and s10 one but i'd love to hear more about the others and how you got them if you have time :D!

(P.s. Love you're writing, currently in the process of reading the princess bride au and the writing for that is so good)

post this is referring to

i am so glad you asked my friend!! here is my reasoning behind each of the different birds I chose for Grian:

season 6: Cory's Shearwater

Grian based in the ocean for this season, and shearwaters are sea dwelling birds! I also wanted a bird with brown and white feathers, the brown so that it matched Grian's hair, and the white for poultry man. His feathers are much more tame because he's still finding his feet within the hermitcraft server, hence why they match his hair

season 7: Crimson Macaw

pesky bird!! Grian based in the jungle this season, and now that he's more adjusted to the server, he's perfectly fine with showing off!

season 8: European Starling

listen I know everyone hates these guys cause they're an invasive species but come on, they look absolutely stunning. hang on, let me get a better picture of them just so you can see their plumage better

absolutely gorgeous. I thought it fit his season 8 base, the midnight alley, very well, with its mystical and magical vibe. also, starlings are very social creatures, which matches up with boatem very well. also if you've ever seen a murmuration of these flying at night, it's absolutely terrifying and beautiful at the same time, and that combination of horror and beauty really matches the season 8 feeling

season 9: Hermit Thrush

going back to our brown roots, season 8 was pretty stressful, so I'd like to imagine he wanted to take season 9 more calm and relaxed, hence the feathers matching his hair. Also, hermit thrushes live in mountainous areas, which fits in with his rocky base. Finally, I saw that the hermit thrush was a brown mountain bird with the name "hermit" attached to it and it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up

season 10: Kingfisher

this one is pretty self explanatory, Grian's entire thing so far for this season is taking it slow, and kingfishers are known for their patience. Also, fishing. I think about 80% of what Grian's done on hermitcraft so far is fishing. so he gets the fish bird

thanks for sending in this ask and letting me ramble! I love birds and I love hermitcraft so this was very fun for me :]

(and thank you!! the princess bride au has been very fun to write, so I'm glad you're enjoying it <3)

[mochiwrites]

I know u said u weren’t sure about including life series since angst and all, but let’s just think of it like silly fun lil games no watchers just Extreme Roleplay and none of the forgetting stuff.

3rd life happens and THATS what convinces the hermits that scarian are horrendously down bad for each other and just physically incapable of flirting in a normal way, — even though the whole monopoly mountain thing is purely because scarian are both over the top dramatic little bastards /pos — so they start trying to brainstorm ways to knock their heads together and get them to confess because “we’ll be in season 30 before those two idiots even try to confess to each other, we must intervene so we can stop watching their painfully obvious yearning”.

And they are just soooooo so so so wrong about everything lmaoo.

a good point has been raised 👀

I think I’m looking at the life series as like… psychologically, this has weight on all of them, right? whether the watchers were involved or not, there’s still some… repercussions that would follow the games in terms of mental states etc etc (you’ve unlocked the psych minor, I’m so sorry for the rambling that’s about to occur)

from like, an in world stand point, the hermits (and empires peeps) are used to living in a world with limitless respawns, right? so now you take those players, and chuck them into a world where hey. your lives aren’t limitless. your deaths have meaning now, so you have to make the most of every life while you can. that alone is going to be something pretty jarring. going from a world where death is something to be shrugged out to a world where you could be permanently taken out by someone you consider a friend? eesh

even from a roleplay stand point (coming from someone who Has done a fan version life game before), the roleplay aspect will still impact them. those deaths and betrayals are still going to leave a mark. and what happens in the games will follow back home. there’s still a very real weight being put on all of them and it’ll be affecting them psychologically

and esp for scar and grian… the life games would be very, very hard on them. the trauma Would still be there to a degree, roleplay or not y’know?

now don’t get me wrong I love the image of these two being dramatic little shits with monopoly mountain LMAO. because it’s very them! but from a narrative standpoint, and as a writer who very carefully considers the emotional impact of something that life altering… I’m leaning toward it just not existing in this universe. at MOST maybe third life, because damn I do love me a pair of husbands trying to conquer the world together WHEEZE

long rambling aside, yeah. yeah the hermits are doing their best but they are so incorrect DBFBFHRGRG

[violet-fire-cat]

👀

Another 👀 ask, another AU ramble!!

For today, let's go wiiiiiith- hm. What do I even call this one, I'm so bad at naming aus. Uh. How about ~

Alien Avatar AU This one takes inspiration from the movie Avatar. Yes, the one with the blue aliens. I have a tendancy to watch a film/show or play a game and go 'I can make an AU out of that'. And this is one of many examples of this pfft.

Anyway! This ones more sci-fiy, but only partly so. And. Also, once again, Ethubs. Yeah. (sorry not sorry) There's also some art! Design doodles for a while ago, so that's fun ~

Bdubs is a scientist on a research vessel that's travelling to other planets to study them. He's a biologist, mostly focused on plants and how they grow. The ship is full of other Hermits with various areas of study, as well as the tech guys and medics and such.

Etho, however. Is an alien living on one of the planets that the humans want to study. His species are much earlier into their development, living in small clans and villages in the thick forests and snowy mountains of their home world. Etho is a scout and a hunter, often patrolling the territory around his village, or hunting for food to feed his people.

Bdubs' ship arrives in the planets orbit to do some research. They are aware of the native species but limit time spent on the surface and keep their distance from settlements. They don't want to interact with the locals if they can avoid it. They just want to do their research, study the planets flora and fauna, it's ecosystem, terrain, climate, etc. And then leave.

The extreme cold, heavy snow and rough terrain of the planet below is very difficult for a human to navigate safely for any length of time. And sure they aren't spending much time down there, but they still want to gather some samples and specimens to study on the ship, and to explore a little. So a few of the crew members have 'avatar' bodies made using both their own DNA and previously collected genetic material from the locals.

Bdubs is one of the people who gets one of these things, and he's a little weirded out by it at first. It looks like him, but covered in fur. It's strange. But he still makes use of it to collect plant samples for his work. He's never down there for long, and he's been told that there are no signs of a native settlement in the area he's in, so the chance of him stumbling across anyone is low.

Low. But not impossible.

He's collecting plants in the forest when something sneaks up behind him. One of the locals. Bdubs has seen pictures, but encountering one up close is different. And he's a bit concerned! The stranger is crouched low and watching him closely. Dressed in what look like animal pelts and leathers, his white fur camouflages him against the snow. He's not hostile, but he's definietly cautious and wary.

This, of course, is Etho. Who's not quite sure what he's just found. A stranger. From another clan? He doesn't look like any others Etho has seen before. He looks weird, his hair and fur are so dark. He stands out against the snow. He doesn't seem to understand his words, the other nearby clans at least speak the same language, so he must be from far away. Why is he here? Etho doesn't know. But he doesn't think this guy is dangerous. Was he collecting plants? Herbs maybe? Hm.

It'll be dark soon. Etho won't leave someone out in the snow at night. There are wild animals, and the bitter cold of winter nights is tough, even for them. It's not safe. He's still wary, but he leads Bdubs back to his home. Bdubs shouldn't follow, but he does.

The village is small, but these people have simple structures and homes built into the rocks and hillside and a fire burning bright in the middle of the settlement. The rest of the clan are curious of Bdubs, but they listen to whatever Etho tells them.

Someone passes Bdubs a bowl of hot food. Like soup. It's meaty and delicious and warms him against the winter chill. He's given a place to sleep in Etho's den, and that's where he spends the night.

When the alien body sleeps, Bdubs wakes up in his human body back on the ship. And- he has so much to explain to the others, this is going to be complicated. God he hopes he doesn't get in trouble for this it's not his fault he got found, okay!!

Technically, they should get Bdubs' alien avatar out of the village and back to the ship. But- those people don't know that Bdubs isn't from this planet. If they don't kick Bdubs out as soon as the sun rises, maybe keeping him there wouldn't be so bad. They've been granted quite an incredible opportunity to learn about the locals, about their culture and way of life. Surely they should pursue that?

Bdubs isn't sure at first, but he eventually agrees, and the next morning he links back up and rejoins Etho and the rest of the clan. They don't try to chase him out, and so begins Bdubs living an odd double life.

Over the following months Bdubs basically intergrates into Etho's clan. Learns about their language, their culture, their enviroment. The way they hunt, cook, make clothes, make medicines. It's fascinating and he's learning a lot of new skills alongside everything else. And then every night he debriefs to the other Hermits back on the ship, and they're able to add new info to their database.

Bdubs and Etho become good friends, especially as Bdubs' grasp of the language improves. And... With time, they start to become something more.

Bdubs didn't plan on falling in love with the alien! Of course not! It just... Sort of happened. And by the time he'd realised it he was in way too deep to get out.

It's becoming increasingly obvious that Etho feels the same way too... Oh dear.

Bdubs is confronted with a romance he wants but really isn't sure that he should allow. And, later, with the fact that his secret won't stay secret forever. That one day Etho will learn the truth of where Bdubs comes from. And the reality that is Bdubs eventually being expected to go back to Earth... This trip really wasn't supposed to be this complicated!!

Aaaand yep! That's all for this one! I really love this au and it's definietly one I'd love to write some time, but I'd need to figure out what order everything happens in and how certain plot points actually play out and- various other things. I don't know. Maybe one day!

But yeah, drawing Bdubs all fluffy is so fun hehe, that art is from a few months ago now and was just me experimenting a bit, but I like it!

If anyone wants to know more about this AU feel free to drop me an ask, I love to talk about these things, if you couldn't already tell pfft. Still got more of these asks in my inbox too, so expect another long AU ramble from me very soon ~

[majickth]

i love your hermit hollow au! as someone who both grew up in a superstitious, midwest mountain area and has a love of folk/cryptid horror, it's super cool to see the genre getting love.

do you have any ren (and/or martyn, if he makes an appearance!) lore crumbs to share?

also also, was gem's role inspired at all by the "Im a Search and Rescue Officer for the US Forest Service" anecdotes? it made me grin like an idiot when i realized, but i'm curious if it was on purpose?

I’m glad, thank you!! And yes, the staircases in the woods are a big inspiration lmao

As for Ren and Martyn crumbs:

The first time Martyn meets Ren, he’s lying face-down on Martyn’s porch, butt-naked and unconscious. Which is— so it’s not the most concerning thing that’s happened to Martyn, which in of itself is worrying, but it’s pretty up there. What’s more concerning is when he decides to drag the man into his home, throw him onto the couch, and toss a blanket over him. He thinks, for a moment, about calling someone to handle…whatever the hell he’s gotten himself into, but it disappears when the stranger begins to wake up.

His name is Ren. It’s the second he says to Martyn, right after, “Oh my god, dude, I am so sorry, oh my god. You didn’t see anything, did you? Yeah? Oh, oh no, I’m, like, so sorry.”

Turns out he’s a local, which is more than what can be said for Martyn, whose trips to the Hollow always seem to land in the winter. It’s not the first time Ren’s found himself on someone’s property, naked and afraid — a fact that baffles but does not surprise Martyn — but it’s the first time he’s really been caught.

“I don’t mean to, swear it, but I just…I’m not myself around this time of month, y’know, dude? And I do have a guy that keeps an eye on me, but sometimes he keeps the leash a bit too tight and I told that I’d snap it and—y’know what, man, thanks. Just, thanks.”

Martyn just nods numbly to Ren’s rambling, because he in fact does not know, but the guy seems nice enough so whatever, might as well hear him out. He gives Ren some spare clothes and waves him off once he’s recovered, with promises of never mentioning or repeating the incident ever again.

It’s kept for about a month. Because the next time Martyn and Ren meet, it’s Martyn staring into the glowing eyes of a giant hulking hairy thing wearing the clothes he’d once leant to Ren.

[crownomancer]

Temeraire Tarot Ramblings - Pt 2

Tenzing Tharkay - The Hermit [see art here]

Self-reflection, inner guidance, isolation, wisdom, self-discovery.

The Hermit is the card of isolation, for all the good and bad which comes with that. The Hermit treks up the mountain alone, his path illuminated by the lantern. While his journey can be long and dark and quiet, he reaches the top of the mountain where he might see the world anew.

This was one of my easier choices in matching cards to characters. Tharkay's journey is a deeply personal one. As a child, he was isolated from his peers because of his heritage, and he turned inward to his studies. He was forcibly removed from his home and, as an adult, ventured out into the world, where he found himself equally isolated. He talks about, in one of the later books, how he has always existed "too much betwixt and between to belong to any settled place."

As such, he has often traveled alone. First involuntarily, and then voluntarily, pushing others out. However, we can see in his dialogue, in the way he talks about empires, and the way he councils Laurence, that this path alone has shaped him into one of the wisest and most self-aware characters in the series.

Tharkay carves his own paths. He does not simply allow others to guide his way. His journey is a painful and bitter one, but standing at the summit, he sees the world in ways few others do.

Reversed:

When in reverse, the Hermit card suggests that your isolation might be harmful to yourself and to others. It suggests paranoia, being anti-social, and being paralyzed by fear. This is what we see in Tharkay's defense mechanisms, when he purposely acts suspicious, to "know that he is doubted."

[greenboyfriend]

tarot deep dive with me: the hermit

the hermit is an interesting card not only because it's part of the major arcana, but also because its meaning has seen some discrepancies over the years. the image above is from the ryder-waite-smith deck, which depicts the hermit as someone who offers knowledge instead of seeking it out. he shows others the way and uses his lantern to clear the path. notice how he's holding it up- this represents the heights he's achieved in his life, as well as those that his students would like to earn.

before we talk more about waite's interpretations of the card, i want to go back to discuss older interpretations, as well.

if you know about the tarot's history, then you'll know that it originated as a playing card game (a trump card game, more specifically) southern italians would play. before tarot was used for divination, the hermit was more or less a symbol for the passing of time. often, he was depicted as a man who had achieved lots in life- as is evident by his nice clothing- but knows that his time is limited. in some decks, he was known as father time himself.

here he is in some nice robes, the blue one's even embroidered!!

another thing worth noting about the hermit is his association with saturn. saturn represents old age, hard work, and isolation. this includes people who receive little for their efforts, and melancholic types whose lives must be lived alone. already, associations with this card begin to blur.

what was once an hour glass turns into a lantern when the tarot hits france, and we begin to see more and more depictions of the hermit traveling. he is named "L'Ermite"* forever and always.

his association with time is lost in favor of showing us someone who lives in solitude, quietly searching for knowledge within himself. he abstains from the social scene or any kind of passion to continue his quest for wisdom.

as occultism spread in france, so did the hermit's interpretations. some were obsessed with the hermit representing the fourth virtue of prudence, since the other three- strength, justice, and temperance- were already found in the tarot. some argued that his thick cloak was used as a sort of membrane, to emphasize this virtue.

prudence is not seen as reservedness in this context, but instead as a means to differentiate between good and bad. honestly, it just reminds me a lot of the lovers and judgement; it is the ability to learn from your mistakes, make good choices in the present, and prepare for the future.

you can see that especially here, where the cloak's exterior is drab, but its interior flaunts a royal blue.

all of this leads us back to waite, who completely refuses these interpretations. he argues, instead, that the hermit is a teacher, providing his students light in their own paths. in this deck- which is at the very top of this post- he is standing on a mountain for the best visibility, lantern in hand.

like most things in life, we can do a lot with a little temperance. if we take all of these interpretations, we can greatly expand our expertise. much of the time, you see this anyway: the need to do a "social media detox" and separate yourself from the world to find the answers within, for example. within that story, your own intuition can play as your guide.

what i also find interesting is finding knowledge from within/without. in none of the examples does the hermit find wisdom from without, but when it comes to reading for someone, it can often be what the cards are nudging them to do. it's not always easy to differentiate between these meanings- to tell someone to seek outside guidance or to search within. this is why the other cards in the reading are so important, as well as and especially your own intuition as the reader. if your heart says yes, then it is, and if your gut says no, then its not. this is my own method, however. find what works best to tap into your own intuition!

before i conclude this ramble session, i wanted to do some examples of how the hermit could appear in a reading.

knowledge from without

for this example, i asked for cards that would imply that i would need to seek out knowledge, with the hermit present. i pulled the 4 of pentacles, the 8 of swords, and the ace of wands reversed. for this hypothetical person, you could assume that maybe they've looked inwards to excess, to the point of halting all change in favor of their "preferred" status quo. however, the 8 of swords tells us that they're not seeing the full picture, and if they were to strike out on a new path- as the ace of wands implies- they may find some help- the hermit.

knowledge from within

for this one, i asked the cards to show me a situation where i would need to search for answers from within. i pulled the 8 of swords, temperance, 10 of swords reversed, and the page of cups. oh, and the hermit of course. so, someone is feeling trapped; they can't see the full truth of their situation. they need to try something different! bring something new into the mix, maybe. the 10 of swords tells us that they've been feeling very down, perhaps because of people around them. the page of cups tells us that they must express their feelings, as to not get trampled. however, the hermit says that they should take a minute to reassess their situation before acting, and temperance furthers this by only dipping her toe in the water-- not doing too much too fast.

secret third thing

this one i just asked it to go ham. if you're reading this and it resonates with you, there's probably a reason why! anyway. i pulled the hermit, temperance, 8 of swords (back at it again), 2 of swords, the lovers, and the queen of pentacles.

this certainly seems like a "within" sort of situation. something is blocked because someone won't express their feelings, potentially in love but not necessarily. it could mean, more so, someone being challenged with their beliefs. this has the potential to change the balance of things, especially if no action is taken. this may have to be about how they treat others and themselves, have they been stingy with their time or emotions? it could be that, whoever you are, you're feeling trapped and isolated, but the solution is as easy as joining with others. trust in those around you and share with them what they have shared with you. maybe it will take a little soul searching to conjure up the exact solution, but know that it lies strongly with the queen of pentacles- being generous, kind, down to earth and resourceful.

anyway that's it. lmk if u enjoyed because i could do this forever tbh. yahoo special interest!! anyway have a great day.

*pardon the quotation marks there's just no way im going to go through the trouble of pasting les guillments, ok? french people will survive this

[mossycattail]

okay i dont really want to give any attention to this because it gives more of a platform but i hate it so much that im making a hatepost about it

the bots are getting smarter. i genuinely wouldnt have been able to tell that this wasnt a real person if they hadnt sent me an ask begging me for cash to help their cat. which honestly is so fucking mean and twisted, why would you scam using a sick cat? be warned guys, even if something looks real and legit, it can ALWAYS be a fucking bot if asks you for shit

[cookinguptales]

wwdits tarot: the hermit

This is another one of those cards that I’ve talked about before, so some of my followers will already know where I’m going with this.

But, well, I’ve never found a WWDITS topic that I couldn’t ramble about for a little bit longer, so let’s talk some more about IX. The Hermit.

Now, before I get too deep into who I’ve chosen, I’d like to talk about the card itself a little. I think that some people assume that this card is always to be taken literally, that The Hermit is always about a person who doesn’t want to be around others. But that’s not really what this card is about; it’s about self-reflection and spiritual self-discovery. It’s about looking inward so you can fully understand the world around you. It’s about an ascetic on the top of a mountain who’s gone there to think truly and deeply in the absence of any human sound.

The Hermit is one of those cards that’s really about meditating on life’s big questions. Why am I here? What’s the meaning of all this? Will I ever be happy?

Now you’re probably getting where I’m going with this.

I think that Nandor the Relentless makes a tragically perfect Hermit — and he already owns the cloak.

This is another one of those situations where the character I’ve chosen suits both the upright and the reversed meaning of the card, but this is a little more subtle than the ones in the past. The upright and reversed meanings of The Hermit both essentially refer to the same behavior; the question is really just if it’s currently healthy for you.

And for Nandor… well, like The Hermit itself, it’s kind of a mixed bag.

The Hermit is a card that’s about taking a moment to tear yourself away from the hustle and bustle of daily life so you can think things through without the discordant chaos of other people’s words. This can be a really good thing if you’ve got some stuff to ponder and you’re being led astray by too many points of view, but it can become a real problem if you’re starting to withdraw from others. It can be card of discovery, or a card of loneliness.

I think that Nandor’s current journey of self-discovery is eminently necessary but also ultimately ineffective. It’s true that the man is at a crossroads and needs to figure out who he is and what he wants, but he’s so in his own head that it’s hard for him to see his life for what it really is.

I’ve written a lot of meta about Nandor the past couple years — like… a lot — and getting at what makes him tick is so difficult. Nandor is one of those rare characters who thinks both too much and far too little. It’s kind of like a plane that can’t find a place to land. He keeps going around in circles and circles without ever reaching a real conclusion.

He’s deeply thoughtful about the world he lives in, but he has a hard time seeing it for what it truly is. I think he’s trying really hard to discover the meaning of life without realizing that meaning is a thing you have to make, not find. He’s looking at what his life is missing without realizing that the real problem is that he’s missing from life.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Nandor is the type of guy who’s always daydreaming about how the grass is greener on the other side without ever thinking to water his own goddamn lawn. He doesn’t seem to get that he already has what he needs; he just needs to learn to make use of it, y’know?

It’s like the Djinn said with that dick wish: he was surprised that someone who had so much still wanted more.

But that’s Nandor in a nutshell, isn’t it? The man is frantically casting around for something that will make him happy and make him feel like his life has meaning, but he’s so terrified of something actually getting beneath his emotional defenses that he sabotages any pursuit that might actually bring him peace.

So he really is both the upright and reversed Hermit. He really does have all the positive traits: he’s deeply thoughtful, he’s curious about the world he’s currently living in, he’s willing to listen to outside ideas when necessary but just as willing to withdraw and come to his own conclusions.

Like — Nandor really does seem to understand that something needs to change and that he needs to do some soul-searching to figure out what it is. He’s not wrong in that respect, and The Hermit’s advice to slow down, take some time for yourself, and really think through the big questions is not bad advice for him.

The problem is that he’s just so fucking shitty at it.

So then you’ve got the negative side to The Hermit as well. He’s withdrawing too much. He’s too stuck in his own head. He’s so wrapped up in these questions that he can’t enjoy the life he’s currently living, and he’s starting to hurt the people around him during this quest for meaning. He’s constantly talking about how the life he currently has isn’t enough — which makes his friends and loved ones feel like they’re not enough.

But… I think what Nandor eventually needs to realize is that cutting himself off from the people who really love him is the worst thing he can do. He needs the thoughtful parts of The Hermit, but the solitude is killing him.

Because, and this I think is the key part, Nandor is isolating himself because he’s afraid of genuine emotion. He falls for women who don’t love him because he’s afraid of what he feels for the people he does have a connection with. He marries a woman who never actually asks anything meaningful of him, and then goes even further and prevents her from even asking for the things that aren’t.

He’s so afraid of truly loving someone and losing them that he’s only allowing these surface-level relationships. He never cultivates a real relationship with any of the people he chooses, and while that serves his fears of intimacy and abandonment, it means that he’ll just keep feeling hollow inside.

Like… if he never truly offers up his true self, that self can’t be rejected. If he never truly loves someone, he can’t lose someone that he loves.

Not again.

I get it. Being alone can feel safer. But that’s no way to live.

Nandor is feeling around at the edges of this whole mortifying ordeal of being known thing, but he can’t even allow himself to be known by himself, much less anyone else.

So even if Nandor is probably the character that longs for human connection the most, he’s also the one that just cannot allow himself to have it. And he can think all the thoughts in the world, idiot that he is, but he’s never going to find the fulfillment he’s seeking until he allows himself to.

I do think that Nandor is The Hermit in every sense of the card. He’s off on this wild, meditative journey, but he’s so, so alone. He’s searching for the key to this nebulous sort of lock inside him without realizing that he was the one who hid the key behind a locked door in the first place.

Nandor even tried to go on a literal Eat, Prey, Love journey like this card often advises people to do. But his problem was that he did do it alone. I think even subconsciously he knew that the problem was that he wasn’t forming human connections. That he was trying to muddle through this life without anyone to seriously depend on. I think that’s why, after Guillermo “abandoned” him, the first thing he did was try to find a family.

I think Nandor’s finally starting to understand that the best family he’ll ever have is already right there waiting for him — and the partner he’s been longing for has never been all that far from his side.

The problem is mostly just that his solution has become a cage. And until he’s finally able to summon up the courage to follow his musings to their logical conclusion, he’s just gonna keep going in circles, all alone, on the top of a mountain.

Unable to meaningfully touch another living soul.

Depressing as that thought is, let’s move on to some imagery.

The Hermit is a very simple card. An old cloaked man stands at a lonely mountaintop, a staff in one hand and a lantern in the other. The lantern contains a six-pointed star, a symbol of wisdom, and it shows what is lighting his way as well as what he seeks to find.

Nandor is one of those characters who literally and metaphorically favors a cloak. His emotional defenses are some of the fiercest we’ve seen in any character, and are ultimately self-defeating.

On this card, he has no staff; our Nandor strongly relies on outside support but it’s still very difficult for him to admit it. (Though… he’s getting there.) Instead, he holds out his candle with one hand while drawing his cloak tight around him with the other. He’s still too fearful to let anyone inside.

The Hermit typically looks down at where the lantern is lighting his path, but Nandor instead is looking out into the darkness. His flame is not yet meaningfully lighting his way; it could, if he would just pay attention to the earth beneath his feet, but his head is still up in the clouds. His eyes are fixed on a horizon that he cannot quite make out instead of the solid lighted ground he has to work with.

And yes. He wears a Jansport on his back.

wwdits tarot masterpost

[myrmyrtheorca]

Thought I was done with questions? HAH! THINK AGAIN!

I’m back from work and now ready for another interrogation/analysis. This time I wanna dig deeper in the Cavalieri Family, because the concept of an isolated Mafia Family is fascinating and I want to take it apart (affectionally).

This is probably going to be super rambly and I’m going to theorize a lot (since I have just snippets of information to work off as basis), but I’ll try to structure it a bit? No guarantees though. Btw if the answers to some questions are kinda spoilery and you don’t want to reveal them yet for plot related reasons, no prob! I can wait, this is just me being noisy as hell and spouting random thoughts.

Sooo, the Cavalieri Family. You said they’re isolated, members aren’t allowed to interact with the outside world and that the information flow is restricted.

However, they don’t seem to be completely cut off from the world, since Lidija’s father is an outsider in their employ. Also, you stated that normal members have no way of knowing about other Flame types, which again underlines the isolation part but also implies that other members – I’m guessing the higher ups – are aware of what’s going on with the rest of the Mafia. Therefore, it’s not complete isolation, but I guess they’re still squirrelled away from civilization, otherwise it would be easier for outsiders to find out about the Cavalieri Family and their secret Flames. It would also give Cavalieri members more access to outsider which seems to be a big no no.

So my questions is: where is the Cavalieri estate actually based? Like geographically? Surrounded by mountains? Forests? Am I completely off and they just chill in a city hiding in plain sight?

Also, you said they have different territories. Do you mean like it’s one big ass plot of land that is separate into smaller parts or do they own smaller territories that are physically separated (like one is in North Italy, the other one in the South, do you get what I mean? I can always draw an ugly map if you don’t, just say the word).

Which actually brings me to another question: do they only operate in Italy or do they have international business as well? I’m also wondering about the size of the Family. Since they have different territories, I assume they are a pretty big? It would further support the isolation aspect, because in my opinion a certain degree of isolation comes hand in hand with independence and if you want to be independent, you will need resources such as people, land (for agriculture for example), money etc.

Back to the isolation thing again. Do the Cavalieri have their own sort of culture? Because if you separate a group of people from the rest of civilization over generations, they’re bound to develop their own specific habits/traditions. Again, this kinda depends on how isolated they are, I’m basing this off a “hermits in the woods” approach, so I could be completely off on that. It’s just… I was wondering if Myr had major culture shock when she left her family and if so how she dealt with it. (Also, I’m a bit confused about the timeline. Did she leave and then gets thrown into the plot soon after or is there more of a buffer between her leaving and interacting with canon.)

I’m pretty sure I could go on for longer, but I’m gonna leave it here for now and wait for your answers, so that I can ask even more specific questions.

Please take all the time you need to answer this mess, don’t feel pressured from my bombardment of questions and half assed worldbuilding analysis (I’m very much shooting in the dark here. I have no clue if any of this makes even sense).

Lots of love from your buddy, keep being awesome! 💕 💕

these are a lot of good questions. This time, I thought to answer in a different way. I thought to let a witness answer for me.

A very unfortunate witness. (TW: mentions of death and violence) ----------------------------------

The following document has been retrieved in the outer section of the Cavalieri Dite Base. Investigation about how such breach could happen has been launched. Access is only allowed for members of the Third Branch as per rules pertaining spoils of war and enemy intel.

I did it! After days of trial and error while stuck here in the middle of these godforsaken woods living like a rat, I managed to intercept the radio communications from the nearest Cavalieri Base. I don't think they've found out about my meddling yet – my equipment basically made up of scraps, but it's been built that way so that won't be easily detected. I've gathered two hours' worth of data, and they still haven't shown any signs of noticing me. I absolutely must hurry to put everything in writing and leave as soon as possible. I'm not safe. IF SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN TO ME AND YOU FOUND THESE ABANDONED NOTES... PLEASE. I BEG YOU. THESE PIECES OF INFORMATION MUST REACH THE VONGOLA. THE NINTH BOSS OF THE VONGOLA, TIMOTEO, MUST BE MADE AWARE, FOR THE SAKE OF THE INNOCENTS KILLED ON THE NIGHT OF SAN GIOVANNI. I arrived here three days ago. Visconti's hunches were correct – Tuscany was the right place to look. I find myself in a nature reserve that is off-limits to the public. At the main entrance, the guys dressed as guardie forestali ushered me to leave (No, I didn't think it would actually be that easy, but I decided to try anyway). I'm sure those were just Cavalieri agents guarding the entrance, to keep up the lie that it's just a protected area. Bullshit. I found an isolated opening and started to venture in.

I can't say if this is their main headquarters or just one of many, but it seems that their Boss (they call her the "Nera Signora") is currently staying here. I understood that this is the base called Dite, like the infernal city in Dante's work. From the communications, I could trace a rough outline of their area of influence: Tuscany, Umbria, parts of Abruzzo and Romagna. They also mentioned Sarzana and Varese Ligure, in the province of La Spezia. Also, mention of Montaquila and Isernia in Molise. It's plausible that theirs isn't a hegemony, but rather they implant autonomous and self-sufficient bases sporadically in hard-to-reach places among the Apennines, or in nature reserves like this one, to remain hidden from the public eye. I heard an official say that "the Mother Branch and the big shots of the Third Branch will move to the headquarters in Assisi", so it can be assumed that the higher-ups move from base to base. I couldn't infer how frequently, though. Regarding this – they are divided into "branches." -I suppose the Mother Branch is the boss and his closest family; -The second deals with research and development; I caught several references to technical meetings; -The third is the defense branch (N.B. The name OZYMANDIAS is often repeated); -Another official mentioned "a budget meeting of the Fourth Branch" – that must be the one dedicated to finances. *At this point in the document, there are several nonsensical lines made o ink.* Porca puttana. Okay, it was just a badger. I thought I was dead. Anyways, it's well-known that the Cavalieri are an "isolated" family, but the communications I intercepted demonstrate the absolute opposite. It's plausible that simple cadets are not authorized to leave the various bases (I haven't seen a soul since I've been here), but they talked about "outsiders," mercenaries in their service. It seems that Visconti's information regarding a strange influx of Slovenian and Croatian immigrants observed in mafia circles in recent years may be connected to these mercenary groups serving the Cavalieri. In fact, there has never been mention of a "Cavalieri militia", all the men we've captured so far are never fully their affiliates (but I'm sure those responsible for San Giovanni were proper Cavalieri agents, not a hired group). This means that they have an interest in contacting the outside world, but they don't allow the outside world to contact them in return. One can expect this from a family whose main income comes from selling information about various mafia groups. They collect and record everything about the rest of the world... but they don't allow even the smallest piece of information about themselves to wander. Everything we have on them, we've gained by losing a lot of men in the process... ...I don't want to think about it. Just a few more lines, and I'll return to the Ninth. It's getting dark too. There's one thing that worries me more than anything else. In a communication with a certain "Anemone" of the Second Branch, they talked about the "Vongola's Legacy", in relation to "the Cavalieri Legacy." They know about the Ninth's power? Such a secret in their hands is a terrible occurrence, but I only heard it from big shots of the Second Branch, so maybe it's just confidential information. Though above all, to think that these snakes possess a power even remotely comparable to the noble inheritancce of the Ninth... it terrifies me even more. *more nonsensical lines of ink* Shit. These aren't the sounds of a badger. Human voices, female. I have to get out of here. If someone finds these notes, I beg you to return them to the Vongola. They are the only ones who can do something. The Cavalieri are not normal people, I can't stand not being able to talk about it aloud anymore. It's not just spies and informants. They are criminal beasts who killed innocents in Cesena on the Night of San Giovanni, the whole mafia knows it was them, yet no one lifts a finger to accuse them, just because among the victims there were also members of their own family!

[victusinveritas]

Patrick Pearse spent much of the last summer of his life (1915) in Rosmuck, Connemara with his brother Willie and a friend named Desmond Ryan.

It was a relaxed holiday although Pearse found the time to write one of Ireland's most famous speeches - 'Ireland unfree shall never be at peace,' spoken at the graveside of O'Donovan Rossa and considered by many as a key moment in the lead up to the Easter Rising.

Ryan recalled the summer fondly:

"The next day we proceeded to Rosmuck by train, or rather part of the way, for Rosmuck lies nine miles from a railway station, and we had a long drive by side-car through granite and peat from Maam Cross Station over winding, peak-screened roads.

It was a stirring view along those serpentine roads, ever winding and twisting to avoid the bog.

The horse trotted bravely while an O’Malley drove, and Pearse explained what famous people the O’Malleys were in Connemara.

All the while, bluish granite mountains soared and all around spread the peat-bogs starred by the tiny lakes, each with a local name and every name known to Pearse, who declared for the hundredth time he could find his way blindfold on any road in Connacht.

The Twelve Bens came in sight and Pearse waved his hand here and there over the land, naming lake, mountain and district away to the Joyce Country under its purple mist.

He told us many stories he had learned from the people.

Away there on that gloomy mountain yonder a stranger had lived for years, coming suddenly in the night from nowhere, henceforth a hermit, perhaps doing a penance of solitude and silence for some deed of blood.

We passed a peculiar green building of corrugated iron, a Protestant Church, [Screebe?] and then Pearse remembered that many years before the Bible Societies had carried out a proselytising campaign, and even in 1915 a small remnant of the Irish-speaking Protestant colonies still survived.

Once on his rambles, Pearse had met one of the members, an old man up in a cottage among the hills who opened his Gaelic Bible, read it aloud and argued with Pearse for an hour until the old man’s daughter came in and told her father that he had no manners and that he did not know how to treat a learned man who knew enough Irish and enough Bible to make up his mind for himself, and the attempted conversion of Pearse went no further.

A lonely letter-box on a post at a crossroads led Pearse to tell of the extravagant family, long bankrupt and extinct, who had had the box erected as a monument to their exclusiveness, recklessness and pride.

A barracks rose beside the rattling wheels and Pearse knew that the sergeant within was a crusty and cantankerous fellow companioned by six splendid constables, enthusiastic Irish speakers who spent their time in shooting wild ducks, fishing and studying with zeal the poems of Eoghan Ruadh O’Sullivan.

The car stopped at the schoolmaster’s house and Patrick Connolly welcomed Pearse warmly. His wife came out too.

Inside like startled birds, the four daughters of the schoolmaster retreated from our gaze while their mother laughed and said they would grow out of all that, but when young people lived among lakes and bogs they became curlews and mountain birds, easily startled by wild young men from the cities and poets from Dublin, all this for Willie and me whose ties and locks must have startled her ducklings.

We proceeded to the cottage, a white, thatched, oblong building with green

door, porchway and two windows in front, approached by a peat-sodded path from the main road. Here was the spiritual home of Pearse, which in the last years he visited every summer to pay a last farewell.

Below lay a fifty-acre lake legend tenanted with a Water Horse.

Beyond the rare walls of the cottage, the Atlantic heaved and moaned with tales of lost ships or murmured a summons to ride on its bosom to the Aran Isles on a fair day.

On every side rose the purple hills and peat, agleam with unnumbered lakelets. Pearse sat at the kitchen table writing the closing tales in his book of short stories, 'The Mother.'

He turned aside to discuss the completed stories with Willie and me, and said he thought the best the grimmest one, a tale of a woman under a curse called the “Black Chafer.”

Then he sighed that he had never written a story about turf or shown up enough the

hard life of the people. He said this sadly with almost the air of a man who all at once comes upon an intolerable personal grievance.

Sometimes he went down and bathed in the lake while Willie guarded him from the banks with a long, strong rope as Pearse was no swimmer. This tickled the brothers so much that they gave up the attempt with loud merriment and mutual criticisms.

Returning, Pearse mused on his cottage and said that one of the builders had been an old man who took his task very slowly and seriously, making progress by inches, but consoling Pearse’s impatience with the sole remark:

“Won’t it be a fine house when it is finished. Indeed it will be a fine house when it is finished.”

Pearse was more outspoken than I had ever known him before.

Night by night he spoke to Willie and me about everything by turns.

Much about the future of the Irish language. Here in this self-contained community which he had once known as purely Irish-speaking, English was creeping in among the younger generation.

It amused him when we walked abroad in the day-time to speak to the men working

the land and smile at the English expressions speckling the Gaelic:

“Becripes, tá . . . bedamned but tá...' from those who knew no other words of English, but he said this was the beginning of the end unless some great change came.

And what the change would be sometimes broke through his thoughts...

Who could have guessed that behind his gentle words and look, an insurrection simmered, a certainty that his days were irrevocably numbered and in this place he would never see in another summer?"

Pictured above are Patrick Pearse and his brother Willie, neither of whom would live to see the summer of 1916.

Taken from Desmond Ryan's 1934 auto-biography 'Remembering Sion.'

All of this was taken whole cloth from The History of Connemara Facebook group.

[dragonballwish]

Hi! I was just wondering if you had any thoughts on Bardock and the different versions of him? Asking because I recently saw the old Father of Goku special and really enjoyed it! I know some people don't like it because of the future visions/the way it suggests most of Goku's early victories were 'destined', but personally I don't really like the changes newer DB stuff made to Bardock. It kinda feels like they're trying to force a connection between him and Goku?

Hi anon ! I actually agree with you LOL!!!

I think the bardock special was pretty cool, though the visions and stuff was really uhh 😬 I didn’t care for that, but I don’t know how that’s any more “destiny bullshit” than what they’re doing in super right now LOL

I think the characterization of FOG Bardock makes a lot more sense in how saiyans as a whole were characterized by the canon and it summed up a lot of what we knew. Also his crew was really hot and badass. And I liked that Bardock was going against the mold by trying to fight back. In a way it did show that yeah it’s hereditary for goku’s nature to go against what he doesn’t agree with (with violence lol?) without making it about kindness or whatever

Super / Minus Bardock is uh. 😐 … I HATE how they portrayed it as “Bardock and gine are kind and that’s where goku gets his kindness” and “goku was sent to earth to save him” and “we had some dragon balls somehow and we wished for you to see adulthood and kick ass” whatever the fuck.

I agree that they’re forcing a connection to goku and I really just don’t get why? I thought it was a lot more fun in the special when he was just a badass rather than all the stuff that redacts so much now.

Goku was raised by a kind old mountain hermit and I don’t think he’d care all that much to know about his biological parents when he was already raised with kindness, yaknow ?

Anyways sorry for rambling but yeah I agree anon I think the old iteration of Bardock was way better