#which means he isn't affected by the immortality curse...

[whumpsmith-participates]

Day 8 - Immortality

CW: vampire whumper, vampire whumpee, slavery, tragedy, minor character death

There used to be forty of us. We used to laugh and cry together. We lived together, as brothers, one big family.

A big family knows many riches, but on the flip side that also means many losses. Two of us were lost at sea, I used to think it was a cruel fate, but now I realise they were blessed.

We lost another just a day after landing ashore. He was the most blessed, for he got to see the beautiful landscape before he passed, and we could depart from him with the proper rituals and return him to the earth.

But the rest of us?

We were cursed.

Cursed to slowly wither away, like the decaying manor around us. Cursed to watch the ivy overtake the walls and the roof, being able to do only so much to bring it to a halt. Cursed by a perpetual sickness that seemed to affect our memories, until the dwindling numbers were too glaringly obvious to ignore.

There were five and twenty of us left.

When I doomed them all.

...

"You chose this, Ian. Now stop crying."

I blink the last tears from my eyes and wipe them away as I steel myself. The motion smudging the blood around my mouth across my cheek.

Did I choose this?

I look back down at the lifeless form of my last brother, André, a fearful expression still on his face, as if a ghost inhabits the corpse to haunt me.

He was the last of five. The last five of which we both knew wouldn't be sufficient to sustain us. Master wanted to feast on them, to fill up properly and "get it over with" — I begged him not to.

I realise now the mercy Master was offering, which I foolishly declined. A swift, painless end, surrounded by their last remaining loved ones. But instead I begged to prolong their suffering. To lose them slowly, one by one, until there were none left.

And I was still hungry.

Master is right. This was my choice. Just as it was my choice to serve him for eternity, when there was only five and twenty of us left — four and twenty once I was no longer one of them. I should have known, even with what little information I had, that it would never work. But I was so desperate to serve Master...

"Get rid of it."

"Yes Master..."

I resign myself to the order, not like I have much of a choice. I gently pick up André's lifeless body, cradling his frail form. His blood is still warm, soaking into my clothes, and it still smells edible. The nagging hunger in my stomach becomes painful, and I almost consider taking a last bite...

"Don't do that."

I stop myself. I have no choice. Master is giving me a disapproving look. I know why. He doesn't have to spell it out for once. If he isn't able to eat, then I'm not allowed to either. Especially not after I killed our last source.

My last brother...

I take André to the forest behind the manor. There are indents in the dirt between the roots of the trees where I have dug four graves in the last two weeks.

In order for Master to have enough to eat without immediately killing my brothers, I starved myself. But a starving monster stops at nothing to feed, so one by one, they each met a terrifying fate. Slaughtered by my hands...

The dirt sticks to my clothes where André's blood had seeped in. It doesn't smell so appetising anymore. Whilst I dig, I think of the brothers I buried before him. Some I remember as if it were only yesterday, others I can barely recall the name.

When Master offered eternity, I never considered that would mean that I would outlive all my brothers. Only now, as I gently lay André to rest and fail to remember the proper prayer, the reality of what I've chosen hits me.

No matter who I may meet in the future...

It will always end like this.

With them in the dirt, and I unchanged. Forever a monster. Cursed to walk the earth until the end of time.

I can feel a lump forming in my throat, as if I'm about to cry, but on the surface nothing happens. Because Master told me not to cry.

And Master’s all I have left, for the remainder of eternity, so I better obey, even when I don't have a choice.

I take a last look around the area. At fresher and older graves, all unmarked, most not even visible anymore. I look back down at André and begin to shovel the dirt back into the hole I dug for him. Trying to bury this chapter of my life with him.

The first chapter of what's going to be a very long series of events.

@whumpay

Masterlist Main account

Meow meow hour again

[viiviidlights]

i haven't really talked about the Actual Curse Aspect of 9 Lives much, I think

so you get a bit of a ramble >:33

9 Lives grants the holder psudo-immortality through 9 Lives, as well as making it so they cannot (easily) die from non-violent factors; thus, they stop aging past 40 so their body never truly fails on them, and heart attacks, strokes, and sudden deaths haven't happened to Holders yet. They also have semi-resistance to curses.

HOWEVER. Lynxes have weakened immune systems, and get sick somewhat easily (however illnesses and infections can't kill 9L Holders). All Lynxes, Holder or not, take a noticably longer time to recover from injuries compared to most people (which also means Alden likely still has bandages on his hands from Yuna's Overblot).

Holders also never fully recover from whatever kills them (Example; Alden's Aunt has respiratory issues and has trouble speaking due to dying from smoke inhalation, and walks with a cane due to previous non-death injuries that the curse delayed the recovery of.). They will live with these injuries, slowly accumulating more, until their 9th death & they become a cat for the rest of their life, with the normal lifespan of a cat.

Holders usually have pretty good memory, and occasionally have nightmares of however they've died (usually twisted in some way to be even worse).

Alden thinks his (currently only) death isn't really,, enough to complain about? since he (wrongly) believes he's not that affected. so when he wakes up in a cold sweat at night from nightmares, he usually doesn't say anything. However, after nights where he's had a death-nightmare, he's oddly avoidant of any high-up places (including; trees, tops of staircases, towers, flying in p.e, 2nd+ floors in buildings ..)

NOOOOOOO ALDEN MY CREATURESEWEEEEEEE HOLDS HER. FUUUUYYUCK

also... The bandages thing... Mmmm rotating that in my brain for angst actually. Hold on.

But yeah thats. Oh boy

As someone who loves nightmare related angst..... You've got a willing person if you ever wanted to do something with that muahahahahahahahhahahah

[wrydd]

i have finished lost days and i've got two things to say

this is MY jason. this is the jason who says "he slipped" about felipe. this is the jason who doesn't save rapists. this is the jason who stays in bed and refuses to engage with bruce after he learns that two-face may or may not have killed his father. this is the jason who lets it sit, lets it cool down, lets it become solid. he isn't angry. not in the way people think he is. he's grieving. he's resenting. and it turns into a want for revenge. something that he needs to execute perfectly. so that he can be satisfied. but he won't be satisfied no matter what. he doesn't know it yet. he thinks he's back because he needs to do what needs to be done, preventing joker from killing more, but then he decides that he doesn't give a damn about the world. but he does. even when he kills the teachers, even at the bridge, he saves people. he cares. i mean, yes, i agree that the thing between bruce/joker/jason is between the three of them. it is personal, and i believe that his feelings on the matter would weight more than his concern for the other citizens, but in the end, he cares. even though he doesn't know it. or believe it at the moment. and THIS actually makes him my jason. those complicated feelings and not very trusted decisions. reminds me of his robin days. and i'll forever refuse to accept that he acts like this because of some lazarus pit effect that makes him go mad. this isn't mad. this isn't even "not him." he was always like this. in his robins days too. where he seems rush and even really is at times but not like this. not after he is sent back to take his revenge. him in here and uth doesn't have suicidal tendencies behind his acts, not until to the last moments. where it'll resolve. i think the difference lies there. because he died. and now he's got a purpose. he needs to be exttra careful and he does. so i'll take ra's on his words about "he'll go mad. maybe not tonight or tomorrow. it could take months, years, decades." and think that the pit starts showing its effect during countdown. after uth because it didn't get resolved. he failed. again. and because there's no explanation for some of his behaviour there. then crisis happensand it slowly resets. anywaaay.

i don't think jason and talia sex is as bad as people say it is?? like, i dare say it is even a nice conclusion story-wise. talia is relieved that jason decides not to kill bruce. which is the thing she is trying to prevent the whole time jason goes to his trainings. but also she's grieving. i mean i don't know them much but it looks like she cares about ra's, and he's dead. she says it's got something to do with bruce. doesn't matter if it's true here as long as she feels like it. and she loves bruce but also she's angry. i assume she wouldn't want to damage their relationship further, whatever she's got left with bruce. so she uses jason as a tool for it, while putting an end to his hesitations and pointing him to a direction in the process. which is something jason needs. it isn't even manipulation because jason already does what he does loong before his talk with talia and he does it on his own. she contains "the curse" to gotham and prevents it from spreading out to the world. smart, i say. i suppose she also believes bruce can handle jason. i mean he's batman, he'd win in the end. but he'd know it's got something to do with ra's because of the knife. it sends a message without pointing talia directly. also there's the love they both feel for bruce. it's a lot of things. and i don't think the age would matter to both of them but to her most maybe because like, she is raised by an immortal? do they really have the same perspective of time as we do?and for jason it's affection. of course he'd take it. he would probably feel like she's pittying him. which i'm okay with it if she does honestly. like it is not as bad as people say it is. not as bad as people blame talia for. idk maybe i think like this because i don't know talia but still 🤷🏻‍♀️

[w1ngedv01d]

i’d like to know more about the gods in ur wildlife AU….

no pressure ofc!! also i love the premise i think that it’s great and neat and ya

Hello! Thank You for the ask! Hi!

So, obviously, we don't have all of the wild cards revealed yet, but that's Okay! I have room in the pantheon for more as things develop ^-^ I'm not revealing the real names of each god juuust yet, but I will list what wildcard they're connected to, and some titles if I've decided on those.

(Also tldr on the plot for newbies: The Wild Life Plot, mostly, except it's a set of trials where each wild card is connected to a God from a pantheon running the trials. And the participants are champions chosen by said gods)

The Wild Card/The Summoner - Grian! Not a God yet. He's currently just a (mostly) human person. He's in charge of drawing from the deck and allowing the deity of the week to affect the realm they're stuck in. When he pulls the cards from his deck, he immediately knows Which god is affecting the realm that week, and what the effects will be.

Growing/Shrinking Wildcard - The Gemini Twins! They're a set of, well, twin siblings, who are connected to being giant and being small, respectively. The older twin is a man, and a Giant, while his androgynous younger sibling is the tiny one in charge of the smallfolk. In myth, they were the ones who created Giants and smallfolk like pixies and such, waaaay back in the day. It's even said that the older twin, the Giant, helped build the Nether Fortresses with his own hands. They are inseparable and also STICKLERS for theme and aesthetic. So naturally, they chose Gem as their champion based on name alone. XD

Hunger Wildcard - The Zombie. They were a Giant, once, in the Time Before, and resurrected as a god with an unending hunger that normal food wouldn't satisfy. Myth says that they refused to harm their friends and townfolk, so resorted to eating anything around them, just to stave off the hunger. Rocks, plants, trees, anything they could find. They influence the realm by afflicting the participants with their own curse. The first Champion they chose was, of course, Cleo.

The Immortal Snail - The Zookeeper. This God is very similar to Scar in a lot of ways, to the point that -while there are certainly differences- people who know both would find the similarities eerie. He has a deep love of living creature, from cows to snails to mushrooms, and -as a notorious prankster- uses his armies of beloved creatures to cause mischief and pranks to the people around him. He wants a friendly rivalry with Scar so bad, and doesn't process that him being A Whole God and Scar being Just A Guy means there really isn't a power equality to even warrant a rivalry. He's a fun loving, life-loving, guy who tries to make friends with pranks! He had a wife, who was known for her connection to fungi and fungal growth, but she has not been seen in many decades, and is not seen as a current part of the pantheon. He never speaks of her whereabouts, but it is clear that he still has fondness for her. He has a unique fondness for Grian, and of course Scar was chosen as one of his champions.

Time Dilation - The Observer. This God is one of the newer ones, and little is known about her. When she takes over the realm, time starts out very slow, but the call from Grian to "Do Something Cool!" is very important, because as soon as the time effects kick in, cameras appear to take pictures of each Champion. Cameras and screens manifest everywhere, Watching. Tracking. This God is silent, and reaches out little to mortals, or even the other Gods. No one knows what she is thinking, the connection between her theme and powers, or even which one/s of the participants were her chosen Champion/s... or Why. It is said she takes rigorous notes on how the time acceleration affects each participant, but no one has ever found such notes, nor do they know why she would be taking them.

Trivia Bots - The Engineer. This God has been working with Mumbo's family for many, many years, and is the reason why Mumbo knows about the Trials- and how Mumbo and Grian even met. He has gone by many names in the past, many faces, many identities, as it suits him. Always an engineer, always an entertainer. But whether he be man, woman, neither, both, or some other option, it changes based on the generation and mood that takes him. This era, he takes the form of an older, heavy-set man with a large brown mustache and beer belly, who works in an old Tech Superstore that is now far more out-of-date and behind-the-times than it was when it first opened. That doesn't bother him too much, though. He doesn't care about being the best, or the first, as long as he's doing what he loves. Because of his connection to Mumbo's family, and often manifesting in the human world in some way, this God is one of the few to take on human names from the culture in which he is inhabiting. He has done so in this form, just as he has done all the others. While he can do other redstone type things, this guy loves robots, and has been fascinated by mortal trivia shows, which has led to the beloved Trivia Bots from his time affecting the realm.

[purveyoroftrash]

The Abyss Sibling and their curse.

This theory postulates that the Abyss sibling was/is cursed by Celestia and that their main goal is not to free Khaenri'ah, but rather, themselves from the fate forced upon them.

For this theory we have a few things we need to establish:

1. What is a Descender?

2. The Khaenri'ah curse(s)

3. The "Fate" of the Abyss sibling

To start, in the Archon quest 3.2 Nahida tells the Traveler that they are a descender while the Abyss sibling isn't.

For convenience sake, I will refer to the Abyss Sibling as: Lumine (because of the supplementary videos made by Hoyoverse) and the Traveler as: Aether.

This doesn't mean I believe either is the canon traveler, but rather, it's easier to refer to them as such.

As of the Narzissenkruez Ordo tower quest, it was stipulated by a member of the Ordo that a Descender is someone whose will can rival an entire world. Or rather, one who can "protect the world, sustain the world, destroy the world, and create the world."

If a Descender can defy the fate of the world, could it then be hypothesized that a defining trait of a Descender is that they could defy ANY aspect of the world's will?

For instance: Irminsul. Irminsul is the way the world records and stores everything that happens in Teyvat. It is the memory of Teyvat. 

When something within Irminsul changes, the world tries to "correct" the world's memory by replacing those memories with new ones. (Which is kind of hilarious, because it means that Childe and the other Harbingers must think some scholar got the jump on them and stole the Electro Gnosis) 

This is even demonstrated by the only character miscellancy not being voiced by Dainsleif being Wanderer's. We know that it merely rearranges memories instead of changing history because Irminsul does NOT change allegorical fairytales that should not exit, i.e., the fairytale about Scaramouche, which gives him his memories back despite the fact that those memories, by all accounts, should not exist anymore. Notably, the Traveler was not affected by these changes.

Aether appears to have an innate resistance to the mind-altering fuckery of Irminsul. What if the reason for such an immunity is BECAUSE he has a will to rival the world, therefore the world tree cannot influence him? If this is true, this would mean that Lumine, not being a Descender, does NOT have this immunity.

In Archon quest 2.6 Dainsleif says that the gods cursed ANYONE from Khaenri'ah regardless of bloodline, or background. So long as they were from Khaenri'ah, they were cursed.

Lumine was crowned Khaenri'ah ROYALTY and she goes as far as to call Khaenri'ah her "homeland." 

So it stands to reason that she SHOULD NOT be exempt from such a punishment. Dainsleif says that when a god curses you, "it takes effect at a higher level of reality than the person themselves." 

That this is Celestia's way of "branding them at the level of the fate of the world."

If Celestia indiscriminately cursed the people of Khaenri'ah wouldn't it make sense that because Lumine is NOT a Descender and therefore UNABLE to "defy the fate of the world" that she may also be unable to defy a curse that takes place at the "level of the fate of the world?"

And IF she is cursed, perhaps she has been cursed in a completely different way because of her role in Khaenri'ah. I know Dainsleif says that everyone was indiscriminately cursed, but if that were true, why would some Khaenri'an citizens be cursed with the "Curse of the wilderness," (as Clothar coins it) and some be cursed to immortality? It seems to me that Khaenri'ans with a higher level of influence were cursed differently than those with little to no influence. Dainsleif was the head of the Royal Guards and even given a special title, Clothar was part of the Reagent family, as was Kaeya's father, Pierro was a Royal Advisor, Rhinedottir was the spearhead of the Royal Alchemists, and they were ALL cursed to immortality rather than being cursed with the Curse of the Wilderness. While we do not have a complete list of Khaenri'an people who were cursed to immortality, it stands to reason that based off this small subset that perhaps rank, or rather, importance does play a role in this curse.

Meanwhile, other members of the royal guard and the regular citizens were cursed to be hilichurls or shadowy husks. Why is this? If higher ranking members of Khaenri'an society are considered greater sinners, then Lumine must also be included in this. 

This may also be why after witnessing Caribert's near curse break that she decided to join forces with the Abyss. Clothar even managed to ACTUALLY die, which by all of Dainsleif's and Clothar's accounts, should not be possible. Dainsleif himself says that death is not the same when you're under said curse, that death is just the "death of the mind"

The fact that the Abyss can circumvent this suggests that the Abyss has a will that is able to rival the world (which is really strange because this suggests that the Abyss could possibly be a Descender/on par with one) In fact, the Abyss is referred to synonymously with the act of "Rebirth" several times by both Khaenri'ans and the Ordo.

The Abyssal entity gives Clothar abyssal energy and tells him to be reborn as a "Transcendant One," the Ordo's notes tell of a play involving an "Ajax" or "Aias" that fell into the Abyss to be reborn as a "holy infant." This play could be another allegorical fairytale meant to resist Irminsul's tampering.

Clothar also tells Lumine that Caribert became the Loom of Fate and was reborn. The Ordo's notes also suggest that if you do not go through this process of rebirth to "become a primordial human" (or rather a Descender as they conflate it to) that it is inevitable to avoid being tied to the fate of the world.

It has been established from nearly the very beginning of the game that the sky above Teyvat is fake. Scaramouche is the one who informs us, or rather, reminds his Fatui soldiers of such a truth.

Neuvillete's character stories help piece together that the constellations in this fake sky are Celestia's way of controlling the fates of the people/creatures that exist within Teyvat. In the Narzissenkruez Ordo, the notes previously mentioned also suggest that when recieving a vision, and therefore a constellation that you're "selling yourself to the fate of the world"

Celestia does this by either binding them at the same level as the fate of the world, or by other means that haven't been established. You could suggest that these "Thrones" are HOW Celestia seals people's fates. I will admit, I cannot speculate much on these, as all we have to go by is Lumine's mention of them, and Egeria supposedly destroying hers, but I do suggest watching Ashikai's theory video about the Gnosis, Descenders and Thrones from Archon Quest 4.2. I enjoy her content quite a bit (even if I don't always agree with her theories), and I will admit that I had been inspired to make a theory of my own because of her.

Lumine may not just be trying to fight fate for the sake of Khaenri'ah, but also for herself. Lumine's curse may have taken place when she became trapped by the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.

When encountering said Sustainer, they mention that it's the arrogation of mankind that has caused such an event to happen, inadvertedly including the twins in this sin of arrogation. Dainsleif says that he and Lumine "took part in a painful journey of searching for their fates," but that their journey didn't end at the same time.

In 3.2 Nahida said that Lumine's fate was obscured during this journey, and is continuously being done so. This could be because of the curse taking effect, or the Abyss' own doing.

In Archon quest 1.4 Lumine says that until she topples the divine thrones, her "war with destiny will see no end"

In fact, we may have already seen the toll this supposed curse has taken on Lumine. During the "We will be reunited" story teaser, when told that her brother is the one who was thwarting the abyss' plans for Dvalin, she appeared confused, and seemed as if she had even forgotten she even had a sibling in the first place before recalling the events of the opening.

If Lumine is cursed, she may also be subjected to the same errosion that Dainsleif and the other immortal Khaenri'ans are/were subject to.   

Lumine's goal to revive the homeland could indeed be a minor stepping stone on her path of war. The Loom of Fate must be the Abyss' way to circumvent the will of the world by either becoming these primordial humans, or by being reborn as something else entirely. While Dainsleif doesn't believe breaking the curse is possible without burning away an integral part of you, it might be entirely possible to become something new altogether, like how Caribert supposedly did.

Lumine tells Aether in 1.4 that once he realizes the true nature of the world, that he will side with her/understand her motives. 

It really begs the question on what this truth actually is. If I'm being honest, this is really where my theory ends. We don't have much more lore to speculate on what this curse truly is, but it's likely something that makes it impossible for Lumine to even leave Teyvat.

If Lumine is able to be branded at the same level as the fate of the world, I wonder what other fates Irminsul has tampered with that she cannot percieve. We'll just have to wait until more story content comes out, but I have been patiently (and excitedly) awaiting another Dainsleif lore dump!

So, what do you think? Do you think it's possible for Lumine to be cursed, and how badly do you think her curse affects her?

I actually have a theory about Dainsleif's true goal not being to stop the abyss, but that's on the backburner. I was debating combing these two theories, but realized it might be waaaay too long. If I do finish it, you'll likely see the theory of Lumine being cursed to be integral to it! I spent a good bit on this theory, and obviously, this is just that, a theory, so don't be too harsh with me 🙏

All of these screenshots are from my main and alt accounts. I only had this theory brewing for a few weeks, so I was not able to get to Sumeru on my alt Account for the 3.5 screenshots, and I didn't want to use someone else's screenshots for it, nor wait a few weeks to have enough story keys on my alt, so I apologize for the lack of those 😔

[reginrokkr]

𝐗𝐋𝐈𝐕. Given that Dain addressed this topic in a direct way himself, this is as good of a moment as to revisit and expand on an old headcanon, which is his ability to sleep [or lack of thereof]. Firstly, I will start by saying that in his own transcendence, he's reached to a point where human physiologic necessities don't apply to him since the moment he was cursed by the Heavenly Principles through Ronova and corrupted. However, that isn't to say that he doesn't continue practises like sleeping, if only to keep stubborn to his humanity and also because sleeping should be of help for him to rest and for his mental health... technically.

◜Frankly, I don't believe dream therapy works for everyone. Sometimes, a brief moment of bliss only magnifies the melancholy that follows in its wake. I don't mean to dismiss the strength that people gain from life's fleeting moments of beauty: under normal circumstances, this is the way things ought to be. But my circumstances are far from normal. The things I have seen and that fill my dreams have no place in a normal life. A peaceful night's sleep is now but a vestige of days long gone— a time I can only look back on with longing.◞

— Yumemizuki Mizuki miscellany.

As he himself says, normal circumstances don't apply to him. His words allude to the notion that sleeping peacefully no longer happens and that both his own experiences in combination to the nightmares that plague his mind make sleeping an object of longing. For that reason, it's safe to say that for the past 500 years, he was unable to rest properly through his sleep and that he's better off without sleeping unless he reaches to a point of exhaustion that leaves him with no other choice. Following next, I'll expand on the multifactorial reasons why he's unable to sleep properly, these being: chronic physical pain, nightmares and involuntary visions (from the past and the future).

✦ Chronic physical pain.

It is described explicitly that the Abyss [Marana] precipitates everything to death through various means, one of which being consuming every living being's life force until there is nothing more to claim and they pass away. The same is true in various degrees for the curse of immortality —which degenerates an individual both physically but also mentally—, letting the affected individual experience their own rotting without ever experiencing death because of the curse that impedes them to pass; and the corruption Dain has been experiencing for 500 years —apparently stagnant but not any less corrosive to the mind and body, the latter already half-turned into a monster—. In addition, there is a factor that charactertizes the Abyss which is the magnification of one's senses, leading to disorientation and loss of perception of the reality due to how strongly the negative feelings are expanded.

Moreover, Dain's case has another layer of complexity that adds to the physical pain he endures, which is the existence of two energies coexisting within him: Aether and Void [Abyss]. These have their separate effects on their own, the latter being obviously toxic to everything. However, there is the additional layer that makes the two of them be mutually virulent: one being lethal to the other and being the most vulnerable to the other all the same. Be it because of his connection to Irminsul —which is clearly opposing in force with the Abyss due to its purifying and curative aspects—, the power from beyond he's achieved —which seems to negate the Abyss—, a combination of both or even something else, Dain counts with an energy within him that is in direct contradiction with the Abyss. Its will to attack it causes an inner strife to his immune system that is beyond painful, as well as its weakness to it causes further damage than that.

✧ Nightmares.

Like it was previously mentioned, the Abyss doesn't only affect one's physical health but the mental one as well. It takes every negative emotion, trauma, fears, etc. and magnifies them limitlessly. Furthermore, the Abyss in itself is an entity that is terrifying and it's in constant evolution of learning how to attack in order to subjugate everything under its might. Dain himself, who had a family that in his eyes had betrayed him (Vedrfolnir) and who once had a homeland that he's lost given that he was powerless to do anything to stop its own destruction as well as the divine intervention that followed as a result of part of its citizens' transgressions (his brother's included) has a deep-rooted trauma followed by feelings such as survivor's guilt or self-deprecation followed by a psychogenic amnesia [ x, x ] as a result of these. It is also of great importance to mention that he feels the curse slowly replacing his very being.

✦ Involuntary visions —past and future—.

Albeit a most coveted one, the weight of knowledge is one that not everyone can bear nor hope to stay sane in full. Due to his connection to Irminsul, Dain has access to events that had already happened in Teyvat and to foresee what is bound to happen in the future, given that Irminsul itself is the Tree of Time. This knowledge he gains continuously challenges and destroys the grounds of what he believed the world to be. Some truths can be pills hard to swallow, many of them shocking by themselves until they're properly processed and understood. What's more, Dain has a perspective of the world like none other, enough to understand that in order to defy it a power from beyond is needed and have the strength to push himself to search it from outside the fabricated sky. It's no exaggeration to say that Dain has reached a level of enlightenment that very few have at the present, and that comes with a heavy weight.

It's important to note that despite the fact that these factors determine Dain's lack of sleep until he finds himself in circumstances under which he has no other choice but do so, he has a fortitude of mind that has nothing to envy the others'. He's been living with this for over 500 years and despite the negatives he has to live with, to this day he still managed to keep his humanity and sanity to the point of not succumbing to what would've been a kinder outcome for himself. Whether this is fed by his will of revenge to his brother and the other Sinners, his sense of justice for the world against the gods or something else, it's of little importance.

Lastly, just like the balance of the odds in which he won't sleep or sleeping is a manner of suffering to him is inclined towards the negative more than the positive, there are instances in which he can experience the best outcome he can hope of sleeping: neutrality. He doesn't need it to be particularly blissful, as that would only make him drown in the magnified melancholy thereafter, but at least devoid of nightmares. In the moments when he's on his own and he knows he needs to rest somewhere, he will go to places where Irminsul's emanations are present —Sacred Sakura, Kala Kapatcir's tree, Weeping Willow are a few examples— or Irminsul directly, as he knows that the purifying traits will give him some manner of respite that he can't find elsewhere (other places like the inverted fountain from the Nameless City in the depths of the Chasm count too).

A rarer chance for him to get a good sleep is in the company of someone who he deeply trusts and cherishes, regardless if it's platonic or romantic. Initially it'll be hard, as this doesn't erase the fact that he won't struggle with the physical pain and the rupture of reality with what he feels due to the Abyss nefarious effects over him, but with time he can grow to a point of getting used to it, of forcing himself to convince his shattered mind that being touched by that person doesn't hurt like the Abyss within him wants him to believe. That in combination with the knowledge that for once he can hide himself from the world and the gods, from himself and his self-imposed duty despite his painful awareness that he's subjecting himself to things he doesn't want for himself becomes a moment equally as precious as basking under the holy Irminsul's glow as he slumbers.

[sullina]

So I had a really convoluted idea for an au and since your one of the best NNT au ppls I wanted to talk to you about it. I will fully admit I was partially inspired bu Legend of Zelda lore.

First and foremost, in this au, Meliodas and Elizabeth aren't cursed, but they still go through the immortality/reincarnation bs.

So Meliodas and Elizabeth are basically demigods, right? But like... what if they were more than even that? What if they were full on Gods in and of themselves? They are still lower in the hierarchy compared to their parents but still divine in their own right. So, two gods... meliodas being a demonic God of War and Elizabeth a divine Goddess of Healing.

When the Great Holy War happens they fight and lead their respective clansmen, like in canon. It goes as normal for the most part, Meliodas and Elizabeth falling in love, running away to join Stigma, etc.

The difference is in how the War ends. It's not the Goddess Clan who stops the war. Meliodas and Elizabeth are the ones to commission the Coffin of Eternal Sleep, it's mechanics are designed to use the Divine magic of two gods to seal the clan away... BOTH clans. There's a price, however.

Meliodas and Elizabeth both give up their divinity, becoming a normal demon and goddess to power the seal, and their fates are bound to the seal and the two entities they intended to seal within it. Originally, the seal was meant for the Supreme Deity and the Demon King, not their clans. A coup to stop the war as a last result. So long as they live, neither Meliodas nor Elizabeth can truly die. The clans disappearing was just a side effect, one completely unintended on their part.

They succeed in sealing both the primordial gods away. However, the way the seal affects them are different. At the last second Elizabeth had tried to push Meliodas away when she realized what the price of the seal would be, making it so she got the brunt of the effect, but it wasn't enough for Meliodas to not be affected at all. Thus, when Elizabeth dies of her wounds, she is reborn as a human, and when Meliodas is killed, he is merely awakened. Both suffer from nightmares due to the link they have to their parents, which weakens when they die. Thus, why Meliodas is in Purgatory, and the reincarnation isn't instantaneous for Elizabeth in most cases.

And that's pretty much the gist of the background of the au

this sounds REALLY good, but I'm gonna assume that the "lore" you're talking about is totk lore, which I know little to nothing about. I haven't played the game yet, bc I'm busy with real life things and starting a new big game right now is probably not a good idea, plus there's still the fact that I don't have a switch, which would be a 300-400€ investment (and that's WITHOUT any games)

So what that means is that I would love to talk more about this au, but do remember to include background information, but please don't write "like in totk", because I will not understand that^^"

So anyway, what do Meliodas and Elizabeth do in this au then? as in, what's their goal? To release their respective clans without releasing the DK and SD? Do Mel and Eli want to regain their god-status/-power? And what about the seal itself, can it still be split into parts and if yes, are they still together or split apart? Do Mel and Eli know where it is? And how were the circumstances of making the seal? Like, did Mel and Eli trick craftsmen of their respective clans to make parts of it, or was that like in nnt canon? And since the canon seal had parts/depictions of every clan except the demon clan, maybe in this au there would be two separate seals for the two clans+gods?

[belovedgamers]

asks for you on your birthday! any combination of [ 🍄, ❄️, 🦋, 🪲] :D?

Hiii I answered this and it didn't save and I was devastatedddd and needed time to recover lmao. Anyway, take two :D

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

While running her experiments, Lizzie definitely forgot an appointment or two with Joel, but it all evens out because sometimes he forgets about the day it is because of his sculpting or building or--

This continues to today. There are things they definitely hold very dear and try to schedule around, but most of the time if Lizzie is like "we booked an ocean tour around evening and it's FULL of rich people sorry", Joel's reply is something like "ooooh, more time to work out the floor's tiling". They lead very chaotic and busy lives <3

❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

I really want to read a fic exploring what Mythland's citizens were going through during the corruption arc, and how many likely left their homes behind. Could be a single family or even just a person, or many, really. I'd be especially interested in seeing these runaways flee to the Cod Empire (Mythland is vast, for some Helianthia would be too far, and Pearl has her own relationship with the demon that may not be super comforting to run towards). How do you choose to run to your enemy? Why should they take you? Where do you go? Is there already an established Mythic diaspora there? There probably should be! And how do these cultures connect or clash? What prejudices do they all have to unlearn?

As to for who'd write it, peradi or prolix, who each wrote one of my favorite Star Wars fics (have you heard and things we know by heart, both about storm troopers rebelling). Neither of them writes for mcyt though, which means I'll have to roll up my sleeves and figure out some more geography. Heh.

🦋 ⇢ share something that has been on your heart and mind lately

I had a completely different thing here, but it got sent into the aether, so a new topic it is.

A while ago I saw a post with someone very disappointed/frustrated with George R. R. Martin's response to "what's the solar system that causes superseasons?" The response was "it's magic". The poster said you need to have an idea of why your planet works the way it works in mechanical terms, not something that handwaves and dismisses it.

I've been thinking about that lately, with Empires. Do I agree with the poster? I'm not sure. This isn't a defense of Martin, I dislike the guy, but I do think if you're reading a fantasy series with prophecies and dragons and curses and sorcerers... you do have to, at some point, accept "it's magic" for an answer?

The way I see it in Empires, where there are dragons and prophecies and curses and wizards, monsters and gods and immortals, I think of magic as a force that affects the environment, sometimes in unquantifiable ways. If you're one of the people who loves playing around with the idea presented in the end poem that the universe loves you, and I am, then that's another alive force to consider. I would even say that relying on magic is useful when translating game mechanics into a world, and then you can figure out who has access to what kind of magic or how these spell castings differ.

But maybe I am alone in this? I don't know. I'm a "politics, language, textiles and food" kinda guy. If I'm asked to figure out a solar system or complex biological underground networks, I will start weeping.

🪲 ⇢ add 50 words to your current wip and share the paragraph here

This will only make sense to you, or I hope it does. 53 words! Look at me go.

Umbra’s hands were warm. The memory is a punishment, these days. She used to reach out to him, his rough cheek held by her rougher palm, and smile. No, not smile, relax. She didn’t smile much, towards the end. A lot of details have faded, but not that one. He remembers that one.

It's no longer my birthday! Writer's truth or dare!

[erme-maererme]

Your characters are cool! I love how you pair Mohre with astarion, so cute! Correct me if I'm wrong but ur durge (even though I'm not sure if they resist or not) gave off some motherly/very caring vibes when I saw ur art. What's ur opinion of dadstarion?? <3

ahh thank you so much!! and for the question as well <3

i wouldn't describe mohre's affection for astarion as motherly, but astarion is definitely very precious to them, and that's what i'm always trying to portray. i think caring so much for someone is very new to mohre, because pre-tadpole they barely had a space for their own identity, let alone anyone other than bhaal in their life. and another thing is that they fear themselves and their own emotions a lot, it's something they struggle with in-game most obviously because of the urge, but even after denying bhaal they still remember that any strong feelings they have bring on suffering and disaster directly or not. mohre also worries about not overwhelming astarion with these intense feelings, because they're just beginning to be more in touch with themselves, would they know how much is too much? so they're always torn between the terrified voice in their head begging to hold back and the need to express all the love and adoration they have for astarion. they do trust astarion to tell them if something's wrong, they trust him to keep them from hurting him, and a huge part of why mohre fell so hard for him is that he believed they wouldn't. they're so surprised by being in love and being able to show it, but it's still their journey for post-game, to learn to also trust themselves to do so, if that makes sense.

as for dadstarion, i don't really see mohre or astarion as parents tbh. they both have pretty messed up experiences with "family", their lifestyle (adventuring) doesn't really provide opportunity for raising kids, and getting their own kids would also mean passing their respective curses onto them. the latter would be especially acute for mohre, since it's likely the child would be born with the urge despite mohre's resisting it (if you let sarevok live and resist bhaal, he sends a letter to the withers party, from which it's pretty clear it would happen), and they wouldn't accept the risk of handing a child to bhaal. i also just think astarion and mohre's plan for post-game adventures is to see the world, learn of all the things they were denied, what they might enjoy, parenthood isn't really there.

however, given astarion's immortality and mohre's potential jergal-sponsored one, i can imagine them ending up with some child they rescued on their hands during one of their adventures. i think it would be a temporary situation, but that's as close as it would get to dadstarion. being exposed to the cruelty of the world and being helpless to stop it and having done nothing to deserve is what being a child is about, and that's why mohre and astarion tend to help those kids they meet, why they make an effort to be nice to them, teach them to lie and defend themselves. but for astarion this protectiveness is mixed with guilt over the gur children, he aways knows that even while he's helping at the moment he's been that threat before, the guilt is always there. so he would prefer to avoid the reminder altogether. mohre, on the other hand, is vaguely aware that they didn't discriminate in their kills during their time as the chosen, so the desire to keep themselves away rears its head once in a while, but in this case what's more prominent is that they just don't know what to do with kids. they know their experiences are uncommon, they know these are not something to base your interactions with kids on, so it's just kind of awkward for them most of the time. they're a bard, they know how to seem delightful, but not how to actually mean that. so mohre and astarion would just hand each other the duty of dealing with the child (to their mutual bafflement, "do you think i know how to do this?") and try their best, and the child in question would think them both kind of weird (and mohre more so) but funny and safe.

[torgawl]

pondering very hard on the new archon quest

[hundredsspoons]

There's something I don't understand about long-lived species in Star Rail. Long-winded question under the cut.

So first of all, not every long-lived species has the same biology or lifespan. There's the Xianzhou natives, the Foxians, the Borisin, the Vidyahara, etc. and even among the Xianzhou natives, there seems to be differences of how they became long-lived species. Sushang says her ship has a moon where the Loufu has the tree.

So for the Xianzhou natives, the whole crux of their vendetta against Abundance is that once they have lived long enough, they become mara struck. What that means seems to vary, but confusion and forgetfulness are common symptoms. Often they just outright turn into monsters. In Dan Shu's quest, we see some of these monsters talk to her, so some of them seem to keep their sentience in some form at least. Other times, like in the case of the monster we find the note about the secret treatments, they don't seem to have any intelligence left. And in the case of Jingliu, she doesn't seem to have any physical deformities and continues to be able to fight with a sword, but has changed allegiances.

Whatever exactly it is, the Xianzhou natives fear becoming mara struck and hate the Plagues Author for forcing this fate on them. But here's what I don't understand. They can still die, right? Sushang says she's seen tons of people die. The mara struck appear to fade away after being beaten (though maybe this is just a video game mechanic). When they start to become mara struck, Xianzhou natives are taken to the Hall of Karma, which is said to house the souls of the dead and is the same place where short-lived species who die on the Loufu have their souls housed. In one of the books, a guy says on the eve of him being taken to the Hall of Karma, his father looked more clear headed than he had in a while, much like how we talk about visits from ghosts.

So... isn't becoming mara struck a pretty much completely avoidable fate? They get to live like 1000+ years or whatever, and then they can pass away like any short-lived species? There are still problems with being a long-lived species, like resource consumption and the inability to modify your body, as seen in Dan Shu's quest (though it seems more like discrimination and stigma against the disabled, as well as the violence of the war the Xianzhou claim to have started is what really ruined her life). But I don't really see why the Xianzhou see immortality as a curse without exception? We are told that a lot of long-lived species become resource hungry. We are also told that a lot of the ways to become immortal rely on immoral methods like cannibalism. But for the Xianzhou natives who are immortal from birth because their ancestors ate a fruit or whatever, and who are clearly very careful about resource consumption, what is the problem? They will die one day. Is becoming mara struck such a painful process that even living hundreds or thousands of years longer than you would have not worth it, even though you will probably be killed before becoming fully mara struck? No one likes the idea of forgetting themselves, of course, but that doesn't sound too different from dementia, which is something that affects short-lived species too? Is it because it took many years and the Three Sufferings to figure out how to make the Hall of Karma and deal with the mara struck (idk when the Hall of Karma was made)? Perhaps before that, they actually couldn't die? Do they actually not die in the Hall of Karma? Maybe a bunch of tortured mara struck are just running around in there? Is it the idea that a long life is inherently a horrible thing? Jing Yuan and Yukong are not happy after living long and painful lives. And the books say that with long life came wars over resources, which made everyone miserable. But is that really any different from how short-lived species live? Life is painful, and we often fight each other. So is their problem with Yaoshi basically a religious one, with them saying life is not worth it?

I'm sure we'll get to see to see the side of the Denizens of Abundance at some point. I mean, we're already seeing the hypocrisy of the Xianzhou with Tingyun and (presumably) other shorter-lived long-lived species coveting the lifespans of the natives of the Xianzhou. Plus a lot of the natives of Xianzhou are focused on longevity measures, not just for Outsider Elixir Seekers, but for themselves trying to avoid mara. On top of that, a nation solely devoted to the military and the extermination of particular other species (while expanding its own power across the universe) does just seem like.... obviously sinister lol

Of course, we've already seen a little of what the Denizens of Abundance and mara struck are capable of. They clearly are dangerous and trying to destroy the Xianzhou. And I don't think people like Jing Yuan would just believe and support a war if it was genuinely just all propaganda. I really like the idea of immortality as a disease that takes away bodily autonomy that Star Rail is exploring. But I just don't understand the primary concern of Xianzhou natives, which is that they can't die - when it seems like they can??

[rares-posts]

Midnight Museum looks so scary!! I still don't understand the plot though

Midnight Museum Theories based on mock trailer are below.

Hi anon! While I didn't find the trailer scary per se, I do get where you're coming from because it did have unnerving qualities and it doesn't give much away in terms of plot which only adds to it. Unknown in itself is the most scary thing!

I'm on the same boat as you about knowing next to nothing about the plot itself (quite intentionally I imagine since this is just the announcement trailer made to generate intrigue and anticipation and get some sponsors. I think we'll know a bit more whenever the final trailer is here after the filming is done). You can follow MidnightMuseum's official twt for updates or more possible clues!

I don't wanna leave you hanging though here's some info I do have!

It's a supernatural drama starring Gun Atthaphan, Tor Thanapob as leads and the synopsis on mydramalist is:

Burdened with tragedies that scar him to date, a cafe barista is offered a job at an odd museum. When he arrives, he realises that his life has interconnected with the museum and its curator who used to visit his shop regularly. What does this mean for him? And how are the museum and the curator in connection with this?

(I read Cafe barista as Cute barista and went 'truee!!' before realising i misread🤦)

The barista is Gun, and the curator is Tor. Some people have theorized online that the museum and Cafe are the same place just that the Cafe changes into the museum at night. Something the barista wouldn't know but also why the curator would choose to invite him out of all people. Obviously this is still unconfirmed along with all other speculation that will take place in this post.

From the trailer, I'll make some light observations mostly based on the dialogue.

There's basically two camps of theories my observations fall into:

Camp 1: the barista has accidentally found himself victim of a curse of some sort and the people turned into statues were the people before him with the same curse that couldn't find a way to break it or cure it in time. So the barista will try to uncover the mystery of the museum in order to avoid the same fate.

Camp 2: The one with the curse is actually the curator. And to break it he needs another person and inviting barista to the museum for a new 'job' may mean that curator thinks barista is the key to curing his curse.

Reason behind speculation based on mock trailer dialogue and visuals:

Somebody once told me that being alive is a curse - Barista/Gun

Now that somebody could be the Curator. In which case, maybe he has the curse of immortality. He's unable to die and life is a nightmare for him. So this would be a point towards Camp 2.

But I never thought that a new opportunity would be a nightmare from the past, a past that has imprisoned me for so long - Barista/Gun

This implies that the Barista isn't as ordinary as he might seem at the start and has his own troubles. These troubles might actually related to affects of his curse but he was just unaware that he was cursed until his visit to the museum. And that someone in the first quote could actually be indirectly foreshadowing the Barista's fate if he gets cursed. This explanation leans towards Camp 1

There is one forbidden place here. The danger zone that displays cursed objects. - Curator/Tor

This here, paired with the visuals of all of the cast except the Curator being behind the glass as if displayed in a museum makes me think that the "cursed objects" in the show could just be the characters themselves like I said for Camp 1 theory.

Anyone who disregards the warning will face dark power and nightmare, death, pain and revenge that awaits forgiveness. - Curator/Tor

I think this dialogue will be said by Curator to the Barista when he first arrives at the museum. It's seems like clear foreshadowing. Barista is definitely gonna snoop around in that forbidden section. I have no idea what 'revenge that awaits forgiveness' could possibly mean though.

We've finally met - Curator/Tor

For Camp 1 maybe Barista is cursed but the curse is detrimental to not himself but the curator or both of them. And the Curator keeps the cursed objects or people in the museum to keep it contained but some kind of prior accident or maybe even a prophecy leads him to believe that Barista poses a threat to the balance he's created so that could be the reason why they're pitted against each other. A past accident could also tie into whatever it is that happened that makes Barista feel imprisoned by his memories.

On the other hand for Camp 2 since Curator seems to have been anticipating Barista for quite some time. It's possible that the something about Barista holds the key to curing Curator's curse. But ultimately the pursuit to cure himself or maybe gain even more power has turned Curator into a selfish cruel being who is alright using others for his own gain, which is why Barista will fight against being a pawn in the Curator's game and try to escape the museum.

Can't wait till the show comes out and I'm proven completely wrong haha.

[yellowhearther0]

Does witw!Ranboo like, need to eat? If he does, is it like, less than a human or maybe more? If not, do they simply get he energy from the moon? And entirely different question, in the Tubbo journal pages you posted they mentioned Tubbo testing potions on Ranboo which made me think, is he like, less effected by some? since they're not human does that mean potions might have a chance to work differently on them? Obviously that would mean using him as a tester would be kinda pointless but uhhh just an interesting thought I had.

(I'm gonna give myself a name if you don't mind, I've sent a few asks for this au already)

-💖

ooh okokok- ranboo does need to eat! slightly less then ur average human/witch but yes! he does need to eat :D he also gets energy from moonlight! it's like.... he needs both in order to survive? like if he eats only food or only feeds off moonlight he'll be fine but he'll also be weak so like.... healthy combo of both is best! also moonlight is more useful to ranboo when he's like.. genuinely hurt cuz it helps him heal faster :DD

and then with the potions thing, tubbo only ever tests harmless/dumb potions on ranboo- with stupid potions like the clumsiness potion in the journal, the worst that can happen is sort of like... when ur friend combines some food together into some cursed concoction then dares you to eat it and you do and then u feel sick after but u don't fuckin. die or anything lmao

nothing tubbo gives him will hurt him if it goes like.. really wrong- worst case scenario is that ranboo feels a little sick but even then it doesnt affect her TOO much bc of her immortality :p PLUS tubbo's more silly potions do work a majority of the time or at least when they go wrong its not harmful (like the other worst case is that the potion works a little too well and lasts longer than intended but honey milk reverses effects fairly easily so its fine lol)

also! tubbo doesnt really make stronger/more risky potions often (thats not to say that his journal isn't filled to the brim with potential ideas) more so because with stronger and more complex potions its obviously more dangerous if something goes wrong (not that he would ever test those on actual humanoids) but when he does try to make stronger potions he usually tests them on like. a plant or smth.

[patchdotexe]

Explorers of Arvus: uhhhh / 3.23.21

today's notes are different from usual bc. well. you'll see

LAST TIME ON EXPLORERS OF ARVUS i broke my sleep schedule and am barely existing so this is fine. we went back to camp vengeance an uhhhhhhhhhhhh we are now going to fuck off into the forest to die or prove a very important point

oh god we forgot to level up

[mgd voice] BOOSTING NYX TO MAXIMUM LEVEL

im so fuckin tired. what on earth am i doing. how do i level again

k is not here this time but instead we've got mae+nii bonking their heads together to simulate 2 braincells and so far it is not working. i might just have to like fuckin, drop out n zzz partway thru or somethin. would be fun to see how chaotic michael makes charlie in my absensce

oh wait i can do d&dbeyond i think. how do i work this again. will i ever remember i have shield

what level am i. level 6? pog. oh shit i think i have a new thing

. new spell

. 3 total 3rd level spell slots

. bend luck! i can now screw people over on purpose (and will probably use my sorcery points FINALLY)

michael is leveling charlie up bc my brain is apple sos

ASDXFKLJFH I FEEL CALLED OUT zec rb'd my most recent art of MaX with "all i know about xem is that leo likes xem a lot that's the extent of my knowledge" THANK U FOR SUPPORTIN ME ANYWAY

there will be less blaseball distractions than last time bc blaseball is now on siesta. however i will still have MaX brainrot in the background bc i was drawing xem

wyatt mason my beloved

OKAY I GOTTA MUTE THE TACO STAND FOR THE ENTIRETY OF D&D i cannot and will not get distracted. we can do this. we

nintendo wii

we havent even started yet and im already incoherent

ok i have made a decision and that decision is that i do not have the brainpower to play. however i do have the brianpower to take notes hopefully! so ill just like. vibe. this will be a first

oh man im gonan pick up Blink. charlie is gonna be a fucking menace to herself and others

oh my god its not concentration so charlie may continue teleporting while unconscious. thorne is going to hate this

[charlie gets her soul eaten by a ring] [charlie singing dragonston din tei at halvkWAIT JORB HAS A PRIZE

jorb got a thing! an evil genius thing! figure man. fugrine. figuring. help

GREEN HAS DIAGNOSED ME AS TIGREX MONSTERHUNTER i love this

my notes are a disaster. this is so sucks

serotonin is stored in the wiggly zoomy jorb camera

jorb: his pinky is the size of the rest of his fingers

leo: he has a disease

jorb: he has a disease.

jorb: that disease is male pattern baldness

leo: [reduced to tearful giggling for mysterious reasons]

LAST TIME, ON EXPLORERS OF ARVUS: we've returned to camp vengeance! taure is still unconscious, which is not very great. camp vengeance is doin better tho!

michael, as part of the recap: ingrid is getting railed by her new girlfriend,

first dice roll of the day is michael rolled a 1. good start

OH THORNE IS AN ARTIFICER NOW thorne took a level in artificer!

"...it's like figuring out the right mathematical equation to summon a gun."

group is gonna go check out the statue that we passed by now that we're not WHAT DO YOU MEAN PONK AND GEORGE CANONICALLY HAVE IBS thats it im not looking at 772 anymore

im doing a bad job of paying attention but at least im Present

SIERON LEARNED FLY AND USED IT ON CHARLIE

michael: what do you want to do with your new flying powers?

leo: how many problems can i cause in 10 minutes

guard 1: ...why is the halfling flying?

guard 2: [rolls a 3 on intelligence] i think they can just do that

groundhogs, the real scourge of the campaign

silje and sieron are gonna hunt a big elk. they got distracted and sieron is putting grass on silje's head. i think

WAIT WE'RE ON WATCH NOW FUCK

we have discovered kali's tragic backstory whoops

update i am. too sleepy for this. good nigh everyone

[ and then leo went and somewhat took a nap! solar, normally playing thorne, started playing charlie in my stead. @jorbs-palace, local hero, started taking shitpost notes in my stead. ]

jorb's ghostwritten notes for leo:

help solar is immediately doing a cursed voice for charlie. charlie can do so many crimes

congratulations, charlie is now temporarily immortal!

dwarves can hit things with their beard

kali wants to know if she's legally allowed to bail

she'd feel really bad if she had to loot our corpses for payment if we died.

we have entered the Tree Zone

one of the corpses is now a flamingo (has one leg)

silje has decided to stab the ground. take that, dirt

kali was large size for a second there but then she remembered to not be a giant

"you accidentally deleted my cat?!"

silje has learned naruto cloning jutsu

be gone, thot

oh boy, making an int check to look at a statue! 11! silje is dumb apparently.

hmm. the statue has divination magic. it's also affecting silje.

SILJE LEARNED A 6TH LEVEL SPELL? its only single use but still

you solved my statue riddllllleeeee

thorne forgot to have eyes

its a shame mac and cheese doesnt exist in the d&d universe

wizards are just math criminals (the criminal part is setting people on fire)

sieron crit fails a check but it was still a 9 because of having +8

thorne is looking for what's weird!

uh oh music got scary, never a good sign

hmm. those leaves over there weren't dead a moment ago.

UNDEAD TROLL TIME! rolling initiative

"it's ok, im a wizard, it's my duty to be correct." "wow! waow!"

woooah here he comes

IT JUST DID HALF SIERON'S HEALTH AS A PASSIVE END OF TURN EFFECT?

thorne backed up and cast eldri- oh, ray of enfeeblement. character development continues

charlie is going to just blink out of existence for a minute.

big chungus has grabbed silje and sieron. BIG CHUNGUS HAS THROWN SILJE AND SIERON.

sieron is using hit and run tactics! isn't good at his extra attack yet though

silje is activating bid bid blood blood blood

thorne uses beam of skipping your leg day. troll's legs are now skipped.

michael is trying to determine what a 'clavicle' is

"does that mean the star trek kind, or the bdsm kind?"

charlie wants to cast magic missile.

charlie has vanished back into the ethereal plane mid-taunt

silje has decided to not get bitten today

silje may or may not have stats.

oh, right, trolls are weak to fire! and also we forgot to upgrade sieron's firebolt. so it actually hurts now!

silje is full of knives and blades and does 31 damage in one turn!

charlie shouts words of encouragement from the ethereal plane. a nearby ghost vibes with this.

🎉 eldritch blast 🎉

kali remembered she hates the sun

silje is enthuasiatic about charlie saying "get him cat boy!"

charlie contemplating using fireball to nuke the troll and also the entire stonehenge

charlie has decided to use magic missile instead, probably for the best

the troll bit at charlie SO POORLY it broke some of its teeth on the ground

charlie is too small to hit

accidentally rolled advantage on a firebolt, so got to learn it WOULD have done 29 damage with a crit but instead it missed because it was not actually with advantage

silje has just sliced open its entire back and made a spray of frozen blood! radical. big boy is down!

we have burned the body because we are not stupid. well, we ARE stupid, but not stupid in the way of leaving a body full of necrotic magic around

[dr coomer voice] i think it's good that he died!

we're also doing a funeral pyre for the other corpses that were around. just to be sure.

our loot is: the satisfaction of a job well done

thorne is cosplaying as charlie

charlie has located the direction troll came from! she found the 'the way to sweet loot' sign

thorne is apparently better at survival checks than our hired guide? wack

we found a viking house! it has: mead, a shield, gravestones,

found a gold coin in the mead! maybe it was thirsty

oh theres a LOT Of coins in there actually. 60 gold and 120 silver!

have successfully pointed out a hole in the DM's logic :)

there was a raven! it cawed and left. ok bye buddy

and that's where we leave it! heading back to camp vengeance next time.

someone rated this session a 7.2 out of 10, which is very specific

good night mr coconut

[thewolfisawake]

REFLECT for Aspis

send REFLECT for me to explain a traumatic event in my muses’s past and talk about their perception of events,  which parts have stayed with them longest and how it affects them now.  (  sender can request specific scenes/backstory  )

It's more of what haven't I used for trauma at this point? I am only half-joking too. But for this one, I'll go with the more recent one and how it has altered all the prior. The most recent would be the mess with the clans and being buried alive and because of his psuedo-immortality curse, survived it all.

I believe I've touched on it giving or rather adding to his other problems. Like having nightmares about his vain attempts to claw his way out. He doesn't clearly remember it, at least not when he's actively trying to recall it. Because while he was going in and out of consciousness the entire time and kinda had to live through 'failures' of his body that entire time....that was months. The stress of it all would've probably driven him insane if he actually remembered it all.

Which makes dealing with it...hard for Aspis. He can't really convey what he went through outside of the recovery he was conscious for. He also is sensitive to people's dispositions and the like. So he wouldn't want to bring it up because if Aya heard what he actually went through, she'd never forgive herself. If his friends heard the real extent, they'd be either angry or scared. To him, it isn't worth the effort for something that doesn't hinder his functioning. But it's clear it does rattle him as he can't even get through telling the gleaning details without feeling weak in his legs and trouble breathing.

And the side step with the incident and one that has to be tackled was that Aspis had/has amnesia and couldn't recall most of anything. This made it easier to reside within the clans' manor despite some of them being responsible for what happened in the first place. But has unwittingly put dampers elsewhere. What I mean is that Aspis has only really started to recall things because of his exposure to some link in his memory. For example, he could recall some of his adolescent memories because Daza, his mentor as a teenager, had visited him and jogged some of those memories. And that is essentially how the memories he has has come back. And even those are not complete. 

So he has been a bit different because of it. He doesn’t have the full picture to remember how his adolescence shot his self-esteem. Nor does he remember how tactful he was with his emotional understanding with his friends to know he DIDN’T confront them about their problems. What may not have been noticed because Aspis tends to run in the background to the other’s shenanigans is his distance with his friends because, in a sense, he doesn’t know them. He’s personable enough to connect with them again and their presence and their own stories have helped him recall some things...but it isn’t quite the same. And because of Aspis being different headspace wise, he takes how they treat him differently from how he originally did. It can be good, it can be bad. 

A lot of things can be chalked up as getting his head rattled from others. Confidence is what can be said in chat. Although something that hasn’t really been brought up because there hasn’t been an organic way of bringing it up are these holes in memory since Aspis wouldn’t think he’s missing something unless any of the kids brought up something he didn’t already hear. And unfortunately he doesn’t have someone to really jog his memory for his home since, well, no one is around from his home. I have been working on a workaround but it is a maybe right now. 

But if I did...if we could piece that....hooooooo the wreck this boy would be. Long story short, memory loss is one hell of a device that can cause some unintended side effects. 

[dramayeoja]

Goblin ❣︎ 도깨비

Kim Shin, an undefeated war general, is ultimately killed by a jealous young king named Wang Yeo. After death, Shin is revived by the gods—but his revival is by no means miraculous. He becomes a 도깨비 (dokkaebi, goblin), and is cursed. He will have to pay for all the lives he took in battle by living alone in immortality, witnessing everyone he's ever loved, die. Remaining lodged in his chest is the very sword that killed him. There is only person who can see that sword, and draw from his heart so that he can finally rest in peace: his bride... whom he's yet to meet.

Things get spoilery under the cut—you've been warned! ;)

Chipper, yeah? Haha so, right off the bat, the premises of Goblin remind me of like, a much more morbid version of the legend of King Arthur. You know, a man draws a sword from stone to prove himself the greatest king in all of Britain? Yeah. Just to be clear: this is a good thing (imo). Like, I personally think this is just such a cool idea for a drama 😍

Let's jump right in. I'm gonna be honest and say that, at first, I felt a little turned off at the female lead, Eun Tak, being nineteen (in the beginning of the show), meanwhile the male lead, Shin, is 900+ years old (but physically looks to be in his thirties). It just... rubbed me weird. But hey, the Twilight series (both the books and the movies) is exactly the same—high school girl, century-old man, bananas yet somehow romantic storyline... And I loved me some Twilight as a young adult. So I mean, I have no right to judge, really. Plus, Eun Tak soon turns twenty anyway. So that's an improvement I guess 🤷🏻‍♀️ We follow her character into her late twenties, nearly thirty. So things are definitely fine by then haha! 👍

Don't let that previous bit make you think I didn't enjoy Goblin—I LOVED it. That detail is just a lil funky to me, is all. Back during my Twilight obsession days, I was nearly twenty myself, and the thought of being pursued by an older man was exciting. Hell, I mean, it still is! But now that I'm two years shy of my 30th Birthday, I feel differently sometimes. I think, LAWD get that girl away from that man, she too young for him LOL. I am definitely getting old... Enough about Twilight now, apologies! I'm only using it for the sake of conveying similarities seen in Goblin 🙏 Let's talk cast!

Kim Go Eun as Ji Eun Tak and Gong Yoo as Kim Shin

Eun Tak is a bubbly young woman with limitless energy! While still in her mother's womb, Mama Ji was involved in a hit-and-run incident which, sadly, took her life. During Mama Ji's dying moments, she prayed to anyone above that her child's life be spared. Sat on a rooftop from afar, beer in hand (lol), Shin hears her prayers, as he is a god of sorts. He appears before Mama Ji, and shows mercy to her unborn baby. Eun Tak grows up with the ability to see/speak to ghosts. Said ghosts tell her constantly that she is the goblin's bride. How do they know? A strange birthmark on the back of Eun Tak's neck tips them off. Eun Tak unfortunately was taken in by her abusive bitch of an aunt, who jabs Eun Tak every chance she gets. Her cousins are assholes. Eun Tak's aunt really only keeps her around in hopes of collecting Mama Ji's savings (intended for Eun Tak) one day. Sad, right? I mean, isn't Eun Tak being born without her mother enough as it is? Life can be so cruel 😔

Lee Dong Wook as Grim Reaper/Reaper/Wang Yeo

This is Grim Reaper (or Reaper for short), portrayed by the handsome Lee Dong Wook. His character is just this strange, not at all tech-savvy man with a constant deadpan facial expression. Said facial expression provokes so many giggles during funny moments, and drives home the longing and desperation during sad times. We learn quite a ways in that he, in his previous life (again, just in case: spoiler), was Wang Yeo G A S P ! The young king that is essentially responsible for Shin's death, as well as all the misdeeds that were done to Shin's family. Again, this is something I don't want to spoil. Well, more, anyway 😆 You gotta see it!

Yoo In Na as Kim Sun/Sunny

Kim Sun, or simply, Sunny (she loves to spell her name for people lol, S-U-N-N-Y!) is the second female lead. Yoo In Na is so gorgeous that one look at her makes you feel like such a potato hahhah. 🥔 This fact about her beauty bleeds over into the show itself—every time another character meets Sunny, the camera does this slow motion pan into her lmao. She really is that pretty! Sunny's personality comes across so odd at first... Having watched all of the episodes now, I feel the intention of Goblin's creators was to make her seem like a soul searching for something it has lost in a previous life. idk if that makes sense, but yeah. She has this way about her, like she's disconnected from others, and is sifting through the haziness to find this thing she feels she's lost.

Yook Sungjae (my BtoB bias 😍) as Yoo Deok Hwa

Sungjaeeee ahhhh 💘💘💘 I had to gush, sorry! Hehe. Meet Deok Hwa: unofficial nephew of Shin. Deok Hwa is a third-generation chaebol (heir to a family-owned corporation) and spoiled man-child, always seeking his credit card hahaha 🤣 But I love him so much. Between Gong Yoo, Lee Dong Wook, and BtoB Sungjae? Man, I'm dying over here! Deok Hwa's true identity is revealed later in the show, which if you haven't seen it yet, I won't spoil it. Just watch. But his ending sucked. Like where did he go? Everyone else's endings got tied up neatly except for his. What gives, man? 🤔 Edit: I was actually reading an online conversation about what happened to Deok Hwa online—someone jokingly said he was reincarnated as BtoB Sungjae LOL 💯

Other various comments

AMAZING OST 😍😍😍

Good pace, episodes drag at times. A little confusing in the beginning, but you get there eventually. Maybe this is just me though, viewers who are a little more keen than I will likely catch on sooner ;) My mom was a little confused as well, and actually said at one point, "This should be called the 'what-the-hell-is-going-on' show," hahaha. Like I said though, we quickly moved on from this, and loved all the things. There are actually, I think, three (?) specials that were made to aid viewers in making sure they understand the complex events and relationships clearly. I haven't watched them yet, but want to!

Quite repetitive tbh, as there are unnecessary flashbacks often. Probably for two reasons: the obvious of reminding you what's what, but also to create suspense. Typical duration of most tvN dramas seems to be about 16 episodes, so it's possible these flashbacks and things are, for lack of a better word, filler. I don't know how rigid or lax tvN is about having a drama set at 16 eps, but I get the idea this is their preference. Seeing as so many of their programs on average last that long, I feel this must be what they want. Such has the potential to affect the writing, either positively or negatively.

A continuation of the previous bullet: I think Goblin's creators oversimplified the plot at times. I'm unsure if this is due to possible pressures to meet a specific requirement(s), or what. I'd rather forgo ALL restrictions and let creativity flow, let the story be told without pressure to fill a specific amount of time, etc. but TV production is weird. And contracts are weird. tvN might not to blame for these issues, could simply be that storytelling isn't always easy, man. I'm a writer myself, it's hard! I'M being redundant now lmfao! Anyway, yeah ~

Absolutely LOVED all the scenes that were filmed on location in beautiful Québec City, Canada 🍁 Tall, romantic trees, the fall foliage, historic buildings... sigh. Now all I need is Gong Yoo chasing me and we're all set! ;D

In addition to Shin being revived, my crush on Gong Yoo has been revived as well LOL. He fine 🔥 A classic K drama crush, can't go wrong with GY👌

Gong Yoo is always stellar at doing kiseu (kiss) scenes, and in Goblin, he does not disappoint. He really goes at it 🙈 which is preferred vs. the typical person kissing a stone statue that you see so often. He even did a lift kiss with Kim Go Eun that was reminiscent of THEE Coffee Prince kiss he did with actress Yoon Eun Hye! 😍

I never saw it coming, how the sword would wind up being removed from Shin's chest. I worried what the writers were going to do, how would they approach this, and just wow. The way things turned out is such a relief. It also told me that Shin's love for Eun Tak is true. I mean, I didn't need that scene to occur for me to know that, rather it just adds extra oomph that yes, Shin really does love Eun Tak. He didn't want her to suffer knowing she was responsible for his "death," so he thought quick and used her hands WITH his hands asdfghjkl. How dumb (bc noooo now you're gonna die) and amazing he is at the same time 💜

I love how Shin made his way back to Eun Tak after passing away, it was such a powerful scene. I could really feel his struggle, and kept yelling at my TV for him to stand up lol!

Devastated that Eun Tak died 😭 I really thought as many times as she'd cheated death before, she would somehow continue cheating death again and again for the rest of her days. But no... What a selfless person, Ji Eun Tak. Her being reincarnated as Park So Min gave me some closure. Not the closure I wanted, but closure.

The relationship between Shin and Reaper is ADORABLE. Whenever they interact with each other, they just have this great dialogue. Shin pings, Reaper pongs, Reaper pings, Shin pongs. It's great 😄 I still laugh about the slow-mo scene of them returning from the market with green onions HAHAHA 😂

I love Sunny & Reaper ~ However, their history as Kim Sun & Wang Yeo in their past lives is so very sad. I don't even know where to start RE: my feelings on this 💔 imo, their ending kinda sucked. I just wasn't satisfied with them having had this complicated, tragic story, only to be reincarnated in this fashion that I ultimately found to be just... idk, disappointing 😩 Again, closure, but not the closure I wanted.

I thought Reaper, the other grim reapers, the name cards, the depiction of what happens immediately following death with the brewing of the tea, the afterlife, etc. was all very creative. We really don't know what awaits us when our time comes—it's interesting to wonder if it's anything like it is in Goblin 🍵

Can't stop thinking about Goblin, even though I'm now watching Thirty but Seventeen & Mr. Sunshine! I'm emotionally cheating lol halp.

Photo credits: tvN & AsianWiki

Yo yo! I'm sorry I took so long to watch + write up this review! It's been a long couple of weeks for me, I wasn't always able to watch when I wanted. It was maddening 😆 But I have finally watched, and feel like the most accomplished person on the planet hahaha. xoxo 💜