Practical Dreamer @luthienirl - Tumblr Blog

Modern Vampires - Short #3

Art by LilithielGames at DeviantArt

Vampire: dramatically corners target in a dark alley "I am the night. I have walked this earth for centuries. I have seen empires fall and oceans dry."

Alysia: dropping from the fire escape "Yeah, and you still owe my client $400 for the Airbnb damages in Prague. Pay up or get dusted, Vlad."

lilithiel

Rendered in DAZ Studio with Filatoon shaders

pronouncingitwang

at some point in your life you will be boiling fruit, water, sugar, and lemon juice in a pot to make a syrup or jam. the instructions will tell you to simmer for a certain amt of time. your timer will go off and you will look at the pot and go, "hm, this doesn't look thick enough. maybe i'll let it go for another 10 minutes." this is the devil speaking. it's only so liquid right now because it is at boiling point. it will thicken when it cools down. learn from the follies of my youth and do not let this happen to you

yokowan

at some point in your life you will be making a sauce or a stew in which you need to add cornstarch to thicken it. and you will prepare a slurry of starch in cold water and think "this looks like way too little starch to thicken this amount of liquid." this is the devil speaking. cornstarch instantly polymerizes at 95°C and if you add too much it will turn into an impossibly thick goop.

le-jardin-inculte

at some point in your life you will be making some sort of cream based dessert that requires gelatin to thicken it. and you will soak some gelatin sheets in water and think "this is too few gelatin sheets for this amount of cream." this is the devil speaking. it will thicken in the fridge and if you add too much you will end up with milk jelly

shithowdy

at some point in your life you will be baking cookies. you will take the sheet out after twelve minutes as the recipe instructs and the cookies will still be glistening and soft. "these don't seem cooked enough," you will think to yourself, "i should place them back into the oven until their edges are nice and golden." this is the devil talking. this is how you get dry, overdone cookies. the cookies will continue to bake on the warm sheet for several more minutes and then harden up after sitting on a rack for a while. trust the process. trust the process.

undeadassociation

Mythology Musing – The Bible & The First Night Demon

Let’s talk origins. The concept of the "vampire" didn't just pop out of nowhere in Victorian England. The fear of nocturnal, life-draining entities goes back to the dawn of written text, rooted deeply in ancient Babylonian and Assyrian mythology before being incorporated into early Jewish folklore (Goldblum, 2021).

The Witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28) suggests that necromancy and speaking to the dead has been a taboo obsession for millennia. Death was never meant to be the end of the conversation.

In Isaiah 34:14, we get a reference to Lilith, depicted as a night demon who dwells in the desolate desert (Goldblum, 2021). Over centuries of Jewish legend, Lilith transitioned into a fiercely independent spirit, often characterized as a beautiful but deadly nocturnal entity or succubus who preyed upon the unprotected (Jacoby, 1987). Death and the night were never meant to be empty. They were populated by entities that explained the unexplainable tragedies of the ancient world.

It is no coincidence that the name Lilith has been reclaimed by modern gothic and witchy culture as a symbol of dark, unapologetic feminine power. When society tells you to fear the dark, sometimes the most empowering thing you can do is become the creature waiting in it. It’s a name that carries immense weight.

Personally, it was a hell of a name for Lillith to grow up with. We're twins. She was born first so she got branded with that name and endured being called the devil's child by an in-law's mother, and was called the Antichrist in high school. But she owns it very well now.

undeadassociation

Mythology Musing – Celtic Roots & The Irish Dracula

Bram Stoker was Irish, and frankly, it shows. Long before Dracula, pre-Christian Celtic Ireland gave us the unnerving legend of the Abhartach (Game, n.d.).

Folklore from the fifth and sixth centuries describes the Abhartach as a tyrannical dwarf king and dark sorcerer who repeatedly rose from his grave at night to feast on the blood of his subjects (Game, n.d.). The only way to stop him? Slain with a wooden sword, buried upside down, and trapped beneath a massive stone. Vampirism in these early stories was closely linked to visceral, prehistoric fears surrounding blood as the ultimate source of human vitality (Buzea, n.d.). The veil between life and death has always been terrifyingly thin, especially around Samhain.

There is a deeply auditory element to Celtic horror that gets overlooked. The ancient Celts were oral storytellers, meaning these monsters lived in the breath and the voice. When we pluck the strings of a Celtic lap harp or weave sweeping ambient layers into our tracks, we are trying to capture that exact, ancient chill—the feeling of cold wind tickling a burial mound.

The Abhartach (Wikipedia)

Samhain and the Celtic Underworld (Wikipedia)

Game, P. B. (n.d.). The History of Vampire Folklore.

Buzea, T. (n.d.). How a Book Changed a Nation.

undeadassociation

Welcome to The Undead Association (UdA) 🦇

Let’s address the elephant in the crypt. Yes, we know you’re out there. Yes, we know modern society wasn't built for those of us who perceive time in centuries rather than fiscal quarters.

The Undead Association is your premier support network for post-mortal integration. Think of us as HR, but for vampires, ghouls, and the occasionally resurrected. Whether you need help setting up a nocturnal bank account, or simply finding a roommate who won't ask why you keep bags of O-negative in the crisper drawer, we are here.

Life after death doesn't have to be a waking nightmare. We can help. (Unless you're a zombie who refuses to moisturize. Then you're on your own.)

gar-wafflez

housederiva

My housemate's cat came into my room while my dictation was on...

No matter how many times I listen to this song, every time I listen to it, it is the best song ever.

#ateez #silver light #the world ep fin #Spotify

catasters

snug-gyu

aflo

best windows shortcut

ctrl + c "the copier"

ctrl + x "gimme that"

ctrl + v "the paster"

ctrl + a "i want it all"

ctrl + w "get tf out of here"

ctrl + p "printer ink is nothin to me man"

ctrl + home "i am the alpha"

ctrl + end "i am the omega"

actually this is a very nuanced topic

stupid baby mac user button

Voting ended onDec 2, 2024

expressions-of-nature

by Yuri Morozov

expressions-of-nature

Frozen Trees by Szabo Ervin-Edward

atzual

what your ateez bias says about you

if you take this seriously, that's on you. i'm just doing this for fun.

tw: heavy topics, language, roasting

*****

hongjoong: right. how's the desire to impress people and overworking yourself doing? i feel like what draws you in is his resilience, and that he is very dependable. you probably had a lot of moments where you were left to your own devices to work on something major, and are no stranger to burnout. you might be the kind of person to talk about your achievements and your work and everything you do a lot, maybe to seek validation (and maybe to cement that you have something others don't). on a softer note, you probably have a wide range of skills in a field you are interested in, and experiment a lot. generally are not afraid to go outside of norms to figure something out. so to see the qualities of a leader and innovator in joong is both comforting and inspiring to you. (bonus: you probably have a thing for clips of joong in the studio, don't you?)

seonghwa: you feel like you don't have anyone who you can actually trust with your thoughts and feelings, huh? people talk at you, not to you. you are a natural care-giver, are quick to give advice (also to bottle up someone else's negativity), often ignoring yourself. you might have lost the feeling of 'home' or of 'small but certain happiness', and might have some unhealthy coping mechanisms. on a brighter note, you are someone who can process emotions a lot more deeply than others and if there is anyone who can actually put themselves in another's shoes, it's you. i think hwa is a safe space to you, precisely because it is not all sunshine and rainbows. you connect with his battles, growth, and how he is accepting change and trying to find balance. (bonus: him getting excited about something is legit your therapy isn't it)

yunho: many acquaintances, few friends? i think you legitimately stopped believing in love. at least the mushy 'at first sight' and 'meet cute' and 'soulmates' kind of love. might be because of family-related things, or because of romantic relationships, but trust is a problem for you. you probably think negatively about yourself quite a bit and/or have/had a more pessimistic mindset. on the positive, i think you're really loyal when you find your people, and want to see them happy. you connect with people beyond love, you make connections that are made on living life together and going through things together. i think this is also what drew you to yunho - his perseverance, resilience, ability to smile in the face of hardship, but also his ability to navigate a lot of emotions as they come and deal with them in a healthy way. (bonus: his small expressions of affection/acts of kindness make you melt, right?)

yeosang: you've been through quite a lot, haven't you? i think you try to laugh a lot of it off or treat it lightly, but the demons eat away at you sometimes. you might be someone who burned out in/after high school, and generally does not have a good experience with school. might feel lonely even when you are not alone, sometimes just choosing to float in your imagination for comfort. often act tough or not quite like yourself to appear more like the you you have in your head. i think in part you kind of want to learn how to love the world like yeosang, and are really touched by his sweetness and his humor. you are a fighter and despite it all, do stay true to yourself and your values, and this is something that you find and adore in yeosang. you are drawn in by his ability to follow his dream, and his heart of gold. maybe your scars will turn golden too. (bonus: you probably have a mild obsession with his one-liners)

san: how are your boundaries, broken like the wall? you probably have some trouble with setting and/or maintaining boundaries, and so sometimes have people treading over you. you might feel like a side character in your own life, and so turn bitter and internalize a lot of negative energy. honestly on a brighter note i think you really do try hard for others, and go out of your way to try and make dreams happen for others, because it makes them and you happy. you cheer, you support and you truly show that you are on a loved one's team. I feel that what draws you to san is how he transformed himself in a healthy manner, and how he maintains a very clear circle of those he trusts, and is no stranger to kindly setting rules in place while still remaining sweet and respectful. he is a safe space for you both because he makes you smile with his stories and jokes, but also because he is adamant on keeping things in order. (bonus: his reaction to the merch donation story lives rent free in your mind)

mingi: got some problems with regulating emotions, maybe? be it hiding them until you burst or not knowing how to express them, i think this might be a challenge for you. you might have been exposed to something that made you believe that it is a sign of weakness or a risk. at the same time, you are logical, damn good at what you do, and when you face hard times you bounce back, even if it takes some time. i think you and mingi share the introspectiveness, and you like how thoughtful he is. you probably find comfort in how he shares happiness with others, and how he seeks closeness with loved ones. at the same time, there is something about how he transforms on stages that resonates with you - the power and confidence is something you want to work on and find more of in yourself. (bonus: your will never stop thinking about mingi's creative process monologues + freestyle mingi)

wooyoung: do people tell you you have a big personality, or that you are 'a lot' sometimes? i feel like you have your way of working, your way of thinking, but might have a hard time actually communicating that or adapting to different social environments. it might be because you're headstrong, or because you are in constant fight or flight mode and so are more rigid. at the same time i think you are diligent and very detailed with what you do, and are in fact attentive to others and might notice things others don't. i feel like what you admire in wooyoung is his ability to connect with others, while not losing himself or his values. you feel for his hardships, and he helps you learn how to be more loving and more open with expressing and accepting love. he is very much your candle. (bonus: you cried because of his interview + dance in that one show, didn't you?)

jongho: how many thoughts are spinning in your head? you might be an overthinker, slightly misanthropic, and on bad days might sink to having a victim mindset and ask the universe 'why me?'. you might have had to grow up too fast, or were controlled a lot as a kid - either way, your understanding and experience of freedom and maturity might be warped. at the same time you are reliable and are able to call things out for what they are. you might have also put a positive spin on the negatives and either used them as inspiration, grew from them, or taken a skill from them that you then generalized. i think jongho's humor and innate warmth is your haven, and his continuous self-development grounds you and motivates you to also try your best and think of ways to find the good in situations. i feel you might also resonate with his occasional shyness. (bonus: you often think about his emotional strength even when he talks about his concerns, don't you?)

luthienirl

Unnervingly accurate for every Atiny I know well.

luthienirl

Reblogging because it's still accurate.

#kpop bias #ateez

TW: Miscarriage

When I was 7 weeks pregnant for the first time, I was 26 years old and kind of high risk, so I was seeing my ob/gyn weekly. I had started bleeding and they did an ultrasound, and the sad look on the nurse's face said everything to me. She told me there was no longer a heartbeat, and I started crying.

She tried to reassure me, saying that sometimes these things happen, but that there was a risk this was a molar pregnancy.

I didn't know what that meant, and she explained it was basically an embryo that develops into a tumor, possibly cancerous. She told me I'd have to take pills to ensure the miscarriage was completed, and have a D&C, and I'd have to have my hormones monitored for weeks before I could try getting pregnant again.

So I swallowed my tears and scheduled the D&C and went to the pharmacy with red eyes to get the pills that would finish the job my body had started.

I went home and took the pills, including the 800 mg of Motrin they gave me to help with the pain. It didn't even begin to touch the agony. It was a cramping, twisting, sickening pain, the worst I'd ever experienced. I was bleeding profusely and spent most of the night in the bathroom, crying alone until my throat was sore.

In the morning I took another 800 mg of Motrin and headed to the hospital, where they gave me a Valium and had me change into a gown and wait.

The D&C was excruciating and it was heart-rending. The OR staff were uncomfortable and sad. My twin heard me moaning and crying in pain from the waiting room, and I think she was shaken because she'd never heard me make that sound before. As I would learn when I ultimately successfully carried my daughter to term, that pain from the D&C was worse than what childbirth.

But without that procedure, abortion pills and a D&C, I would have gotten sepsis and/or cancer. I would have died. So yes, abortion is healthcare.

Anyone who thinks that abortion pills or a D&C are a pain-free and easy walk in the park is just fucking stupid.

I had always thought abortion would be an easy choice for me and a simple thing, but when it came down to it, there was nothing simple or easy about it at all, even though it was that or die.

The fact that women in the same situation in other states are dying because a man or worse, a governmental entity, has made the choice for her, is deplorable and depraved.

Vote like your life depends on it, because it does.

#abortion is healthcare #miscarriage #vote democrat #reproductive rights #womens rights #pro choice #bodily autonomy