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randomfoggytiger · 2 months

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Scully's Abduction, Emily Sim, and the Lost Scully Baby

SOLVING SCULLY'S ABDUCTION DATES

The answer to the question of when Scully was returned differs here and there. Sometime after 11/2/94 and on or before 11/11/94 seems to be the consensus: themareks posits November 2nd, xfilestimeline.net guesses in-between the 2nd and 11th, and epguides stands by the 11th as both One Breath's airdate and Scully's reappearance.

But how long was Scully gone?

Mulder states in Emily: "She [Scully] was missing for four weeks. That's documented in the file."

And to further back up that abduction timeline, Mulder later finds a medical paperwork in the nursing home containing Scully's full name next to a possible abduction date: 13/10/94. At the very least, October 13 was when the government tagged her in their system, meaning Scully was likely abducted on the 12th or 13th and returned not on the 2nd but on the 11th.

WAS SCULLY IMPREGNATED DURING HER ABDUCTION?

Mulder's filed report contains another tidbit he never shared with his partner: it states (as read aloud by the official overseeing Emily's custody case) that Scully was "subjected to a series of experiments where... they extracted her ova."

The episode divulges the 'how's a few scenes later: abductees or unwitting volunteers were put into "beauty sleep" by the Syndicate doctors before being injected with a series of enhanced drugs to stimulate ovulation for extraction. Essentially, the women were put through a process similar to the early stages of IVF treatments, for far more nefarious purposes.

After the extracted ova were combined with suitable sperm or cloned with alien DNA, they were not returned to the womb but were instead grown separately in metal and glass containers filled with a green-not-gray alien liquid.

NURSING HOME MOTHERS

As is the end result of man playing God, the Syndicate pushed the bounds of their "science" by dabbling with the unconscionable: they darkened the doors of nursing homes, developing an extra preceding step that involved "awakening" and growing the ova of older women to maturation before subjecting them to the "beauty sleep." These women were the perfect targets, either too confused or too forgetful to intelligently articulate what was happening to them; and Dr. Calderon and his cohorts banked on repeating their experimental process for unlimited ova until death claimed their patients in natural or unnatural ways. (Unfortunately for Dr. Calderon, his aspirations were cut short when Mulder threatened exposure.)

So, to recap: the women were violated, not impregnated.

THE ROANOKE SCULLY

What's even worse?

While investigating the nursing home, Mulder not only finds the aforementioned paperwork listing Scully's full name and possible abduction date but also a corresponding fetus, alive and kicking, in its own little container of green fluid.

This, too, was Scully's child; and it, too, was likely killed or discarded as medical waste during the Consortium's coverup.

"NATURAL", CLONE, OR HYBRID?

Though not entirely explained in Emily (or after), the fetuses grew at unimaginably rapid rates from conception to "birth" in a month's time; but the cost of accelerated growth sacrificed their health, causing the babies born to be dependent on consistent injections of their mysterious gestation fluid in order to survive.

What were those babies, then? Clones? Hybrids? Fully human?

My personal theory? Emily was a hybrid. Not only would this fit the injections and extractions and underhanded IVF machinations in Season 8 (quality of its writing aside), but it would also correlate the mirroring aims of Emily's Dr. Calderon and Per Manum's Dr. Parenti. Parenti stuffed his batch of alien-human hybrid babies into identical containers of fluid, too (albeit for darker purposes.)

The episodes she appears in provides evidence of its own. Even though clones created from alien DNA bleed green and Emily bled red, her blood still released toxic fumes for self-defense, which means Emily's DNA couldn't have been fully human even if both ova and sperm were tampered with before insemination (a feat the Syndicate couldn't accomplish despite their many, many horrific attempts.)

CONCLUSIONS

Not only was Scully never pregnant but she was also never abducted more than once, making her an anomaly even amongst the other MUFON women. This leads me to believe the first round of experimentation inflicted on her was so severe that the Syndicate deemed Scully too great a risk for future harvesting... which was also likely why she was left to die (even if CSM "returned her to you" for a merciful death surrounded by the ones she loved.) Serving no further purpose to the Project, she had been considered waste and was, therefore, disposable.

Emily, too, was ultimately doomed to die after the Consortium or Dr. Calderon tired of his experiments; and if it hadn't been for Melissa Scully's ghostly interference, Emily Sim would have been torn from her parents the minute they stopped towing the line and raised elsewhere as a lab rat-- unloved and, again, tossed aside when deemed no longer necessary.

Finally, there's still one Scully child unaccounted for.

Existence begun and ended in obscurity, it was likely squirreled away or destroyed along with any remaining evidence of Dr. Calderon's work-- a loose end from a man no longer needed by his overlords.

However, the thought that Mulder was the only person other than its merciless creators to behold this tiny fetus is one best pondered on a dark, lonely night when one is in the mood for either melancholy or heart failure.

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

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lilyginnyblackv2 · 1 year

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The Name of Kyutaro’s Cafe is “Mistletoe.”

Yadorigi (ヤドリギ・宿り木) means “mistletoe” in Japanese.

I’m bringing this up now, because the new interview that went up on the official website (which will be linked to in the comments below) is with Kyutaro’s VA. It makes me believe that Kyutaro is going to get some focus in this week’s episode, which means that a lot of things are pretty open to exploration, given the fact that Kyutaro has some level of knowledge about:

- Miri and Misaki

- Rei’s Past & Situation (He mentioned that Rei knew how hard it was to leave an organization, likely implying Rei left his father’s organization)

- Ryo Ogino & The Death of Yuzuko

Any of these topics could come into play in Episode 8 (we may even get multiple topics overlapping and connecting to each other).

I found the VAs view on the relationship between Miri, Kazuki, and Rei to be rather interesting. He sees the dynamic less as “Parent - Child” and more as three siblings. I don’t necessarily agree with that myself, but it’s always intriguing to see others POVs on things like this. I do agree with Kyutaro’s VA when it comes to Buddy Daddies being a “human drama” in which ‘the characters grow up by overcoming the challenges and themes that are imposed on them.” BD really is all about the characters first and foremost, which is why I like it so much. I tend to be drawn to shows that are character studies with some action and drama thrown in to spice things up a bit.

This post is a bit long, so I’ll be placing the rest of this under a Read More.

Anyway, wrapping this back around to “mistletoe.” I’m sure you all are thinking about the way mistletoe is often utilized in many modern day medias (especially in the USA) - kissing under a mistletoe and its ties to Christmas in particular and the holiday season. Buddy Daddies first episode takes place on Christmas Eve, a very couples focused holiday and day in general in Japan.

But, for children around Miri’s age, there is a bit of a family aspect to Christmas. Toddlers in Japan will likely believe in Santa, and toddlers and children will likely get a gift or two.

But this time frame when Santa is real and kids get gifts is very short-lived in Japan, usually by 1st or 2nd Grade there really isn’t a belief in Santa and the family focus is shifted away from the holiday once children start reaching pre-teen years. This is talking very generally and about children who have two Japanese parents, rather than ones that may come from families with mixed nationalities where one of the parents may come from a country where Christmas is a family focused holiday on level with New Years in Japan.

So, I do find it interesting that Buddy Daddies chose to pick a holiday that, in Japan, is more often associated with romantic relationships, rather than familial ones, but turn their focus on the very fleeting time frame when Christmas does have a bit of a more familial air about it.

But, at the same time, we have the imagery of Kazuki visiting The Mistletoe Cafe alone the day before Christmas Eve:

Then Kazuki and Rei meet Miri on the job, on Christmas Eve, a holiday usually reserved for couples, but which is made family focused in Buddy Daddies through Miri and her desire to see her Papa, and with the beginning of Rei, Kazuki, and Miri becoming a family (though none of them know it at the time).

And then visiting The Mistletoe Cafe with Rei the next day after their job, which is on Christmas Day:

Something which is a very rare occurrence in general for Rei (to be out and about in general, not just at the café).

Of course, mistletoe has symbolic meanings to it as well. It can also mean “surmounting difficulties” and was viewed as a plant with healing power to the Celtic people. It has also been associated with fertility, good luck, and great blessings. Kazuki and Rei learning to heal and gain some good luck back into their lives through the arrival of Miri (a child) fits into these themes well, especially since they “gain” all of these things through a job they received at The Mistletoe Cafe.

The Japanese kanji for mistletoe is made up of the kanji 宿 (yado・ru) , which is used in words associated with inns, dwellings, homes, and even pregnancy. The other word is 木 (ki), which means “tree.” This fits because of how mistletoe make their “homes” in trees and shrubs, and this all fits with Kazuki and Rei turning their house (which is a pretty dangerous place for a kid at first) into a home.

And, finally, mistletoe is a parasitic plant.

It’s also a poisonous plant, specifically if you eat any part of the plant or if you drink tea created from the plant or its berries. So, rather an appropriate name for a café that is a front for a hitman organization.

Anyway, that’s all. I figured I’d share this bit of information since it looks like Kyutaro’s character is going to get more focus in Episode 8, though without a preview out yet, I can’t say this with too much certainty. Just a hunch based on the interview being released (usually there is some connection made between the interview they release before the episode and the contents of the episode). If anyone has anything else they would like to add to this, please feel free! :D

#Buddy Daddies #KazuRei #Kazuki Kurusu #Rei Suwa #Miri Unasaka #Kyutaro Kugi #BD #mistletoe #plants #flower language #symbolism #Christmas in Japan #BD spoilers #Buddy Daddies spoilers #speculation #long post #image heavy post #meta post #analysis

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vzm · 2 years

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GETTING INTO GUILTY GEAR

so. you've heard about arcsystemworks Video's Game through the grape vine somehow. heres a fun little guide on how to get into it. first i'll go with the more accessible route:

LORE

this is the easiest part, in part thanks to arcsys actually putting effort towards the community to make it as digestible as possible!

the first thing to check out will be woolieversus' amazing heaven or hell series. as an officially endorsed AND reviewed video series by the writers themselves, this is the best way to learn about the games, as it goes through all little things like arcade modes in-game, external content from light novels or artbooks, and otherwise!

from here, you have a choice. after episode 4, he covers the story mode from guilty gear xrd: sign. however, you could also check out arcsys' guilty gear xrd: sign story mode playlist. this is a direct recording of the in-game story. while woolie summarizes it in 45 minutes, experiencing it for yourself may be more your style, if not a bit longer to put up with.

similarly, his xrd: revelator video, which covers arcade modes until 32:09, where he then covers the story mode, which has an official playlist here as an alternative. the final video also covers the ending of said story mode, and the extra stories added in revelator's dlc, which are also included in the playlist.

for guilty gear strive, you'll have to purchase the game itself OR find a youtube video to watch it's story mode, as arcsys has not posted that officially.

GAMES

if you're interested in PLAYING guilty gear, you've got three main options to go towards.

GUILTY GEAR XX ACCENT CORE PLUS R (yes, that's its real name.)

steam page ($14.99, goes on sale for as low as $2.99.)

the most recent version of the XX games, updated to use rollback netcode, and the last in the franchise to use 2d sprites. this game is THE classic anime fighter, in all the best and worst ways. movement and combos feel nearly unrestricted, but this also means the skill floor for understanding the game is incredibly difficult, especially with the lack of in-game tutorial, luckily, there's a reason its the fighting game community.

dustloop is the wiki for the gameplay side of arcsys games, guilty gear or otherwise, and WILL be your best friend. luckily, the wiki itself also has a starter guide specifically for new players to +r!

while the game has some of the craziest gameplay to come out of gear, due to its usually low price point, it also has a huge beginner playerbase, and if you look in the right places, you'll have a ton of people ready to get you on the right track.

GUILTY GEAR XRD: REV2 (fighting games had funny names for a while.)

steam page ($44.99, goes down to $11.99) it's confusing, but the one with all the characters is the third option down, "all-in-one (does not include optional DLCs). dont ask me.

this game is getting rollback soon! while as of writing this [october 16th 2022] it does not have it fully, a beta test is going to be run from the 17th to november 2nd.

xrd: rev2 (calling it xrd from here on) is if +r was streamlined but still allowed to keep some of its nonsense. it has one of the best tutorials in the fighting game business, teaching you through short minigames that allow you to understand movement, button layouts, and other basic fighting game ideas. even if you dont play the game with other people, the tutorial can help you understand gear in general, and fighting games as a whole! the game also has a wonderful 3d artstyle that mimics 2d animation impressively well, giving it a unique flair that no other game can compare to.

despite the online shortcomings, this is still my personal favorite gameplay wise. if you know some friends you can have a good connection with, or even better, someone to play offline with, this is a gem you shouldn't pass up. here's the dustloop page for the game.

GUILTY GEAR: STRIVE (did you know the name "strive" was chosen because it has IV, the roman numeral for 4, relating to it being the "fourth" guilty gear game?)

steam page ($39.99, $60 for the game and first season pass, $80 for all that and the still releasing season 2 pass!)

THIS is the one you've heard of. rollback netcode, beautiful 3d animation, and a much more simplified gameplay style in comparison to the rest of the franchise. as a first fighting game, i cannot recommend strive enough. while its tutorial is definitely lacking in comparison to xrd's, the overall feel of the game will ease you into fighting better and better opponents. strive is also currently one of, if not THE most popular fighting game currently, meaning there'll always be players online. with more content on the way including new characters and crossplay between playstation players!

here's the dustloop page.

while guilty gear is an absolutely massive franchise, with weird MOBA action game sequels, smash brothers spinoffs that are exclusive to the DS, and an almost 25 year old legacy, getting into it is easier than ever. so heaven or hell, let's rock.

#guilty gear #probably not as concise as it should be #but its a quick primer to gg and a good way to just jump right in

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 1 year

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I forgot where I read it but there was a tweet circulating back then that originally Savannaclaw was meant to be the 6th dorm to be introduced, making Octavinelle the 2nd. This would explain why Azul and Riddle was shown more prominently in the prologue, and Diasomnia's introduction in episode 2. The plan was to involve a conflict between two princes in episode 7.

>.> Which would kinda explain why episode 2 feels very rushed?? Idek But, I do wonder what would've been the change had Savannaclaw's episode became 6 🤔

I believe you’re referring to popular fan speculation (based on the order the dorms were revealed back in 2019). As far as I know, none of those plans were actually confirmed in official TWST materials.

For those who may not be aware, TWST had a whole marketing campaign the year before the (JP) game launched. Part of this involved introducing the public to the dorms one by one on the socials/the official TWST JP website. The order of reveals were as follows:

Heartslabyul

Octavinelle

Scarabia

Pomefiore

Ignihyde

Savannaclaw

Diasomnia

As you'll notice, Savanaclaw was the sixth dorm shown, NOT the second (which is the order that its book is in the game). This is the only dorm "out of order" with TWST's main story. This led to some fans theorizing that Savanaclaw was actually intended to be the sixth installment in the main story, NOT the second, which aligns with some details in the plot (ie the Riddle-Azul emphasis in the prologue, implying that Octavinelle would follow Heartslabyul; the introduction to Diasomnia in the Savanaclaw chapter). I’m guessing that “the plan was to involve a conflict between two princes in episode 7” mentioned was a reference to how the previous episode’s characters would return to help with the current episode’s dilemma, thereby resulting in a clash between Leona and Malleus. Again though, none of this has been confirmed.

Some have also suggested that the noticeably poorer writing quality of The Usurper from the Wilds may be attributed to this theorized “last minute structural change”. Do note that Savanaclaw was released to the public on July 29th 2019, and the game itself officially dropped March 18th 2020; that’s roughly 7.5 months. I don’t know about the intricacies of game development, so I can’t say if that’s a sufficient or a realistic amount of time to rework and/or to rewrite a script to insert it earlier than intended, but this time is worth considering when thinking over the speculation. Consider how much they could have cut out of 2 (The Usurper from the Wilds) and how much they would have had to add to 6 (The Watchman of the Underworld) in this time while also preparing to launch.

Regardless of whether or not the theory is true, I do feel like episode 2 could have benefited from more time/parts to explore its ideas and themes. I'm not sure what else might have happened (in terms of plot significant events), since its events would be contingent on what came before it (and who knows how much of the main story was rewritten or redone), but 🤡 Savanaclaw could have definitely been a lot better than what it actually ended up as...

#Leona Kingscholar #Malleus Draconia #Azul Ashengrotto #twst #twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twst theory #twisted wonderland theory #twst theories #twisted wonderland theories #notes from the writing raven #Riddle Rosehearts

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merp0515 · 4 months

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Path to Isolation

Mirror what's this thing I see? Who is staring back at me? A stranger to my heart has filled my mind Mirror Help me Who am I? -"Path to Isolation" by Casey Williams

(Lol I regret nothing! XD Also enjoy some mini angst fic!)

Four never really told anyone but every now and then he'd have an reoccurring nightmare about the old castle that always had him waking up in cold sweat and unable to sleep. The nightmare itself has gotten creative the more he thought about it over time. It even got to the point where it starts to haunt him during the day, causing him to snap himself out of the trance and reminding himself that it's only a dream. SMG3, Meggy, and Mario had kept a close eye on him after asking him if he's alright to which he responds with "I'm fine."

SMG4 was walking around his castle today, staying clear from his room to avoid another PTSD episode of the P E R F E C T incident. He tried focusing his thoughts on other things. Positive moments that stood out to him. He smiled remembering the time he first got the showgrounds after an intense auction, how Meggy and Tari saved everyone from One Shot Wren and his messed up West, and helping 3 get his notebook back from Mario and Marty. He stopped for a moment and noticed that someone hung a photo of the updated version of himself at the new castle. With the same original pose with the new castle as its new background.

He instantly frowned the minute it changed drastically into his old design, the Mario reskin. Four backed away from the photo, holding onto his chest and feeling his entire body freezing in horror as the painting smiled at him that made him very uncomfortable. He can hear it softly echoing in his mind. The taunting laugh, angry "fans" telling him how he's officially fallen from grace, and people that he holds dear to that are in the afterlife glaring at him in silence. Four tried to cover his ears and closing his eyes, feeling his body sweat as he tries to hold back his tears, hearing the voices get louder. His breath quickens the more intense it got until it got silent. He opens his eyes slowly and saw the floor change under him. Checkered flooring.

His heart instantly dropped.

No.

N-not again!

He looked up, slowly lifting his hands away from his ears and saw that he was back on the 2nd floor of Peach's castle! Not only that, he saw the painting he was looking at not too long ago with the same old design smiling at him, giving a thumbs up taunting his very being. He approaches the photo, dark thoughts filling his mind like never ending cockroaches infesting his mind. He took off his hat and threw it somewhere on the floor, not caring where it landed.

SMG4 stopped as soon as he was close enough to the frame. His anger started to rise, putting his hands into fists his thoughts surrounding his mind and vision quickly clouding in black.

Mario and SMG3 were the first two that ran into the castle after hearing SMG4's chilling scream and something breaking. Meggy wasn't far behind as they tried to find Four inside the brand new castle. Three panicking, tried to see if his meme energy can sense where Four was. All three of SMG 4's friends turned their heads as they herd Four angrily shouting at something to the point his voice is cracking.

"Quickly, this way!" Meggy frantically said as she and the boys followed to the sound of Four's distressed voice. Three's mind was racing hard as he and the others head to the meme guardian in need. SMG3 stopped to see glass on the floor, eyes widening in fear of what could of happened. Mario and Meggy stopped their tracks as soon as they noticed 3 not following them. Both the fat red italian , and the former inkling girl walked towards Three, seeing the broken glass on the floor.

Silent gasps and eyes widen seeing the sharp, yet fragile glass pieces on the floor. All three turned to see a huge hole on the photo of SMG4's current self, more glass on the floor, and Four himself with no hat in site soullessly staring at the trio. His eyes that once had life was now dead, no ounce of spark nor joy as the trio stares back at him with fear and concern for the blue guardian.

Meggy covers her mouth in horror seeing Four in such a shape, Mario remains frozen, gulping hard watching his close friend staring at him like the time at his Mario day party with such a bone chilling aura. His mind wondering if he should take a step forward towards him or not to snap him out of it. Lastly SMG3, who has recently become his friend after years of hating each other and almost killing him, watching helplessly at the person that has helped him achieve his goals.....having the very meltdown he saw at his old home. He felt his cold, icy blue eyes staring into his firey soul.

#smg4 #smg4 fanart #It's Gotta Be Perfect #Smg4 Angst

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meret118 · 1 year

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Please Watch The Diplomat!

Netflix decides if they are going to renew a show based on how many people watch all episodes the first month it's on. If you liked The West Wing, you will like this too! In fact, I think it's better than TWW, because it's set more in the real world, and doesn't contain sorkin's misogyny. Plus, a woman is the main character! The creator worked on TWW and Homeland, and this show combines the best elements of each.

Kate is a career diplomat who was working on getting people who helped the US out of Afghanistan, particularly women. She's ordered by the Biden stand in president, played by Micheal McKean, to take the appointment of ambassador to the UK, a post normally given as a reward to powerful donors, and one requiring speeches and shaking hands more often than actual work. She's determined to make a difference while there however.

Her marriage to Hal, a former ambassador and high profile diplomat in his own right, is ending(?), but he's going with her for the first few weeks while she gets up to speed for PR purposes and support. They're both having trouble in this switch of roles as they try to define new boundaries.

Their relationship is entertainingly codependent and complex. They have terrific chemistry, and are totally believable as a long time couple who love each other, but don't know if that's enough anymore.

Speaking of chemistry, Austin Dennison is the Foreign Secretary who's far more qualified to be PM than the blowhard BoJo stand in he serves. He wants to trust Kate and work with her toward common goals, but the Iraq war and more has damaged US/UK relations.

Stuart Hayford is Kate's Deputy Chief of Mission, a job Kate's more used to doing herself, and is having trouble relinquishing. He's also receiving orders about Kate from the WH Chief of Staff.

Stuart is in a secret relationship with CIA Station Chief Eidra Park. She's used to dealing with secrets, but some of the ones he's keeping may be more than their bond can tolerate. She expects Kate to be the typical political appointee, and has to rapidly adjust her opinion.

The center of the show, and where it shines, is its focus on the politics of the world we live in as the characters deal with terrorism, intrigue, corruption, and political text and subtext. The few times the show stumbles is when it forgets that, and focuses on the relationships too much. That's rare though, and the show normally does a good job of integrating both into an engrossing whole.

No country is presented as perfect, and if there are heroes they're more likely to be the unsung career foreign service employees more often solving problems in spite of elected officials and political appointees rather than because of them. I highly recommend it!

ETA: The final episode ends in a cliffhanger. It didn't bother me, especially since the outcome seemed obvious to me, but I wanted to mention it.

ETA 2 - It's been renewed for a 2nd season! Yay! :)

ETA 3 : I'm so glad people watched it. I'm excited to see season 2. :)

#The diplomat #Tv

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havin-fun-imagining-twd · 11 months

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Scary as a sleepy kitten

When - 10 or so minutes after He hasn't been himself, which takes place during the Chupacabra episode of Season 2

What - the finishing touches on Daryl's medical care, how Andrea's handling almost mistakenly killing the guy. You assure her that he's about as scary as a sleepy kitten right then. Then, there's digesting big bro Shane's descent from morality along with Daryl's simultaneous growth in it. Bonus is a hint regarding the Greene's barn. So sad there aren't any barn cats in there anymore, wonder what happened...

Genre - a little angsty, a little fluffy, a little found-family.

Who - You, Mangy Hick (that's Daryl), Patricia, Andrea, Papa Dale and his not good book, and sweet little Beth (who's got the same headcanon from the Fabulously Confident Reader stories about liking choose-your-own-adventure books)

Perspective - 2nd person, and 3rd Daryl

Pronouns - did GN again this time

TWs - some language, otherwise you just have a brief blow-up. The day's been something else, y'all

Length? - 10-15 minutes

References - when Daryl made that funny in Like a traditional Sunday dinner, the incident with Ed as seen in "Deserved" Part 1 but mostly Part 2 and its cooldown in It's not the end of the wo - oh. There's the continuation of big brother Shane's descent, a slow progression in a bulk of the chapters. Be sure to check out Invisible Tugging Strings, Part 1 and Part 2 , then Spell your last name, please. as well as He hasn't been himself

Official Masterlist here (find fabulously confident reader there!) and the Chronological Slowpoke Masterlist here

have fun and happy reading!

Apologies for the lengthy delay, slowpokes, my brain has been on power-saver for about a month, might could be evident in the chapter, too XD

...........................................

“Guess I'll just move this arm like a robot—oh-ho, check it, I can still do the tomahawk chop, y’all!”

And yeah, then his friend proceeds to make barely one and a half chops before wincing. The slight pout that forms afterward makes him want to smile, it’s damn cute.

“Hurt more than I thought it would.”

The twangy blonde lady looks entertained. “Tell me why, Y/N.”

Their pout turns more embarrassed. “…Movin’ the forearm requires these here muscles.”

He liked that their accent revved up more with the blonde lady—sorry, her name’s Patricia, he knows, got it.

“Which affects what?” Patricia asks.

“My shoulder and chest.”

“Which are injured and got irritated something serious today, along with what I’m fairly sure is maybe your C6 and 7, maybe the T1, whenever you first got hurt.”

“Yes, ma’am,” they mumble.

Stop thinking Y/N looks cute. Also, what were those letter-number things?

Sighing, his friend stares at their upper arm.

So, during the, like, he doesn’t know, 5 minutes or whatever it was when the old man helped him slump to the bathroom so he could finally take a piss, Y/N’s upper arm was wrapped to their torso to prevent them from hurting it more. They keep overdoing it, and they keep taking their damn sling off, so Patricia made a compromise, he guesses.

And after doing a modeling-pose type thing with their wrapped arm and asking who was wearing their gauze better, them or him, Y/N immediately tried to do the tomahawk chop and move like a robot and why is he finding that so damn cute right now?.

Patricia winks at Y/N. “Name some of the muscles up there and I won’t put the rest in a sling."

You

“Ooh, bicep, tricep,” basics out of the way. “This, um, one of these over here is the brachialis, this is the deltoid, the teres major’s under here.” You got that muscle wrong on an anatomy midterm back during college and never forgot about it. “This here is the trapezius.” Because the dudes who do the trapeze at the circus got real big ones (or at least that’s how you remember it). “And, well, the clavicle is this bone, so the bone under it is the scapula, which means right about here’s the subscapularis muscle,” that she said you may have hurt, “Oh, duh, then ‘the major one is the pectoralis.’ And—”

“—Okay, no sling.”

Phew. “Thank you!”

“For now, anyway. Meanwhile, Hersh is givin’ me a look, let’s get to cleaning our friend, here.”

Him

The funny part is, as Patricia left, she made a face and said, “I don’t remember most of the muscle or bone names, I just took Y/N's word for it. Now, Daryl, don’t go gettin’ out of bed, stay put.”

Now he’s finally laying down, nothing else to be done to him. He’s so damn tired.

He’s scrubbed up, too. Got a big-ass bandage over his head, wrapped all around. That was a trip; Patricia and Y/N washed his head and neck over a bowl. He counted the seconds til it was over, half-listened to whatever they were chatting about to distract himself.

Once he was bound up like a cartoon character and given instruction to not get it wet, Hershel came back and walked him to the bathroom again, this time to clean everything else off.

There was a little stool thing in the shower, with the shower hose on the ground instead of hanging. “Don’t get your head or the bandage wet. There's a waterproof cover over the dressing on your side that you'll have to remove when you're finished. Now, I imagine you prefer total privacy, but if you need the help, I can assist, or I can get your friend Theodore, if your prefer.”

“M’fine.”

The simple response “I’ll be outside the door, Daryl,” surprised him. Made him feel stupid and ashamed and comforted all at the same time.

And he…he needed the damn help. Ain’t like the old guy hadn’t seen his back already, anyway.

Still, the old man mostly stayed behind the shower curtain at his request, and he didn’t see his junk or nothing, Daryl made sure to keep himself covered.

Part of him felt like some pathetic little cat getting a flea bath.

Today was something else.

So goddamned tired…

You

Not 15 minutes went by since he was escorted to the washroom and now he’s fast asleep under the sheets.

Lori and you stayed inside with Carl (and Daryl), and Carol and Rick brought in plates of food into the house for the four of you.

Carol cooked up some jerky with an egg for Daryl as a special treat with the rest of his meal. Menu for tonight is peanut butter sandwiches (sort of, they’re on saltines), hard-boiled eggs (not soft-boiled, you checked this time), with sauteed field greens.

Your poor friend must be ravenous, but it looks like tiredness won this round. He looks so different asleep. Sweet, even. It's silly, but his light snores almost sound like purring and now you're thinking about kittens.

Another moment in the quiet, and you figure you shouldn’t stand there like a weirdo anymore.

Well, his egg and the peanut butter sandwiches will keep until he wakes up, and the jerky and egg will taste great either way, but his portion of sauteed field greens won’t be nice cold. You’re only a little bummed when you slide your portion of little sandwiches onto his plate and take his portion of greens. He’s earned extra treats, he can have all the peanut butter he wants after what he found today.

You inhale deeply. Exhale slowly. Close your eyes and ask inwardly for help after offering more thanks that he came back alive, and found concrete proof of Sophia.

It’s nice to be in the quiet. It feels safer better to be away from Shane right now, too. You aren’t sure what you’re going to do about the sleeping situation other than tell your brother to set up his own tent.

You also take one of the cracker sandwiches, it’s been a rough day. But when you start to nibble on it…your appetite is gone. Which is so dumb, dude, you’d been stoked at the thought of chowing down when you were high on Daryl being okay and having found Sophia’s doll.

Daryl’s chest rises and falls. You listen to his light snores, and find it, as Amy would’ve said, “interesting,” (but understandable) that your stomach has a few butterflies at seeing him so peaceful and still.

You miss Amy. Which prompts you to consider that you should check on Andrea. Earlier, Dale had come in and asked a bunch of questions for her because she was too ashamed to see people. From wherever she is right now, Amy is probably hoping you’ll help comfort her big sister.

Patricia stops you before you exit the house through the side-door. “Been meanin' to ask, I heard you tell your brother to get out, earlier. Everythin’ okay?”

That question was unexpected, words aren’t working for you. You shake and nod at the same time, which is weird, so, you open your mouth to fix it, but nothing formulates.

After a second try, all you can stumble through is “I don’t know, ma’am,” before ungracefully scooting outside.

After 5 minutes of polite conversation on the steps, mainly between you and Dale regarding Daryl’s status, Andrea is still dumbfounded that she’d almost killed someone.

“He’s really okay?”

“He’s bandaged and resting now. You only winged him, but the falls he took earlier did the most damage, Andy.” You’re trying not to be angry with her, but failing. Which sucks, because you know she was trying to protect the group…

But that she still shot it even though it was against Mr. Greene’s wishes and she knew that indicates an unhealthy variety of pride. One can't be having that kind of attitude with a firearm, it ain't good. And Daryl was almost a casualty because of it.

And like, come on, there were five of you running toward her target, it was dangerous for her to attempt to shoot from that angle! Doesn’t she understand that’s irrespons—ugh, and isn’t Shane supposed to have been doing gun safety shit with her? Isn’t that his whole wannabe jarhead schtick—great, now you’re more upset about Shane!

“I’m glad you’re enjoying those, ” Dale tells you, nodding at your cracker and chuckling. “They’re the part of dinner I rushed to help make, this evening was…something.”

He shrugs, and you remember how Daryl grunted that today was ‘somethin’ else.’

“I suppose having spread the peanut butter on crackers was a small step up from offering it on spoons to everyone,” he muses.

You can’t help but hum, a spoonful of peanut butter sounds scrumptious right now. Makes a good breakfast or snack, too.

“Did Daryl eat enough?” Andrea worries. “Does he need anything?”

“He was asleep when I brought him his supper, but I left my portion of the crackers—minus this one—on his plate.”

“Come to think of it, I’m not sure he’s a fan of peanut butter,” Dale thinks out loud. “I offered him some for breakfast one morning, and now that I recall, he backed away from it.”

Not like peanut butter?

“—Oh my God, what if he’s he allergic?” Andrea breathes.

“Nah, he ate a peanut yesterday. I was havin’ one of the little packets for lunch and he tried one, he can’t be allergic,” you assure them. And surely he doesn’t not like peanuts. That would be so sad!

It gets quiet.

Andrea stares at her feet.

“I can’t believe almost killed him.” She inhales and buries her face in her hands. “I shot someone.”

And Dale is only meaning to ease her discomfort and add some levity—but whether it’s because of the new bond you have with Daryl, or maybe because here’s something of a flashback hitting you from how you’d had to actually shoot a living person a few months ago—when Dale jokes to you, “Like I told her, we’ve all wanted to shoot Daryl,” you become livid.

After two shallow breaths of your inner tea kettle screaming, this sentence: “Guess y’all will want sunshine over here to work on her aim, then,” seethes out as you stand and book it to the fields.

The past several days especially has shown you how wrong your initial conclusions about that man were. He’s a work-in-progress, make no mistake, but shit if he ain’t working on it!

Unlike your brother, who keeps getting worse, who just tried to flirt with Lori by saying he didn’t care about a missing, abused little girl—the same little girl Daryl was willing to almost die to find!

Horrified at Shane and about today; confused, embarrassed, overwhelmed, in pain, overtired, and therefore angry about everything, you walk, hyperventilate, and finally, quietly, start to cry.

Then you accidentally drop the peanut butter cracker and cry harder.

The light swish of your boots in the grass starts to crunch when you reach the sandy part by now-boarded-up well. You walk faster, neither wanting to be near the two-part walker inside nor in the area where apparently, Daryl dumped Merle’s ‘hard stuff,’ as he slurred to you earlier during his trauma assessment.

Soon you’re by the rocks you’d climbed the other night. You step up and sit on a lower one and sniffle another minute or so until the worst of it seems to have spilled out.

When will you get a better handle on your temper?

While you’re busy wallowing in self-pity, you notice Dale’s watch ticking and are reminded that you have to return it.

You stand.

Trudge back with your tail between your legs.

He and Andrea are still on the steps.

“I’m sorry. I let my anger get the better of me,” you tell them softly.

Dale waves you over. “Come back and sit if you like, kiddo. It’s been a long day.”

“It’s been somethin’,” you mumble. “And you aren’t a bad shot, Andrea, I was being snotty.” About an inch to your left and he’d have been a goner, you leave out.

“I’m glad I wasn’t as good a shot as I’d hoped,” she sounds ashamed to say. Her head is still hanging low when she makes a one-sided smile and taps the spot next to her. “Will you be helping with shooting practice tomorrow?”

“If that’s still on, yeah.” Shane was enlisting your help with that, which means you’ll have to act civil…ugh, why worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will worry about itself. You take the watch off, hand it to Dale. “Here you go, Mr. H.”

“Ah, very good. I would hate to start losing track of the days, then we’d really be in for it. Let’s see…an hour until it’s time to wind her up.”

The breeze carries the smell of woodsmoke with it. You lean against Andrea for a moment, she leans back.

Then Shane comes into view.

When you catch his eye, you shake your head in warning in case he’s thinking about coming over and schmoozing with the others as if he didn’t just f—tomorrow will be better. Things will be better in the morning. He’ll apologize and things will be better and you’ll all have a good day and maybe Sophia will be found.

“Y/N, how about we talk later tonight?” Dale murmurs.

Did he see the face you made at Shane?

Best change the subject. “If we do, is it finally my turn to borrow that awful book I’ve heard so much about?”

“The Case of the Missing Man is not an awful book,” he chuckles back, then shrugs. “Maybe Jimmie Herron’s style isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. My Irma didn’t like his work, either.”

“Y/N, it’s really not great,” Andrea drones.

“Glenn said the same.”

“Amy had me read it so we could, um,” her gaze grows teary. She closes her eyes for a moment, then smiles and shakes her head. “‘Share the trauma.’”

You smile and shake your head, too. That sounds like Amy. “She finished it up in my tent while I was knocked out with a migraine, first thing out of her mouth to me when I woke up was how lame it was. Told me you had first dibs.”

“Then I lent it to T-Dog”

Oh, right. On the first half-week of the trek to Fort Benning, his nose was stuck in it. “He plowed on through it, didn’t he?”

“He wanted the torture to be over.”

You and she snort, Dale just chuckles again. “After you finish it, only Rick, and our young Carl—oh, and, uh your br—and Shane, they’ll be the only ones to not have done so.” He points his finger as if an idea just popped into his head. “But both Jacqui and Lori thought it was good.”

“Bless their hearts, they loved watching soaps, though, what does that tell us?” you giggle to them.

Dale lifts his hands in surrender. “See me later, troublemaker, I’ll lend you my ‘awful’ book and we can talk. I’m gonna hold you to it.” He looks at Andrea. “Young lady, will you be alright?”

“Yes. I'm just not ready to face anyone yet.”

“You know where to find me.”

She rests her arms on her knees and slouches again, stare fixed on nothing much. You go to rest your arms on your knees, too, and are immediately reminded that that particular position is a no-go for you right now.

“Y/N, after what happened with Ed, when did the feeling of wanting to hide go away?”

“Mine was an easier situation," you quietly point out. "And it wasn’t just me, Shane was the one who—" you grimace at the memory. "You were there.”

“Mm.”

To answer her question, “But I guess it wasn’t til, y’know, I faced people again that I got I didn’t have to hide. Shane's sense of 'duty' helped, too. But after I talked to Carol, saw Sophia smile at me, when I knew they were on my side, I didn’t mind so much about the rest.”

“Pretty sure everyone was on your side with that,” she mutters. “For what I just did…”

“Pretty sure even Daryl will, um, well th-that you were tryin’ to protect the group.” …oof.

She lifts her eyebrows. “You aren’t good at lying, Y/N.”

It wasn’t a lie, per se. “Objectively, you were tryin’ to protect the group.”

“I wanted to feel in-control and like I could do it.”

Oh.

She admitted that? If only your brain could come up with something heartfelt or whatever the situation called for to convey how much humility from someone so confident and self-assured means, instead of this: “I wanna be on your apocalypse survival team.”

A sigh leaves her, and she simply asks, “Just let me know how furious he is with me. I'm dreading how he’ll be when he’s up. I'm a little scared, while I’m being honest.”

“Hm?”

“Daryl.”

“You’re scared of him?”

She eyes you. “We’ve all seen how he can fly off his handle. He waved that knife at Rick and your brother, the axe at Jenner.”

Oh, right. That didn’t even consider cross your mind, that she’d be scared of his reaction to...being shot in the…head. Man, your brain is not working.

It can’t even configure a response again, now you’re just shaking your head like a confused mute.

“You don’t think I have to worry, Y/N?”

“No,” you answer truthfully. “You might would feel better if you saw him, he's probably up an eatin' dinner by now."

"I think now's too soon."

"Trust me, he’s holed up in bed now, he’s about as scary as a sleepy kitten.”

“Kittens have teeth and sharp claws,” she dryly states.

Your mind immediately hops to the exciting fact that you have yet to meet the Greene’s barn cat(s) as you stand and lead Andrea inside through the side door to get to Daryl’s room, waving to Beth reading her book as you pass.

“Beth, this is Andrea. Andrea this is Beth. She’s the one who made the pudding for Carl. She’s Mr. Greene’s youngest.”

Andrea smiles and goes in for a shake. Beth shyly waves, the returning of the handshake ending up as an awkward afterthought.

Sweet as she is, leaving her in peace is probably what she’s hoping for (the poor teenager’s home and front yard is full of wounded strangers).

And you almost make it through the full sentence before gasping in delight when you see what book she has.“We’re just checkin’ on Dar—is that a choose-your-own-adventure book??”

Him

There was this loud noise in another room, woke him for a second. Y/N’s laugh stuck out from the other sounds.

While falling back asleep, he remembered how he'd made them laugh really loud when he ripped that $20 bill that night at the CDC. How they’d belly-laughed so hard at his dumb, tipsy-ass joke had felt so damned unexpectedly good.

He’s back asleep before the amount of pain he’s in can really register.

You

“I’ll bring it over after I talk to Mr. Horvath. He’s the older man in our group, I love him to pieces, you probably saw him in his bucket hat?” you tell Beth.

Jimmy apparently has been poking fun at her reading choose-your-own-adventure books to pass the time because they’re ‘for kids,’ so, lending him The Case of the Missing Man was decided to be the best way to get back at him.

You hope y’all didn’t wake Daryl, it’d gotten a little animated for a minute. To make up for it, you tiptoe when you trek down the hall to his room, Andrea and Beth behind you.

Beth left something of hers in there before he was brought in, but she was hesitant to go in there (which you praised, teenage girls and unknown older men don’t mix). Anyway, she was hesitant because she’s a little, um, well, kinda intimidated by him.

Andrea invited her to join you two, citing “Y/N says he’s as scary as a sleepy kitten right now.”

At his door, you knock lightly and call his name. Wait for an answer, try again.

Upon listening more carefully, his snores sound through the door and let you know he’s still asleep. Slowly, slowly, you open it.

As subtly as you can, you step into room and pull the sheet that had fallen down back over his shoulder before the girls see the scarring.

Daryl stirs, then grunts something incoherent as he flinches, blinks, and tries to turn toward you.

“It’s just me,” you hush. “I was fixin’ your sheet, it’d fallen.” You tuck the sheet down over his shoulder, gently and slowly. “You’re safe in the Greene’s house. Go back to sleep, sweetheart.”

His muscles relax and he’s back to snoring before the pet name is finished slipping out of your mouth.

Still standing beside him, you watch his side rise and fall, rise and fall. Reminds you how grateful you are. He really does look so helpless and sweet right now.

You notice Beth peeking back and forth between you and him, but she quickly looks away.

Poor buddy. If the man is this tired, he’ll rest better with closed curtains. He’s big on privacy, besides. Carefully, you start to draw them shut. Andrea joins.

Once they’re all pulled closed and the room is dimmer, she puts her hand on your arm and gently pulls you back into the hall, Beth leading the way. You make sure the door doesn’t make too much noise as it shuts.

“Thanks,” Beth whispers.

“Scary as a sleepy kitten, right?” Oh, that reminds you, “Y’all don’t have a barn cat or two, do you?”

“N-not anymore.”

Aw, that’s sad. “I’m sorry, little one.”

“Oh, um—d-don’t get too close to the big, shuttered barn, okay?” she rushes to add.

Before you can both nod and tell her ‘of course,’ she then stumbles through, “There’s—it’s—the, um—it’s just not real safe!”

She looks so freaked out and nervous that you forget you’re supposed to respond.

Lucky for you, Andrea, smooth as ever, assures her “We’ll let Carl know not play around there,” and starts to chat about how she “steers clear of old barns” ever since she spotted “the biggest rat I’ve ever seen come out of one at a company retreat,” while Patricia comes downstairs hugging to her side what looks like a wedding photo.

Beth scurries away, you make eye contact with Andrea, then Patricia gets your attention.

“Sweet pea, about tonight,” she begins, hands pressed together with her fingertips toward you. “Daryl’s gonna need to be checked on—”

“—Of course. I’ll stay with him. Please do me a list of what to check for and how often?”

“Will do. Try and borrow that big watch again, you’ll need it. Prolly will do well to have somebody else, maybe Carol to help. I'll go find her. You know, there’s an old air mattress in the attic, I’ll have Jimmy fill it up. Just go grab your sleeping bag,” she tells you.

“Thank you!” You’d been hoping for a way to avoid Shane all night. Is this a gift from above or something?

A reminder of, “Don’t use your injured side to carry your sleeping bag in,” from Patricia sends you on your way outdoors to retrieve your stuff.

The air is cooling off as the sun sets. The sky is a hazy orange-pink.

“Y/N, I didn’t realize,” Andrea says, slowly walking beside you.

“Realize what?”

“You two.”

You, too? Is she talking about your shoulder, maybe? “What’d I do? Do you mean my wrapped arm?”

She peers at you, head tilted to the side. “You and Daryl,” she softly clarifies. “It was Dale who wondered first, after you had to excuse yourself.”

Me and Daryl? “What’d we do?” Perhaps she's referring to the search today? Andrea isn’t one to not speak her mind plainly, you wonder why she’s not being more succinct. She doesn't know about you having shot that guy. Dale has an idea, but he's tight-lipped about it.

“So, you and he…?” she trails off.

So, you start to fill her in about the search. “Before Daryl found the doll, we’d—”

—OH WAIT, now you get it!

---------------------------

(for those wondering, the tomahawk chop is something Georgia Braves fans do)

> Masterlist link here

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theseasasleep · 6 months

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Story of Kunning Palace E03 (semi-live reaction)

So, it's our heroine's fate to always be crushed on by the spoiled Princess? LOL

There's no way a young woman who climbed all the way to Empress can avoid most of the path to that fate. In most of the webnovels of this type I've read, reaching that type of pinnacle means you have a fate with it, regardless of the ultimate outcome. The best Xue Ning can do is flip the script on circumstances while doing her best to skirt around the thornier aspects of future events.

1st Life: the Princess thinks back to her first encounter with Xue Ning with humiliation, embarrassment and rage

2nd Life: the Princess will think back on their first encounter with pride, happiness and warmth

So far so good. Although I totally get why she'd want to avoid tangling with a temperamental royal who she had a terrible experience with.

...

I really like how this show is shot. Sometimes you never know with cdramas if you'll get a cheap or pedestrian directing style or a dramatic and/or compelling one.

...

The show is still building its foundations and I'm just so eager to jump into the action!

*fight sequence starts 1 minute later* AND HERE WE GO!

Dude is more pissed off by the damaged qin strings than the assassination attempt! HA!

Xue Ning, as hostage: *minimize connections to minimize involvement* Mr. Hostage-taker, sir, I know Xie Wei only through the grapevine...

Xie Wei: MISS XUE NING, PLEASE DON'T SELL OUR CONNECTION SO SHORT! YOUR FATHER AND I ARE GREAT FRIENDS! IN FACT, YOU ARE MY LIFE SAVIOR!

Xue Ning:

...

Take me instead.

Mmm. Something about the silky oomph with which he said that line combined with his expression... Okay, okay, Zhang Ling He. It took three episodes but you got me: the character of Xie Wei is now officially attractive to me. All he had to do was low key deliver a line that just vibrates with high key threat.

Man, what era are my hormones in? Between finding my mojo over one ML threatening to tear an offensive man's tongue out and fixing my posture when this one is nothing but velvet menace, I need a name for it. I need to know. Should I be worried? Scared? Aroused?

oh. oh. he's so sexy... okay, now you're just showing off; put the murderous sexiness away

Not this man calling her out, leaving her neither a fissure to hide in or a crumb for modesty!

I... I can't wait until he's incandescently in love with her because I just know, I just know it will be so magnificent I won't know what to do with myself.

Girl, while you are absolutely right to defend your current relationship with Yan Lin and right to say it is a flirtation that is undeserving of such rude scrutiny... you (and us) know that man speaks no lies. You are trifling with Yan Lin and you would have done him plenty of harm without the benefit of literal 20/20 hindsight.

That being said, I see @dangermousie point: kicking off a relationship trying to gin up, stoke and maintain fear in the other party is an excellent way to receive future comeuppance in the form of watching the woman you desperately love side-eye you as she lavishes protection and support on her other suitors.

...

I like Yan Lin. Not too sorry to say that. Hopefully Life No. 2 keeps him off the rapist track.

It's nice seeing Xue Ning enjoying festivities. The impression I have of her first life self is that while she reveled in being "wild", she likely didn't really allow herself to enjoy being young and with friends, too busy being hungry.

Dear. God. That seamless transition from earnest Yan Lin in Life No. 2 waxing poetic about his first impressions of Xue Ning to embittered Yan Lin in Life No. 1 waxing poetic about his first impressions of Xue Ning with the exact. same. words. Add to it the implied threat of sexual violence in LIfe No. 1!!!

Chills.

*gagging* Did I say I like Yan Lin? Show, it's going to be hard for me to keep that opinion if you keep flashing back to that.

Me during the Life No. 2 Ning x Yan kiss scene:

I want no part of it.

All right, dude, are you telling me you raped her because she plain text told you she planned to marry someone who could help her achieve her goals?! She didn't sell you out to the devil... Or refuse to shelter either you or wounded family members... but because when you were at your lowest, like the bitch she admittedly is... was..., she told you the truth and cut ties? I mean, that's reason enough not to warn her a coup is coming for her ass in Life No. 1. There's no reason for rape, ever; even if she lit your dog on fire, you can't rape her. Just WTF, guy?!

...

Not that it excuses any of her horrid behavior but I can see how lonely Xue Ning is in what should be her familial home. That cozy scene between her parents and half-sister where in her absence there is only affection and warmth and in her presence, only awkwardness and discomfort.

She lived a childhood in poverty and exile being spoken and looked down upon; returned to her parents' home to find herself being shunted as second-born (in an era where hierarchy matters) and defective instead of receiving proper homecoming. I can see why the attraction of her sole dream, her ultimate goal - becoming Empress - would become all-consuming, especially if such a dream sustained her in exile and fueled her defiance at home.

...

Oh, jesus christ, Yan Lin, don't be an idiot! Don't believe in an enemy soldier during wartime, like...?!

...

So Xue Ning might have accidentally sold Yan Lin out to the devil.

But in her defense, that wasn't her intention. Just to watch him. Like a politics-minded creeper.

Me to Ning as she reads her former coachman cum spy to filth: GET HIM.

#post #tv show: story of kunning palace #teevee #cdrama #xie wei #zhang ling he #gif #references tv show: the office #xue ning #yan lin

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