#which means steadfast mountain

[itsclydebitches]

Zevlor: An Angsty Character Analysis

Hey, Zevlor simps. Can I interest anyone in 4,000 words about our favorite disaster tiefling? 💀

“We can’t stay, but we’ll be slaughtered if we leave—we’re no fighters.”

Back during my first play-through this is the line that turned Zevlor from another dime-a-dozen, exposition spouting NPC to a character I was legitimately interested in. “We’re no fighters.” My DnD ignorance abounds, but even I could see that wasn’t an accurate statement. Here’s a mountain of a man sporting fancier armor than my level 2 Tav knows exists yet, having wrecked half the goblin hoard with his crossbow and, if you let him, he'll happily turn to punching as a solution to verbal disagreements. Plus, he’s clearly the one giving the orders, so what do you mean you’re not a fighter?

Having explored the Grove a bit I chalked it up to a generalized assessment of the refugees as a whole. They’re mostly kids, civilians, and would-be protectors who only look the part of fighters in cobbled-together armor. One woman is grappling with the guilt of killing someone for the first time, even an enemy. Lakrissa is sure they’re all going to get slaughtered and is willing to put money on that fact. Meanwhile, the couple you meet are more concerned with what pet they’ll get when they somehow, someway, make it to the city. Don't worry about how that'll happen. You learn later that even those like Ronan are small potatoes compared to most of the baddies you’ll face. On paper he looks and sounds like the real deal—dressed in robes, talking up an apprenticeship with the famous Lorroakan—but scenes like the celebration light show and his own fury at needing to be saved, again, highlight how far he still has to go. The point is that Zevlor is right: these aren’t fighters and he at 18 strength, paladin, former commander, is definitely the exception.

However, BG3 is the sort of detail-heavy game where I’d expect them to include that exception in the dialogue. “We can’t stay, but we’ll be slaughtered if we leave—these people aren’t fighters.” Zevlor’s inclusion of himself in this assessment continued to nag at me and it didn’t start to make sense until I delved into his tag here on tumblr, with more patient players than myself posting everything there is to know about the tiefling. (Thanks, all.) Zevlor is fascinating to me in part because he has this contradictory nature, one example of which is that he’s a very talented fighter who desperately doesn’t want to be a fighter anymore.

…but also he totally does.

We overhear in his dialogue to Tilses that Zevlor is adamant about shedding the titles he’s earned through combat: Hellrider, Commander, Sir. He insists that they’re just civilians now and it’s not like he’s being disingenuous here—note that he introduces himself as just “Zevlor” to Tav. Zevlor means what he says to Tilses and we can see that he’s trying to both reinforce his point and lesson the blow by referring to her as “Tilly.” The nickname is a sweet one, hinting at their close bond in just a single word, reminding her that he’s not saying this to hurt her, he cares for her… but the nickname is simultaneously something he never would have used as her commander. The intimacy meant to comfort is also a hard blow to weather. They're now people who use nicknames inappropriate for the hierarchy of battle.

So Zevlor means what he says here, means it enough that Tilses is convinced and drops her use of “Commander,” but there’s definitely a hint of bitterness in his voice. At least, I’ve always heard it. Zevlor is steadfast in his conviction here, even going so far as to say, “I’m done soldiering, Tilly” when discussing what will come next at Baldur’s Gate. Yet for all of that his tone conveys (understandable) anger and disappointment that it’s come to this. Zevlor doesn’t act like someone who truly wants this change, but rather someone who’s been forced to accept it.

Is it outside forces unwillingly influencing him then? Did Avernus truly change things irrevocably? No, not really. At least, not in the way Zevlor likes to claim. Tilses herself states that being a Hellrider is for life; nothing can take away that title. You lost your post? Your whole city? Most of the people under your protection? Doesn’t matter! You’re a Hellrider forever, no matter the circumstances. I can easily picture a time in Zevlor's life where he would have agreed with Tilses wholeheartedly. They are Hellriders, dammit, and so long as there’s one person looking for their help they will wield that title alongside their blades. And right now, Zevlor has a lot more than just one person in need of his assistance.

So it’s not that Avernus truly stripped them of that identity. Nothing can do that. Zevlor is not rejecting titles and planning retirement because the mechanisms of fate are forcing him to.

He’s doing all that because he’s lost confidence in himself.

Even as someone with a shaky understanding of DnD classes, I love the parallel between a broken oath and the rejection of a lifelong title. If Zevlor can fail in his oath—or in his faith entirely, according to the memories stemming from his pod—why-ever would he think that any other ‘permanent’ part of his identity was worth fighting for? If you can loose the very thing you’ve built your entire life around, every important aspect of yourself, tied to your very soul… what’s a bestowed title compared to that? Zevlor doesn’t believe himself worthy of being a Hellrider anymore, but I think that goes deeper than a string of horrific circumstances making him feel incompetent. As an Oathbreaker, Zevlor likely believes that if he couldn’t uphold that, he can’t uphold anything. Calling himself a Hellrider would be a lie. A fiction. A pathetic, dangerous, insulting fiction at that. It’s like calling yourself the “Hero” while continually failing those around you. Sure, others might insist it’s a title you’ve earned, one you will always carry with you, but you don’t believe them anymore and at a certain point calling yourself that feels worse than embracing the title of “Villain." You don’t want to be the villain… but you want to pretend you’re the hero even less. Pretending is exhausting.

We see this struggle in the many ways that Zevlor fails, or almost fails, to uphold the ideals that originally guided him. I use the term “villain” above deliberately because Zevlor is not merely a former hero-type who’s self confidence has been shattered, or who has been reduced to a civilian, or who thinks themselves useless; he’s actively fighting against temptations that, under less stressful situations, he’d never even consider. I don’t think he is a villain, I think he’s a flawed, struggling victim who sees his own, inevitable mistakes as villainous—and the longer that warped perspective continues the easier it is to fall into bad behaviors. This cycle is perfectly summarized in the autobiography Zevlor keeps by his bed:

“When every passer-by thinks you a thief and a heretic, it is deeply tempting to become one.”

We don’t know if this is Zevlor’s autobiography (as far as I’m aware, anyway) but even if it’s not the words have clearly resonated enough for him to keep them nearby. This particular line paints a pretty clear picture of Zevlor’s struggle. If everyone you meet says you’re devil-kin, vermin, or would-be criminal, isn’t it easier to just give them what they want? If you can’t persuade them otherwise, why put in the effort of trying? If he can’t be Faithful to his God, why have faith in anything at all? If he can’t save these people—setback after setback, mistake after mistake—why is he even making the effort?

Zevlor obviously is trying, very, very hard, which is why such thoughts are merely temptations rather than actual, questionable actions. Still, the Grove gives us numerous examples of the precipice he’s balanced on—and the ways Tav can tip him in one direction or another. You can talk Zevlor down from his anger and get him to acknowledge his disgust in nearly sinking to Aradin’s level. You can also let him boil over and punch the human at a time when the last thing anyone needs is more violence. You can convince Zevlor that there are peaceful ways of stopping Kagha's ritual, or you can help him in pursuing the darker temptation to kill her. It’s a “low” thought, but at his own admission he hasn’t been above entertaining it. Zevlor’s requests for help, though always polite and humble, carry a spark of manipulation in them too. He’s not above leveraging your previously selfless good deed to his advantage—"She owes you for saving this grove"—and if you approach him before speaking with Kagha he’ll claim that the ritual will “be trouble—for all of us.” Except, no? Not really? Tav can make it clear that they’re just here for a healer, they’re only passing through, and as a fighter they are not beholden to the Grove’s sanctuary as the teiflings are. It’s not trouble for everyone involved, yet Zevlor frames it as such in the hopes that (unnecessary) self-interest may motivate you if selflessness fails. Finally, if Zevlor dies in your play-through and you use Speak the Dead on him, he will admit to having “plenty” of secrets, none of which he’ll share. Admittedly, this may be the result of cut content, specifically a story-line in which Zevlor knowingly betrays the tieflings rather than being tricked by the Absolute. Still, the game as it stands is the story we have and within it we’re given a man who is both fighting against these dark urges (ha) and has a past riddled with secrets. If Zevlor is anything, it’s blunt when it comes to his own failings, accurate and otherwise. So how terrible must these secrets be that he outright refuses to divulge them when, generally speaking, most corpses speak freely in death?

However, out of all of this the struggle I’m most intrigued by is the one surrounding the gate. Zevlor represents the tieflings: persecuted refugees, vulnerable civilians, people seeking to survive through cooperation, specifically by joining a community. Kagha represents the druids (or at least a vocal subset of them in Halsin’s absence): bigoted individuals, powerful fighters, people seeking to survive by giving in to their fears, specifically by keeping themselves isolated. This is the moral dichotomy of the Grove and it is symbolized through the gate. Zevlor wants to open it to everyone whereas Kagha wants to close it, permanently.

So isn’t it odd that Zevlor is the one ordering it shut?

When the scene first starts Kanon shouts down that no, he won’t open the gate. Zevlor said that no one is allowed in. Notably, he’s saying this to Aradin and his crew, people that the Grove is at least passingly familiar with, given that Halsin left with them to search the temple. It’s also notable that Zevlor isn’t expecting goblins to attack the Grove. He’s shocked that this is suddenly a problem, brought about by Aradin’s decision—“You lead them here?”— and the entire point of staying at the Grove is that it’s at least comparatively safe. Yes, there have been more attacks lately, but Zevlor seems to be relying on the Grove’s relatively unknown location, as well as the fact that goblins are normally disorganized. The safety is only compromised because Aradin brought a hunting party back, so Zevlor has no reason to expect any visitors, let alone ones that would be a threat.

More importantly, he should welcome such visitors even if he did expect them. After all, that’s precisely what the tieflings are: strangers with no ulterior motives other than to survive. Broadly speaking it makes perfect sense why he'd shut the gates. Zevlor’s first priority is to his people, so anything that keeps them safe is, theoretically, a good thing. But through the lens of his specific characterization and this specific, moral dilemma, it’s an awfully hypocritical decision. Based on everything we’ve seen, our party would not have been welcomed by Zevlor if we’d arrived without danger on our heels and a rescue to endear him to us. So his people should be welcomed, trusted, kept safe, given the benefit of the doubt… but Zevlor isn’t necessarily willing to extend that same trust to others. At the end of the day, he and Kagha want a version of the same thing: safety for those they deem are worthy of it.

It’s precisely these flaws and temptations that make Zevlor such a great character to me, even before he’s tricked by the Absolute. The fandom has leaned hard into Zevlor’s self-loathing and let me tell you, I love it (kisses, hugs, and cookies for you all), but canonically I think he has more reason to fear himself than we tend to portray in the H/C fics. I’m not saying he’s a bad person. Rather, it’s precisely because Zevlor is such a good person that he has the capacity to fall so far. It’s his all-consuming desire to protect his family that leads Zevlor to do and consider so much that a paladin would normally balk at. Denying others the safety you’ve been granted. Subtly manipulating others to do your dirty work. Considering murder.

Zevlor is someone torn between doing the Right Thing and the thing he believes will help those under his care survive. Importantly, when we first meet him he considers these to be two separate courses of action. So can you imagine what goes through his head when he first sees Tav saving everyone and doing so righteously? I think it’s integral to Zevlor’s characterization that the game all but forces you to play the Good Guy in that initial encounter. A cut scene starts, you’re thrown into combat immediately afterwards, and unless you plan to start attacking the Grove members alongside the goblins (which the mechanics discourage through the coloring that distinguishes enemies from allies) you will always finish this fight as Zevlor’s hero. Sure, you can be an asshole afterwards and demand payment. You could already be plotting your betrayal and the slaughter of all the refugees. But in this moment you are nothing but a miracle made flesh in his eyes. Right from the start Tav is succeeding in all the ways Zevlor feels like he's failed. You're the hero.

More specifically, you’re an Every-Man Hero. We might have epic backstories for our Tavs, but within confines of the game you’re largely a nobody when not playing an Origin character. How powerful must that have been to witness then? A total stranger, someone who has no ties to the tieflings or even, depending on your class, any sworn reason to help others, putting their life on the line to save what is most precious to Zevlor? I think a lot about the fact that he never asks Wyll to step in and try to change Kagha’s mind. She owes him just as much as she does Tav—Wyll is an equal participant in that fight and, if your shoddy play style is anything like mine, he likely did more damage—and Wyll is clearly invested in the tiefling’s survival, training the kids as he is. Now, obviously Zevlor’s reticence is largely a question of assigned roles (we need to be the one engaging with Kagha because we’re the protagonist/player) but, like Zevlor’s choice to include himself in the Not a Fighter group, it would have been all too easy to explain this away within the narrative. One comment about how Wyll already tried and failed, or how Kagha doesn’t trust Warlocks, or hell, maybe you don’t meet Wyll in the Grove at all. It’s an easy thing to accomplish and though this is edging more into the realm of headcanon than anything else, I can’t help but think that Wyll isn’t the kind of person that Zevlor could turn to for help right now. Because he’s a folk hero. The Blade of Frontiers, known far and wide for his impressive, selfless deeds. Zevlor is struggling so hard to keep the tieflings safe, tempted by all the unsavory solutions that might achieve that, drowning in self-hatred as his past and current failings catch up with him, wanting nothing more than to be his peoples’ protector:

“I would be a paladin again—with a god’s purpose, a god’s power. Everything I needed to protect my people. And all the while, the cult tortured them. They fought, and ran, and died around me, while I imagined myself their savior.”

Three of the things Zevlor mutters while trapped in the pod are “Hellrider… for… life…,” “Trust… in me…,” and “Children… look away… look at me…” He wants to be the protector, the one children look to for reassurance, he wants his words to Tilly to be a lie and he wants a way to prove that he is a Hellrider for life… but he’s not. At least, Zevlor doesn’t believe it. He lost his titles while Wyll still proudly bears his. Wyll trains the children to fight while Zevlor can only get swept up in anger at them being threatened. The people trust Wyll, adore him, he’s the hero and Zevlor… is not. Not anymore.

It’s too painful to approach Wyll and admit all that. That would be a hell of a blow to Zevlor's pride. But Tav? A stranger? A nobody? The Every-man who had no reason to help or reputation pressuring them, saving them anyway? That’s inspiring. Someone like Tav could be the answer and even, perhaps, the proof that Zevlor could redeem himself. Neither of them are folk heroes, untouchable in their assumed perfection. Tav is a living, breathing example of how the flawed, everyday adventurer can be everything Zevlor strives for.

No wonder he won’t shut up about them in the Shadowlands.

All of this is why it’s so tragic that Zevlor wasn’t given a redemption arc. Sure, you can recruit him for the final battle against the Netherbrain, but there’s no quest to change the cast’s opinion of him—or change Zevlor’s opinion of himself. All his content at the end of Act 2 and Act 3 reinforces that self-hatred.

Let’s make a list, shall we?

Nearly every line of his reunion with Tav has Zevlor painting himself in the worst light possible, from “a lie kinder than the truth” to his refusal to join you because he believes he’ll stab you in the back. You cannot convince him of the Absolute’s manipulation and there’s no response to his belief that such horrors start within the person like, “Of course it does! Because we’re all flawed and equally capable of good and evil deeds! That potential doesn’t make you irredeemable, Zevlor, it makes you mortal!!”

He’s utterly failed as his peoples’ champion and he’s also deemed “unworthy” of being a True Soul. Obviously not being chosen by the Absolute is a good thing, but for a man drowning in self-loathing that’s one hell of a complicated rejection.

Nearly all the tieflings hate him now, all those people he’s been sacrificing his soul to keep safe. I found it particularly devastating that this is one of the rare occasions where nailing a persuasion check doesn’t change the person’s mind. There’s at least one tiefling at Moonrise (I’m drawing a blank on her name) who will believe you when you explain how the Absolute influenced Zevlor, but that doesn’t lead to forgiveness.

Zevlor is deemed unimportant on a literal, narrative level. He is very easy to miss in the pods (I nearly did on my first play-through) and the game does incredibly little to dissuade you from that mistake. Putting aside for a moment that obviously an Origin companion is more significant than a minor NPC, compare this to Shadowheart screaming from her own pod, the game making it abundantly clear that this is someone in need of help—someone worth rescuing. She’ll even say later that you could have run past, more concerned with your own survival and the big picture heroics to bother with her. How must it feel then, if Zevlor ever learns that Tav was there and never stopped for him?

If you do miss Zevlor… oh boy. We’ve probably all seen at least a recording of Orin’s so-called gift. There are plenty of characters who can meet untimely and devastating ends, but very few go through this level of horror. Zevlor—after being held captive, remember—is tortured by God’s Favorite Torturer. He is stripped of his personhood and reduced to a mere “message,” a “pet.” Zevlor is further humiliated in death by being literally stripped of his armor—not just vulnerable in his nakedness, but denied the last symbol of his faith, his status, his power—and it’s always struck me that this is the closest we see to him 'enjoying' an intimate moment, this parody in Orin’s painting. Zevlor is one of the NPC’s most in need of physical comfort and instead he’s forced into this torturous mockery of a sex scene. It also hits hard that when Tav first spots his body the narration says that Zevlor “might almost be sleeping.” Undoubtedly this is a man who isn’t taking good care of himself. He needs a good night’s rest, yet this horrifying trick is all he gets.

As if all this weren’t enough, most of your companion are VERY critical of Zevlor while commenting on his demise. It’s one thing for the tieflings to believe the worst given their ignorance and the fact that they are the ones who suffered from Zevlor’s failure, but your company understands the Absolute and the ways that she gets her hooks in people. Still, Astarion calls him a “wet rag” even if he did deserve better than this. Shadowheart wouldn’t have wished this on him either, but she can’t help but slip in a “no matter his failings.” Lae’zel, often the most blunt, straight up says that he was “always destined to fail his people—and to fail us.” Wyll shakes his head and intones that “even good intentions can lead us down deadly paths.” Only Gale and Karlach stick to mourning the dead rather than airing his shortcomings.

When I spoke to my allies before the final battle Zevlor didn’t have a cut scene. It became clear to me later that this must have been a bug in my play-through, but at the time it only reinforced my feelings that his story was incomplete. Looking on Youtube I’ve found recordings of him saying that he is a Hellrider once more and he would “die a proud man if [he] were to die this day”… but that rings as terribly hollow given where we left him. Last we were together, Zevlor was saying in no uncertain terms that he could not be trusted, he would fail again, he was unworthy of forgiveness. Where did this change of heart come from? It makes perfect sense that he would help Tav in this moment—he begs to be of some use after getting free—but not that he would present himself with such confidence. Within the story as it’s been told this feels… fake. Like Zevlor is putting on a mask to fit the mood of this lively, optimistic party. Which, in turn, gives the “I would die a proud man” line a terrifying implication to me. Does Zevlor expect to die this day? Does he intend to? What would persuade him not to lay down his life here and now? His mission is complete. The tieflings are safe—though not by his hand. There's no hero's welcome waiting for him after this battle. They hate him. He hates himself, and by his own admission the one thing that could still make him proud would be to die at Tav’s side, trying to do one last bit of good. If someone said that to me after everything Zevlor has been through I would keep them far away from the front lines.

(I did, for the record lol.)

I’m not saying anything new then when I go, “Larian, PLEASE add more to his story.” Give us a Zevlor side-quest to renew his oath. Let us invite him to our camp. Something to link the broken man mid-game and the confident fighter at the end so that the latter doesn’t feel like an alarm bell with two legs and a tail. I mean yeah, I get hooked on minor characters so 75% of this is simply me wanting more content of a fave, but I also I do legitimately believe that BG3’s story would benefit from tying up loose ends like this.

Zevlor is a fantastic character, someone who contains an astounding amount of complexity for so little screen time. You have to follow up on that complexity though. If he’s meant to be a purely tragic figure, okay, fine, that’s the ending you get with Orin. But one where he joins you with a smile and reclaims a title he's previously rejected with such fervor requires more work in the middle; a through-line that explains how someone with so much self-loathing learns to think of himself as the hero again.

Because it does all come down to Zevlor’s perception of himself. He was always a hero, flaws and all. He always was and always will be a Hellrider.

The UI knows what's up :)

#BG3 #Zevlor #bg3 Zevlor #wow this took forever #someone cry over this wet cat of a tiefling with me #mymetas

[silmarillion-dnd]

Men:

Masterlist

Bëorians: 

About: Also known as the house of Bëor and the first house of the Edain. Bëorians are said to be easier to pity than laughter and are crafty and quick in learning folk. They were known for being steadfast and serious. Their main alliance is with the people of Finarfin. They speak Sindarin (common) and Taliska, the language of the houses of Bëor and Hador.

Description: The Bëorians are described as having brown or dark hair, grey or brown eyes, and alikeness to the Noldor in look, and a broad build. Their skin was said to be pale to swarthy (light or dark).

Haladin:

About: The Haladin´s, also known as the house of Haleth, the second house of the Edain, are resident in Thargelion, and Brethil. They prefer to fight with axes, and are a strongheaded folk, known for their stubbornness.  They prefer fighting in forested areas and are known as the best group of Edain to fight in the forest, and they were said to have a custom specifically training of war in forests. They prefer not to associate with others outside of their own people and both Orcs, Edains, and elvers tend to keep away from them. Their customs and traditions seemed strange to both other Edains and elvers alike. They were known for being traditional folk who were secretive and hostile about adopting new things and costumes, and few of them were said to marry. They speak Sindarin (common) and Halethian, their own language.

Description: The Haladin is one of the small Edain clans in height, they were described as looking a bit like the Bëorians which means they probably have brown and dark hair and grey eyes.

Hadorians:

About: The Hadorians, house of Hador, is the first house of the Edain. They are the tallest clan of the Edain and are sometimes taller than the Eldar, they are also known for being quick to anger yet still generous and quick to laughter. They are the largest house of the Edain.

Description: The Hadorians are the tallest people of the three houses of the Edain, and are known for their mostly golden, few were said to have brown, hair, fair (light) skin, and blue eyes. They are said to be built for enduring cold and distances (nomadic (not sure what´s meant by this)) life. They speak Sindarin (common) and Taliska, the language of the houses of Bëor and Hador.

Beornings:

About: Beornings are the only playable changeling that can change into the shape of a bear, they can speak to animals, and prefer to live in mountains or forests up north. They enjoy the wild nature more than any city. They are descendants of the Northmen of the Edain, Éothéod, descending from the Haladin. Beorings are distrusting of everyone but their rivals are mainly orcs, but they bear a bigger distrust of Dwarves more than others, for presumed greed and the praise they give to metal. They speak Sindarin (common) and Taliska (language of the house of Bëor and Hador). Beornings are great bakers and start out with a package of honey-cakes, which they are famous for.

Description: Beornings have bearlike features and are bigger than other humans. They tend to wear raw materials, mainly wool, clothes, and fur, and keep away from any form of metal jewelry as they have seen what greed does to people.

Drúedain:

About: The Drúedain was said to be the most pure hearted of all the Edain, yet they suffered under the ignorance and persecution of others when they saw the Drúedain. They are known for their phenomenal tracking skills, knowledge about plants, and their enchanted wood and stone carvings which they used to practice their spells and charms (rune magic). They are said to be in temperament to a Hobbit but can be ruthless and grim if needed, less than Dwarves. They used caves in the mountains as storehouses which they also used for sleeping in the winter where they hibernate. These places were seen as secret and even the Haladin, who is the only known other group who communicated with them, who they were great friends, although not allowed to know their location. Otherwise, they live a nomadic lifestyle in tents and makeshift shelters of trees. The Drúedain used poisoned darts and arrows as weapons, and mainly lived off eating all kinds of fungi, which they knew how to prepare safely and passed the knowledge on to the Haladin. They, sometimes, speak Sindarin (common) and Drúadan (their own language). You get + knowledge of plants and can only play as good, you also start knowing 2 rune spells.

Description: Their appearance was said to be unlovely (according to the Eldar), and their height of 4 feet, wide faces with low deep sat eyes, heavy brows, broad flat noses, and wide mouths let people believe they were savages and beats.

Easterlings:

About: Easterlings, the largest population of Edains, are known as a headstrong folk who came from the East with different cultures and backgrounds. Some of them were early corrupted by Morgoth while others thought with the Elvers and the rest stayed in the east. They inhabit Rhún, all lands East, Rhovanion, March of Maedhros, and Hithlum. Tspeak Sindarin (common) and all the languages spoken in the east. 

Description: They are said to have dark hair and skin.

Forodwaith:

About: Almost nothing is known about the Forodwaith as they usually kept to themself, only that they lived far Noth and might have been the oldest of the Edains according to some sources. They preferred living in icy areas, some even close to Angband, and the most common land they lived on was called Forodwaith after the people. Forofwaith means people of the North in Sindarin. Nothing is said about their language but they presumably have their own and they probably speak Sindarin.

Description: They are described as being hardy people, they were said to be described by Vikings, and in some drafts and letters about Ælfwine Tolkien refers to them as Vikings, which means they presumably looked something alike to the Scandinavian people.

Pros: Huamans are not restricted to any class, although some classes make more sense when you choose your origin. They have + 1 for their Array in the first round of a fight. Humans have alliances with all the other races which means that everyone around you is less hostile and usually have a friendly approach to you, which also makes it easier for you to disguise yourself when moving on to enemy territory.

Cons: Depending on your origin others might be mistrust of you depending on where you are.

#tolkien #jrr tolkien #silmarillion #silmarillion d&d #edain #beorians #haladin #hadorians #beornings #druedain #easterlings #forodwaith

[illusion-of-death]

All right, I'll throw in an ask. Partly for Carry Me From These Walls, partly for your BotW fic as a whole.

So you have Daruk and Urbosa - and to a lesser extent Teba - as the Adults of the group. Ostensibly responsible and worrying over their charges, yet sharing a chaotic energy that's kept slightly secret.

It's a fun dichotomy. Which elements of that pair are most fun for you to write? And now that I've stumbled into the thought, would formally adding Other Dad Teba to the mix make them more responsible or open new avenues of chaos?

Thanks for writing these characters!

Ooo, this is a fun one!

Daruk and Urbosa's relationship is one that I really wish we'd gotten to see more of in canon—all we really know for sure comes from a line in Urbosa's DLC diary about how she and Daruk "hope to help [the other Champions] see the future." I choose to interpret that as the two of them feeling at least some responsibility for the wellbeing of the others, particularly because of their youth (something else Urbosa mentions in that same diary). So, you've got that, and you've got Urbosa's canonical love of pulling pranks on people important to her, and Daruk's own enjoyment of a little tomfoolery here and there. It makes for a really fun potential dynamic! I don't think I can really say which part of that dichotomy is my favorite to write, because I love both sides of that silly/serious coin so so much, but if you're asking what's the most entertaining for me, it's gotta be the shenanigans. CMFTW Daruk not knowing how cereal bars work and Strength of the Mountain Urbosa not realizing just how badly she's about to be victimized by the laws of physics are both standout moments for me. But I'm primarily an enjoyer of tragedy, and so those lighthearted moments really serve to make the heartbreak feel that much closer to home, and the quiet but steadfast way those two insist on supporting each other through thick and thin means more to me than I can really say as well.

To answer your second question—I honestly have no idea what adding Teba into the mix would do! If we're considering actual BotW canon, I think he's a much more serious character than either Daruk or Urbosa really make themselves out to be onscreen. (Teba was born and raised in a world ravaged by the Calamity, after all, and never knew anything else—Daruk and Urbosa were not.) If we're thinking more SMtWO canon, that dynamic would be incredibly complicated, and I think that while ultimately the three of them would get along, Teba would not participate in anything like their minecart shenanigans.

For CMFTW, though? Who knows! Teba's definitely got his ultra-serious work persona, but he's also the guy who named his D&D character after the beloved chain restaurant Kraken Barrel. And is also the adoptive father of the kid who made Ikea of Furnichar. And regularly hangs out with his very unserious students on purpose. Admittedly, I've done VERY little writing for him in CMFTW—Hope does a fantastic job with him, and might have more to contribute to this very fun thought exercise—so it's hard for me to say for sure. (Pspsps @ofstormsandfire anything to add?)

That was probably entirely more detail than you were really asking for, but also I love Daruk and Urbosa SO much and can't help myself sometimes. Thanks for asking; this was a really fun question to answer!

#asked and answered #carry me from these walls #strength of the mountain

[honourablejester]

Numenera Setting Notes: Points of Interest Part II

Moving over into the Beyond, the less-than-settled area of the Ninth World. This will have to be multiple posts, because the Beyond is huge and weird and woolly, and there’s a LOT out here. Not going to lie, I do think it’s cooler than the Steadfast? While the Steadfast has some cool weirdnesses in it, it is generally calmer and more medieval-fantasy toned. The Beyond has a lot more batshit SF vibes, and I’m here for them.

This is all literally just from the first half of the Discovery Corebook chapter on the Beyond. It’s HUGE. But. Some locations/setting details from the Beyond in Numenera that make me happy:

Part II: The Beyond Part I (Numenera: Discovery)

The Cloudcrystal Skyfields. Literally the entire area. This is what I want out of vast science fantasy worldbuilding. It’s a sky full of huge crystals floating over a desert formed from the shattered shards of fallen ones. There’s a dune sea pierced by crystal shards. There’s a moving city in there called the Crowd City that’s built/formed of corpses, strange, preserved, possibly petrified corpses, and this whole city crawls around the place, and everyone (sensibly) avoids it. There’s a lake so transparent it’s invisible and the fish seem to be swimming through air. There’s a mountain in the middle which may or may not exist, because some people can find it and others can’t. Uxphon, the main living, inhabited city in the area, built up off the plain in the Black Riage mountains, is built into a twisting complex of massive ceramic prior-world piping that extrudes out into a canyon. I just. If you have a fantasy, high magic, high tech universe, feel free to go off a bit with the landscaping, you know? Have an invisible lake and a vast field of crystals floating in the sky and a corpse city crawling around the place, why not. Go off a bit. Have fun. Make it big and bonkers and just a little bit horrifying. The Cloudcrystal Skyfields are excellent and I adore them.

Mt. Zanlis, in the Black Riage Mountains. Worshipped as a living being, a god, and Aeon Priests say that the heart of the mountain is artificial and run by a reality-warping AI that makes weird weather, teleports people into and off itself randomly, and generally makes life weird in the vicinity. Because everybody loves a living machine-god mountain that makes weird weather, right?

Hidden Naresh, in the Black Riage Mountains. Basically a hidden fungal skid row, it’s a weird writhing creepy bioluminescent fungal city in the mountains whose primary export is psychedelic substances (‘mycos’) and despair. Humans and abhumans and all sorts of others find their home there. The city’s leader has a harem of Nibovian Wives, which appear to be basically genestealers, who take human, ahem, genetic material and transmit it to ultraterrestrial (possibly Lovecraftian) entities who use it to make distinctly nonhuman children. So. Weird creepy drug city full of alien genestealers? I mean, why not.

The Slant Milieu, again in the Black Riage Mountains, or rather just below them. It’s a wide strip of land that is blasted flat by a constant wind off the mountains called the welkerwind. As in, trees grow sideways along the ground instead of up, if they grow at all, sort of blasted flat. People live in burrow towns in a network of prior-age tunnels that honeycomb the area, and most of the wildlife in the area is ferociously wind-adapted. And valuable. There’s a (very dangerous) insect here called a caffa whose iridescent goldgleam wings and golden silk from their cocoons is really valuable, but also really hard to gather, so there’s a whole tense industry around collecting enough of it to trade out to big cities in the Steadfast. There’s also a whole community of once-criminals and their families who were sent here as forced labour to harvest them, and who realised that this was the perfect land to slaughter your guards and vanish into instead. And the only tall things in the area are two prior-age artefacts. The first is the windmoldens, which appear to be hundred-foot-tall ancient black wind turbines, which would probably power quite a lot, but nobody can figure out how to hook up to them. The second is the Susurrus, which looks like a massive junk sculpture, but is actually an environmental musical instrument, which is played by the welkerwind. I honestly love this entire area as well. It’s the concept of katabatic winds writ really large. I love it.

The Ausren Woods, in the Plains of Kataru. I’ll be honest, I just love the shape of this entry. It takes the form of several excerpts of a diary found in the woods, a ten day arc of a visitor admiring these lovely purple trees and their absolutely delicious fruit, and then getting sick, and then getting too sick to move, and then growths coming out of their stomach, and then the growths burrowing into the soil, and crippling them with agony when they try to cut them, and then the diary ends. And then, after all that, there’s this lovely dry note by the Corebook itself at the end: “The Ausren Woods are a large forest of purple trees that grow nowhere else. Do not eat the fruit of these trees.” That’s it. That’s the entry. A quick horror short story, and a dry ‘don’t eat the fruit’ at the end. Excellent.

The Beanstalk, in the Plains of Kataru. Because they wanted to play on one of the class names being ‘Jack’. But. This is why I love Numenera’s playing with POV. To the medieval-era people of the Ninth World, it’s a metallic beanstalk up to a giant’s castle in the sky. To a modern reader of sci-fi, I’m here wondering is that an orbital elevator? It’s a tower of metal and glass that leads up to the ‘stalk’ a strip of a strange material about 10ft wide and a few inches thick, that just extends beyond view into the sky. The whole edifice causes a local gravitational distortion that has five huge boulders hanging in the sky around it. Not for any apparent reason, so it’s possible they’re just a side effect. And, like. That sounds like a gravity-isolated orbital elevator to me? If I was a Nano in its vicinity, my fingers would be itching. There is a thousand-strong town under the rocks outside, pushing any buttons you might happen to find is likely a bad idea, but gosh I wanna push some buttons. The top end of the elevator, if it is an elevator, could be broken and I’ve just zoomed myself up into orbit to die, which would likely be karma given that I might have just killed 1000 people, but … I wanna push the button, Max?

Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes. Again, as a region, and for the same reason as the Crystal Skyfields. It’s a sheet of splintered glass. The whole area. It’s a desert that got literally glassed, and then carved up by wind or other forces in the aftermath. I just love when fantasy lets its hair out and gives me some alternate landscapes. There’s little beetles in there called Warrow Beetles that eat glass and it’s gently noted that most things therefore can’t eat them. I love it.

The Great Slab, in the Jagged Wastes. Because it’s a jazzed up sci-fi version of the Lost World. The Slab is a vast artificial plateau, whose strange organic synth-metal sides ooze a red-black oil that makes them impossible to climb, and which contains a giant gash on top called the Driftless Valley that’s its own whole little isolated ecosystem that has nearly no contact with the outside world. Nobody’s been up there, because the slab is featureless otherwise, and the sides are impassible. So unless you find a flying machine or ability, you ain’t getting up there. So … anyone want to play Lost World/Dinotopia up there?

Druissi, a town in the Ba-Adenu Forest. It’s ‘built on the visible part of ancient, unknown wreckage that generates a stable, low-level heat year-round’. Which. Concerns me? I know it’s been there for hundreds or thousands of years and it’s been fine, but the combination of ‘wreckage’ and ‘heat’ just has me concerned. Like. I would want measurements over time scales. How stable is stable? Is it stable but increasing? Because, yes, making clever use of ancient machinery to live your life, very cool, but also … wreckage. That’s generating heat. I have concerns.

The Untethered Legion, also in the Ba-Adenu Forest, but towards the swampy, bayou-esque southeastern extremes, where the forest is a morass of red oily mud that dries itself grey and hardens and then liquifies itself in cycles, and births black mutant hounds as it liquifies again. And an army of biomechanical humanoid riders waits to ride them every time, just gathering in the forest, waiting for gods know what. This is one of those ones where I feel like the science fiction perspective makes it worse than the fantasy one. Because the fantasy perspective is just a cursed land birthing demons. The SF one is a vast biofactory manufacturing supersoldiers/supersoldier mounts. I don’t know if it’s just me, but somehow that makes it worse.

I really am vibing with the Beyond, over here. The Steadfast, for all its obelisks and inverted cities and telepathic cliff faces, did feel much more ‘ease the audience used to medieval fantasy into this’ a bit, while the Beyond is taking the gloves off and shaking your sleeves out and going, ‘right, that’s done, now let’s get down to business’. Let’s throw some landscapes in here. Some orbital elevators. Some AI mountains. Am I being unfair? It’s possible I’m being unfair. But I just want to get a bit wild and woolly with my hyperworld-SF-viewed-through-a-fantasy-lens over here, and the Beyond feels like it brings that a lot more than the Steadfast does.

Looking forward to the second half of this chapter!

#numenera #ttrpgs #worldbuilding #setting notes #getting wild and woolly #science fantasy #i so love this setting

[0mythical-bitch0]

So I was doing research for Animagus Regulus and I have to share.

Now then, the cougar is a wild cat known by the name, Mountain Lion, as well. Which his name, Regulus of the Leo (Lion) constellation sometimes called ‘The Heart of the Lion’ or ‘Lionheart’.

Anyway let’s start with the symbolism.

Wisdom, which can admittedly be argued but I’m not getting into that.

Courage, abusive parents, crazy family, servant to a sociopath, the cave.

Nobility, I don’t think I need to explain that one.

Freedom, which is ironic cause I find Regulus weighed down by expectations but being too stubborn to back down. Could be interpreted his animagus form gave him freedom.

Cunningness, again the cave, the horcrux, fooling literally everyone into believing he was loyal even after death, being a Slytherin (that’s a good thing).

Next, Spirit animal.

Intelligent, goes hand in hand with cunning but also him going off the vague description of a tortured Kreacher and figuring out the horcrux.

Steadfast, well he literally died for his house elf.

Balanced, well he definitely walked a tightrope of expectations and assumed loyalty where one slip up could end in his death.

Persevering, before his end he was an exemplary showing in perseverance.

Natural leader, we don’t know enough about him canonically for this but in my mind it’s definitely true.

Then, Dream meaning.

A reflection of fear and insecurity. He was human, a child and in a war so he was definitely afraid. Insecurity, he definitely had abandonment issues cause while Sirius had all the right to leave Regulus was fourteen and left behind by his big brother.

Finally, cougar hunting habits.

Their main choice is deer but they also eat rodents, moose, coyotes, raccoons, elk, feral hog, porcupines, foxes and while wolves aren’t their main choice of prey they have been known to kill wolves as well.

In case you need it blatantly pointed out, hunts Deer (James), Rodents (Peter), and occasionally wolves (Remus).

They’re ambush predators, meaning they will drop out of trees on their prey. They have a yowl that supposedly sounds like a woman’s screams. They predominantly hunt at dusk through till dawn.

#regulus and evan and barty #regulus being regulus #regulus and pandora #sirius and regulus #regulus deserved better #regulus black #harry potter #slytherin #hp headcanon #hp marauders #marauders era #the marauders #marauders #evan rosier #barty crouch jr #barty crouch junior #pandora lovegood #dorcas meadowes #house of black #noble and most ancient house of black #pandora and regulus

[sprout-fics]

For the WIP Game, I’m curious if you have a snippet / some things to share about chap 2 of Woodsmoke ❤️ your writing in chap 1 is just superb and as someone who has not interacted with either Last of Us or Six love what you’ve done in crossing them over and crafting such an intriguing Reader character for the story. The atmosphere is just extraordinary and I’m super excited to see what comes of the Reader’s interactions with Bear

I do actually have a snippet for Woodsmoke part two, where Bear slowly tries to get closer to Reader and realizes too late that she needs some extra delicate care. I'm really glad you're enjoying, the first part of this series is something I'm deeply satisfied with. I even sent an edited version to someone (who ended up being an ass, but that's besides the point) I've really enjoyed writing it, so have a bit more

The snap of a branch behind you.

You gasp, twist so violently you fall on your bottom, fingers fumbling for the knife at your waist to whatever predator has stalked you through these woods. You draw it up with a trembling grasp, holding the blade outwards even as your arms try to draw into yourself as a shield from danger.

You expect a wolf, or perhaps a mountain lion or lynx. Yet standing before you is none of those things. Instead it's a man, standing at a distance, his hands held up in a gentle entreaty, brow furrowed in concern. His looming stature towers over your fallen form, eyes gentle as he realizes he's startled you.

It occurs to you then, in gazing into his blue-eyed stare, that you know this man.

"Bear." You breathe at last, muscles loosening. Yet even then you don't tuck away the blade entirely, lowering it enough for Bear to ease his stance, wet his lips before he speaks.

"I- uhhh, didn't mean to startle you." He offers, and still does not yet lower his hands from either side of his head in surrender, keeping them well away from the rifle slung over his shoulder. "Thought maybe you heard me coming."

You blink, and his soft, rumbling voice manages to slow your stammering heartbeat. The cool, damp earth presses into your lower back, with you braced against the rotten log like it can somehow provide you shelter.

When you don't speak, Bear's eyes flicker to the mushrooms you were so close to touching, and there's a flicker of amused disbelief that tugs the corner of his mouth, makes a single eyebrow raise.

"…Sure you want to eat those?" He tries to joke, and the humor should relax you but it doesn't. Instead, with Bear's massive form standing over you a distance away, your mind summons memories of a dark figure backlit by a roaring campfire, the glint of a blade held in his hand. He steps towards you in your memories, even as you scramble backwards in the snow, feet kicking uselessly as he advances on you-

"You alright?"

Bear's voice breaks the memory, and your eyes flicker up to his once more, seeing the confusion and concerned etched across his gaze.

You try to speak, you do, but instead your mouth opens and closes uselessly, hands shaking as you try to erase the hands that reach for you, wrap around your throat-

Bear must see the panic written across your gaze- something foreign to him that chokes the moist air from your chest and threatens to send you drowning in your own thoughts, into a memory which has no end.

"Hey." He offers quietly, and as you try to control the mounting gasp of panic inside you Bear gentles himself, remains steadfast, softening at the edges under your eyes. "Hey, look at me."

You watch he sinks lower, keeping his eyes on yours all the while to see any fear his movements spawn in you. Yet you watch as Bear goes down to one knee, makes himself smaller, less intimidating. He's still not quite at your height, but it's fairly close, and he no longer stands above you, dwarfing you with his height.

Whatever he sees in your gaze, it must be enough for him to understand, because his shoulders ease, and he exhales a soft sigh through his nose. The beard partially covers the tight, concerned draw of his mouth as he regards you like a injured animal, fearful and in need of aid.

"It's alright" He offers in a rumble that reminds you of a rainstorm, dampening the soft earth under your form. "I'm not going to hurt you."

#joe bear graves #joe bear graves x reader #teasers #wip game

[atalantethewaldfee]

Fairytales

I kind of noticed a big misunderstanding of German fairytales.

There are two kinds of fairytales.

The folk fairytale:

This are your classic fairytales, born from a thousand years of oral history. Most of the Brother Grimm's fairytales are folk fairytales. Folk fairytales end well for the Heros and terrible for the villains (example: snow white- the evil queen is forced to dance in hot iron shoes till she dies, in snow whites Wedding)

It plays in an unknown land and in an unknown time. (starting phrase of fairytales in German : For langer, langer Zeit, in einem weiteren entfernten Land [A long, long time ago, in a far away land]) and features stereotypical characters like 'big bad wolf' and 'beatiful princess'.

It often uses magical numbers like...

7 (seven dwarves behind seven mountains, 7 ravens, seven flys killed' at once, seven Kids(?)/ little goats)

3 (three taskes, three ways to kill Snow White, three Balls in 'Aschenputtel' (German Cinderella))(examples for this are a little hard to explain in few words because they're so specific)

13 (thirteen fairies in sleeping beauty)

These stories are often uses to explain morals or rules of survival. (Don't abuse your Kids/ step Kids, don't just Run into the woods, don't let strangers into the House)

The Art fairytale:

This fairytales was written by an author and is Not meant to explain a rule or bring hope.

Most of these are very tragic. The little Mermaid (from Hans Christian Andersen) would be a good example.

Others would be 'The Steadfast Tin Soldier'(also from Hans Christian Andersen) or the 'girl with the matches' (ALSO from Hans Christian Andersen)(goodnes he wrote a lot of these, this poor man's mental health really was bad)(Spoiler: the solider and the girl die)

Hans Christian Andersen wrote 156 Art fairytales. Remember: they all endet badly! I think the guy set in Stone what an Art fairytales is?!? I did Not know that? I Just wanted to teach about fairytales, I did NOT want to learn about this man's tragic live.

Like this are two books, full of fairytales (mostly Art fairytales) from the guy.

TWO books.

And the title reads ' Die schönsten Haus- und Weihnachtsmärchen' (The Most beautiful home and Christmas fairytales)

Beautiful fairytales my ass. The guy kust did therapy but as written stories. I mean, he wrote Snow Queen, which kind of ends well? But that doesn't really make it better.

So before I end this, to mull over Hans mental health:

Fairytales are not the only type of German folk Story. They are a very specific Type, that follows specific rules. Other types follows other rules.

Not every German folk Story ist a fairytale. And other very old Stories can end badly, but then it's not a fairytale. Not a folk one at least. But maybe it's danish and actually from this depressed Gay Poet that seems to have written all the Art fairytales of my childhood. Further more, there are many folk fairytales that do not come from Germany, but those also follow These rules more or less. (There are also a lot of different versions of the same fairytale all over Europe)

#Fairytales #Hans Christian Andersen #the little mermaid #snow queen #snow white #sleeping beauty #dornröschen #schneewittchen #Gebrüder Grimm #brothers grimm #The Steadfast Tin Soldier #The girl with the matches #Der standhafte Zinnsoldat #Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern #Die kleine Meerjungfrau #german fairytales #danish fairytales #send Help for this depressed #gay poet #Trying to explain fairytales while Not getting depressed because history #Die Märchen der Gebrüder Grimm

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Friday, May 19, 2023

may 19_may 6

SAINT JOB THE RIGHTEOUS (1350 B.C.)

Icon from Uncut Mountain Supply

The righteous Job (whose name means “persecuted”), God’s faithful servant, was the perfect image of every virtue. The son of Zarah and Bossorha (Job 42), Job was a fifth-generation descendent of Abraham. He was a truthful, righteous, patient, and pious man who abstained from evil. Job was rich and blessed by God in all things, as was no other son of Ausis (his country, which lay between Idoumea and Arabia). However, divine condescension permitted him to be tested.

Job lost his children, his wealth, his glory, and every consolation all at once. His entire body became a terrible wound covered with boils. Yet he remained steadfast and patient in the face of his misfortune for seven years, always giving thanks to God.

Later, God restored his former prosperity, and he had twice as much as before. Job lived for 170 years after his misfortune, completing his earthly life in 1350 B.C. at 240. Some authorities say that Job’s afflictions lasted only one year and that afterward, he lived for 140 years, reaching the age of 210.

Job’s explanations are among the most poetic writings in the Old Testament book, which bears his name. It is one of the most edifying portions of Holy Scripture. Job teaches us that we must endure life’s adversities patiently and with trust in God. As Saint Anthony the Great (January 17) says, the faithful can't be saved without temptations.

The Orthodox Church reads the book of Job, the first of the seven wisdom books of the Old Testament, during Holy Week, drawing a parallel between Job and Christ as righteous men who suffered through no fault of their own. God allowed Satan to afflict Job so that his faithfulness would be proven. Christ, the only sinless one, suffered voluntarily for our sins. The Septuagint text of Job 42:17 says that Job “will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up.” This passage is read on Great and Holy Friday, when the composite Gospel at Vespers speaks of the tombs being opened at the moment the Savior died on the Cross, and the bodies of the saints were raised, and they appeared to many after Christ’s Resurrection (Mt.27:52).

VENERABLE MICAH DISCIPLE OF St SERGIUS OF RADONEZH (1385)

Saint Micah of Radonezh was one of the first disciples of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, and lived with him in the same cell, and under his guidance, he attained a high degree of spiritual perfection. For his meekness of soul and purity of heart, Saint Micah was permitted to witness the appearance of the Mother of God to his great teacher. Once, after Saint Sergius had completed the morning Rule of prayer, he sat down to rest for a while; but suddenly, he said to his disciple, “Be alert, my child, for we shall have a wondrous visitation.”

Hardly had he uttered these words when a voice was heard, “The All-Pure One draws near.” Suddenly there shone a light brighter than the sun. In fear, Saint Micah fell down upon the ground and lay there as if he were dead. When Saint Sergius lifted up his disciple, he asked, “Tell me, Father, what is the reason for this wondrous vision? My soul has nearly parted from my body from fright.” Saint Sergius then informed his disciple about the appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Saint Micah fell asleep in the Lord in the year 1385.

Saint Micah’s relics rest in a crypt at the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. On December 10, 1734, over Saint Micah’s tomb, a church was consecrated in honor of the Appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Holy Apostles Peter and John the Theologian to Saint Sergius of Radonezh.

Source: All texts 

ACTS 15:5-34

5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses." 6 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. 7 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: "Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 made no distinction between them and us, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we could bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved in the same manner as they. 12 Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. 13 . After they had become silent, James answered, saying, "Men and brethren, listen to me: 14Simon has declared how God at first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. 15 And with this, the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 After this, I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.' 18 Known to God from eternity are all His works. 19 Therefore, I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, 20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. 21 For Moses has had those who preach him throughout many generations in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath. 22 Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, Judas, also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. 23 They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, "You must be circumcised and keep the law" -to whom we gave no such commandment- 25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no more significant burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. 30 So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter. 31 When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement. 32 Judas and Silas, themselves prophets, also exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words. 33 And after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles. 34 However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there.

JOHN 10:17-28

17 Therefore, My Father loves Me because I lay down My life that I may retake it. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I can retake it. This command I have received from My Father. 19 Therefore, there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. 20 Many said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” 22 It was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked into the temple, on Solomon’s porch. 24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

#orthodoxy #orthodoxchristianity #easternorthodoxchurch #originofchristianity spirituality holyscriptures gospel bible wisdom

[progg]

Shadow and Light: An Analysis of Gon and Killua’s Inverted Arcs

Throughout Hunter x Hunter, Gon and Killua are often associated with shadow and light. However, which character is shadow and which is light changes over the course of the series. I believe Gon and Killua’s dualism is central to the story of Hunter x Hunter and that their respective trajectories were planned from very early on.

INCIDENT RAYS

When we’re first introduced to Gon, he is light. In his earliest scenes, he sacrifices himself to save a stranger who falls overboard and quickly befriends two rival exam-takers. While the seeds of Gon’s personal issues exist, we are at peace with Gon as a protagonist. He’s a character we can trust to make the right choice.

“If someday, really, I could only save one person out of those who are close to me… what would I do?“   - GON FREECSS, CHAPTER 3

Killua, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. When we’re first introduced to Killua– and I mean truly introduced– he casually explains that his family is composed of elite assassins, and that he attacked his parents before running away. From our current frame of reference, Killua’s behavior is unnerving. Not to mention, it’s followed by him killing two exam-takers whose only crime was being rude to him.

“I wanted that ball so badly… that I probably would have ended up killing the old geezer…“   - KILLUA ZOLDYCK, CHAPTER 14

In the Trick Tower, Killua rips his opponent’s heart out in a display of brutality that won’t really be topped until the Chimera Ant arc. Kurapika’s reaction is meant to echo the reader’s:

Mind you this reaction is coming from Kurapika who up until this point has been a voice of reason for the group.

We are terrified of Killua, because given the erratic behavior he seems prone to, it’s not so outlandish to believe he might enact the same violence on the other protagonists (which happens, in a sense, with Bodoro). He constantly expresses disapproval of Gon risking himself to help Kurapika and Leorio, encouraging him to ‘leave them behind’. Yes, we’re given some insight into why Killua might act the way he does, but overall he is portrayed as a much darker character.

To top it all off, the sequence of chapters in which Killua talks to Illumi and kills Bodoro is titled “Light and Darkness”, referring to Gon and Killua, respectively. This dichotomy will be referenced again in Chapter 199, “Light and Shadow”, but by then, the roles will have been reversed.

APPROACHING THE NORMAL

In the Zoldyck Family arc, we learn firsthand of Killua’s backwards upbringing, which recontextualizes the character we saw in the Hunter Exam arc. Killua’s behavior is motivated by a desire to break from the path that has been predetermined for him and take control of his own destiny. This is a clear parallel to Gon and Ging; Gon wants to follow the same path his father took, while Killua wants anything but.

Regarding Gon, we get another appraisal of his character from Zebro, the Zoldyck family groundskeeper.

“He’s a good kid… passionate, steadfast, and true to his friends, and ready to put personal grievances aside for the sake of others.“   - ZEBRO, CHAPTER 40

However, Zebro isn’t entirely correct, and his words will be put to the test when things come to a head in the Chimera Ant arc. Over time, we will see Gon willing to sacrifice more and more to achieve his goal, gradually becoming a shadow.

At the moment, however, it’s Gon who pulls Killua into the light. With the help of Kurapika and Leorio, Gon saves Killua from Kukuroo Mountain, but we’re left wondering if Killua can really sever the ties that exist between him and his family.

“He’ll come back someday. Because he’s my son.”   - SILVA ZOLDYCK, CHAPTER 42

In Heavens Arena, we’re still meant to fear Killua enacting violence on the other protagonists, which is why his first assigned opponent is Zushi. In a flash of anger, he almost seriously harms Zushi; however, we see immediate regret from Killua afterward, and this perhaps already a change from the Killua we saw in the Hunter Exam Arc.

Heavens Arena also provides us with more symbolic foiling between Killua and Gon. On the earlier floors, Gon’s use of a ‘push’ and Killua’s use of a ‘chop’ subtly emphasize the differences in their characters. Through Shingen-ryu Water Divination, Killua’s aura turns the water sweeter, while Gon’s leads to the glass overflowing. In fact, he actually causes the glass to crack.

It’s at this point, at the earliest, I believe Togashi was convinced of where he wanted to take each character. Gon was going to crack under the pressure, while Killua was going to become sweeter. It’s really Killua’s divination that sells this point for me, since of all the aura effects Togashi could have chosen, he picked one that starkly contrasted his initial character.

INTERSECTION, PT 1

After the Heavens Arena arc, Gon and Killua return briefly to Whale Island. Here one of the most important scenes takes place, with major implications regarding Gon and Killua’s current status in the story.

Gon and Killua are stargazing together when Killua tells Gon he doesn’t know what to do with his life.

He envies Gon for having a clear goal, and the two ultimately make a decision to stick together.

The situation at the end of the Election Arc is an almost perfect inversion of this scene. Instead, the two protagonists separate, and it’s Gon who feels directionless instead of Killua.

I’ll circle back around to this at the end of the post, but for now I just want to plant the idea that Gon and Killua’s character arcs are essentially inverted. This may seem abstract, but I believe the recent influx of Mobius strip symbolism reflects this.

(See Lake Mobius.) If this seems like a stretch, I’ll explain more later.

INTERSECTION, PT 2

In Yorknew City, Gon and Killua are captured by the Phantom Troupe. This is the perfect time to talk about Gon and Killua’s codependency. We know Killua depends on Gon, since Gon is the only person who accepts him initially. But Gon also depends on Killua.

Shadow cannot exist without light, nor light without shadow. Each is defined by the other, and it’s through this symbolism we gain a better understanding of Gon and Killua’s codependency.

In Greed Island, Gon continues to act irrationally, while Killua tasks himself with reeling him back in.

By extension, we also get a glimpse into each character’s individual trajectory. Gon is still descending into darkness. His obsession with proving himself constantly puts him in harm’s way, a trend which is epitomized in the fight against Razor.

“I’m very angry right now, because a half-assed effort won’t beat him. I want to take him down completely! I will bet my life on this match!“   - GON FREECSS, CHAPTER 164

These sacrifices get greater and greater in scale, culminating in him sacrificing his arms to Genthru. This seems unprecedented for Gon, but Gon has been making these kinds of decisions ever since his fight with Hanzo.

Meanwhile, Killua becomes more and more sympathetic. In Greed Island, the Killua of old fades away and we’re gradually introduced to the new Killua: a wounded boy with a heart of gold. A great example of this is during the dodgeball fight, when Gon explains that Killua is the only one who can hold the ball. Note: most of what I’m going to say I originally learned from here.

Gon explains to Tsezeguerra that “it can’t be anyone but Killua” but the real translation is something more akin to “Killua is the one for me”. This statement gets a striking reaction from Killua and comes up again in the Chimera Ant arc, when Killua struggles to rid himself of Illumi’s needle. It clearly reaches him on an emotional level, which is a vivid departure from Hunter Exam Killua, who was eternally calm and collected.

Not to mention, we now see an intersection between the two characters’ arcs. Killua’s behavior is now seen as relatable, empathetic, and level headed, while Gon’s is becoming hard-wired, distant, and almost terrifying.

INTERSECTION, PT 3

The character trends continue into the Chimera Ant arc, with Gon falling farther and farther from the light. Take the gruesome scene in the caves of NGL:

This isn’t significantly worse than what Gon has seen in the past, but it disturbs him deeply. I believe this is because his coping mechanisms are failing. Whereas he has previously responded to adversity with denial…

… the Chimera Ant will challenge his ability to do so. While Killua is plagued by psychological problems and ultimately overcomes them, Gon’s psychological problems reach a point where they can no longer be ignored. Sooner or later, he will have to face adversity head on, like Killua. Killua is familiar with the kinds of things they will encounter in the NGL, so the Chimera Ant arc is the perfect place for a role reversal to take place.

In Chapter 199, “Light and Shadow” (recalling “Light and Darkness” from the Hunter Exam arc), Killua deals with the aftermath of his decision to flee the battle between Kite and Pitou.

Gon, despite his increasingly self-sacrificial behavior, is still positive in the face of adversity. He is still light. There is also a common theme of Killua being figuratively in Gon’s shadow. It is first established in the Hunter Exam arc, and is reiterated all the way up through the Chimera Ant arc.

“Gon… you are the light. At times you shine so brightly I have to avert my eyes. But can I still stay by your side?“   - KILLUA ZOLDYCK, CHAPTER 199

But there’s a problem. Gon’s entire reason for being positive is built on a false premise. “Light and Shadow” ends with an explicit confirmation of Kite’s death.

By calling this Chapter ‘Light and Darkness’, Togashi draws attention to how things have changed since the Hunter Exam. Back then, Gon was clearly light, and Killua was shadow. But now that might not be the case– or at least, it won’t be for long.

The Chimera Ant arc is dense and involves a lot of significant character development for both Gon and Killua, so I’ll focus on two major scenes which I believe show the changing dynamic between them.

The first is Gon’s conversation with Meleoron.

This is a chilling panel, and one that shows us we are not dealing with the Gon of old anymore. He is now more willing to sacrifice not only himself, but also his empathy to achieve his goals. Meleoron senses as much.

This is a great scene that thoroughly encapsulates the themes of the Chimera Ant arc, blurring the lines between ‘human’ and ‘monster’. Gon is not completely ‘shadow’, nor is he completely ‘light’. He is, as we all are, a mixture of both, and it’s the shadow aspect of his personality that draws Meleoron to him.

Killua, on the other hand, has an opposite interaction with Ikalgo.

It’s Killua’s empathy, or humanity, that sparks their collaboration. By sorting out his own emotions over the course of several arcs, he has gained a great deal of empathy for others, not just Gon— so much so that he’s able to see the resolve in the eyes of a creature he had never met. Ultimately, he decides to save Ikalgo, granting him what is essentially a character rebirth.

Whereas Gon was initially light to Killua, Killua is now light to others, something which will be reinforced in the Election Arc with Alluka. In other words, we’ve come a long way from Killua telling Gon to leave Kurapika and Leorio for dead.

THE DYING OF THE LIGHT

“The next time you speak out of line, I’ll kill her.“   - GON FREECSS, CHAPTER 300

In Chapter 275 a conversation takes place between Neferpitou, Killua, and Gon, in which Pitou pleads for time to heal Komugi. In this chapter, we are once again faced with the same pattern we have seen before: Gon acting recklessly, and Killua trying to calm him down.

In fact, the previous chapter is almost entirely about Killua using his emotional intelligence to figure out this information.

With most of these analyses, I tend to take a more literary approach, but in this case it’s impossible to not bring up the art and paneling. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Killua and Pitou are grouped together constantly in this chapter.

Pitou has a similar arc to Killua, being established as an inhuman killing machine (via the beheading of Kite and the mutilation of Pokkle), then subtly humanized as the arc goes on. 275 is intelligently storyboarded by Togashi so we’re forced to compare Killua and Pitou to the inhumane Gon, who is juxtaposed in large, harrowing panels.

Before he snaps, we see Gon’s denial mechanism come back, as he refuses to accept Kite’s death.

And it’s worth noting here that Gon literally becomes a shadow…

…even appearing as one to Killua.

REKINDLING

Which brings us to the present story. Like I said earlier, we are at an interesting point in Gon and Killua’s journey where instead of Killua feeling directionless and the two teaming up, it’s Gon who feels directionless after the two have separated. As for what is next, I believe Koala’s speech in Chapter 337 gives us a clue.

Gon has been given a second chance, but this time he won’t repeat the same mistakes. I see Gon’s present situation as a perfect time to reintroduce the ‘correct way to learn Nen’. We almost always see people using the quick, frowned upon method of opening aura nodes, but I believe Gon using the long method makes a lot of sense symbolically. Nen is, ultimately, an extension of one’s own will, and thus a representation of one’s spiritual fulfillment. I think Gon will return to the story much more at peace with himself.

Killua will likely appear earlier, as there are multiple story threads leading him to the Dark Continent.

A possible conflict between Kurapika and the Phantom Troupe, which will involve the Zoldycks, not to mention Kalluto’s desire to retrieve his brother.

Nanika’s origin.

“Maha” Zoldyck (probable Chekov’s gun related to Zigg)

But perhaps more importantly, I’m almost certain Gon and Killua will at some point be reunited. Remember the Mobius strip?

I believe the recent influx of Mobius strip symbolism is meant to be a variation on cyclical imagery. The Mobius strip is itself a cycle, but is unique in that it contains twists and turns, sometimes overlapping with itself such as the one shown above. For example, the Succession War parallels Yorknew City in a cyclical fashion. Kurapika plays bodyguard for a new employer, and will likely have to choose between his goals and his friends yet again. However, there are significant variations, twists and turns, and inversions. Oito is a very different Character from Neon, and the flesh collector is no longer someone to be protected, but someone others need to be protected from.

I expect Gon and Killua’s future arcs to follow the same path, rejoining under similar plot beats to the Chimera Ant arc (but this time it will perhaps be Killua who loses someone close to him). But the goal for them will be the same as Kurapika’s and Koala’s: to break free of that cycle by ‘feeding their hearts’ and arriving at a healthier relationship and mindset.

After all, choosing to stick by the side of the person he wronged is exactly how Koala plans to break free of his cycle.

And Killua’s thoughts about Gon closely parallel this.

<source>

References:

Medium article explaining the dodgeball scene, what was lost in translation, and the emotional impact on Killua

#hunter x hunter #gon freecss #killua zoldyck #analysis #meta

[seeyouafter]

SYA Extended Notes Ch. 29

Notes for "See You After" Chapter 29: July 4: Shouto - Fujitani Hospital Discharge Summary

There are quite a few things I've alluded to in this chapter, in regards to Shouto's issues with his quirk and his mental health. I decided to leave things a little vague for a few reasons:

Just as there is a link between physical health and mental health, I think there would probably be a strong link between quirks and mental health, especially for people like Shouto whose quirk is a big part of their identity. However, there isn't a straightforward answer as to how these things are linked and they're still trying to figure things out.

Therapists have different views on whether a diagnosis is important for treatment. In this case, I feel like there were more pressing things for them to focus on with Shouto's situation, and while his therapist obviously has reason to suspect certain things, I think she doesn't want to put an official label on it yet, especially since Shouto probably isn't ready to hear it at this point.

The main reason I didn't give him a concrete diagnosis is that I don't feel comfortable doing that since I'm not a mental health professional. I will end up portraying certain things in more detail as the story progresses (hence the tags on the fic), but I'd rather have that speak for itself instead of having it seem like a checklist of relevant traits associated with a specific diagnosis.

Also, I am not familiar with how the mental health system works in Japan and am basing most things on personal experience and research from English-speaking sources (mostly American).

(wow, that was an unnecessarily long explanation)

As I mentioned in the notes for Ch. 16 (Katsuki's discharge summary) I spent a bit too much time coming up with names for the doctors. Details on name etymology and their specialties below.

As usual, the names are given in the Japanese order (family name, then given name)

Tomone Naho, Psy.D., M.D. - Psychologist, Quirk Medicine 知念 (Tomone): 知 = knowledge, understanding, wisdom; 念 = wish, feeling, thought 和歩 (Naho): 知 = harmony, peace, Japan; 歩 = walk PsyD = Doctor of Psychology (she also has a general medical degree, hence the MD, which I headcanon is some kind of quirk-medicine specialty)

Shouto's therapist at Fujitani Hospital. Nothing too significant about her name, other than wanting to include the kanji for feelings/thoughts (念) and peace (知) since it seemed appropriate for a therapist, so I just tried to find names that used those kanji that sounded good together. Naho is also the name of the main character in "Orange" (the manga that was referenced in the letters in Chapters 6 & 7), although it's written with different kanji.

Kitayama Kazuhiro, Psy.D., M.F.C.C. - Psychologist 北山 (Kitayama): 北 = north, 山 = mountain 和浩 (Kazuhiro): 和 = harmony, peace, Japan, 浩 = wide expanse, abundance M.F.C.C. (Marriage, Family, and Child Counselor)

This was the family counselor they were referred to in Furano. Again, I went with a name that used the kanji for harmony/peace (和). I didn't have much in mind for his last name but figured that they'll be in the north (北) and mountains are steadfast and reliable, which are probably good qualities for a counselor to have.

Shizume Yuko, Psy.D., M.D. - Psychologist / Quirk Psychology Specialist 静目 (Shizume): 静 = quiet, stillness, peacefulness; 目 = eye, insight, care 優心 (Yuko): 優 gentle, soothing; 心 = heart, mind, spirit her quirk allows her to calm someone down if she looks them in the eye

Her name was the most interesting for me. The reason is pretty self-explanatory if you look at the meanings of the kanji, and I went through a similar selection process as the others. But because of the inclusion of the kanji for eye (目), I decided that she has some kind of calming quirk that activates with eye contact, which would probably be useful in her profession.

#sya extended notes #sya: bridges #see you after fic #dancing girl writes

[lycantripuwu]

Madam Eva's face twists into deep thought as she focuses.

"My child, you are lost. More so then you may think. I could perform another, more personal reading, it may help you uncover truth…"

Rhil nods enthusiastically.

"Much has been stolen from you. But you have been given a chance to unveil the hidden past. Let the cards guide you..."

"These five cards will speak of who you are, what you were, or what you are yet to be. They will carry many meanings and may not be clear. But listen closely and you may find answers hidden in their words."

Crown. The Raven.

"This card symbolizes a hidden source of information; a fortunate turn of events; a secret potential for good."

"Two old souls, both seeped in dark magic, seek an end within Amber halls."

One of Swords. The Avenger.

"This card symbolizes justice and revenge for great wrongs; those on a quest to rid the world of great evil."

"Dark clouds loom wicked, vile, and unholy. A steadfast bastion bearing a repelling shield."

Two of Stars. The Diviner.

"This card symbolizes the pursuit of knowledge tempered by wisdom; truth and honesty; sages and prophecy."

"Great power seen through Amber glass, harbor secrets of good and ill. A careful mind knows when to cease."

Two of Glyphs. The Missionary.

"This card symbolizes those who spread wisdom and faith to others; warnings of the spread of fear and ignorance."

"A land of gloom and dusk, cold and loss. A beacon shines light to reveal hope, but so to casts shadow on those left behind."

Crown: The Ghost.

"This card symbolizes the looming past; the return of an old enemy or the discovery of a secret buried long ago."

"Night and Shadow, intertwined, one conceals the truth. A primeval darkness stirs."

Final Three Insights:

"These sets of cards unveil three insights into your future."

Madam Eva closes her eyes and holds her hands out over the cards on the table, a calming Green glow envelopes the cards, her eyes snap open, glowing with the same shade of Green.

"I see ancient allies offering respite and aid, through blood and honor. Earn there trust and be welcomed as family."

Eva closes her eyes again and the Green glow of the cards is replaced with a mysterious Blue glow, her eyes then snap open glowing the shade of Blue.

"The mountains protect a frozen, bygone era. The old ways still linger upon their slopes."

Eva closes her eyes once again and the Blue glow of the cards fade only to be replaced with a crimson Red glow, her eyes snap open burning with the same shade of Red.

"Forgotten in stone, buried within, the source of treacherous sin. Your destiny awaits where it all began."

The cards on the table then ignite in an array of Green, Blue, and Red flames which burn away the cards, leaving nothing but ash.

"That is all the cards will share, no more of your future can be shown."

#Rhil was found as a toddler outside of the mists near a lake with no memory prior #What did she lose? #dnd #dungeons and dungeons #ttrpg #curse of strahd #dusk elf #cleric #cleric of the platinum song #rhil darkstar #tarokka reading #madam eva

[rosethornewrites]

Fic: this body yet survives, ch. 14

Relationship: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn

Characters: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Lán Qǐrén, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Jiāng Yànlí, Su She | Su Minshan, Madam Jin, Jin Zixuan, Wen Qing, Jiāng Fēngmián, Niè Huáisāng

Tags: No War AU, Recovery, Trauma, Dissociation, Courtship, Courting Rituals, Near Death Experiences, Attempted Murder, Eventual Happy Ending, Panic Attacks, Vomiting, Siblings, Protective Siblings, Soup, Triggers, Protective Lan WangJi, Protective Lán Qǐrén, Yúnmèng Siblings Dynamics, Bad Parent Yú Zǐyuān, POV Third Person, POV Lan WangJi, reference to poisoning, reference to assassination, Reference to chronic illness, reference to infanticide, Depression, Minor Injuries, Painting, Gift Giving, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn Has a Fear of Dogs, Good Sibling Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Good Sibling Jiāng Yànlí

Summary: A confrontation.

Notes: See end.

Parts 1 & 2

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

AO3 link

——————

After dinner, Jiang Yanli dressed Wei Ying like he was going to war, which Wangji had to admit, he was in a way—even identifying the culprit who applied the locking talisman, Jiang Wanyin had pointed out, didn’t mean there was only one. Hers, however, was a war of symbols.

The robe she chose for him to wear was one he hadn’t seen before, and from Wei Ying’s reaction, he hadn’t either. It was clearly made for a special occasion, not to be worn daily.

The embroidery was intricate and reversible, the look as delicate as a painting while using the five-color system. The fabric was a deeper blue, with a prominent motif of plum trees and blossoms across the bottom, most of the way to the simple light blue belt, done in delicate predominately white embroidery to enhance the symbolism of courage and moral purity. A pair of magpies graced the branches of the trees, a reminder of their impending marriage. Stalking the trunks, a beautifully-rendered tiger, representing Wei Ying’s courage and strength, but also a symbol of protection. Blue dragons stretched up the sleeves, their heads resting on the chest, symbols of healing and harmony. Across the back was a nature scene filled with animals and foliage that kept to a similar motif, from bamboo along a river to soaring cranes.

Included was a modest detachable collar, a four-panel yunjian that had ornate embroidery of mountains and clouds, the first to indicate steadfastness, the latter to remind that Wei Ying was now of GusuLan. Each shoulder was graced with a blue and silver butterfly among the clouds, a symbol of happy marriage.

Wangji wondered if this had been meant to be a wedding gift, and Jiang Yanli was now using it to send a message. It had clearly been made with Wei Ying in mind, the sleeves narrower at the wrists as he preferred. Something so ornate showed his worth and status to any who looked, a statement piece to be treasured.

She offered no explanation for the robe, simply choosing comfortable blue under-robes for it and ordering Jiang Wanyin to help him change. Wei Ying made no effort to protest, clearly overcome by the gift.

When Wei Ying emerged, he was resplendent, the belt resting at the narrowest part of his waist and accentuating his slim (still too-slim) figure. Wangji was stunned silent and Wei Ying blushed under his gaze.

Jiang Yanli then tackled his hair, taming it carefully with comb and oil, then using one of the more intricate Lan hairstyles she had learned to weave the forehead ribbon into the crown. She presented a new ribbon to him, made of mulberry silk, a brilliant crimson embroidered with delicate silver clouds. She used the gentian guan and the plum blossom hair stick, more clear messages about his status.

When she was finished, she draped the cloak from Wangji over his shoulders, fussing so it was open enough to show his clothing and thus make her intended statement—which seemed to be in part that Wei Ying was worthy of such finery.

It was nearing the end of the dinner hour when Jiang Yanli finished by straightening his headband and tweaking his nose, smiling.

Jiang Wanyin stood and handed Wei Ying his sword, and he slid it carefully into his belt as they left the guest house. They applied the locking talisman, which Wangji knew would continue to be used even after the attackers were rooted out, the incident having shattered the sense of security in the Cloud Recesses.

They made their way to the mingshi, in the chill of the late evening, the scent of impending snow on the air. From a distance, they could see the crowd, hundreds of people, all disciples and servants, even elders.

Wei Ying reached out subtly, grasping blindly, and Wangji took his hand immediately, squeezing gently to reassure him.

Such an act would send its own message, would show their relationship clearly and make Wei Ying’s connection to the Cloud Recesses inviolable. The Jiangs flanking them, they skirted the crowd and joined Shufu and Xiongzhang on the porch of the mingshi. A few murmurs broke out, the crowd having otherwise been Lan-silent, as they did. Their appearance made it clear the investigation into the acts against Wei Ying was complete, and would be dealt with tonight.

Wangji was struck suddenly by the symbolism of choosing the mingshi, the implication that a malevolent spirit would be summoned and dealt with. No doubt some of the clan recognized the message, at least those who had some proficiency in the gentlemanly arts. He was certain the more advanced also were reading the meaning of Wei Ying’s robe. He wondered how much of this had been coordinated with Jiang Yanli, or if the marriage of symbolism was a happy accident.

Glancing at Wei Ying, he could see that he had made the same realization and was worrying at the inside of his lip with his teeth. Wangji squeezed his hand again, hoping to remind him he wasn’t alone, and was rewarded with a soft smile.

Shufu cleared his throat and the murmurs died into silence, not even the sound of shifting bodies, as the crowd waited for what would come, a sort of breathlessness.

“I have gathered you here to root out the evil in our midst,” Lan Qiren announced, “so that they may be exorcized from our clan.”

Wangji was pleased Shufu made the implicit, explicit, leaving no room for ignorance on the symbolism that had been carefully brought together for this moment.

The silence in the wake of his announcement was so complete it was almost unnerving, and Wangji made himself survey the gathered mass of people for expressions that might betray the culprit even before their unmasking, but too many people looked upset and unnerved for him to tell.

The safety and serenity of the sect had been shattered by these events, and Wangji knew from having overheard disciples’ conversations that this unease and sense of mistrust had not been limited to Wei Ying and himself. What had been done was an evil againt the Cloud Recesses, and even exorcising it would still leave the unease and mistrust behind, wounds the sect would need to heal from.

Lan Qiren held up the talisman Wei Ying and Lan Tayi had produced, and Wangji realized he hadn’t seen the talisman master in the crowd, but remembered his comments about experimental talismans—he was likely toward the back, perhaps with other trusted clan members who had been ruled out, ready to stop anyone who might consider escape.

“The last craven attack on Disciple Wei involved a talisman charged with the attacker’s qi, which we managed to preserve, and we have discovered a method to track that qi to the jindan from which it originated.”

Xiongzhang presented the intact locking talisman, displaying it for the clan, and without any further pageantry Shufu affixed the tracking talisman to it and activated it.

As designed, the newly-connected talismans sent a wave of qi through the crowd, causing an odd sort of collective flinch. The effects of the talisman weren’t painful, but an unexpected wave of qi rushing through one could be very startling.

“Check the hands of the cultivators to your left and right,” Shufu ordered, and immediate rustling broke out as the crowd did just that.

In barely a moment, someone cried out in surprise.

“Report.”

Lan Qiren’s tone brooked no argument.

“Disciple Su’s hands, Lan-xiansheng! They’ve turned black!” a voice rose, edged with confusion.

Almost immediately, the area around the voice cleared to create space around him, revealing the speaker and a disciple trying to hide his hands in his sleeves.

Wangji took a moment to place him as the mediocre guqin player who had accompanied him and Xiongzhang to deliver the betrothal gifts. Who had therefore heard Jiang Wanyin tell him of Wei Ying’s fear of dogs, his reaction to lotuses, and had attacked Wei Ying with the very things Wangji was supposed to protect him from.

A rage unlike any he had ever felt before consumed him, only tempered and controlled when Wei Ying squeezed his hand. He took several deep breaths, focusing on his beloved, and only when he could resist the urge to unsheath Bichen did he dare turn his attention away.

There was no killing in the Cloud Recesses.

“Disciple Su, explain yourself.”

Xiongzhang’s voice was absolutely frosty, his words clipped in his anger, and Wangji realized that if he had recognized Disciple Su he could be blaming himself.

Disciple Su—soon to be former, at least—gave up trying to hide his hands and sneered.

“Why should I be ashamed of protecting the sect? That arrogant nobody, marrying into the main family? It’s disgraceful that the Second Jade has lowered himself to this trash, and he should be the one censured for sullying his robes in the gutter.”

Wei Ying’s grip on his hand became momentarily painful, and Wangji wondered briefly if he thought he would lose control, until he spoke.

“Judge me all you want, but you are not qualified to judge Lan Zhan.”

The grip had been unconscious, Wei Ying’s own rage and protectiveness of him, and Wangji was torn between wanting to insist that he also defend himself and wanting to do inappropriate things to him in public; he loved him so much.

“You were expelled from your sect for your overreach. A servant’s son should respect his betters,” Disciple Su spat. “Dogs—”

Abruptly his mouth shut and instead of finishing the crass chengyu, he made protesting noises—Shufu had Silenced him, blessedly cutting off the abuse.

Wangji was also disgusted at the poor use of the proverb; even if he was trying to disparage Wei Ying’s parentage, the phrase was about bad habits, not social status or caste. He was clearly a poor student.

“Some judgment, coming from a sneak-thief who would seek to harm our brother,” Jiang Wanyin hissed, his words audible to all gathered.

“Enough. Gossip is forbidden,” Shufu reminded the crowd. “You committed crimes against an inner disciple, the future husband of the sect heir. You have damaged the security of the entire sect. Punishment has been decided. Exile, recompense for damages, and kun xing.”

A shocked murmur ran through the crowd, though many faces showed approval. Disciple Su might have allies, but the vast majority of GusuLan clearly disapproved of his actions and saw the punishment as just.

Wangji was more focused on the emphasis on Wei Ying’s status as his betrothed, but it seemed Shufu was making clear that the attempt to prevent their marriage was unsuccessful.

Su Minshan drew his sword and spit blood on the ground as he forcibly broke Silence, and those around him backed off further.

“Wei Wuxian, I challenge you.”

A duel would change nothing, but Wangji’s best guess was that he was trying to save face or go out with a fight. Or perhaps he did not know of Wei Ying’s prowess and actually thought he could harm him, further solidifying Wangji’s poor opinion of his worth as a disciple.

He wasn’t prepared for Wei Ying to let go of his hand, turn to Shufu and Xiongzhang, and bow.

“This disciple requests authorization to answer Disciple Su’s challenge, Lan-zongzhu.”

There was no sign of his prior reluctance toward this course of action, and the change was stunning to Wangji, the serious set of his brow as he stood resplendent in robes that displayed his status beautifully. This was not Wei Ying putting on an appearance of being okay to reassure. This was a Wei Ying he had seen infrequently, usually during night hunts or at competitions—his true strength, not a show. This had been absent the last several years, and Wangji took in the sight with joy and relief.

Further, Wei Ying’s act of following the rule against fighting without authorization, in front of the entire sect, made it clear he was of GusuLan, the image clearly already placing Su Minshan as the one breaking clan orthodoxy so publicly.

Xiongzhang glanced to one side and Wangji followed his gaze to the head healer, who nodded. The healers would monitor Wei Ying, but he was medically cleared to fight.

“Permission granted, Wei-gongzi.”

Wangji could see the reluctance in Xiongzhang, his fear that perhaps Wei Ying, while able physically and in cultivation, could falter under the stress of the situation, could be injured. But Wei Ying’s demeanor was promising, though Wangji couldn’t help but be concerned anyway. He knew his skills, but could not help fearing for his safety.

Wei Ying turned to him and offered a gentle, reassuring smile, then asked him sweetly if he would hold his cloak for him so it wouldn’t be damaged, calling him A-Zhan in front of the entire clan when he did and setting his ears aflame at the intimacy of his tone.

“Of course, A-Ying,” he returned.

He kept his voice just as conversational as Wei Ying’s, ensuring his words would also be heard, pleased when his cheeks reddened and he ducked his head. It was delightfully shameless in front of an audience, but he didn’t care.

Wei Ying hopped off the porch of the mingshi to approach Su Minshan, who was scowling deeply. He stopped about ten feet away, and bowed, as was polite.

Su Minshan did not return the gesture, instead adopting an aggressive stance.

Wei Ying unsheathed Suibian and dropped into an advanced GusuLan style stance, rather than a stance from the Jiang style that he had grown up with, one that was visibly better than his opponent’s.

“You should rotate your left foot a little more,” Wei Ying said mildly.

Su Minshan reddened and glared, scoffing

“How arrogant—you barely know the Lan style!” he spat. “You and Lan Wangji, looking down on everyone like you’re better than them, it makes me sick.”

Wangji could see Wei Ying’s jaw clench, his anger never on his own behalf.

“Lan Zhan doesn’t look down on people; if anything, you’ve done nothing to merit his notice.”

The comment was not well-received, not that Wei Ying had intended it to be, and Su Minshan charged with a sloppy swing that Wei Ying easily avoided with a nimble flip over him, then lashed out with his sheath to smack his opponent’s sword arm, nearly disarming him. It was the sort of thing a training instructor would do to scold a junior.

“Your grip is faulty, and you broadcast your thrusts, making them predictable.”

“You—!” Su Minshan hissed before whirling and slicing at him, but Wei Ying was already moving smoothly back, the blade cutting nothing but air.

The move also pulled him off-balance, and Wei Ying told him he needed to plant his feet better to avoid losing his footing, which only served to enrage him further.

Wangji realized abruptly that Wei Ying had turned this into a teaching match, as though a duel with Su Minshan was beneath him. He was handily demonstrating the man’s mediocrity as a Lan disciple to those gathered, an extra sort of humiliation. He knew well enough that Wei Ying wasn’t doing so in anger over what had been done to him—instead it was likely a reaction to Su Minshan’s insults toward Wangji. He hoped someday Wei Ying would value himself as he did others.

The match also served to show exactly why Wei Ying had been so high ranked among their generation, the skills and talent he had with the sword. He had taught at Lotus Pier, Wangji remembered, before everything, and he wondered if Wei Ying would enjoy such a role at the Cloud Recesses at some point. This displayed his knowledge of the fundamentals, the need to control one’s body precisely in the art of the sword.

Altogether, it was riling Su Minshan’s temper, making him sloppier.

This continued for some minutes until a leg thrust out from the crowd in an attempt to trip Wei Ying. Wangji’s heart clenched, but he avoided it with a short hop that didn’t interfere with his retreat from Su Minshan’s blade in the least. He could hear Jiang Yanli’s gasp behind him.

In another moment, the perpetrator was on the ground, wrapped in a green rope of energy that writhed around him, and the crowd parted around him as he struggled. One of Lan Tayi’s talismans, he guessed, and a co-conspirator outed.

The bout continued, Wei Ying continuing to defend, never going on the offensive. Wangji’s unease was growing, but he wasn’t certain why until, as Wei Ying was parrying a blow, he broke from his stance to pivot suddenly, narrowly avoiding a blade stabbing at him from behind. Jiang Yanli yelled his name in alarm, but he quickly handled this situation, lashing out with his sheath, cracking the offending disciple across the face. The young man dropped like a stone, his nose clearly broken, dyeing his robes with his own blood.

“No killing in the Cloud Recesses!” Su She hissed, as though he was affronted by rule-breaking after all he’d done.

“I pulled the blow,” he answered, swiftly wiping blood from his sheath onto the downed man’s robes. “He’ll live, but he won’t be happy about it for a while once he wakes up.”

Wei Ying was purposefully luring out the co-conspirators with this battle, Wangji realized hollowly, leading them to feel Su She was being disrespected through his treatment of the duel so they would seek to help, putting his life at risk to root them out in this manner.

He didn’t dare turn from the fight to look to Xiongzhang or Shufu, to see if they had realized and would put a stop to it, nor the Jiang siblings. Wei Ying was dodging an attack, Su She vocally angry about his dismissal of the well-being of his unconscious co-conspirator, who was already being attended to by a healer.

Wangji tensed as Wei Ying cracked a reaching hand behind him with his sheath, ready to put a stop to it, but Jiang Wanyin grabbed his arm before he could.

“He has to do this. You know that. He’ll be fine.”

The next time someone tried to come from the crowd, bystanders restrained him and he never had the opportunity to attack, disarmed and thrown to the ground. A talisman was applied, and the young man was immediately restrained by thorny vines that shot from the earth around him to hold him fast. It restored some of his faith in his sect.

Wei Ying was being supported and defended by his fellow GusuLan disciples, perhaps the impact of his respect for the rules, perhaps based on his prowess with the sect fighting technique after only about a year of training, or perhaps because they knew his circumstances, how badly he’d already been abused, and this allowed them to help him find some justice. But also because these attacks had violated their home, destroying their sense of security.

He forced himself to relax his muscles, though his grip on Bichen was still tight.

If he intervened in this fight, he would also be undermining Wei Ying’s decision and his newfound confidence, which could have disastrous effects on his mental state in implying he needed Lan Wangji’s assistance.

Wangji wanted so badly to jump in, but he had to trust Wei Ying, could only support him from the sidelines, could only hope that this would help his zhiji instead of setting his recovery back.

The fight, if it could be called that, continued, Wei Ying’s swordsmanship clearly li above Su Minshan’s, with Wei Ying commenting on his sloppy footwork and occasionally hitting him across the fingers with his sheath when he was particularly sloppy with a swing, and offering advice on correcting his form. The comments and advice were delivered mildly, in sharp contrast with the blows—Wangji was fairly certain he’d broken at least one of his opponent’s fingers—the sound of which reverberated in the hush.

Another co-conspirator wound up with his own clothing going rigid and rendering him immobile, and another sunk abruptly into the ground like it was quicksand, and then it solidified around him, trapping him up to the shoulders with his head and forearms above the surface.

Six co-conspirators so far, each of them outer disciples, their ribbons plain.

After that one, Su Minshan paled and began making more unsavory comments, impugning the honor of Wei Ying, but also Wangji. This blurred the lines on which of them he truly took issue with—and Wangji hated the idea that Wei Ying could have been targeted to hurt him.

A period passed without any outside attempts to sabotage the duel. Su Minshan’s moves became more desperate, and finally he reached into his sleeve and threw a talisman at Wei Ying, a dirty move that made Wangji himself shout in wordless outrage, but Wei Ying simply bisected the talisman neatly with a slash of qi that sent Su Minshan tumbling.

Su Minshan lost hold of his sword and crawled toward it as though to continue the battle, but Wei Ying advanced and simply poked a spot on the back of his neck with his sheath, and his opponent’s body went limp, though he yelled accusations of cheating, slanderous lies, and obscenities until Shufu again Silenced him.

“Wen Qing taught the Lan healers how to immobilize me, since movement could worsen my wounds,” Wei Ying said to address the accusation, his voice hollow in the way it got when he was remembering unpleasant things. “I remembered.”

He shoved his sheath into his belt and picked up the pieces of the talisman, holding them up for all to see that it was meant to immobilize him, the sort of thing used to immobilize yao on night hunts.

“I only succeeded where you failed,” he said.

Wei Ying grabbed Su Minshan by the hair, carefully avoiding touching his ribbon, and placed the flat of of Suibian against the nape of his neck, ignoring his muffled protests and looking to Lan Xichen.

“Zongzhu, permission to begin kun xing?”

Xiongzhang looked frozen for a moment, clearly startled by how the match ended, but then he nodded minutely.

Wangji wanted to stop him, wanted to disabuse Wei Ying of his misplaced notion that this punishment had to be started by his hand, knowing it could haunt him, but he could only stand in silent support.

In one clean slice, Wei Ying’s blade sheared Su Minshan’s hair, some of it nearly shaved to his scalp, while wisps of longer strands fell around his ears. The rest would need to be shaved, but it was a start.

Shocked murmurs ran through the crowd as Wei Ying let him drop to the grass like a rag doll. He let the thick locks of hair and guan fall from his hand to land next to his tormentor, where he could see the remains of his honor.

Then Wei Ying traversed the field, stopping at each co-conspirator and applying Wen Qing’s immobilizing spell to each. He asked Xiongzhang for permission each time, and each time left the former disciple with the shorn hair. Then he sheathed Suibian and returned to the porch of the mingshi.

He was shaking minutely, so subtly no one would notice if they weren’t close to him, and Jiang Yanli drew him close and fussed over him, clearly making sure he was truly uninjured. Jiang Wanyin went to his other side and subtly let him lean on him.

“I don’t think you got any blood on your new robes,” she finally said, tweaking his nose. “My Xianxian is so talented!”

“Thanks, Jiejie,” he murmured, letting her dote on him, letting his brother support him.

Wangji wrapped him in his cloak, then gently took his sword hand and massaged the pads of his fingers and palm, feeling the taut, almost frozen muscles, and trying to help relax them. He longed to hold him, but had to refrain, the courtship too new to permit such an intimate act in public.

Xiongzhang stepped forward, and the crowd fell silent again.

“Bear witness to this punishment,” he told the crowd. “Any who dares attack a fellow disciple as Wei Wuxian has been attacked will face similar punishment.”

A team of disciples and servants finished the job of shaving the conspirators in front of all of GusuLan and, once Lan Tayi released them from the various talisman effects, carried them into the mingshi. When they were hauled out, all of them were wearing the unadorned green linen robes of criminals, and all of their swords and entry tokens had been confiscated. Even their boots were dyed green, something Wangji suspected had been done with a talisman. None of them wore their ribbons any longer.

Some of them looked stunned, as though they somehow had thought they would get away with their attacks on Wei Ying or perhaps hadn’t expected the severity of the punishment. Others looked angry, Su Minshan among them, glaring at Wei Ying from where he was held up between two disciples; Wei Ying didn’t spare him a glance. One disciple looked resigned, which meant perhaps there was hope he’d reform, not that Wangji cared. The one with the broken nose had been treated by a healer and had regained consciousness.

All had clearly been Silenced, some making muffled sounds of protest.

“We are not heartless,” Shufu announced. “Each of you will be given pouches with enough food to last through the borders of Gusu territory, nothing more. Beyond that, you are on your own. You are permanently cast out, never to return. If you violate your banishment, you will be further punished.”

A disciple placed a cloth with the seven culprits’ ribbons on the ground before the mingshi. Others stepped forward with the hair Wei Ying had cut, and piled it atop, handing Shufu the seven guan that had once crowned the culprits. They would be part of the recompense for Wei Ying, Wangji knew, though he hoped they would be melted down into something new.

Lan Xichen used a talisman to set the ribbons and shorn hair alight, sending the crowd reeling. One of the stunned-looking culprits burst into tears.

It was a shocking thing, to see the sacred ribbons burn, almost a sort of purification, an implication that the ribbons had been tainted by the ill intent and actions of those who had worn them. The symbolism piled up, the implication that this was an exorcism of an evil that had threatened the clan. In many ways, it was.

Wangji understood the need for these implications, but the layers of meaning exhausted him; he just wanted the culprits gone so that Wei Ying could have some peace.

Xiongzhang gestured, and a group of older inner disciples stepped forward, some from the group that had finished administering kun xing, likely chosen because they’d been ruled out as suspects. They joined those disciples flanking and carrying the immobilized criminals until there were enough for two to three per criminal. They attached small pouches to the belts of the seven criminals.

“You will be escorted to ensure you leave Gusu,” Xiongzhang says, his voice cold. “They are authorized to use force if attacked. I suggest you proceed peacefully. The immobilization spells will be lifted when you have exited the Cloud Recesses.”

Lan Xichen did not specify ‘non-lethal,’ Wangji noticed.

With another gesture, the disciples carried their burdens toward the gates of the Cloud Recesses, carrying their burdens with them.

Once they were gone, Xiongzhang dismissed the assembly, bidding them to adhere to curfew, and the field quickly emptied, those gathered clearly eager to process what had just occurred. Lan Tayi bowed to them and left as well.

When only they and the healers remained, Wei Ying swayed, and Wangji and Jiang Wanyin caught him together, easing him down until he was seated on the wooden planks of the porch, in no danger of falling. Jiang Yanli made a distressed noise and dabbed at his nose, which was bleeding sluggishly. His eyes were unfocused, and he clutched at Wangji’s hand.

The head healer rushed over and checked him, examining his qi in case it had been disrupted.

“He simply needs rest,” she said after she let go of his wrist. “He would be most comfortable doing that with you, rather than the infirmary.”

Wei Ying took a deep breath, clearly making an effort to focus.

“Jingshi?” he asked, his voice small.

His voice was shaky, and Wangji wondered if he had expended all the strength he had and was seeking strength in numbers, maybe even a sense of security in the home they will share once wed.

Wangji looked to Xiongzhang, who nodded.

“I’ll have the servants bring bedding and join you shortly.”

“I can do that and handle any remaining issues tonight, Xichen,” Shufu said, stroking his beard. “See to Wei Wuxian’s comfort.”

Xiongzhang bowed to him, looking relieved and wrung out himself. It had been difficult for him to order this punishment, Wangji knew, his heart wishing to believe the best of all people. These events had likely challenged his faith in people a bit, and being around good people tonight would help.

“Wei Wuxian, you did not need to push yourself,” Shufu said gently. “Take more care, and trust us to shoulder the burden.”

Wei Ying nodded, but seemed distantly confused, whether because of his exhausted disorientation or something more troubling, Wangji didn’t know. He could feel as though he couldn’t trust others to do so, and given how his former sect had failed him, that sentiment would be understandable, if heartbreaking.

Jiang Wanyin pulled Suibian from Wei Ying’s belt and handed it to Jiang Yanli. With the help of a healing apprentice, he maneuvered Wei Ying to the edge of the porch.

Wei Ying cooperated, though he refused to let go of Wangji’s hand. When Jiang Wanyin hoisted him on his back, he simply hooked his free arm around his brother’s shoulder without protest, letting his younger brother carry him, a clear indication of how exhausted he was.

“I will play for you,” Wangji told Wei Ying, squeezing his hand. “To help you rest.”

Wei Ying’s answering smile filled him with relief.

The full impact of tonight wouldn’t be clear until morning at the earliest, but at least it hadn’t taken his smile.

—————

There are multiple styles of Chinese embroidery. It’s interesting reading.

Yunjian are ornamental embroidered collars, also known as cloud collars because they generally had cloid embroidery. Depending on the dynasty, they were worn by both men and women.

The chengyu Su She is prevented from finishing is one I used in “the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break,” ‘dogs can’t help eating shit.’ In this context he’s trying to say Wei Wuxian is low-born and no matter what he does his origins define him, but it’s poorly chosen. Basically Su She is trying to seem smarter than he is and it instead outs him as the opposite. He might also have chosen it to prey on Wei Wuxian’s fear of dogs.

Wei Wuxian keeps getting bloody noses in my fics. They can be an indication of qi disruptions, which can become deviations and cause damage, as I’m exploring in another fic. High emotion can disrupt qi (ex: wwx after the confrontation with jc at Lotus Pier).

Glossary:

Jiejie = older sister

kun xing = punishment of head shaving

li = a unit of measurement; 3.2 li is about a mile

mingshi = underworld room for summoning spirits

shufu = uncle

xiansheng = teacher

xiongzhang = elder brother (formal)

zongzhu = sect leader

In other news, I move tomorrow. I have no internet so I am posting this chapter using my phone. It’ll go up on FFN later, once I’ve moved.

#the untamed #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #wei wuxian #lan zhan #lan wangji #wei ying #jiang wanyin #jiang yanli #jiang cheng #lan qiren #lan xichen #lan huan #su she #su minshan #cql #chen qing ling #untamed fanfiction #untamed fic #untamed fandom #mdzs fic #mdzs fanfic #mdzs fanfiction #cql fic #cql fanfic #cql fanfiction #my fanfiction #wangxian

[zapolinien]

And now let's try to combine the symbols of the last three issues (dragon, phoenix and yin-yang), because they form a single pattern on the back of the cards from the album Chiwoo (photo belongs to x06arashi).

So, we know that the dragon is a symbol of Chiwoo (which raises the question why there is a classic image of a Chinese dragon on the cover of Dann's album, but this can be attributed to a typical symbol of royalty). The dragon symbolizes cosmic and supernatural power, wisdom, hidden knowledge, the power of waters bearing life; a symbol of life and light. But in the image from the album, it is located on the yin side (dark, feminine), which gives it additional characteristics: passive, soft, compliant and intuitive; it is associated with the earth, valley, trees and flowers, lunar animals and birds.

Now the symbol of Dann - the phoenix. A symbol of eternal rebirth and hope for victory over death, mercy, as well as peace and prosperity. It is located on the side of Yang (light, male), characterized as bright, active, firm, unbending, rational; associated with the sky, mountains, sunny animals and birds.

Surprisingly, these are the traits of character that we can observe in their individual clips. Chiwoo is the ruler of Shangri-La, the kingdom of immortals with ever-blooming gardens, where wisdom and light prevail (up to a certain point), and when important decisions need to be made, he doubts or agrees with other people's decisions (at least according to our version). Dann is steadfast in his desire and decision to protect his kingdom (which is located in a mountainous area) even at the cost of his own death. At a certain point in time, he went over the horizon to return later and give his people hope for victory (and since war is often associated with death, this fits very well into the meaning of the symbol) and the achievement of peace. He understood what actions would be right in the current situation, and followed them.

#mythical creatures #chiwoo #dann #dragon #phoenix #kingdom kpop #kingdom #kpop #symbolism

[honourablejester]

Numenera Setting Notes: Points of Interest Part VI

Heading now to two very different and widely separated parts of the world: Vralk, a volcanic militarised nation to the northeast of the northern Beyond, and the Rayskel Cays, an island archipelago far out into the ocean west of the Steadfast.

I’m putting these together because, to be completely honest, I’m not really vibing with Vralk? There’s  a couple of cool bits and bobs in there, so I wanted to include it somewhere, but it’s just not the bit of this world that’s exciting to me. If anyone else wants a survivalist expansionist military nation state that lives in a volcanic hellscape, Vralk is for you! But it’s not really my scene, so I’m gonna skim through it and then move on to the Rayskel Cays, an island chain that is very much more my speed. Most of this entry will be the Cays, to warn you. I love them a lot.

(Got a little long, because I love the Rayskels, allow me to burble about them)

Part VI: Vralk & the Rayskel Cays (Ninth World Guidebook)

Vralk:

Hellsfont, in the Firefang Mountains of Vralk. It’s a five mile radius field of living fire just hanging out. And by ‘living’, I mean fully intelligent and empathic, and therefore capable of being negotiated with to a limited extent, so you can, for example, ask it not to burn you. If you make it safely into the field, there’s lots of fire-immune lethal biomechanical monsters in there, and also the ‘cinder giants’, which are eleven 9ft tall humanoid skeletons in numenera armour just scattered randomly around the field, still standing but inert, coated in white ash, and immune to all attempts to loot them.

The Gate of Stars, in the city of Nabir Enthru, Vralk. Nabir Enthru is an industrial forge city with an ancient rivalry with Morlash Kor, the Vralkian capital, but the bit that intrigues me is the Gate of Stars, which is the main entrance to the city. The wall around the gate has been riddled with small alcoves that hold the ‘stars’, small motes of solidified light that were looted from the crystalline crown of a vast statue in the Firefangs. These lights flash under various circumstances, and several have been identified as flashing if, for example, an ultraterrestrial entity passes nearby, or an invisible creature passes nearby, or a weapon of level 7 or higher comes into range. But there’s a bunch more that flash and what they’re flashing for hasn’t been identified yet. IDK, it just feels really cool to me.

Norde, a port city on the River of Sorrows, Vralk. It’s built below the river, in a sunken depression 120ft down from the water level, with a thick wall and set of levees keeping it from being flooded. All the piers and docks are built at the top of this wall, and a single floodgate lets a cascade in from the river above to bring water into the town. The physical set-up of this place is just fantastic. There’s also three 3000ft spires in here, wide at top and bottom and narrowing in between, which makes me wonder if the depression was meant to be a foundation/base for something that the spires were meant to hold up. It’s just a cool town.

Mount Errow, in the Firefangs, Vralk. This is another of the mini-adventures scattered through this book, and it’s … It’s giving me Subnautica vibes? Despite being landlocked? Basically a nano named Demanisix Mal discovered that Mt Errow, a very active volcano, has a synth facility inside the caldera that is attached to a three mile deep shaft that deposits you into a vast magma chamber with an ancient subterranean city along one wall. Demanisix, before she vanished into the depths never to be seen again, left a journal naming this place the Errow Cascade and describing it as ‘a voluminous installation—possibly an entire hibernating city—that straddles a subterranean magma sea’. Which, you must admit, is cool as hell.

The Rayskel Cays:

The Slavering Falls, the central structure around which Rayskel culture is based. The Rayskels are a spiral archipelago that curl around the Slavering Falls at the centre of their inner sea. The Falls are what look like a circular underwater waterfall, actually cascades of silt falling over the ends of a massive circular pillar structure that, every so often, and randomly so no one knows when it’ll happen, becalms the seas around it and rises above the surface like a giant piston, causing an actual waterfall at the surface. It’ll stand up there for a week or so, and then plunge itself back down in under an hour, sucking anyone still on it down with it. All sort of things are collected on the Falls as they rise and fall, treasures and airels (spongefish used as currency and also considered living pieces of the moon), so trying predict when it’ll rise is a huge deal. And kids in the direct vicinity of the Falls are raised from birth to be ‘moonbabies’ to dive the Falls and search the tiny nooks and crannies for treasure even while it’s sunken.

As well as material gain, the Falls are the centre of Rayskel religion. While religion differs from island to island and settlement to settlement, most Rayskel religion is based around the worship of the moon, considering the sky another sea like theirs, and the moon as the mirror of the Falls in the sky. So the Falls are variously considered to be trying to mate with the moon as they rise, or perhaps a lover or sibling of the moon trying to reunite with her. And, the little detail from the Rayskel religion that I love so much, most of the islands consider that when a person dies, they need to be put under the waves for three days so that the soul can leave the body to become a bioluminescent creature in the skysea. I adore this. At the end of the three days, the body is pulled out, and can be recycled. If someone drowns and is not pulled out, or dies on land and is not able to be brought to the sea, they are considered lost forever and never mentioned again. That has so much pull for me. The stars are bioluminescent souls swimming in the skysea, and you have to spend your time beneath the waves after your death to join them. And if you can’t, you’re lost forever. There’s a lovely cultural thing to get teeth into, the tension and time limits around the care of the dead (also it’s just really beautiful).

I don’t know, this immediately feels so vibrant and real. I love this element so much, this central phenomenon of the islands, and the culture and beliefs that have grown around it. Also … when I die, I absolutely would not mind becoming a bioluminescent fish swimming the skysea. At all.

The Cays also have a bunch of cool transport options. You’ve got your normal range of small boats, of course, but there’s also things like iuskies, which are 40ft tall kite-like plants that you can use as natural sails for small craft and/or surfboards, and bubbleboats, which are hardened semi-circular top shells of duems, huge jellyfish looking creatures that shed their hydrophobic shells once or twice a year, that have been turned into quite efficient near-hover boats.

They also have very common non-human inhabitants that mingle with humans freely in the form of the Echryni, amphibious humanoids.

The Cays are known, somewhat, from the Steadfast, particular in Anculan and the Sea Kingdom of Ghan, and work is being done to confirm where the archipelago is and establish actual trade routes with it. I just. Further sight unseen, I’m already loving them as a setting. But. Some specifics:

Vonnai, on Darnali island, possibly the largest city in the archipelago, a massive, compact, walled construction that piles interlocking buildings on top of each other, docks tucked into their bases and passages and walkways running through buildings into each other. There are four lunar (tidal) powered gates that allow access in and out, two by land and two by sea, only during the day. The ruler lives in the only separate building, a four storey hovering tower, along with her husband, the architect behind most of the city, a man who specialises in harnessing tidal power. Which means this is a ninth world city, not a prior-world city, built by modern genius (with, granted, the usual understanding of prior-world numenera as a helping hand). I love it.

Kinider and the Terrible Exhale, down the southern end of Darnali island. The Terrible Exhale, or just The Hale, is a seasonal phenomenon of the southern peninsula of Darnali, where small bubbles of noxious fluid, containing small creatures, detritus and debris, are carried across the peninsula by a wind. The bubbles explode, releasing noxious gas and turning anything in them into shrapnel, laying waste to anything in their path. This happens several times a year. As a result, the village of Kinider is buried under a beach in strange structures called ‘sinkers’ to avoid it. Sinkers are strange, transparent, glasslike tubes buried in the earth, with webbed membranes across the top. There are exactly 100 of them, and no one knows what they are or how to make more, so the town is extremely pressed for space. Also, the tubes are fully transparent, and not much sticks to the inside of them, so privacy is also an issue, as well as seeing … crawling things in the earth around them. And stuff decaying in the earth around them. The views aren’t good, is the thing here. This is such a weird little town, and I love that it exists. Interestingly, because of the housing shortage, a shanty town village has sprung up on the surface a little up the beach, but it’s destroyed every Hale, and its survivors have to rebuild all over again every time. So there’s … tension. Heh.

Dyn’s Scar, on Augh-Chass island. A milky white stratified inland sea, the Scar has a cool top layer, a warm middle layer, and a lower layer that often freezes, sending sunken icebergs floating to the surface. The surface is covered in float pods, 10ft by 15ft floating plants. The shore is ringed by hyperfungi that sprout after rainstorms, shoot up to 6ft tall, and then violently fling spores everywhere, which would be fine, but each spore release includes one ‘hyperspore’, an intelligent spore that floats into a living creature’s ear and tries to steer them somewhere new to start a new colony by submerging the host in water. If you can’t resist the spore’s ‘suggestions’, you find yourself somewhere strange with no idea how you got there, and feeling the urge to go for a little swim. In the depths of Dyn’s Scar, in the warm middle layer, is a city of an extremely intelligent race of multi-eyed tentacled amphibians called gedyr, who think humans are mostly dumb animals to be hunted, and are fully capable of speaking human languages. This whole area is just fantastically weird, and I love it.

The Omaris kibics, on Omaris island. The whole island is scarred by hundreds of miles worth of open trenches called kibics, some of which are a mile wide and half a mile deep. The walls are golden cement inlaid with elaborate designs, including designs made of light, fossils of ancient or non-existent creatures, ancient languages, and inlaid technology. The floors of the kibics are made of a porous silvery substance with a consistency varying between packed earth and warm tar, and which secretes a viscous purple substance called glaili, which a group of local nanos have discovered can be compressed by certain machines, although the process is a work in progress and results vary from a pretty red stone, to a power source, to actual numenera. The walls of the kibics also contain entrances to various underground structures and complexes across the island, many still unexplored, with the potential to contain ancients know what. The whole island is just one massive weird constructed landscape full of weirdness and discovery.

Maer Outpost, on Omaris island. It’s a trading outpost built at the site of a collision between a ship and a young bellowing naek, which if I’m reading this right is basically a weird sky whale: “Bellowing nyeks are behemoth amphibian creatures with multiple finwings and a long, serpentine tail. They spend most of their lives in the air, flying and leaping above the ocean’s surface. Once they reach a certain size, however, they become waterbound, able to breach the surface only rarely. The sight of a fully grown bellowing nyek breaching is one of wonder to even the most hardened and experienced Ninth Worlders.” The Outpost is built in the midst of the wrecked ship and the naek corpse, and the survivors found that there was a lot more salvage than had been in the ship. Apparently naeks are full of numenera? Or possibly portals. Because the shipwreck camp developed into a trading outpost where anything can be got, and if you can’t find it the first time, you might be asked to come back in a couple days and it’ll miraculously be there now. Heh.

Edelmid island, as an environment. Because it’s weird. The whole island is covered in huge strange ring structures, called Grask’s Hoops, made of compressed dirt and sand that’s hard as rock and about as fertile. When dry, it runs in rivers, but hardens when wet into perfect rings, spreading outwards. They can go up as well as out, and the largest is 200 miles in diameter and a mile high. At the centre of these hoops are groups of plants called Crowns of Kavess, which gelatinous raspberry-red growths in crystalline shapes. They’ve adapted to Edelmid’s weird as hell weather, which rains sensations, including scent, sounds, and touch, which can be lethal if the sensation happens to be pain. The Crowns of Kavess ‘drink’ these sensations, and, after large storms, come together as colonies to ‘fruit’ numenera from the largest growth. Specifically artifacts, the most permanent and powerful of numenera. They defend these numenera and themselves during this vulnerable time by dusting the entire area in red dust that compels any creature it touches to defend the Crowns and their fruit to the death for 1 hour. So. This island is a fun and possibly lethal, but also possible profitable, time?

Rynach island, I’m only going to skim this, but it’s an island defended by psychic trees and housing a city-lab complex inhabited by transhumanist bioautomatons called kathons who believe firmly in self-improvement through self-modification, and have a lab complex made of light hovering above the forest. They have bioenhanced cybernetic symbiotic dolphin-like mounts/companions called guins that live in canals through their houses. It’s whole weird thing in there.

Darrad, a sprawling mining town on Angmorl island. It’s sprawling to cover the massive network of mining tunnels seeking ‘blue essence’, material found between rocks in the area that can power numenera, but is only sparsely inhabited, less than 2000 people. And possibly part of the reason for that is that, a while back, a rumour started circulating that the blue essence was the souls of creatures buried in the earth here, and the miners promptly rebelled, terrified they were messing with their own or other people’s ancestors. Blue Datasphere, the mining company running the town for a faraway investor, responded by basically massacring the town when the miners refused to cooperate, and built a second one, where miners have to agree to a temporary mutation that renders them mute to work there, in order to keep the rumour from re-spreading. But verbal communication isn’t the only communication, and keep that lid tight is still an issue.

The Rysors, between Angmorl and Augh-Chass, ten tall, towering, near identical ‘islands’ that rise hundreds of feet above sea level. And they move. They’re called the ‘Walking Islands’ or the ‘Walkers’, as if you’re watching from the shores of the nearby islands at exactly the right moment after twilight, you’ll see them get up, shake themselves off, and start weaving through each other as if interacting. Around when this happens, a high-pitched echolocation signal is emitted in their vicinity, and sometimes the Rysors glow during this event. People trying to go near the Rysors feel heavier and heavier the closer they get, and often find they’ve lost time when they return home. So like. Alien islands? Just hanging around.

The Rayskel Cays are definitely up there with Lostrei’s Glass Sea as one of my absolutely favourite parts of this world. I love them so much. Though, yes. If anyone is getting the impression that I like the maritime, watery parts of this setting a lot more than the burny bits of it, that’s probably true. But the whole thing about the dead needing to be placed under the waves in order to become a bioluminescent skyfish in the afterlife is just … I want to play someone from the Rayskels. In the Rayskels. I want to explore this place. It’s fantastic.

#numenera #ttrpgs #worldbuilding #setting #the rayskel cays #also vralk #mostly the cays though #what a fantastic setting #the religion here is amazing #what a worldbuilding thing to throw in #i want to be a bioluminescent skyfish after i die #lovely

[discipleof-jesus]

Good News

Every Christian should spread the Good News, not just pastors or people called to do such. Some people are chosen by the Lord to go above and beyond, but as servants of Christ it is still our duty to spread the Gospel and mirror Jesus Light onto people. -Jesus tells his followers, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” -Matthew 28:18-20

There are many ways to spread the Gospel, you can preach (which is the most commonly used), sing, write, recite a poem.. and whatever comes to mind that may help. Although there are many ways of spreading the Word not all of them are correct, for example making a play where Jesus or God is portrayed. God did not show Himself in Physical form but in many others ways that weren’t physical /human characteristics (ex. Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.  Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. -Exodus 3:1-3)…nor should we make status or make someone or something play as God for whatever purpose it may be. -You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. -Exodus 20:4

-“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill -Acts 17:29. Also meaning we should not limit our selves on how God looks like because He is the One and Only God, and the most Divine Being of all.

You have probably been said 'We are made in the Image of God' which is true -"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female he created them." -Genesis 1:27- but what does this exactly mean? Does it mean we look like Him? Or that maybe He has similar facial features to us? No. It means that we are created to have the same perfect Traits that He has, which is being Loving, Kind, Forgiving at all times, Righteousness, Godliness, Steadfastness, and Gentleness and so much more.

But…don’t we sin? Does that mean that’s what the Lord wants for us or that that’s one of His Traits? Again no the Lord doesn’t sin neither does He want something that displeases Him or draws us less close to Him, which is sin, we sin because of the original sin (Adam and Eve who disobeyed God in eating the forbidden fruit of knowledge of good and evil) meaning that evilness and sin was a choice or option for us now, but beware, it’s a choice so we don’t have to be tempted by the enemy because the Lord sent His Only Son to Die for our sins and salvation is now an option.

But being saved does not make you sinless in any way, but you are no longer a sinful person (meaning you live in sin and refuse to repent) but yes one who falls short in the Glory of God -for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. -Romans 3:23-24                                                                                                                                                                

#Good News #Gospel #Salvation #Christianity #Jesus loves you #How to spread the Gospel

[tarotlogy]

THE QUEEN OF PENTACLES – THE HOUSEKEEPER

KEYWORDS

Mature Earth Feminine, Prosperity, Success, Wealth, Rich, Luxury, Fine Living, Status, Prestige, Material Security, Economic Freedom, Possessions, Property, Land, Stability, Practical, Sensible, Organised, Methodical, Orderly, Systematic, Goals, Ambition, Grounded, Down-to-Earth, No-Nonsense, Matter-of- fact, Home-maker, Homebody, Homely, Assured, Happy, Cautious, Frugal, Safety, Traditional, Hard-Working, Determined, Consistent, Standards, Quality, Capable, Reliable, Steadfast, Committed, Loyal, Supportive, Faithful, Dependable, Hospitality, Generous, Big-Hearted, Kind, Benevolent, Welcoming, Warm, Nurturing, Friendly, Genuine, Confidante, Trustworthy, Healthy, Exercise, Nutrition, Cookery, Kitchen-Witch, Green Fingers, Animals, Wildlife, Children, Environment, Nature, Conservation, Protection, Healer

MESSAGES

Success is yours if you are prepared to work hard for it,  You are financially secure,  The money will come in,  You will be able to hold on to your money, Finances are definitely improving,  Your business will be a success,  There is plenty to go around,  Approach the situation in a down to earth manner,  Find a practical and workable solution,  Use your common sense,  Take a simple and sensible approach, Be resourceful, Work with what you have, Make a little go a long way, Work hard for what you want,  Set Goals and work towards them, Be ambitious, Set schedules and stick to them, Patience may be required of you.  Make your money work for you,  Safeguard your environment, Offer some love and support, Keep confidences and secrets,  Be true to your word, Make someone feel better, Give this time without expecting anything in return, Provide a stable home environment for your family,  You have a way with children and animals, Spend more time at home, Decorate your home, Spend more time cooking, Your pets mean a lot to you,  Help out at an animal rescue shelter, You are a wonderful mother, Grow your own food, Eat healthy and mind what you put in your body,  Time for some gardening, get out and about into nature, Get some exercise and fresh air…  

From The Above Messages Try to Work Out Some Messages for Reversed

Now explore the personality of the Queen of Pentacles below.  If she has turned up in your reading it means her energies have special meaning for you at this time.

You must ask yourself:  Who is she?  Who does she remind me of?  Is she having a positive or negative influence in my life?  How can I embrace or avoid her energy?  What is she trying to tell me?  Is this how I am behaving?  Is this how others perceive me?  Do I like her or not? Do I want to be more like her? How can I be more like her, If she is not a person then what is her energy trying to tell me? How would this Queen handle my situation? Which part of this Queen am I trying to deny?

PERSONALITY PROFILE

The Queen of Pentacles is the Watery part of Earth.  She combines the inward focus of a Queen with the positive aspects of her element allowing her to feel successful and take pride in who she is.

This Queen sits upon her sumptuously decorated throne with multiple carvings of pears and apples. If we look closely we can also see a young child and elderly man’s face worked in to the elaborate engraving of the upper part of the throne.  Her curved armrests proudly display a goat’s head.  The side of her throne depicts the image of a wood nymph as she casually rests and observes.  Her throne sits amidst a countryside environment surrounded by trees, flowers, mountains, lakes and wildlife.  A rabbit happily hops into the picture. He is either unaware of the Queen or just comfortable with her presence. Her throne sits under an arch of blooming rambling pink roses. Here we get a real sense of this Queen even before we take a closer look at the woman herself.  In essence this Queen is in her element, Earth.  This imagery tells us of her connection to Mother Earth; the Natural Kingdom and also that of the Animal Kingdom.  This Queen is also connected to the Elemental Kingdom – the world of Faeries.  All in her garden looks healthy and happy.  The sky is sunny, clear and bright with not a cloud to be seen suggesting that all is well.

The rabbit trusts this Queen enough to come so close.  One feels that the Queen is very aware of the rabbit but understands the importance of making him feel safe and secure.  She will not make a sudden move, nor will she use anything toxic in her garden which may poison and kill him.  The Queen of Pentacles is a protector of animals, wildlife and the environment.

The Queen herself is dressed in a red gown suggesting her passion and enthusiasm for everything she is involved in.  Her simple white under-gown symbolises her pure nature. Her green cloak not only confirms her connection to the natural world but also that of the material world.  Her clothes look both comfortable and sensible.  There is not a sign of fussiness in this Queen’s appearance.  She has picked a practical outfit, suitable for sitting in the garden and playing with the animals or children.

On her lap rests a large Pentacle.  The Queen seems engrossed in her Pentacle.  She appears to nurse it as if it was a child.  Her pentacle represents all that she holds dear and all that she possesses.  We may be certain that the child and man portrayed in her throne play a significant role in her life.  This also gives us clues as to how important her family are to her, especially her children.  This pentacle may in fact be a child she cradles as she sits at peace with herself and the world.  She probably has a few more children who no doubt share this garden with her, but for the moment she is alone with her Pentacle and only the sound of birdsong, the breeze and the distant river flowing by to disturb her.  This is where The Queen of Pentacles is most happy and it is from the natural world that she draws her strength.  This Queen must maintain that connection to preserve balance within.

Together with the Justice or Empress cards of the Major Arcana she represents the astrological sign of Libra but can also represent any of the earth signs such as Taurus, Virgo or Capricorn.

Down to earth, practical and realistic, The Queen of Pentacles is a no-nonsense woman. This woman knew what she wanted from the time she was the Page and by setting goals and working hard she has made a success of her life.  She is healthy, happy and fulfilled.  The Queen of Pentacles goes about her everyday life in a capable and organised manner.  Not known for fussing or fretting she just gets on with the tasks at hand and wonders why others make such a drama over everything.

The Queen of Pentacles is a woman who loves animals and the countryside and is a strong conservationist and environmentalist. Her continued happiness relies on maintaining her connection with Mother Nature.

The Queen of Pentacles is a lovely, wholesome and big-hearted woman.  She is welcoming and supportive to all who know her.  She is generous with her energy, resources and time and likes to be a help wherever she can.  You can always rely on this Queen for practical help or sound advice.  When neighbours or friends need a favour or are stuck in a bind, this lady will never let them down, turn them away or tell them she is too busy.  As a friend she is loyal, steadfast and will not break a confidence.

When you feel down or unwell, the Queen of Pentacles will boost you up and make you feel much better about yourself in no time. She makes everyone feel stable, secure and well looked after.  She is often seen as a soft touch by many but very few would really take advantage of her good nature.  She hasn’t a bad bone in her body.  She is there for everyone and all would feel lost without her.

The Queen of Pentacles has her life well organised. She keeps everything ticking over by ensuring the mundane tasks are taken care of so no one else has to worry about them.  She works methodically and pays attention to the minutest details in order to guarantee success and satisfaction in a job well done.  She enjoys routine and looks forward to her work no matter how tedious it might seem to others.  When this Queen puts her mind down to something she will not stop until it is done.  This may mean slaving away in an overgrown and rocky old garden for two weeks until she has it completely cleared, levelled and dug out.  Others would feel overwhelmed by the enormity of such a horrendous task, but this Queen would see it as a labour of love.  Relishing the thoughts of the days ahead and her ultimate goal, she would set herself a schedule and stick to it.  This might include, early to bed and early to rise in order to get the best daylight hours for her back-breaking and monotonous work. She will achieve her goal on time and stand in pride over what she has accomplished.  Her belief is that a little hard work never hurt anyone.  She tackles most jobs herself rarely needing the help of others.

This is a card for success through practical planning and having a realistic approach to ones goals. This Queen is well aware of her strengths and abilities.  She knows that if the necessary hard work is put in then all her dreams and ambitions are attainable.

The Queen of Pentacles has worked hard to achieve success and has probably made sacrifices along the way.  The meaning of success for this Queen can come from a variety of sources as she is concerned with many aspects of her element Earth.  The Earth element demands manifestation in the physical world so this Queen not only feels successful within, it will also be evident around her.  The Queen of Pentacles enjoys status and social prestige.  Therefore she likes her things, her possessions and to luxuriate in all her success has afforded her.  Not for a moment should we view this Queen as flashy or showy for here is a lady who lives by the code of ‘quality over quantity’ and ‘less is more’.  She also believes that nothing of worth ever comes easy and that if something seems too good to be true then it probably is.  She has either earned and paid for everything she has herself or, is the partner of a successful man who she has supported through thick and thin.

The Queen of Pentacles innate need for financial security makes her cautious with money and will squirrel away some housekeeping for a rainy day.  An excellent housewife and homemaker, she can be frugal when necessary and makes a little go a long way.  She does not like waste so she uses the resources she has at hand and makes do.  She likes to save as much as she can but regardless how healthy her bank account, she can still worry about scarcity.  Therefore she likes money and plenty of it.  This does not make her greedy and mean as we have already learned of her generosity and kindness.  In the imagery of the Queen of Pentacles, she looks relaxed and comfortable as she gazes down on her worldly goods and possessions.  We can assume in this picture that she has more than enough and if she is happy then she must be financially very comfortable indeed if not altogether wealthy.  This Queen turning up in your reading can represent prosperity.

This is the Lady who has the lovely expensive and comfortable house.  We met her on her journey through the Minor Arcana when she starred in the 9 of Pentacles. In that card she was the successful and prosperous woman who had worked hard and was now reaping the rewards.  She was depicted in the garden of her lovely countryside property, beautifully dressed and admiring her thriving plants and shrubs. Therefore this Queen prefers to be surrounded by nature instead of concrete so a country property will certainly appeal to her senses.  It may not be large but it will certainly be tasteful and filled with very particular pieces of furniture that were hard saved for.  This Queen will choose to sit on an orange box for two years rather than rush out to buy just any cheap sofa in order to furnish or fill a room.  She is drawn to the finer things in life and appreciates art, antiques, good food and good wine.

She also has an eye for interior design which will be evident in the decor of her own home. Friends often try to emulate her style.   Known for her green fingers, she is a keen gardener and will put every bit as much effort into it as she does the house.  Because this Queen is very self-sufficient and resourceful, she likes to grow her own vegetables, herbs and fruit.  Her garden will be both beautiful and productive.  Her garden will also overflow into her house which will be full of potted plants and flowers.  The Queen of Pentacles enjoys the outdoors whether it is walking in the forest or laying summer flowerbeds.  She is healthy and hardy and enjoys a strong constitution by eating well and getting regular exercise.

The Queen of Pentacles is very much a homebody and so likes to spend a lot of time in or around the house.  She considers her home and garden her sanctuary and feels secure there.  Although she does like her house to stunning, it must also be a home and a place of comfort for all.  This Queen is strongly connected to the Animal Kingdom so her pets will certainly be allowed access.  She may own a horse or two if she is lucky to afford them and if not stabled at home she will make sure they are well looked after elsewhere.  She considers her pets part of her family. Their happiness, health and security are vital to her.  Indeed this woman could easily fill her house with animals instead of humans.  She has a wonderful natural ability to communicate with the Animal Kingdom and The Queen of Pentacles will often be involved in Animal Welfare Groups or Rescue Centres.  She is a natural nurturer and comforter and has a predisposition for taking in strays.  These abandoned or homeless souls may be either of the two or four-legged kind.

In relationships the Queen of Pentacles is loving, loyal, supportive and nurturing.  She makes an excellent partner who enjoys cooking and caring for her special man.  As a woman she is feminine, earthy, sexy and sensual.  She is very careful to maintain her healthy body by getting plenty of exercise and fresh air.  Therefore she looks damn good.  She also likes to wear exquisitely cut designer clothes made in natural fibres.  The Queen of Pentacles’ element is Earth which deals with the physical aspects of life so here we have a woman who is in touch with her femininity and sexuality.  She likes things to appeal to her senses so loves to touch and be touched.  She has plenty of energy and enjoys a healthy sex life with the right partner.

This Queen does not get involved with just anyone who happens to be around.  Part of her needs as a Pentacle is security on all levels.  This woman needs to know she is in a stable and secure relationship with a man who is as committed to her as she is to him.  She demands loyalty and faithfulness but her partner will get so much in return if he can provide her so.  The Queen of Pentacles also needs to feel financially secure and will not be drawn to a partner who is going nowhere; with no plans or ambitions for his future.  The Queen of Pentacles often represents the self-made and successful business woman.  She is ambitious by nature herself and has worked hard to get where she is.  She has no desire to carry her partner unless it is to help him further his career or set up his own business.  Therefore the Queen of Pentacles needs someone like-minded or at least proactive.  She may have met her partner while still in college or through work.  She can be found in a long-standing relationship where the couple has a long-term plan for their life.  Not rushing into marriage, they will save long and hard to get married and for the right home.  Much will be sacrificed along the way such as social life, presents and treats.  If her partner shares her goals or if they have set goals together as a couple then the Queen of Pentacles will work tirelessly alongside him until they are realised.  This is the woman who will live with her partner in an old mobile home for years while saving to build their dream house.  They will have plenty of time to enjoy their success after all the hard work has been put in.  Failure in obtaining her goals is not an option for this Queen.

She is a good cook and uses mostly fresh and organic ingredients.  She enjoys entertaining and makes an excellent hostess.  She can make elaborate banquets as simply as the spontaneous suppers she regularly rustles up for unexpected guests.  You will never be let go hungry in this house. When entertaining, her table will look straight out of the centre of a House and Home magazine.  Wine will have been carefully researched and chosen for its quality and suitability.  Overnight guests will be forgiven for mistaking they are staying in a top class hotel as beds will be turned down, towels professionally folded, bathrobe provided along with luxurious smelly stuff in the bathroom.  Bowels of fresh flowers and interesting reading material will be strategically placed for best effect.  The Queen of Pentacles loves her guests to feel welcome and cherished and has no problem going to such elaborate lengths to ensure everyone has a wonderful time.  It is her meticulous attention to the tiniest of details that makes all the difference.  Because of her ability to entertain on an almost effortless professional basis she can be relied upon to host wonderful dinner parties for her husband’s business associates and colleagues.

Career related, The Queen of Pentacles is a natural successful and prosperous Business Woman. This lady likes to run her own show but has to make sure it will be a success before she gets involved.  Once she has done her research well, has set realistic and reachable goals and has adequate funding behind her she will work tirelessly to make it a success.  This may take some time if not years but the Queen of Pentacles has the patience, tenacity and long-range vision to follow through.  She is not interested in just making a little bit of pin-money.  This lady in business intends to make it big.  Her presence in a reading for someone who is starting up a business would suggest financial success through hard work, determination and paying attention to detail.  Although she likes to earn her own money and be the sole beneficiary of all her business profit, she can work equally well for others.  She has no problem following orders and working to policies set out by others once she is getting well paid for it.  Unlike the Queen of Wands who likes to be the office rebel, you will not find this Queen causing any trouble.  She goes about her work quietly, in an orderly and efficient manner.

She is often drawn to the corporate world of large financial establishments or institutions. This lady not only likes to have money, she also likes to work with it so a career in banking would definitely suit.  With her innate understanding of figures and money she is also drawn to careers in accountancy, taxation and economics.  Excellent with organisation; extremely capable and orderly she is often found as the office manager who makes sure all are doing their work and are happy.  Her reliability, loyalty and attention to detail provide her with the necessary skills for a role as a secretary or PA.

The Queen of Pentacles is the lady who will stay behind in the office late each night to ensure a project meets its final deadline.  She can be completely relied upon to finish any work related task required of her.  Her work will also be of the highest quality.  She will probably give more in work than her surrounding colleagues and will pick up the slack of the less conscientious staff without making a fuss about it.  If something needs to be done, she just does it.  The Queen of Pentacles rarely has to haggle over getting a pay raise or bonus.  Her superiors are only too aware of her almost indispensable abilities along with her impeccable work ethic.  Any company would hate to lose her to a competitor.

This lady likes stability and security and being quite a traditionalist naturally gravitates to long-established and well-known successful institutions.  Unless it is her own business or she has ultimate faith in those setting it up she prefers to know where her money is coming from each month and that she will get adequately paid for all the effort put in. She needs the security of a company that is not liable to disappear overnight. .  Cautious and not known for risk taking, the Queen of Pentacles is not interested in any one hit wonder organisations.  The Queen of Pentacles can regularly be found taking up a career in government employment or running state institutional homes where structure and order are essential.  She can utilise her excellent managerial skills just about anywhere to her advantage.

Along with financial security in work, loyalty and routine are very important to her.  If she finds a job that ticks all her boxes she can settle in nicely.  You may find this Queen working for the same company or firm right up to retirement age.  However, she will still have advanced in her career during this time.  She is bound to be on a fantastic salary with a solid pension scheme in the background.

With her wonderful caring, and nurturing nature, this Queen would also make a first class nurse.  She can also carve out a career for herself in medicine.  She is very conscious of her physical health.  As a result of her connection to the element of Earth she favours the more natural methods of healing the body.  Careers in alternative medicine, holistic therapies and healing will also appeal to the Queen of Pentacles.  She is also concerned with that which she puts into her body so she may do well as a nutritionist, dietician or health food expert.

Her outstanding hostess qualities will find her working her way to the top of the ladder in the hospitality industry.  She is also an excellent cook and can work well in the food service industry or catering business.

The lure of the land, nature and animals can call her to careers in gardening or landscape design.  She often gets involved in farming or agricultural work.  She is a strong environmentalist and can spend years carefully cultivating land to prepare it for organic work.  Her love of animals will find her working in rescue shelters, animal boarding or kennels. She loves horses so can work successfully in any area related to them but especially likes looking after them.

The Queen loves land and buildings so can readily be found in the property business. A traditionalist and conservationist we can find her working for the National Heritage Organisations, protecting and preserving old and historical buildings.  We already know she enjoys the good things in life and is drawn to luxury so a career in the upper end of interior design or the antiques business would sing to her finer senses.  The Queen of Pentacles likes her own home so much that she often chooses to work from it or sets up a home-based business. She favours practical crafts and so could set up a business at home to sell her preserves and home-baked cakes and bread.  She could also sell these at the local Farmers Market.  She also likes to knit and sew and make a career out of her hobbies.

Other careers that might suit are: Quality Control, Agriculture, Forestry, Education, Legal Secretary, Tailor

The Queen of Pentacles, like the Empress in the Major Arcana is natural mother.  She just loves to take care of children and can juggle a large family with ease.  She will make sure her children feel as secure as they can both physically and materially. They will have the benefit of her wonderful nutritious cooking to see them through childhood.  She encourages her children to bring their friend’s home as she provides an open, warm and welcoming environment for them.  The house may be all hustle and bustle with kids and their friends not to mention all the family pets dashing around.  However, there will never be a sense of chaos here.  Mealtimes may find several other faces gathered around the table.  Her children’s or partner’s friends will have sampled her superb cooking, mouth- watering preserves and scrumptious home-baked cakes on many occasions.  They will be only too delighted to stay for a bit to eat if asked.  And asked they are for the Queen of Pentacles delights in filling their bellies with good old home-cooked nutritional food.

I can’t really see this Queen living anywhere but the countryside.  However, if circumstances prevent her, she will make sure that her children are exposed to the countryside and nature on a regular basis even if she has to drive miles to access it.  She will teach them the importance of maintaining balance in the environment and how it needs to be protected.  Animals will feature strongly in her children’s lives from the very start.  Family pets of dogs and cats will probably share their beds and will be treated as members of the family.

When the Queen of Pentacles takes her family on holidays she heads for the countryside be it in the hills, the forest or down by the sea.  The animals usually go too.  This Queen likes the tradition of vacationing in the same place every year so she may own a small holiday home or old cottage which she has lovingly restored.  Here she will create a home from home environment where the family will instantly settle once they arrive.  She could also return to the same welcoming and comfortable hotel or guest house year in year out. Holidays will be spent relaxing and roaming the country lanes with her kids picking wild blackberries or organised hill walks with back packs and packed lunches.

Good all round education is very important to this Queen, so where and when she can, her children will be enrolled in the best schools her money can afford.  She is not drawn to modern or new style schools so the older more established ones are preferred.  Along with a term fee that could pay your mortgage for a year, these schools come with long-standing reputations and an even longer waiting list.  She enjoys the high-status of having her children attend these prestigious establishments.  She chooses her children’s school based on long-term goals and not on which one is the trendiest.  She knows that to succeed in life you have got to get ahead from the very start.  She wants her kids to be exposed to the best possible environment for learning and also to the right kind of people. Her children will attend highly academic, results oriented schools.  Schools where are the students are encouraged to be ambitious; and if not the student then at least the parents should be.  These are schools where all students will be expected to move on to third level education and then further still.  The school of choice will also put great emphasis on sport and outdoor activity.  This Queen has to guard against being overly ambitious for her children and not put too much pressure on them to succeed or to follow a certain family profession if it is not suitable for them or to their liking. .

The children of this Queen will indeed be sporty and horse riding will be top of the list. Pocket money will only be dished out once all chores have been completed as this Queen will wish to instil them with a sense responsibility where money is concerned.  An ‘honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay, ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’, ‘nothing of worth ever comes easy’, ‘hard work never killed anyone’. She will encourage them to save for whatever it is they want and to ‘look after the cents and the Euros will look after themselves’.

The children of the Queen of Pentacles will definitely not spoil her children but they will want for nothing and will try to provide them with the best that money can buy. She will try to impart them with her values and remind them of the importance of Quality over quantity.

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