#AND THEY WERE ALL DOOMED FROM THE START BY THE WORLD THEY INHERITED WITHOUT CHOOSING OR WANTING IT | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sxvethelastdance · 4 years ago

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Okay so, shoutout to @bastardsunlight for letting me bomb them with my infodump analysis on a particular trait of Liu Kang’s character that has stood out to me upon analysis of something he said in MK11 that caught my eye. After Liu’s fight with the Revenant Jade he says this:

“You will not test my faith.”

This got me asking the question of what extent Liu Kang’s faith reaches when compared to someone who’s more prone to expressing doubt, friend or foe. Doesn’t matter. Now the thing about the Mortal Kombat universe is that the gods ARE real. They have an ‘active’ relationship with the Earthrealmers through Raiden and Fujin. So the faith aspect comes less from a religious context and more from the trust and belief that accompanies having faith in someone or something to do right by you. Even characters like Quan Chi have their own twisted version of faith, trusting Shinnok to reward his loyalty and service. Liu Kang himself doesn’t expect a reward for his faith in the NRS adapation, he seems to practice his beliefs because they extend to him the comfort and explanations that lot of people who engage in this seek. Belief systems are often how people make sense of the world and how they cope with their struggles. This is how Liu Kang deals with his. Faith, or a break from it, seems to be the primary way he reasons with his surroundings in all these different versions of his character.

More under the cut:

Disclaimer: I’m not religious/do not possess a faith myself. Take this all with a grain of salt.

In the Netherrealm continuity version of Liu Kang’s character, we see that a good deal of what he does is characterized by his faith in Raiden and by extension: The Elder Gods. He's been a student of the Wu-Shi Academy since infancy, he doesn't carry the trauma of losing his parents and then Chan like MK95 Liu, or implied abuse like the 2021 film version of Liu Kang, has no ties to the outside world, just his community. The temple Elders and Raiden were almost 100% transparent about what he would have to face growing up, communicating an approximation of the expectations that would fulfill his responsibilities to the realm. Liu Kang grew into his duty and thus formed an attachment to it. A part of his identity's tied up in that responsibility, that quality of wanting for nothing because he represents an ideal. He is humble, calm, and faithful to his principles. He follows Raiden’s lead throughout Mortal Kombat 9 and trusts that what they do under these conditions will give them the answers that they’re looking for. When he and Raiden go to visit the Elder Gods during the last quarter of the game, Liu Kang is faced with the Gods themselves. He has the opportunity to observe them and their priorities, to see that they aren’t here to do right by the people he has sworn to protect. The cracks continue to form in the foundations of his faith as more bodies pile up, until it all comes to a head on the rooftop as Shao Kahn begins the realm merger. Raiden begs, “Have faith in the elder gods, have faith in me.” and Liu Kang finds that he can’t. It’s cost them too much. It’s that pivotal moment where Liu Kang breaks from his faith and chooses his own way. Ultimately, this is what costs him his life when Raiden accidentally kills him while fending off Liu Kang’s attack.

It gets even more interesting when you compare this version of him with his Mortal Kombat (1995) counterpart. When we meet that version of Liu Kang it’s immediately obvious that he’s broken from the faith he was raised into. He recognizes Rayden’s status as the god of thunder and in the offhanded way that one would recognize say, an old religious text. Something you know about, and aren’t particularly mystified by because it’s been hammered into your skull for as long as you’ve been alive. Liu knows the stories and the value that they have to people like his grandfather, but it’s something to acknowledge and move along with. The man is burnt out, that much is clear. The movie shows us from the outset doesn’t quite believe in the Gods anymore, that perhaps something happened to make him ask questions of the community’s principles, the ones he inherited by way of cultural osmosis. At some point in his adult life, Liu Kang was confronted with the age old dilemma of ‘seeing is believing’; and when he didn’t see anything, he didn’t believe. So he left to a place where he could be somebody, anybody BUT the chosen one. Which ended up saving his life because otherwise Shang Tsung would’ve swooped in on that technicality and taken him instead of Chan.

Now what I’m not saying here is that Liu Kang’s faith, religious or otherwise is a character flaw, or that the only reason MK95 Liu survived is that he didn’t believe anymore. No, what I am saying is that MK95 Liu was at a place with his faith where he could handle it if it things fell short of his expectations because he’d already steeled himself for it, where NRS Liu Kang was thoroughly hurt by what looked like confirmation that the foundations of everything he believed in were cracked, that his faith was misplaced. That it cost him everything. He died right on the cusp of realizing a fundamental truth. It’s one thing to die in battle because that’s what you signed up for, that’s the role you were groomed for. It’s another to die when you finally began to ask yourself ‘What AM I fighting for? Who made this decision?’. Then dying for nothing! Nothing at all! Your death wasn’t the absolute that you were told it as by the elders every day of your life either. The realm survived without you. You weren’t... Important. Nothing you did mattered. The rules don’t exist in any meaningful capacity, the elder gods don’t particularly care, you are alone. It’s no wonder his revenant is so bitter! The man set himself on fire to keep everybody warm and now is doomed to burn in the hereafter for it.

Mortal Kombat (2021)’s version of Liu Kang’s faith is a little bit more complicated in my eyes. This depiction of him is more openly faithful than the others. He essentially acts as Raiden’s assistant, wears prayer beads and covets them at difficult moments, frequently meditating. It looks like he uses his faith as a coping mechanism. There’s also another thing to consider, when we look at his past:

Kang has seen the absolute worst of the world, the nitty, gritty, and grimey. The first years of his life were spent suffering abuse as an orphan. It’s implied that he was a victim of human trafficking, which carries another set of implications entirely. Bo Rai Cho did him the kindness of bringing him to the temple, and I’m sure that the Masters did him an even greater kindness of introducing him to techniques that would help him find something resembling peace in himself. But it takes something else to secure someone’s faith in a system when one’s been through the ringer like that:

Trust. And who is it that he trusts more than anyone in the Order of Light? Kung Lao. They were paired up together, presumably to provide him with a peer that he could trust to treat him properly after years of mistreatment (perhaps it was difficult to trust adults with such a fraught history). And Lao did it! He gained his trust! The Liu Kang that we see in the present day is strong in his conviction that what they have committed to is what’s right for themselves, he is fine to save a world that wouldn’t save him if the chips came down to it. His faith in the divine balance isn't blind here, there’s an emphasis on practice. It’s my understanding that it DOESN’T come naturally to him, which sort of adds meaning to the act of believing because it’s a choice. He knows it’s a choice. That faith comes from a place of gratefulness and agency. The way that he talks about Kung Lao, how he builds him up as this amazing figure (at the slightest detriment to recognizing his own talents) tells us that he found something there worth believing in, and that it all started with believing in him.

For all the shit he's seen, one thing rings true: The world is worth saving because Kung Lao is in it.

#Liu.Txt #tilallmyscarsbleedgolden #Halcyonandon #implied liulao #( *snickers in sworn brother*)#( This post has been in my drafts for two weeks. Elder Gods help me.)

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anakinisvaderisanakin · 4 years ago

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When Conviction Fails - Darth Vader POV post ESB Fic

Vader was a man of conviction, as far as he saw it. As was expected of any successful Sith Lord; letting the emotions rule and take full control without ever truly allowing them to conquer you. Using fear to his advantage, using rage to gain power, and pain to enhance said power. It had taken two decades to come to this point. Wavering was expected early on; during the initiation towards the Rule of Two. Vader himself had started out with an unquenchable fury in his soul, and a fresh open wound where heart used to be.

When She died, She had taken his compassion with her. She had grasped at the hand of his spirit, and all that he stood for as The Jedi. As Her life withered away, so did all that was good inside him. Left was only an empty shell of suffering; of agony. What was left, he had deplored. In the remnants of the man that had once been; all that he loathed came to light.

And with the passing years, while the pain never faded completely; it had shifted. From a sharp, searing red hot poker constantly burrowing its way deeper into his side; to a dull, distant ache only there to make its presence known. To make sure it was never forgotten, as a cruel reminder. But no longer at the forefront of his mind.

Eventually, it became enough to numb any other emotion. The remorse over the way in which he had, directly or not, caused Her death was enough to daze and desensitize any other reprehensible act he may commit himself to. The slaughter of innocents, of civilians, of women, of children. All in the name of justice, all in the name of the Empire. It weighed little on his conscience. Why should the blood on his hands matter? If he could kill the person he loved the most, and still go on albeit as an empty shadow of his former self - what did it matter who else joined Her beyond the grave?

Except, he hadn't killed Her.

It had been the first thing Palpatine revealed to him; as his severely burnt and scorched flesh still stung and charred within the fresh confines of its haphazardly crafted life support system. As he was still confounded regarding what was real, and what was a waking nightmare. Trapped within the suit that would become the prison of his own making.

“You killed her,” Palpatine had rasped.

Those were his Master’s words. His only explanation. Insinuating that Vader had for one crucial moment lost control, lost his mind; and subsequently ended the one person he'd fallen so far from grace to save. The one soul he had been so desperate to salvage that he had willingly sacrificed his morals, and his very identity, if only to reach for that tiny sliver of hope Palpatine had dangled in front of his nose.

‘But I didn't kill Her.’

If he had killed Her, there would be no child. His son - their son - would have died with Her, still in the womb. Would have been buried alongside his mother in the Naberrie family tomb on Naboo. Would have never seen the light of day, never grown into the bright, promising young man who had destroyed the first Death Star. Would never have been named, never have been hidden away, never have been living life peacefully unaware of his heritage in the shadows of the Empire for nearly twenty years.

But he was alive.

Luke had changed everything.

The discovery of his existence had been like a slap to the face, like a stupefying wakeup call. Like Vader had found himself dunked beneath the icy cold waters of truth, forced to realize the bleak reality. Forced to realize that the one person he’d been blindly clinging to in this world, was even cruel than he could ever have anticipated.

Palpatine had lied to him.

Perhaps, Vader had indeed inadvertently caused Her demise - but She had lived long enough to birth their son. She had not died on Mustafar, She had not been strangled to death by the invisible hand of his Force choke. She had survived long enough to set their only child to the world. Long enough to name him Luke; granting him the name She had picked out for their child if it were a boy from the very beginning of Her pregnancy.

She had been right.

The Jedi had been convinced that their child would be a daughter, She had been adamant it was a son. Their son. Luke Skywalker. Named by his mother, bearing the stark reminder of who had fathered him.

‘Luke.’

Dark, shaggy blonde hair and deep blue eyes. The same hard, defiant conviction in his eyes as his mother’s hazel ones had carried. He'd inherited The Jedi's facial features; the same angular boyish face, the same dimpled chin; the same complex. But his spirit was that of his mother's. Burning like a furnace flame, fighting for what he believed was right with a conviction only death could steal away from him. Vader had hoped Luke would be more like himself; easier to break, easier to manipulate, easier to steer in the direction he'd have liked. He had wished he himself could mislead, and pull the strings as well as Palpatine had, some twenty years ago when The Jedi had become tangled in the Emperor's web of lies. Trapped like a fly, to be feasted upon by the ravenous spider.

But Luke was different.

Luke was sensitive, emotional, vulnerable and desperately searching for a way to bond with his long lost father. The Jedi would have recognized himself in those qualities; would have appreciated the similarities. Luke had been deluding himself into expecting a heroic fantasy, envisioning his absent father as one of the men who had singlehandedly led the opposition of what would become the Empire. A as beacon of hope. Instead, he had found himself saddled with the knowledge of what had truly become of The Jedi who had sired him.

Vader clenched his gloved hands into tight fists; the visual memory of Luke's hard set, intent expression as he let go of the ledge still etched into his mind. Blue eyes cold as ice; denying their familiar relations despite knowing very well how the Force did not lie. His Force signature bursting with mistrust, and contempt.

But Luke had lived.

For a short moment, as he watched Luke fall; Vader had been unexpectedly reliving the pain of that moment he came to his senses while still strapped to the operation table, as he broke free from his makeshift shackles.

Crippled; less than half the man he'd used to be. More cybernetics and machine, than flesh and blood. Reaching for Force powers he could no longer tap into; taunting him by remaining just out of reach. He was reminded of crumbling to the harsh floor, beneath the load of his own reconstructed body’s weight; of the searing pain as his respirator attempted to match his sobs with its own periodically synchronized breath cycles.

The physical torment, while a menace in its own right; bearing no likeness to the mental anguish of his breakdown. It had stabbed viciously at his already blackened heart, until nothing but a mangled piece of malformed meat remained; the pang in his chest as he watched the last link to Her fall to his doom bringing it back as a distant echo. He was choosing death over his own father, just as She had chosen death over him and the Empire.

But Luke had survived, by some miraculous whim of the fates. The will of the Force, perhaps. Still in denial; still battered, bruised and disabled. Doomed by his own father to experience the same loss of a limb that Count Dooku had once bestowed upon The Jedi.

The Jedi had been bereft of a right arm; Luke merely of his right hand. It had been a selfish, wicked way of attempting to have his son experience the same indescribable humiliation. Stripped of a part of himself; at the hand of an enemy he had been rushing unprepared to face. Overconfident; in over his head. With this, Luke had learnt never to throw himself head first into a battle he was not equipped to win.

But at what cost?

Vader found himself glaring out into the vast black void ahead of the Executor; clutching at the distant mental link humming between them for a brief moment - like a flicker of light before going out in an instant. Luke was too far away to read; as his signature disappeared along with his ragtag crew of rebels. The Princess no doubt on-board; Vader could tell. Ironic, how it had been her saving his skin this time around.

Still, he felt the frustration bubble up inside. Felt it mingle with the fury; with the disappointment. Despite the carefully calculated trap he'd set, the way it had played out all in his favour until that last moment where Luke broke protocol. His reaction had aligned with none of the scenarios Vader had prescribed beforehand. It had failed; he had failed - and Luke was gone. Just like his mother.

Vader knew he shouldn't be surprised.

Everyone had left him for dead. Whenever he’d dared to love, dared to trust, dared to open up and be vulnerable and sincere - it had been for naught.

Mother, watching with glassy dark eyes when he turned to peer at her over his shoulder one final time; ever the terrified little boy as he left Tatooine behind. The boy who believed the Jedi order would help him free her. Instead; it had kept him from saving her. The last time he’d seen her before her demise; he was only nine years old. She’d been all he knew. Albeit without intention of hurting him, and beyond her own control; Shmi Skywalker had passed away in his arms to leave him alone. Had torn the first hole in The Jedi's heart; had triggered the first act of rampant, blind revenge. His first step towards his dark fate.

“I’m so proud of you, Ani,” she had breathed; as the life left her eyes.

Ahsoka had followed; abandoning him for her own selfish reasons. Walking away from him, dismissing his importance in her life and the value of the lessons he had taught her; the value of their bond. She had made it clear he was never going to be enough; had turned him down despite his pleading, his admission that he understood her feelings better than anyone. The Jedi had failed his padawan, the only one to believe in her innocence and to what end? Ahsoka had still turned him down.

“..And without you,” she had whispered.

Obi Wan was next in line; siding with the maniacal teachings of the Jedi order. Fighting to avenge them - all the while outright lying to his face, trying to trick him into believing he could still return to him. Trying to make The Jedi believe that his former master had ever considered him a brother. That they were ever more than merely master and apprentice; that The Jedi was never the burden or a disappointment he’d felt he was. That he was important to Obi Wan, too, in a way he had never outwardly expressed. That Obi Wan, who never formed attachments after what happened to the Duchess of Mandalore; had been so overtly attached to him.

“I loved you,” he had sobbed.

And then Her; who had turned down his offer of keeping Her by his side. Turned down the offer to become untouchable, as his Empress. Betrayed him, in spite of all he had sacrificed for Her. He had killed younglings for her. His brothers and sisters; his entire life slaughtered in the crumbling ashes of the burning Jedi Temple. To learn the ways of the Dark Side, to join the Sith - to keep Her from dying. And She had thanked him by rejecting him; by claiming She could not follow him anymore.

“I love you,” she had cried; and for the first time in his life - he didn’t believe her.

Now, Luke had chosen to stride the same path. Selfish, like Ahsoka. He too believing in the lies Obi Wan had fed him. Believing himself too virtuous, too pure just like Her. Believing that any lives he had taken in the name of the Rebellion - and his misplaced sense of civil justice - to be easier to explain away, than those his father had claimed. But in a way, Vader supposed it was no surprise Luke took after his mother. His son’s intentions were fair, his sacrifices rational. She had been pure, and good; though She was not fully innocent in the wake of the war, either; she had known where She stood.

Luke had inherited the same sense of morality, the same hunch for standing up for the weak. Standing up against the Empire, as a way of breaking free; of fighting back against the leading elite. Although, his desperation to make a difference and be of importance mirrored that of The Jedi.

Vader had sworn before the battle at Bespin that Luke would be turned. But could he?

Luke was still but a youth; still naive and starry eyed - despite some of that innocence being ripped away in the very moment Vader had revealed to him the truth. But he was secure; he was so steadfast in himself and who he perceived himself to be. The Jedi had been going astray when he was the same age; his fears and insecurities eating him alive. Luke was already an adult; had already defeated his demons.

“I am your father,” Vader had said to him.

The response he’d received was that of Luke crying out in agony, in begrudging despair. All the while knowing that the grim revelation was nothing but the truth. Perhaps Luke would now see that the line between good and evil; right and wrong was not as straight as he had supposed. It was a blurry, tangled mess; the road to hell paved with good intentions. Vader's own road to hell surely had been. But Luke was paving his very own road elsewhere, it seemed.

Still, it stung Vader’s damaged eyes. The rage swelling in his chest; filling the empty void of broken, shredded pieces of what was once his heart. For a second, the shade of glowing amber that coloured his eyes a sickly, Sith yellow faded. Gave way for a pale, tired blue. Bleached by the scorching flames of Mustafar’s lava streams. The same blue eyes The Jedi had once sported. The same blue eyes his son now possessed. Vader shook his head in frustration, and in an instant the shift was reversed. The embers of his fiery stare bleeding through, devouring the remnants of The Jedi resurfacing.

Or, so he would have hoped.

But the pulsating ache inside; dull and sharp as a blade all at once, remained. Vader knew the feeling; recognized the emotion he’d thought long gone. One that had been numbed and buried deep for so many years; underneath the heaps and drones of twisted, lifeless bodies of his victims.

Remorse.

Regret.

Guilt.

Remorse, for the way in which he had handled his first meeting face to face with his son after he had learned the truth of their connection. Regret, for the way in which he had physically, and mentally, snuffed out some of the light of hope previously clear in Luke's bright blue eyes. Guilt, over the fact that he had purposely driven a wedge between them himself; much like he had done between himself and Her. He found he knew no other way.

Vader pursed what was left of his charred lips behind the face plate. He glared at the distant stars, sparkling like burning orbs against the inky sky behind them. Spanning eons of light years ahead. Filling the distance between himself and Luke, making it palpable. Tangible.

He despised Obi Wan for lying to his son. Despised the way in which he had deluded Luke into believing in a childish fairytale. Despised him for telling Luke that his father was dead, that his father was now unreachable.

‘But is that not what you tell yourself?’

Vader turned his head to the side, as if to deny the suggestion. Still, the quiet voice nagging at the back of his head would not be silenced.

‘Do you not constantly tell everybody that Anakin Skywalker is dead? That you destroyed him? Is that not what you tell yourself? Luke is not your son; he's The Jedi’s son.’

‘Luke is my son. My flesh and blood. Mine alone,’ Vader shot back silently; his inwardly projected diction a sharp hiss of a threat; angled towards the defiant part of his own psyche.

‘Then, you must also admit that you are Anakin Skywalker.’

‘His name means nothing to me.’

‘Then, Luke Skywalker cannot be your son.’

‘He is.’

‘Then, you are indeed Anakin, and you accept that as the only truth.’

‘I am not The Jedi; he was weak and foolish. I destroyed him and his pathetic legacy, he is nobody now. He is nothing.’

‘You cannot claim Skywalker as kin, if you do not acknowledge your own identity.’

‘Silence!’

‘Silence will accomplish nothing. It is too late to undo what you have revealed to yourself.’

Vader forcefully ignored his own intrusive thoughts; locking them back away inside the darkness of his past where they could not bother him.

But weren’t they right?

If Luke was indeed his son; did that not mean that The Jedi had never fully died? How could he be a different man, a separate entity, if he recognized The Jedi's son as his son?

‘And Luke is my son. My son, and he belongs to me. With me.’

He could feel it in his bones; could feel it as deeply as he felt the tendrils of the Dark Side surging through him. As deeply as he felt the connection to his own Force sensitivity, to his own memories of Her. Vader had loved Her - loved Her still - and She had been but the wife of The Jedi. If he thought of Her as his beloved, as his everything; did that not mean he must recognize himself as unchanged? A broken shell, a faded shadow of who he had once been. But the same nonetheless.

A fleeting image of Her passed before Vader’s inner vision. Her kind hazel eyes, full of mournful sorrow. Her silky brown hair, falling in springy curls over Her pale shoulders. His betrayal had destroyed Her; had ripped Her from him. How could he ever repent for that? His eyes prickling; Vader snarled silently to himself - deformed face contorting into a visage of hollow, yet overwhelming anguish.

The Jedi had known that what he had done was wrong; as soon as he stopped to think about it. Had known the lives he'd taken could never be accounted for, could never be justified. That, much as he liked to think killing the younglings had set them free from a cruel fate of being twisted by the unkind religion of the Jedi Order; he had been ridden with the burden of their murder. He had locked that knowledge away; had forced himself to deny its meaning.

Still, now, he was not as sure anymore. He found himself wavering; suddenly not as certain of his future as he had once been. Not as convinced of his purpose to suffer for eternity, while bringing upon others the same torment. Vader didn't even take note of the wetness pooling at the corners of his bloodshot yellow eyes until one lone tear broke free to trail down the grooves of his wretched face.

Only then, did the shock seep in.

When had he last cried? Had it been on Mustafar, after he had slayed the Separatists and the realization of what he had just committed himself to came crashing down on him? Had it been when he learnt of Her demise seconds hand after the brutal life saving ordeal, merging the bodily torture with the psychological agony? Had it been when Ahsoka swore to him that she would not leave his side this time, despite knowing what he had done as Vader? Had it been when he found Obi Wan's tattered robes were all that remained of the old man he had struck down, thinking it would bring him peace but finding himself stricken only by grief? Had it been the last time he was reminded that everything he felt, everything he stood for - everything he believed - came from The Jedi?

Luke knew who his father was.

Knew who he was; knew what he was. Despite having his world toppled over and turned on its head; despite trying to deny it. Vader had denied the same fact for so long, that he had almost forgotten where the line he'd forged between what he considered to be The Jedi and himself was drawn. All he knew for certain, was that Luke was his son. And if he wanted to cling to that one scrap of light; there were so many horrendous actions he needed to take responsibility for as well.

The Jedi had never truly died. The Jedi had only ever evolved, had only ever changed as life itself changed and formed him into a dark dealer of vengeance. Had been molded by the path he chose, and by the people he’d loved and lost. Had been hollowed out; until only the carcass remained.

It was The Jedi that had killed Her; he had stolen Her will to live, he had snuffed out Her longing for peace.

It was The Jedi that killed Ahsoka; having zero quells with beheading her as soon as she denied him what he wished for; denied him her allegiance.

It was The Jedi that had killed Obi Wan; striking him down after convincing himself that the blame was all on him, and that it would diminish with the death of his former Jedi Master.

Now, they remained lingering in his peripheral like translucent specters. Like a haunting reminder of how he may never escape. May never forget. May never be able to fully buy into his own lies. May never be forgiven.

The Jedi - Anakin - was still very much alive. Not thriving, but crumbled to the bare bones of a forsaken human being. Beaten down by life, enslaved by one person after the other. But he had a son.

As another tear trailed lazily down his cheek; Vader flinched. The sensation overwhelming him, a mixture of heavenly relief and excruciating devastation. It seemed one may never appear without the other in its tow. The name of The Jedi was supposed to mean nothing to him; was supposed to be an empty callback to a past long since abandoned and overcome. Was supposed to be a distant remnant of a man that no longer breathed. In itself, that was true from a certain point view.

But if it had truly meant nothing, it would never have stung the way it did whenever uttered for Vader to hear. When She said it. When Ahsoka said it. When Obi Wan said it. Whenever it was uttered, it would bring forth all the suffering The Jedi had caused. And all the contempt The Jedi harboured towards his own visage. Therein lay the answer.

‘I am Luke’s father. Luke is my son. I am Darth Vader.’

‘And Anakin Skywalker,’ the pestering murmur of his inner voice whispered.

Anakin no longer had the strength to suppress, or deny that statement.

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Can be found on my Ao3 below, repost from my original acc.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24048643

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writing-frenzy · 4 years ago

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I Wouldn’t Risk It (SVSSS Fic)

Summery: In which one annoyed Shang Huan does not know why he puts up with a certain Demonic Cultivator- “I owe you.” ah, that’s right.

Warning: some Violence and blood, and cursing. All good things to be found in svsss canon~

(In which @hamelin-born is a terrible, wonderful enabler, thus this is how it came about.)

EDIT: Part of Wager verse, first Part HERE

----

“Welcome to- oh wait it’s you.” Shang Huan started to greet some incoming customers, only to give the pair that came in a flat look instead.

“Greetings Uncle Shang!” Cao Mei, an actually adorable raven haired girl, her purple eyes so dark one could almost think they were black if it weren’t for certain lighting here and there. Puberty was obviously treating her well, seeing she must have been 19 at least, was developing some curves, her baby fat also finally melted off. But despite this, Shang Huan was unmoved, as for one, he wasn’t a fucking pedo, and two, he could easily see that same matching intelligence and calculation she inherited from her grandfather’s own dark purple eyes.

As expected of Wife #45; not only a knock out beauty in the making, but even had more IQ points then most, along with a more developed character and backstory then a lot of his later wife plots.

Though, he could admit he was taken off guard with her story then most; the cause of that being one certain person-

“I see the place hasn’t burnt down yet; congratulations for that.” was huffed by said anomaly, making Shang Huan focus his deadpan face on the other.

“Thanks, my kitchen staff is always trying though.” and no sooner were the words spoken, then what sounded like multiple firecrackers going off in said kitchen... He could even swear he saw what looked like a blue firework of a bird fly out from there, before one of his handy golems ate it as it passed...

Closing his eyes, Shang Huan counted to three, before opening them once more; he would never be able to count as high as he really wanted, but time was rarely on his side, so three it was. Hazel eyes once more opening, Shang Huan was able to look at a source of many headaches, one Dark Poison Sect Leader, Cao Xiaowen, a true doting grandfather who still looked like he was only in his late 20s, his blood red hair peppered with black from all the resentful energy surrounding him, and greys from stress of life actually catching up with him.

And a character that was never in Proud Immortal Demon Way, but yet again from one of his other stories; a Demonic Sect Leader that had just been a random background character, just to flesh out that world a bit more. He had only named because while he could get away without naming the Sect the guy made, it wouldn’t make sense to have Cao Xiaowen be nameless, seeing as he had bullshited a whole bunch of techniques this infamous and well known demonic cultivator was supposed to have made...

Making a face at that smiling face before him, Shang Huan felt some regrets; just some more to add to his pile stashed in his closet and under his floorboards, but what can one do? Especially with a story that seems to make sure he can never forget any of them, always seeming to push willing to push cheery, willful mistakes into his face.

i.e. the Demonic Sect Leader before him.

But then again, to see these two characters, Cao Xiaowen and Cao Mei connect here, in this living world of PIDW and other mash ups, was honestly rather amazing, just with Demonic Cultivation and the same last names... It was as fascinating as it was paranoia inducing. Cao Mei had been just another revenge wife plot, the young woman wanting vengeance against her Mother for killing her loved family members along with trying to kill her... as well as to save her young baby brother, who their Mother was trying to mold into her perfect image of Sect Leader. The girl had only been able to survive for as long as she did because one of her dying relatives had sacrificed themselves, turning themselves into her Spirit Familiar and protecting her...

.... And as for Cao Xiaowen, when he had mentioned how he went down in his end in his own story verse, Airplane had only said that it was due to betrayal and sacrifice, that being the only ending he gave the character...

(How many other fucking throwaway lines does he have to worry about ohmygodwhyisthishislife-)

“...So, why do you choose now to darken my doorway?” Shang Huan asked, the unspoken ‘I-know-you-hate-this-place-much-less-willing-to-bring-your-beloved-granddaughter-with-you.’ not said, but easily heard.

“... You would be glad to know, but I must now introduce you to Sect Leader of the Dark Poison Sect, Cao Meihui.” Cao Xiaowen introduced as he motioned to the young girl. Shang Huan stared for but a moment before closing his eyes once more, even as whispers broke out all around them in his place, from the gambling tables to even the bar and restaurant.

This time he allowed himself to count to 10, as a treat.

“Follow me this way, Elder Cao, Sect Leader Cao.” and with a simple hand motion, a few of his workers already getting things done, the Ruby Room already to entertain his ‘guests’. It didn’t take to long after all, with his standards and staff precision, but he needed to make sure there was nothing to spy on in this conversation.

Because oh, does he have a lot to say right now.

Once the door was closed and all the silences spells and talismans in place, Shang Huan rounded on the now sitting pair, letting his hands slam on the service table before him.

“Can you not?!” Shang Huan seethed, even as Cao Xiaowen grinned, his heir now leader beside him shifting ever so slightly beside him, smartly making some space between them.

“Why, Shang Huan, what ever do you mean?”

“You politic in my place again and I will make sure to show the world just how much I can beat you into the ground.” was practically growled, Cao Xiaowen smartly raising his hands in surrender as he did.��“Why the hell did you even need to do that, didn’t you already get the stalker bitch killed and dispersed last year? I distinctly remember being there for the mad ramblings.”

-Urgh- he never wanted that much TMI into someone’s deluded sexual fantasies, especially rounding around this who-me? Demonic Cultivator! Body stealing and marrying the guy’s son just to get a possible chance at him, and then killing him and half his family when she still couldn’t get what she wanted to spite him?

Shang Huan doesn’t move, but that still doesn’t mean he’s not fighting a shiver of repulsion at the thought. Seeing the way Cao Xiaowen grimaced at the reminder, Shang Huan was actually starting to feel in a better mood.

“While she and most of her supporters are now gone, traces of those who still hold sympathies for her and her ideals still remain.” the man scowled, even as he took out a small sachet, handing the small plain back over as he did.

Hmmm, spicy roasted melon seeds; say what you will about the man, he did know his bribes at least.

“They’re also trying to push my little didi to be the next Sect Leader, even though he never wanted it in the first place!” Cao Meihui scowled in turn, taking out a beautiful, yet still deadly battle fan to fan herself. “Really, he has suffered enough under that woman’s ‘care’, he should be able to choose however he wishes to live in life!”

Shang Huan doesn’t even wince at those words, even as he thinks on the poor fate of canon fodder Cao Yun, a young boy desperate to leave his harsh home circumstances, even joining a certain Righteous Sect set to be doomed and destroyed, loosing his home once again and setting him in turn on a doomed quest to stop Luo Binghe...

Well, considering the boy had left home at 15, and had only just turned that this year, maybe that path could be prevented; there were still plenty of other Sects still up and running when his protagonist came into power, maybe he could join one of those?

Still though, maybe he should give the kid a transportation talisman for his birthday; you can never have too many of those after all.

“That still does not explain why you had to announce Young Mei right in front of my store.”

“Please, it’s the perfect place too; not many completely neutral places around anymore, what with Hua Hua Palace trying to police everyone and dragging the other Righteous Sects into it... Speaking of which, they haven’t bothered you after last time, have they?” Cao Xiaowen asks, with what looks like could be actual concern in his eyes.... Ha-

“I’m pretty sure they won’t forget my warding anytime soon; not to mention the rest of the towns folk’s farewells.” Shang Huan replies dryly, remembering just how all those golden pricks were beautifully thrown from his store, some of his staff even joining in on the beatdown the protection brought forth. If he remembers right, it soon became a whole town wide event to run them all out.

And when you have a whole town seemingly a melting pot filled with Spiritual beings, humans, and demons, they definitely are going to have their wounds to lick.

“But again, my place is, as you said Neutral; so why are you bringing in politics here? Announcements of a new Sect Leader should be only at official events or places that one is already allied with after all.” The Owner of the Gilded Plane asks lightly, those hazel eyes taking on a deadly touch, like molten liquid gold is taking over bronze, a sunset of colors being the last of the sky you will ever see, easily to see it all reflected in the blade at his side.

(Ah, how terrifying, seeing the threat of Fortune’s Favored all out to bare, Dujin Xue at his side, the spirit weapon willing and bloodthirsty to take out any threat to its master.)

For a moment, all is silent, before finally, the red haired cultivator takes from his sleeves, a few boxes simple in their decorations and yet obviously of the finest Jade.

“I almost forgot; I have with me some of the finest of Blight and Poison Talismans with me, not to mention my newest creations; a Pipa made with Blood Drain White Wood and using heart strings of an abyssal creature, painted with curse residue.” Cao Xiaowen motions to an opened box with said black and purple instrument with white accents, truly a work of art and power, even unbound as it is, no master to really work those deadly strings just yet.

Another box is soon opened as well, revealing a twin pair of daggers, their blades white with a beautiful red handle for a hilt. “Not to mention these Ancient Necromancer’s Bone Daggers, recently uncovered in an old tomb, plenty of resentful energy and dark desires just waiting to be unveiled in any upcoming battle, madness in but a cut to be delivered...” the former Sect Leader says, a bit of sweat coming from his brow, those dark eyes uneasy even as he hides behind his bluster and charm. His granddaughter, Cao Meihui watches intently, her own dark eyes worried even as she is awed by her beloved grandfather’s work, and the man who can make him so nervous.

The one Fortune’s Favored watches and listens, and waits, even as he is showcased all the wares most people would die to get their hands on, each item worth more then most lives to some.

“... I will give you a warning and you will be Marked for it; there will be no next time if you try and pull this stunt again, you hear me Xiaowen?” Shang Huan allows, eyes turning back into that warm and soft hazel, even as he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as he does. Well, at least he now has more good things in store for his gambling patrons, who will no doubt go crazy for these goods.

(Never noticing how the familial pair relax, a breath of relief taken for their own that this gambit actually worked, even if they are now Marked by all the staff.

Best behavior is a must for now at least.)

-----+-----

~15 Years ago~

Cao Xiaowen, once just regular Cao Xiao, was a man most would never dare cross; as a Demonic Cultivator, you wouldn’t even be able to escape through death. He had cultivated carefully along his chosen path, having no talent for what was Righteous roads, so turned down to darker paths and alleys to get what he wanted. He had been smart about it, and equally talented for Demonic Cultivation, becoming a Bounty Hunter to be able to hide just what practices he used.

Not only did it get him much needed gold, but the resentful energy and blood of the wicked were quiet useful on his path. Unlike other Demonic Cultivators that sought to take in the energies as fast as possible to form their Obsidian Cores, killing innocents, and eventually needing Cauldrons in the end to balance themselves and to go farther in their Cultivation, Cao Xiaowen went for a more steadfast pace.

He first started with crafting items of Resentful energy, talismans and amulets to get a better feel for the delicacies of the energy he chose to work with. With time and effort, along with plenty of meditation and blood on his hands, he found a cultivation path that suited him rather well, untraditional as it was for the usual brutal force most Demonic Cultivators usually went. His path was like a slow acting poison, letting the wicked energies ever so carefully, ever so gently gather into his meridians, building up a steady foundation before he ever focused on building his Core.

And the results for it were astounding; when compared to traditional Demonic Cultivators, not only could Cao Xiaowen hold his own with those stages above his own, he could beat even those whose Cultivation that was said to be an entire level above him. Not to mention just how devastating his spells and attacks were against those of the Righteous Sects.

It was no surprise that when he founded his own Sect, he had plenty of disciples to chose and pick from...But he wasn’t stupid.

He knew he had plenty of enemies all around him, some just jealous of his power, others hateful of just how he got it, being a Demonic Cultivator was a sin for some even if he only went after criminals. That he was a rather attractive even as his red hair was peppered black and grey, and even a few tigers acting like pigs to be fatten all came for him in the end. He knows people were waiting in the shadows, eager to take him down and steal everything he worked for, salivating over his abilities and life work...

Though despite it all, he never expected the betrayal to come so close to home.

“P-papa.” was stuttered out by his honestly rather adorable Granddaughter, the young four year old sobbing as she reached for him; his daughter in law smiling all the while even as she held one of his crafted knives to the little girl’s throat. He had to give it to her, not many women could still look so devastatingly beautiful, covered as they were in their husband’s blood. He never expected the raven haired woman to be so ruthless, honestly sure the woman loved his son.

Looks like he still has errors in his judgement, even at his age; taken off guard on what he though would be a simple material gathering mission, only to be crippled and threatened by a woman he thought he could trust even as she slit his beloved child’s throat before his eyes.

“You really shouldn’t have refused me all those years ago; this all could have been avoided if you had just agreed to be mine... oh well, too late for regrets.” The woman mourns softly, making Cao Xiaowen feel his brow crinkle, dark eyes confused.

But trying to parse the words of the mad woman was not something he had time for, seeing as his lovely little granddaughter was suddenly in his arms, the both of them finding themselves being pushed off a cliff, and into the Broken Jaw Ravine.

Using what remained of his spiritual energy in his blighted Obsidian Core, Cao Xiaowen was fully prepared to become his dear granddaughter’s Familiar Spirit to protect her...

When in the end, it turned out unnecessary; they ended up landing in a Spirit Capture Net. And judging by the pure color and Qi he could feel running through it, a high quality one at that. Feeling how it blocked him from using any of his spiritual energy and Qi, he looked to his darling dear grandchild, the (forcibly) retired Sect Leader couldn’t help but feel so relieved to see her shaken, but well at least in body.

And then he heard the cursing.

“What in the fuck you soggy old vulture of a corpse! Curses on your fucking clothing to never be nice and pristine, to always stub your toe on the corner, to be miserable even when you have your favorite food! Do you know how long it took to make that net?! Could you have fallen somewhere else? No, of course the skies would decide to shit on me with some young man in my beautifully crafted net! Probably jumped off for the heck of it knowing how fucking dumb most Demonic Cultivators are! ARRRHGGGG YOU DAMN WALNUT!” was practically ranted below them, a young brunet man yelling up at him, who couldn’t be more then in his 20′s. (Though rather impressively at the Peak of Core Formation from what he could sense.)

As it was, two pairs of dark eyes could only give the ranting rouge a wide eyed stare, even when, in the end, the young man let them down, hazel eyes narrowed in on them. He raised one brow at his child that was with him, but easily narrowed them back onto Cao Xiaowen’s own.

Ah, he could probably sense his power (use his weakness).

“So, this is how it is going to go down. I’ll help heal you and your kid, won’t even leave her in debt... tho your ass is mine; I say jump, you better do it and ask if this is high enough. You will owe me till the end of your day and then some, and in return I will benevolently help you out. You agree or should I leave you and the kid here for any unpleasant fates?” was the rather grumpy, if smartly given offer, Cao Xiaowen finding he can’t help but respect it, even as crudely as it was put. Looking down to his innocent little Cao Mei, the grandfather could only nod at the offer, no other recourse that could ensure his little gem a better chance at life.

And thus marked the first meeting between the terrible and powerful Dark Poison Sect Leader Cao Xiaowen, and the Rogue Cultivator Shang Huan, who would one day have a title even greater then his own.

Amazing really, how some things start (and others end).

-----

:D Here we are, another story from this verse; it was really fun! (even if I actually had to create a damn timeline to make sure everything was straight TTxTT)

Anyways, here is an ally of Airplane! Their relationship can be described as.

Shang Huan: Why do I put up with you again?

Cao Xiaowen: Because I have the best gifts bitch. *Inwardly sweaty*

But Also-

Cao Xiaowen: So... Demonic Cultivating involves a lot of... Dual Cultivating huh... And are those innocents being brutally murdered over there?

Rando: Yeah, ain’t it great? :D

Cao Xiaowen: ... *proceeds to make a cultivation path that involves as little Dual Cultivation as needed while also being one of the nicest ironically* Ah, that is better, better get more wicked blood~

These two were really fun to write together, and with PIDW, I can make as many ocs as I want~ So much to do, so much to play with~

Oh yeah, Shang Hua’s blade, Dujin Xue means Gilded Blood :3

Cao I picked for being a common last name, while Xiaowen means red skies. Mei means red gem, but for Meihui I liked the meaning of monstrous/demonic beauty~ As you can see, I had fun~

#SVSSS #Scum Villain Self Saving System #Scum Villain Self-Saving System #Shang Qinghua #Wager (SVSSS) Verse #Airplane Shooting Toward the Sky

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thecrownnet · 4 years ago

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‘The Crown’ Season 4 Review: It’s to Di For

Ann Donahue, IndieWire Nov 9, 2020

*Spoilers*

In a case of art imitating life, the addition of Princess Diana to the Netflix series revitalizes the Royal Family.

[Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for Season 4 of “The Crown” and British history between 1979-1990.]

Like the good public school types that they are, the British Royal Family isn’t above a bit of hazing to those who seek to enter its inner circle.

It’s known as “The Balmoral Test” and involves diligent bouts of outdoorsy activity at the Queen’s castle in Scotland. (Traipsing over steep hills in the mud! Stalking stags to kill! Wearing tartans unironically!)

Season 4 of “The Crown” debuts November 15 on Netflix, and early on you learn Margaret Thatcher wore high heels, brought a briefcase and a sneer to Balmoral, and unequivocally, catastrophically failed the test. Diana Spencer wore boots, bangs, and a sweet smile, and passed with flying colors.

In the end, though, they both lose the bigger game of conquering The Firm.

After a subpar Season 3, it turns out that what this ongoing narrative of Queen Elizabeth really needed was an enemy — or two. In a season with the most pop culture audience pressure riding on it — because of the Princess Diana factor, there is no doubt that people who have never watched a single second of “The Crown” before now will tune in — Peter Morgan’s show delivers its best yet.

With the addition of Thatcher, played to gritty, galling Iron Lady perfection by Gillian Anderson, and Diana, a near-impossible role that Emma Corrin makes look effortless without descending into hagiography, “The Crown” gives a riveting look at a decade that codified callous excess in the characters’ public and private lives.

Instead of the world being seen through others’ eyes and leaving Olivia Colman on the margins to react — as she was left to do in Season 3 — Colman is now allowed to own the monarch’s authority in her performance. And with foils like Anderson and Corrin, all three turn in very brittle and beautiful performances.

The great fear was that the Prime Minister vs. Sovereign face-offs between Anderson and Colman could be reduced to tropes: either “It’s Girl Power time, Tory style!” or “Oooh catfight!” Thankfully, this is avoided entirely by letting both actors show their chops in the most understated and devastating ways at their command.

Morgan was the playwright for 2013’s “The Audience,” which envisioned the weekly meetings between the Queen and her long history of Prime Ministers, and it won Tonys for Helen Mirren (playing guess who) and Richard McCabe as Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Colman has extensive stage experience, most recently in “Mosquitoes” at the Royal National Theatre in London in 2017. Anderson has three Laurence Olivier Award nominations, including one for 2019’s production of “All About Eve.”

As a result, the scenes between these two are a study in the subtleties of power dynamics and differences in upbringing that are framed to read as beautifully on a TV screen as it would on the West End. What you see is Anderson as Thatcher curtsying particularly deeply at a certain moment, or Colman as the Queen making a calculated move to end the audience. What you understand is that Thatcher doesn’t get why someone with an inherited title should hold more power than her, and the Queen’s firm resolve to keep Thatcher in her place.

Yes, yes, yes, contemplating the wounds caused by the vicissitudes of the British class system is all well and good, let’s please get to the part about Prince Charles and Lady Di, rich people in doomed love. Or “Whatever love means?” as Charles agonizingly asked at his engagement press event as Diana wilted beside him. This famously public cringe-moment is recreated in “The Crown,” and it’s one of the reasons why this long has been the timeframe where the show stood the most risk of devolving into shadow puppetry.

The Charles and Di moments have been covered a million times in various news clips and documentaries; you can see the entirety of the terrible engagement interview at a moment’s notice via YouTube. Great credit is due to Josh O’Connor as Charles, Corrin as Diana, and Emerald Fennell as Camilla Parker Bowles, as they all find layered emotional textures to enrich the footage that’s been part of the pop culture vernacular for decades.

Corrin, in particular, does a hell of a job. This is not a Diana with a sad-princess-imprisoned-in-a-tower sheen — several episodes open with content warnings due to the graphic depiction of her disordered eating. The show doesn’t play coy: Diana was a particularly child-like very young woman who checked all the boxes for “virginal beautiful young princess” — and beyond that perfect-on-paper resume there wasn’t a second thought given to her mental health. She is shown without the emotional capacity or maturity to understand that this isn’t a love story; it’s a job to fill the global complexities of a role in a chilly, treacherous family.

Corrin pulls no punches; her Diana is winsome and frustrating, sweet and calculating. She is savvy and silly and petulant. She is world famous but starved for attention. Corrin spins around to the point of collapse as she dances, all desperate, keening, frenetic energy and no joy. It’s a complex portrayal of a complex person, one that is fully aware of the mythology that surrounds the character but isn’t weighed down by it.

Diana was an Instagram royal decades before there was such a thing, and it’s through gestures like famously hugging a child with HIV in the hospital that the princess tried to kill the Crown with her kindness. It’s something a perpetually battle-ready Thatcher would never conceive of doing — but it’s also something The Queen would never consider. But why shouldn’t they? What do we expect of our hallowed institutions, and why? If we can envision better, more humane treatment, why don’t we require it?

These are weighty questions, and they are asked in a show relentless in its ability to propagate its characters’ power through setting and spectacle. It goes without saying that the production design, hair and makeup, and costumes remain outstanding on “The Crown” — there is a reason the show is undefeated during its three-season run at the Emmys in the category of Outstanding Period Costumes.

The streak should continue this year if for nothing else than the combination of creating a wedding dress inspired by Princess Diana’s voluminous meringue and the true-to-life pink plaid ensemble the lonely princess wears to roller skate around Buckingham Palace. (Corrin also at one point wears a sweater with llamas embroidered on it — also based on an outfit Diana wore. The ‘80s were a lot.)

Beyond reveling in the tawdry candy-colored tale of Charles and Di, Morgan’s writing on the show routinely explores notions of classicism, privilege, sexism, and racism. But this time around, the undercurrents surface in a way that is timely, incisive, and, ultimately, more pointed and hopeful: If England can survive 11 years of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister, the United States will survive four of President Donald J. Trump and the craven GOP leadership.

This isn’t a particularly sunny take. The cruel deprivation, degradation, and devastation wrought by the Thatcher years is the basis of several episodes over the course of the season. A war was started out of preposterous personal motivation (Shout-out to former President George W. Bush! Some of us haven’t forgotten that you’re a war criminal!); institutional racism was bolstered and emboldened for oligarchical profit; public resources were diverted from the marginalized in the righteously cold-blooded notion that there is no implicit bias in society, it’s just that some are lazy and choose to suffer.

All of this is familiar. Very painfully, infuriatingly familiar. But as “The Crown” in this season shows, with a steel spine and ice in its veins, the Monarchy was built to withstand whatever onslaught comes its way.

So are we.

Grade: A

“The Crown” Season 4 will be available Friday, November 15 on Netflix.

#olivia colman #tobias menzies #gillian anderson #helena bonham carter #the crown #the crown spoilers #peter morgan #josh o’connor #emma corrin #emerald fennell #the crown netflix #The crown season 4

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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15 Best SNES RPGs Ever Made

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SNES games might not be much to look at now, but in many ways, they were a massive improvement over any console games that came before. SNES developers could create massive worlds with detailed sprites that actually looked like what they were intended to represent. New advances in technology also meant that games could take their first real steps toward becoming the kinds of cinematic experiences we arguably take for granted today. And while 4 MB wasn’t even a ton of storage even space back then, it was still more than enough to fit an impressive script for a 40-hour story.

In short, the SNES was almost perfectly set up to be the home for RPGs. While the console RPG scene was still finding its footing at the time of the Super Nintendo’s release, many developers were more than willing to dip their toes into the genre to see what kind of experiences they could craft. That combination of experimentation and all-time great creative voices eventually resulted in some of the most beloved role-playing games ever made.

As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the SNES in North America, now feels like a great time to look back at 15 of the best RPGs on the SNES.

15. Shadowrun

In the early 1990s, console RPGs were synonymous with turn-based combat and medieval settings full of knights, sorcerers, and dragons. So, no one really knew what to make of a cyberpunk game with real-time combat set in a dystopian Seattle. However, those who stuck with Shadowrun found one of the best and grittiest stories of the 16-bit era, as well as some surprisingly innovative conversation and hacking systems.

Shadowrun was truly ahead of its time in almost every way. While it didn’t get that much attention when it was released, games like Cyberpunk 2077 and The Ascent proudly carry on its legacy to this day. Even the Shadowrun franchise itself finally got its due with a trilogy of successful PC RPGs released over the last decade.

14. Soul Blazer

Even today, Soul Blazer is a title that not many gamers have heard of. Admittedly, it’s a little rough around the edges. Arriving early in the lifecycle of the SNES, the graphics and music aren’t quite up to par with the best games of its era, but the gameplay makes it a worthy addition to this list. Taking some inspiration from Actraiser, another beloved Quintet game, your goal in this action RPG is to clear out various lairs, rescue various souls (that could take the form of plants, animals, or other humans), and free the land from the evil Deathtoll.

Quintet would go on to hone Soul Blazer‘s best ideas in several other games (including Terranigma, another fantastic action RPG that sadly never made its way to North America). Unfortunately, Quintet shut down in the mid-2000s, and it’s unclear who exactly owns the rights to these games at this point. That sadly makes any official re-releases of these often-overlooked gems unlikely.

13. The 7th Saga

The 7th Saga is an excellent example of a game that had a lot of great ideas that never quite came together. Probably the best thing about the game is the playable characters. You have seven to choose from at the start (including a robot and an alien), and you eventually meet six other characters that you can either fight or recruit. It was also one of the first RPGs that didn’t include completely random combat. Enemies could actually be avoided through an innovative “radar” system.

Unfortunately, The 7th Saga is also unforgivingly difficult, with some enemies always surpassing your stats no matter how much you level up. So, while it may not have aged as gracefully as other games on this list, it’s an utterly fascinating project with incredible ideas that have since been incorporated into numerous genre classics.

12. Breath of Fire II

To be honest, Breath of Fire II doesn’t have a particularly memorable stand-out feature. Sure, there’s a town-building feature that lets you fill a town with various NPCs you meet throughout the game, but it’s easily ignored. Having a giant talking armadillo in your party is also pretty cool, but it’s obviously hard to recommend the game based on that alone.

So why should you play Breath of Fire II? Well, it’s just a very solidly told fantasy story with a lengthy quest and strong turn-based combat. It’s nothing flashy, but it’s a strong overall entry into the Super Nintendo’s RPG library.

11. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals

The release of Lufia II was overshadowed by the release of the next-gen systems and a SNES library already bursting with classic RPGs. It took a while for a lot of gamers to dig up this hidden gem, and some gamers simply never found it at all. To be fair, the story (which features a typical fantasy hero who has to save the world from the four evil Sinistrals) is a little mechanical, but Lufia II features some of the best graphics and music of any game on the console. Plus, there are tons of puzzles to solve and a 99-level randomized dungeon to eventually tackle. Honestly, Lufia II might feature more “gameplay” than any other Super Nintendo RPG.

While it’s billed as a sequel, Rise of the Sinistrals is actually a prequel to the first game, so you can feel free to dive right into it without playing through the first (though Lufia and the Fortress of Doom is well worth checking out as well).

10. Harvest Moon

Arriving at the tail end of the SNES’ lifespan, Harvest Moon made a lot of gamers re-examine what an RPG could actually be. There’s no combat and no great quest to save the world. You’re just a simple farmer growing crops and raising livestock on the land you inherited from your grandfather. It sounds boring, but the gameplay loop is remarkably addictive. There’s a reason why the Harvest Moon series continues to this day and has inspired dozens of imitators, spin-offs, and sequels (most notably Stardew Valley).

Admittedly, some of the recent Harvest Moon games haven’t lived up to the series’ standards, but thanks to charming characters, witty writing, and its simple yet deep gameplay, there’s a very good argument that this first Harvest Moon game remains the best in the franchise.

9. Illusion of Gaia

The spiritual sequel to Soul Blazer exchanged the town-building mechanics of its predecessor for more involved combat, which honestly made it a better game overall. Illusion of Gaia also forgoes the traditional leveling of most RPGs for a roguelike system where protagonist Will can choose to increase his attack, defense, or health stats after clearing each room of enemies. As such, how you choose to proceed can make the final bosses of each dungeon significantly easier or much more difficult.

While it’s not technically set in the real world, Illusion of Gaia does incorporate several real-life locations, such as Egyptian pyramids, Incan ruins, and the Great Wall of China, leading to some of the most unique locales in any SNES RPG. It’s also a much better-looking game than Soul Blazer, fixing one of its predecessor’s biggest flaws.

8. Secret of Evermore

Square Enix (then Squaresoft) is primarily a Japanese developer, but after the massive success of multiple titles in the ‘90s, they decided to give an American studio a crack at the Square formula. While the basic gameplay of Secret of Evermore is obviously inspired by the superior Secret of Mana, Evermore mixes things up by restricting combat to just you and your trusty dog. There’s also a new alchemy mechanic that allows you to create potions when battling the game’s many tough bosses.

For better or worse, Evermore is also graphically a much darker game than other Square titles of the era. It all mostly works here, but Square was ultimately not interested in pursuing Americanized versions of its games and Evermore is now more of a curiosity than anything else.

Games

25 Best SNES Games of All Time

By Chris Freiberg

Games

25 Best RPGs Ever Made

By Matthew Byrd

7. Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen

More of a military strategy sim than a typical RPG, The March of the Black Queen might be the most demanding game on the SNES. You will spend a lot of time managing units, some of which include ninjas, griffins, and witches. But when you pick just the right strategy, it’s oh so rewarding to watch them take back the continent of Zetegenia from the evil Empress Endora. It also features one of the denser stories of any 16-bit game. Many of the best plot beats may even remind you more of Game of Thrones than Lord of the Rings.

This is actually considered the fifth episode of the Ogre Battle saga, and while several sequels were produced over the years, the first four games that would have presumably featured the rise of Endora were never made. Sadly, though, Square Enix now owns the property, it doesn’t look like the Ogre Battle saga will ever be completed either.

6. Final Fantasy IV

Plenty of RPGs were released before Final Fantasy IV (also known as Final Fantasy II in North America at the time of its release), but this was the true turning point for the JRPG genre. Of course, the graphics and sound were better with the move to more powerful hardware, but what really set it apart was the distinction of being one of the first RPGs to actually feature a fully fleshed-out plot complete with a complicated love triangle and a sympathetic villain in Golbez. It was also the first Square game to include the Active Time Battle system, which showed that JRPGs didn’t have to just be plodding turn-based affairs.

Honestly, the only downside of playing Final Fantasy IV on the SNES is that the original English translation is a little iffy. That’s been fixed in later ports and remakes, so while it might not be worth checking out on the SNES anymore over other options, it’s still worth playing in some form.

5. Super Mario RPG

Both Nintendo and Square were arguably at the height of their abilities in the mid-90s, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that when they finally teamed up, the result was an absolute masterpiece. Super Mario RPG expertly combined the beloved Mushroom Kingdom setting and Mario platforming with Square’s top-tier storytelling abilities and advanced RPG combat systems for a truly epic game.

Those who have played through Super Mario RPG still yearn for a true sequel developed by Square or, at the very least, the addition of Geno to Super Smash Bros. Given how beloved the game is, it’s surprising that Square and Nintendo still haven’t teamed up for another RPG. The Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi games are good, but none have surpassed this classic.

4. Secret of Mana

Closer to The Legend of Zelda than Final Fantasy in gameplay, Secret of Mana was perhaps the most innovative RPG of the ‘90s. It introduced many gamers to faster, varied combat, three-player multiplayer, and an absolutely massive game world. Even better, it’s all wrapped up with some of the best music and graphics of the generation. While still confined to the 2D limitations of the SNES, Secret of Mana’s systems are closer to what we see today in modern RPGs and action games than anything that came before.

While this game has been ported and remade perhaps more than any other game on this list, none of those versions quite match the first release. The original version of Secret of Mana still looks and feels timeless.

3. Earthbound

RPGs were generally considered more niche games in the ‘90s. They rarely sold well, but at least did well critically. Earthbound is even more unusual because the initial reviews were rather tepid, yet it’s now considered one of the greatest games of all time. Most gamers just weren’t ready for an RPG set in the modern world that alternated between the cheery enthusiasm of childhood and the ominous alienation of growing up. In that way, Earthbound could be considered a PG-rated South Park that debuted two years before South Park even premiered.

Surreal, satirical, and sometimes just plain weird, Earthbound remains one of the more unique and innovative RPGs ever made. It’s a triumph of the genre that dozens of other games have attempted to emulate, but none have yet surpassed. Now, if Nintendo would just get around to finally putting out an official English localization of the sequel…

2. Final Fantasy VI

Two decades and nine sequels later, there are still some RPG fans who consider Final Fantasy VI to be the pinnacle of the series. That’s debatable, but it’s easily the best of the 2D entries as well as a kind of swan song to the gameplay that introduced many gamers to RPGs for the first time, with its pitch-perfect ATB battles, a huge, varied world to explore, and an epic, apocalyptic story.

But it’s the cinematic aspects that make Final Fantasy VI stand out. The rousing soundtrack pushes the SNES to its absolute limits, making moments like the famous opera scene and the final battle against Kefka feel especially epic. Square arguably came to rely on CG movies a little too much in later games, but Final Fantasy VI is proof that the developers were master storytellers long before that.

1. Chrono Trigger

Is there really anything to dislike about Chrono Trigger? The time-traveling story that sees our heroes journey across millennia to save the world is simply outstanding. The characters, from Frog to Magus, are among the most memorable in any RPG. While the combat system might be a little simpler than some of the games on this list, letting party members team up to use their “Tech” abilities in different ways is endlessly customizable and entertaining. Of course, all of that occurs before you even dig into the new game plus and dozen different endings.

It’s difficult to label any video game as truly perfect, but Chrono Trigger may be the closest thing to perfection that gaming has ever seen. More than two decades on, it remains a high point in the RPG genre that all gamers need to experience at least once, and it’s easily the very best RPG on the SNES.

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frumfrumfroo · 5 years ago

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Thankfully the story around this movie is shaping up to specifically be about JJ’s terrible storytelling and the way this movie betrayed The Last Jedi, so I feel like the long term conversation around it is going to be more like “Hey remember when Lucasfilm fucked up a completely good trilogy in the last movie?” instead of the ROTJ discussion where people just accept the retcons as canon now. Because frankly the Luke/Leia sibling reveal was as foreshadowed as and made more sense than Reypatine

Yeah, that’s what I think too. It’s still going to be accepted by a lot of people, unfortunately.

The sibling reveal ass-pull is the worst thing about the OT, it instantly shrank the universe and will always feel disjointed (I don’t remember seeing any part of the OT for the first time, it’s been on a loop since i was born- I still don’t naturally think of Luke and Leia as twins even though I’ve always known they supposedly are), but it doesn’t break the story, it doesn’t destroy anyone’s character arc. It leaves Leia hanging as far as resolution with Anakin, but that wasn’t something she needed until the retcon. They do at least acknowledge that it’s missing and try to address it (’tell your sister you were right’).

Whereas this Reypatine Skyusurper shit defeats the entire ST narrative. And no, it is not about found family.

1. Rey's whole problem she needed to grow out of was her delusion about her long lost family who totally loved her and living in a shitty desert by herself with their imagined ghosts instead of getting off her ass and having a life of her own, she needed to stop looking for parents in every authority figure she met, she needed to accept her past and move on and forge her own identity. That was her entire character arc and the whole thematic basis of TLJ was confronting her with it. With this ‘um actually’, the story now says she was right to sit around in a graveyard waiting for her parental daydream to come true and to have a ready-made identity handed to her on a silver platter with no character development or hard work necessary on her part whatsoever. She's back in the fucking desert on a dead planet with a delusion family of ghosts, but now the ghosts are literal. Her love is entirely barren.

2. Rey is a grown ass adult who ‘adopted’ herself into a dead family. They didn't adopt her. This is infantilising and creepy. She doesn't need a mummy and daddy, she needed to grow up and be her own person and start her own family. Now she never will, she's completely subsumed any stirrings of her own identity she started to have. Ben was the only person who pushed her towards adulthood and actualisation, without him she settles back into her bad coping mechanisms surrounded by enablers who don't know or understand her well enough to help. This is a horror film on at least three levels- Rey as the cuckoo changeling who steals the place of the true child, the Skywalkers as a cursed family of sociopaths who are haunting this bystander now that they’ve wiped themselves out, and Rey as mental patient who retreats completely from the real world into her fantasy.

3. Good Victim/Bad Victim replacement child bullshit. All of the Skywalkers and Han are such gaping fucking assholes they reject Ben but love Rey for the SAME reasons. Because she's just inherently better than him and there's nothing he can do to be worthy. There's no moment in his life he could have done something differently to be accepted, he's just a garbage child no one wants. He was doomed from conception. He dared to be traumatised by being preyed on, abandoned, and betrayed, so he doesn’t deserve to live.

4. Terrio said in an interview that the 'original sin' of SW was separating the twins. So adoption is bad, actually. Never mind that Luke and Leia were separated for their protection and both went to loving homes where they were raised well by good parents. They didn't get to grow up together on Tatooine so that's terrible?? And he says they were never reunited there so we all wanted that. a) No we didn't, Chris, everyone hated Tatooine and no one wanted to live there, Luke says 'if there's a bright centre to the universe you're on the planet that it's furthest from', Anakin was a slave there, his mother was murdered there, it's a DEAD PLANET where BAD THINGS HAPPEN and every character wanted to escape from it b) Have you seen RotJ? Because Luke and Leia were together on Tatooine in the movie, my dude. Leia got to be a slave there for a while too. How fun for her to get in on the family tradition.

5. You made it 100% about bloodlines, Chris. This disingenuous bullshit that it's about rejecting that is the most hollow fucking nonsense I've ever heard.

Rey’s power came from her bloodline, her ‘darkness’ is biologically inherited and isn’t her fault and disappears with no effort from her, you turned the Skywalker name into a fucking superhero mantle and had all the legacy characters anoint her as their heir because she was just born worthy. You made her ‘heir of all the Jedi’ and they’re her ‘chosen ancestors’. Hey, dumbass, the Jedi don’t have heirs. Anyone can have the Force, anyone can be a hero without the Force- you have destroyed that by making Force sensitivity the sign of the elect. F/nn shouldn’t be Force sensitive and making all the defected stormtroopers Force sensitive robs the characters of agency. You have rewritten a story about the deathless hope offered by the eternal possibility of choosing differently into a story about predestination.

This was never about ‘the Palpatines’ vs the Skywalkers. The Emperor was just one evil guy whose backstory and bloodline were irrelevant, he stands in for all selfishness and callous ambition, for the temptation to choose power and control over love. It’s a personal story about individuals and individual struggles- how to be an ethical adult. Lineage didn’t fucking matter, it was so important that Vader was Luke’s father because of the personal relationship it gave them, because of how it challenged Luke and his worldview. The connection it gave them which would radically redefine the stakes and ultimately give the OT its meaning. Rey has no connection to Palpatine and being related to him does nothing but implode any meaning her character ever had.

#salt #a tros ity #criticism #rey #the legacy #again: the only sense in which this film says 'bloodlines don't matter' is the message that parents have no obligation to their children #it's up to the children to 'deserve' love and the legacy they were born to #if you're groomed and abandoned and that fucks you up- well sorry you aren't deserving #your parents are designated Good People so they will replace you and you'll be fine with that bc you recognise your replacement's #innate superiority #commit suicide so the deserving party can have your life- it's the only good thing you can do #you miserable worthless damaged person you #I HATE EVERYTHING

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chrisemrysfics · 5 years ago

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I woke up today thinking about my dgm mdzs crossover I want to indulge in, and just like that, I suddenly realized, “but if I do a split like Mana and Nea, wouldn’t WWX and MXY be babies???” and as cute as this would be, unless I change the timeline and figure out how they grow up, it would be a logistic pain.

Unless Allen feels that and come grab the babies and then I play with the Ark and makes it that time pass differently. Now that’s an idea... Maybe one of the what if side stories.

Yes my self control has gone off the window, but hey, how can I resist mixing my two fave fandoms, and how can I not indulge in the different versions of my initial idea of Noah!WWX.

For the curious, here’s under the read more the basic ideas I’ve had!

Which. Got long but. Yeah. Have fun with the thinking I’ve done for this. I’m pretty sure I do intend to write things, just might take a while so have fun with knowing the ideas!

(In which I ended up thinking I might just do a series with each “story” being collection of scenes for each different branching I can think of, because honestly I cannot choose between all the options).

(And I haven’t touched yet the idea of an actual full out crossover, where there’s actual dimension travel).

Worldbuilding is based on the idea that DGM canon happened millennias before MDZS canon, and at the end of the Holy War, there was a reset of the world, which allowed a new world to emerge and so this how I explain how the world for this went from what it is in dgm canon to how it is in mdzs canon.

So this means I can then add the fact all humans still are descendants of the Noahs, but the gene is dormant and the Noahs don’t mean to ever wake/reincarnate again.

Thing is, spiritual energy pretty much is the “descendant” of Innocence and resentful energy is the “descendant” of Dark Matter.

Other thing is, humans ended up viewing spiritual energy as the “righteous” path and haven’t touched resentful energy, or anyone who did try, never really managed to.

So, enter Wei Wuxian who is the first human to actually use resentful energy, cultivate with it, handle a large amount of it, and also who first contact with it is being thrown in the biggest amount of it and surviving and taming it out of pure willpower.

Then he uses it in large amount during the Sunshot Campaign, including the very powerful Stygian Tiger Seal. He never stops using it, if not as deeply as during the campaign, and eventually, he goes live in the Burial Mound again.

So what I mean is, from the moment he is thrown in Burial Mound, he has been in contact with deep, deep level of resentful energy. And not only is he the first human to do so, he also is without a golden core or spiritual cultivation, which means he has zero “descendant” of Innocence in him.

Then he dies, in Burial Mound, however his soul isn’t actually destroyed. I always kind of headcanoned that his soul was “kept safe” in the Burial Mounds, and in this case, it’s even more true.

So his soul, who has been already exposed to resentful energy since he was thrown to Burial Mounds, stays years directly exposed to resentful energy.

And then Mo Xuanyu calls him into his body via sacrifice ritual.

And the thing is, all that resentful energy had already stirred Wei Wuxian’s Noah gene, but this is a final drop. Because what it does to Wei Wuxian’s soul is to feel like he’s being reincarnated into a host, which is how Noahs would reicarnated.

And so, when Wei Wuxian is called back into Mo Xuanyu body, what he doesn’t know is that his Noah’s gene has been triggered, and he is fated to go through a Noah’s Awakening and become a Noah himself.

And because he is the first Noah since the world reset, and all Noahs were dormant, there is only one Noah that he can be as the first: The First, the Millennium Earl, Adam.

Initially, I just thought he would be super confused and a little scared, thinking something is wrong with the ritual, because he would be in lowkey Awakening process from the moment he wakes in Mo Xuanyu body. He would feel pain and headaches and feverish often, and at some point, he would go actual Awakening with it being really painful and high fever, and probably not super long but not quick either.

Then I had the idea of how Adam split into Mana and Nea in DGM canon, and so Mo Xuanyu actually survives the ritual because they kind of split rather than Mo Xuanyu being erased; and so yes Mo Xuanyu is fated to Awaken too because both his and Wei Wuxian’s body are “marked” as Noahs (with Noah gene triggered).

My idea is that they do end up like twins, with their appearance a mix of Wei Wuxian’s physical traits and Mo Xuanyu’s physical traits. Basically, for a brief moment, there is one body that has both of their souls, so this body is both of them, and then it splits, into two “twins”.

Which does mean they both have both of their bloodline. So both of them are the sons of Wei Changze, Cange Sanren, Young madam Mo, and Jin Guangshan, by blood.

Pending to decide is whether WWX inherit Mana and MXY inherit Nea (or vice versa, WWX inheriting Nea and MXY inheriting Mana) with Adam existing in both of them; or WWX inherits the whole package and MXY is considered a new Noah (without a Noah’s Memory; considered the first generation of 15th Noah?).

Of course, it did help in MXY case that he touched such a ritual, as again, resentful energy is the “descendant” of Dark Matter. But you know who else deeply touched resentful energy? Xue Yang.

Now the thing is, it is only when WWX (and MXY) awakens that other Noahs can awaken. Now the question I still ask myself is if XY start to awaken at the same time (slower process?), not long after (slow process still?), or only when he comes face to face the first time with WWX (and/or MXY).

And the thing is, Noahs value each other deeper than anything, on an instinctual basis. WWX hates what XY has done, but as a Noah, who can sense a fellow Noah, he feels kinship. As for MXY, he has mixed feelings, and he too would feel kinship, and because he does, it’s even harder for WWX to hate XY himself. At the same time, XY feels, well, Adam is considered the Patriarch, lowkey the father figure of all Noahs, the leader for sure, so XY instinctively doesn’t want to disappoint WWX.

There’s no escaping that XY is Awakening too, so WWX end up objectively thinking, okay, he’s a Noah, he’s mine, so I’m now responsible for him. And ultimately, between XY own wish for someone to care for him (which he views as “someone to give him candy every day”) and his Noah’s instincts who takes delight in being cared for by Adam, WWX manages to bring XY to grey-er area.

Which Noahs does XY Awaken as? I have not yet fully decided, but honestly, Joyd seems like a good match. It also helps that Joyd, and the previous incarnation, Tyki, is actually pretty grey, loves having both white and black, and Tyki himself did have affection for some humans and was pretty laid back. Joyd would be able to “balance” XY and bring this more balance, more grey personality.

Also yes, Allen is meant to show up, I still haven’t fully decided if Nea is in fact still within his body, and so like, whether WWX or MXY is meant to be “Nea”, they really need to find him so they can be complete, so they would also poke awake Allen. That or just, Allen wakes?

Okay but the thing is, I also loved the idea that Nea was indeed still hosted by Allen, so only Mana is hosted by WWX, and when WWX awakens it becomes a big issue because he’s not stable as he’s missing a part of the whole package.

So yeah I need to decide who host who, and how it plays out.

To be fair, that particular issue of not being complete can play out easily in the what if side stories, as it’s only in this main story (default story?) that there’s this whole split.

Now about the side stories/what if fics

WWX and MXY actually splits as babies, the same way Mana and Nea in dgm canon split from Adult!Adam into two “twin” babies. Allen senses it and find them, and raise them. Problem to figure out is timeline. Also once they’re adult, it goes pretty much similar to how I would view the main/default story, I think. Maybe. For now this is really just the faint idea of them actually splitting into babies and Allen grabbing them. Parental Allen to WWX and MXY.

WWX awakens as a Noah when Wen Chao throws him in the Burial Mounds. Probably, he does start to work on cultivating resentful energy, but he also Awakens, and in this context, he’s... more Noah than human. And by that I mean he’s easily more bloodthirsty, sadistic, and merciless. And a good dose of not mentally stable. It can smoothe out though, as a Noah he really values “family” and so his siblings can stabilize his mental state. But also, he’s way more into protecting the Jiang, his “clan”, and especially his siblings. He won’t want to leave them, he would rather make it clear you are doomed if you so much as plot against them. But also, he’s more likely to be less closed off to his siblings.

WWX awakens at some point during the two years (in my timeline of MDZS) he lived in Burial Mounds. Give a good scare of the Wen, especially Wen Qing who has no fricking idea what is happening to him and everyone lowkey afraid he’s just. Dying. Maybe Wen Ning actually “feels” something though? Like he can tell he’s not, and he’s like, “Jie, I think he’s... transforming?” and that’s another scare because they think he might be becoming a demon. But yes, eventually, he awakens, and the thing is, he becomes a Noah when he has a whole group of people under his care. He has a “clan”, a family, a son, and siblings. So in this scenario, it’s the Noahs familial instincts that are stronger, and WWX really wants to protect the Wens, but also wants his siblings. And so, well he’s still deeply protective, but he actually also kind of, manage more peaceful approach. He wants to reconnect with the Jiang, and for that, he is aware that he needs to not make it harder, which. Is totally the influence of Mana too.

WWX awakens when he means to die with the backlash of destroying the Seal, and that idea demands in itself branching off ideas. Because A) he can awaken in front of everyone and A-1) vanish into the Ark and everyone kinda knowing he probably didn’t die or A-2) he doesn’t vanish and everyone like “now what”; B) he awakens precisely as he’s being eaten by the corpse which, B-1) might mean his corpse start getting “scared” when they sense his Noah aura (and so everyone kind of see something is going on) or B-2) it’s agony because for a few moments he’s just being eaten and also regenerating, and then B-2-a) does he do a power blast and everyone like “what the heck” or B-2-b) does someone notice he’s not dying and maybe it’s JC and maybe he’s like “okay wtf no” or B-2-c) No one notices so maybe he slips off (unless he vanished with Ark). And then C) whether he vanishes into the ark and/or no one notice he’s not dying (and manages to slip off to hide), he would want to go take A-Yuan and so C-1) does he manage to do so when everyone thinks he’s dead? C-2) does he manage to do so but also everyone is aware he probably didn’t dit? C-3) is there a time lapse between his “death” (or escape) and when he gets himself to find A-Yuan and so Lan Wangji shows up? C-3a) does LWJ see him?? C-3b) does he not see him and WWX decides A-Yuan might be better with LWJ??

Why do I do this to myself, I don’t know, but it’s fun to think about it all. Maybe some might be collections of scenes and such, rather than a proper storyline. Even if main/default, I kind of have to decide when the Awakening actually completes (aka how long WWX is lowkey always sick), as then it can vary greatly what happens if he’s already an awakened Noah. There can even be post canon awakening soooo.

Maybe it’s not that I’ll have “main/default” and “side” stories, maybe I’ll just have a series that has a “basic worldbuilding” one shot and then stories that are collection of scenes and each story has a specific type of settings?? Honestly I probably need to do that, to first have properly and all clear the worldbuilding, then also the few points where WWX could awaken and the different branching it can do, and then give a nickname to each branch and write scenes for each however inspiration come.

#Fics ramble

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marshmallow-phd · 6 years ago

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Sins of the Father

Genre: Mafia Au

Pairing: Junmyeon x Reader

Summary: Soon after your second birthday, your parents were killed and you were adopted by your father’s best friend, taken away to their home country where you lived your life in peaceful ignorance. As far a as you knew, your parents simply left you large fortune to be released to you once you reached your twenty-third birthday. At least, that’s all you thought you were inheriting. When a famously ruthless mafia boss discovers your existence, you are left at his mercy. While under his roof, you learn more about your father than you ever wished you had, including the part of your inheritance that made you the most valuable person in the underworld. Hidden in a bank in New York City were files that held the darkest secrets of the mafia families and everyone in their pocket. With another terrifying leader’s eyes trained on you, you’ll learn to watch your back… and guard your heart, before your father’s past becomes your doom.

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14 I 15 I 16 I Final

You didn’t get to have that insightful dinner with Mr. Martin. Junko insisted on leaving for Korea right away and the jet was ready to go before the sun began to set on the horizon. Less than twenty-four hours you’d spent in the one place you could have really been able to know your parents, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to be sorry about it. Hopefully, you’d have another chance in the future. If not, then that was just your fate.

Over and over, your father’s words echoed in your mind. The way his eyes softened when he told you that he loved you, that you were the most precious thing in the world to him. If anyone else had told you that he’d said that, you would have laughed in their face. There was no fathomable reason he would feel that way about you.

And yet, you’d judged the man too quickly. You’d made assumptions about someone that you never knew, who worked so hard to bring you into this world. The only way you could right your thoughts and make it up to him was by fulfilling his last request: to not let Junko get ahold of the files.

Right now, as you pretended to be asleep, Junko was pouring himself over the fake files by the dim overhead light from the jet’s ceiling, ignoring the beautiful sight of the darkened sea below. He took in every word like it was the holy script, murmuring unintelligibly to himself, marking certain key phrases and paragraphs with a red pen. Eventually, you drifted off to the sound of fluttering paper.

You were awoken rather roughly when the plane landed back home over fourteen hours later. There was no gentleness as the bodyguards escorted you off the plane and into the waiting car. Junko said nothing to you, simply rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. Apparently, he hadn’t gone to sleep at all, too obsessed with memorizing the details of the files that were now locked safely away in the briefcase by his feet to bother with the important human function. It may be a little petty, but you thought the least you deserved was a “thank you”. Threat or no threat, you still got him what he wanted. A little appreciation would have been nice.

You scoffed at yourself internally. There you were, pouting about not being thanked when you were planning on sabotaging him.

After you arrived back at the mansion, Junko split off from you, heading in the opposite direction of the bedroom on the second floor, briefcase in hand. Shaking your head, you kept on until you reached the bed. You collapsed on top of the covers, barely putting in the effort to remove your shoes before falling asleep once again.

You hardly saw Junko over the course of the next few days. The few glimpses of him you did get were just in passing, making him seem like a ghost haunting the hallways that you could only glimpse at from the corner of your eye. In a way, you were overly relieved that he was spending so much of his time absorbing the files in what room you could only guess was his study. You never woke up to him next to you in the bed again. If he was sleeping there beside you during some point in the night, at least you were never aware of it.

Even though you hardly saw Junko, his presence, the fact that he was still near, was always constant. The flash drive had stayed hidden in your purse. You’d through about putting the purse away, but thought better of it. If it was discovered, someone would be extremely curious as to why it was being hidden and most likely would go through it, ruining your golden hand.

Granted, having the flash drive was only part of the lineup. You needed to somehow get the drive to Junmyeon. But you were locked up in this stupid mansion, eyes watching you whether they were obvious or not. Servants and guards were constantly in passing by or glancing your way, taking in every move you made. Reflecting suspicion would be hard enough given your lack of poker face without you also trying to play super spy.

This morning at breakfast, however, you might have been given your chance.

“Junko wanted me to inform you that he’ll be out of the house most of the day, but will join you for dinner tonight.”

Looking up from your breakfast, you noticed Quan – one of Junko’s favorite guards – standing at the other end of the table. While he may have been high on Junko’s list of trusted associates, he had been a bit kinder to you than the others. Sure, that margin of kindness was slim, but a little could go a long way in your book.

You nodded. “Thank you, Quan.”

He bowed his head and left the dining hall.

The wheels in your head began to turn as you forced yourself to slowly finish up your breakfast. Scarfing it down might raise the alarms, sentencing you to your room before you’d gotten your chance. A weight was now gone, giving you a lighter feel as you thought about your next course of action. During the day, you’d usually waste away in front of the TV or walk around the pool in a pathetic attempt at some exercise. But now you could explore. Not out of wonder, but in order to find a possible computer or office where you could think of your next step. Getting in touch with Junmyeon might still be difficult, but you had to try.

Plate finally empty, you rose from your chair, and left the dining hall, a maid servant rushing behind you to clear the away the mess. Back in your room, you dug through your purse, fighting the urge to look over your shoulder every five seconds. With the flash drive now in your hand, you flipped it over continuously, contemplating where to hide it. Then you put it in the one place you knew you could get away with. The plastic poked at your skin, but it was perfectly hidden under your loose blouse, held in place by the cup of your bra. You cringed a little at the fact that you’d slipped it in there rather than your pocket, but you needed it in a place that couldn’t be seen even just by a glance.

You knew your time was limited. However, you still had to take it slow. Hightailing it straight to the study would get you in hot water. So, instead, you wandered the halls, poking your head into different rooms, pretending to just be exploring and familiarizing yourself with the house. You did this for about an hour or so, nodding to the maids as you passed them by, even stopping by the kitchen for a quick snack. Then, you gave in.

The door to the study squeaked as you slowly pushed it open, the hinges crying out desperately to be oiled back to perfection. Your heart was holding onto all your nervousness, releasing it only enough to pound in your ears. As quietly as you could, you walked across the thick carpet towards the imposing desk. No personal items decorated the area, making it seem more like a display at a furniture store or showroom rather than the office of a mafia leader who was proud of his family.

Slowly, you lowered yourself into the leather chair and turned to face the computer. Your jaw dropped.

The screen was open to the desktop, no locks or screensavers to prevent any unwanted eyes from skimming through its secrets. Was this a trap? Would Junko really leave himself vulnerable like this? He had to have turned off the sleep mode in order for it to still be up like this. Or the computer was recently used within the last fifteen minutes. But who else would have been in here?

You pushed the thought away. Right now, you needed to focus on sending the files to Junmyeon. Unfortunately, you didn’t know how to do that. There had to be some way to send it to his phone using only his number, right? Thank goodness you’d taken the time to memorize his number in case of emergencies.

You started to click on the internet icon to try and find a way to do that when a folder caught your eye labeled with your last name. Logic would have told you to hurry and find how to send the information to Junmyeon and then click on the folder. But logic hadn’t driven your actions for a long time.

Double clicking to open the folder, you were met with rows and rows of saved emails, screenshots, and even a few voice files, presumably from phone calls with your father. You clicked on one of the emails lower on the list, dated a few months before your parents’ death. Skimming over the paragraphs, you concluded that your father was wanting to back out on his deal with Junko’s father involving you marrying his son.

She’s my little girl, Lee. I watch her grow every day. I want her to live life the way she chooses. If she chooses Junko on her own, for good reasons, then I’ll let her go. But I prefer for her not to be involved in this life. When I look at her, I see all the possibilities, all the paths she could go down. I can’t limit her to a life of standing next to your son, surrounded by bodyguards and never able to go about how she pleases. That’s not a life. So, please, reconsider. I’m begging you.

Underneath that was simple, one sentence reply.

Deals are meant to be kept or there will be consequences.

Your father was one hundred percent right to be weary of the Lees. There was no doubt that Junko’s father meant his little warning.

That should have been where you stopped. That should have been where you closed the file and found a way to Junmyeon’s phone. But you didn’t. Because at the very bottom, the very last little square had that telltale triangle in the corner. What footage was being held behind that icon?

The curiosity was too strong to fight and you opened the file. It gave you one last chance to turn around, but you clicked play anyway.

Before you on the screen was footage from an old surveillance camera pointed at an intersection. Everything was fuzzy and age showed through the simple black and white images, but you could still recognize your parents standing under the streetlamp, waiting for the crosswalk signal to turn and allow them to continue on their way. It was dark, late at night, like the night your parents died.

As soon as the walking man was glowing, your father started to walk your mother across the way. Out the bottom of the screen, a black car zoomed into frame, striking your parents down and hitting them hard enough to send them flying back several feet. You gasped at the impact, trying to quiet the noise with your hand as you watched in horror.

After coming to a stop, the man in the car stepped out, walking casually over to your parents and checking each of their necks for a pulse. Satisfied with his work, he turned, waved at the camera and drove away scot-free.

They were murdered. Just like your father had assumed in his video. There never was a drunk driver who got scared and ran away. It was all deliberate. The man who you were now forced to live with was the son of the man who took your family away. Was that your curse? To constantly have your family, your safe space taken away from you by the Lee’s? Would you ever truly be free of them?

“All choices have consequences. Some a little harsher than others.”

You gasped and turned in the seat.

Junko was leaning up against the opened door, inspecting his fingernails. How did you not hear that squeaky door with his arrival?

“Your father was warned about what would happen if he went back on the deal,” Junko said, as if he were talking about a child being scolded for stealing a cookie from the forbidden jar. “He made his choice.”

“I am not a piece of property to be bargained with,” you spat. “And your father was a monster that-”

Junko charged forward, pushing your chair back until he hovered over you, a hand on each armrest to lock you in. Fear pulsed through you as his eyes bore down into yours. They were filled with fire and if you weren’t careful, you were going to burn up into ash.

Through clenched teeth, he hissed, “You don’t know anything about my father. He is the only reason that you even exist. Maybe you should learn from your father’s mistakes and be grateful for that fact.” Straightening up, he exited out of the folder and sighed. “Too bad you couldn’t pass my little test. Now you’ll have someone with you at all times. Especially at the party tomorrow night.”

“Party?” you gaped at him. “What party?”

“Oh, just a little function for the different families. A place for business deals and negotiations. I’ll have a dress and shoes for you tomorrow afternoon that I expect you to wear. Until then, perhaps you should just stay in our room, hm?” He headed out for the door, stopping just before the hallway to throw over his shoulder, “And remember: you’re never fully dressed without a smile.”

Junko kept his promise to keep you locked up in his room. Breakfast and lunch were brought to you on a trays, though you couldn’t really bring yourself to eat much of either meal. Your brain was too focused on what Junko had said. This party was supposed to be for the “families”. Being well versed in their lingo by now, you knew he was talking about the different mafia groups.

Which meant Junmyeon might be there.

Junko had warned that a guard would be on you at all times, but if the venue was crowded enough, you were sure you could manage to get away. The real trick would be getting the flash drive to the party in the first place.

When the dress and shoes arrived around one o’clock, you started to sweat. It was very much a dress meant to show you off, like a freaking trophy. Its golden chiffon cloth was shaped to cling to your every curve, the back fully exposed, the thinnest of straps holding it all together. You were already dreading having to wear it. But a little relief was granted when the maid said that the hair dresser wouldn’t be around for another few hours, giving you some more time to prepare.

There was nowhere in the dress for you to even think about hiding the drive. Your saving grace, however, was the shoes. Rather than the stick thin heels you’d been expecting, the dress came with a golden wedges. An idea that definitely was stolen from too many spy movies formulated in your head. Taking one of the heels, you shut yourself in the bathroom, searching for your razor. It was a struggle to break the plastic apart without cutting yourself, but eventually you got the blades free and turned to the shoe.

Slowly, you cut away at the bottom of the shoe, over and over again in a rough rectangle big enough to hold the drive in place. Soon enough, you were able to break through into the hollow space. Perfect.

Now rummaging through the cabinet under the sink, you pulled out the one box you were sure no one would ever think to look in. Before you moved in, a maid must have remembered that you would need certain products and had them stocked in the bathroom for you. While you hadn’t needed to open the box for that specific bodily function yet, you did find it handy in hiding the flash drive. It was an easy switch from the box to the wedge and the bottom was staying securely in place.

You barely made it back in time to pretend that you were just looking at the shoe when the hairdresser and her assistant – the same ones from your wedding day – entered the room without even knocking. You obeyed each request they had, closing your eyes when they asked, stopping your fidgeting when it became too much. Before you knew it, the torture was over.

Junko simply gave you a once over as you descended the stairs, approving with a curt nod before lending you his arm and escorting you to the car waiting outside. Apparently, the idea of being a happy couple in love – or maybe you just being a submissive wife – was beginning to fade from Junko’s mind. Or maybe he just had other more important things on his mind. Either way, you were happy as he left you alone to your own thoughts on the ride to the venue.

Secrecy was not a priority this time around from what you gathered.

The “party” was being held in one of the grand hotels of the city, valets waiting patiently outside to direct the drivers on where to park the cars while the guests were let out right in front of the grand stairs. Junko was quick to jump out of the car, rounding it to help you out as well. Neither of you smiled or acknowledged any other patrons as you ascended the stairs and entered the hotel.

The ballroom occupied the entire twelfth floor, even sporting balconies on each side. Over a hundred people were already milling about the space, chatting and sizing each other up in small gatherings as they sipped at the drinks in their hands. Junko dragged you from group to group, introducing you as his wife and smirking when someone recognized your name. Yes, he’d finally gotten what he wanted, but if you had anything to say about it, he wouldn’t have much to brag about for too much longer.

While Junko was feigning laughter at an older gentleman’s terrible joke, your eyes were scanning the crowds, searching desperately for Junmyeon. Then your heart sped up.

Towering over a majority of the crowd was a familiar crop of firetruck red hair.

Chanyeol!

You had to bite down on your bottom lip to keep yourself from screaming out for the gentle giant who’d promised to keep you safe. As much as you wanted it, him marching over here and snatching you away wasn’t the brightest move. Besides, you wanted – no, you needed to see Junmyeon.

One by one, shuffling through the crowd, you saw each of the boys, save their leader. None of them were talking or laughing with the other families. They seemed more like zombies, just wandering the floor, careful not to bump into anyone. Where was-

There!

You barely caught a glimpse of Junmyeon sneaking out onto the left side balcony. You needed to get to him, but how did you lose the guard whose eyes were glued to the back of your head?

Cradling your lower stomach, you scrunched your face up as if you were in pain. “Junko,” you whispered, adding a groan into your tone. “I don’t feel well.”

“You’re not going home,” he hissed quietly, still maintaining the welcoming smile on his face.

“Just five minutes in the bathroom,” you pleaded.

His eyes flickered to one of the guards and then he nodded. “Fine. Five minutes.”

Quan ended up being the one to follow you to the bathroom. Any warm feelings you’d had towards him were long gone after he lied to you about Junko being out of the house. But you didn’t run away from him, keeping close until you reached the women’s restroom. It was located in a small enclave near the back of the ballroom, out of the way and easily hidden. You watched Quan back up so he wasn’t blocking the narrow entrance from others who wished to use the wash rooms before pushing open the door.

Once alone, you didn’t know what to do from there. You needed to hurry before Junmyeon left the balcony and your chance was missed. Then your opportunity came in the form a group of women who all entered the bathroom at the same time, laughing about their wonderful luck in dates tonight. You stepped out of the way as they took over the mirror space, primping and fixing their hair and makeup, which wasn’t out of place to begin with from what you could tell.

When they were done, you made your move.

Crowding in as closely as you could to them, you tried to blend in and go unseen as you all exited the bathroom. Walking past Quan without your name being called or pulled out of the group seemed to mean that it worked.

Once you were far enough away from the restrooms, you split off from the group, squeezing through to the other side of the crowd until you reached the same door that Junmyeon had passed through. He was still there on that balcony, leaning his forearms against the railing as his head hung low from his shoulders.

“Junmyeon!” You couldn’t stop yourself from running towards him. At the sound of his name, he turned around, shock dropping his jaw and widening his eyes as you threw your arms around him and buried your face in his chest. But while you held your vice tight around him, he never lifted his arms to hug you back. Looking up at him, you frowned. “Junmyeon?”

Composing his face and releasing a heavy sigh, Junmyeon gripped your arms and gently pushed you away. “What are you doing here, (y/n)?”

You pulled your eyebrows together, unable to understand why he was acting this way. “Junko brought me, probably to-”

“I didn’t mean here at the hotel,” he interrupted. “I meant out here? You should be inside with your husband. He wouldn’t want other people to talk.”

Was that what this was? An attempt to avoid arousing attention. Shaking your head, you took off your wedged heel and pulled out the homemade compartment. “Listen. My father put the real files on this drive. He had fake files made, the ones I gave to Junko. You can take this drive while Junko thinks he has the real ones. That should give you plenty of time.” You held out the small plastic device for him to take, but he didn’t.

His eyes were down on your open palm, his face unreadable. When he finally met your own gaze, he said, “Go back inside, (y/n). Junko will come looking for you soon.”

You dropped your hand to your side. How could he act so distant all of a sudden? “What is going on with you? I’m trying to give you what you’ve wanted this whole time. To help you. Did he… do something to you?”

“A man recognizes when he’s lost, (y/n).”

“You haven’t lost!” you yelled. “Why are you giving up?”

“Because he knows it’s useless.” Junko walked up behind you, snaking an arm around your waist and pulling you in close. With his other hand, he forced your fist open and took the drive, giving you a kiss on the cheek before putting it away in his pocket.

Junmyeon stayed stone face through the whole thing. “Congratulations, Junko.”

“Just like school, Junmyeon,” Junko purred. “Some things never change. I’m glad to know you’ve finally learned that.”

Taking a few steps forward so he was now nearly shoulder to shoulder with you, Junmyeon whispered, “Just accept the hand you’ve been dealt. Perhaps, it was always meant to go this way.” Leaving you with that, he walked back inside.

You tried to turn around to go after him, but Junko kept you firmly by his side.

“Quan?” he called out. “Take (y/n) home. I think everyone here is now fully aware of the power I hold.”

With a tight grip on your arm, Quan pulled you away and back into the ballroom. He didn’t glance at you once as he all but dragged you out of the hotel. You huffed when he put you in the back seat of the car, crossing your arms.

You were so confused. What happened to all those promises to protect you? To always come for you when you called out to him? Were they really all so empty? Were they the true definition of sweet nothings? You’d put so much faith in him, relied on the fact that you thought he would come to your rescue. Never would you have imagined that he would just stare at the physical manifestation of his ultimate goal. The goal he’d originally took you in for. How could he let it go so easily? How could he let you go without so much as a fight?

As soon as you were alone in your room, you shuffled over to the window, still in a daze. The moon shined down from the cloudless sky, giving you enough light to see by. You fell down to your knees, staying like that for a second before shifting back so you could bring your knees up to your chest.

And I promise you this: whenever you ask for me, I’ll be there.

You scoffed. “You’re a liar, Kim Junmyeon.”

The tears began to flow down your face and you didn’t bother to try and stop them. Instead, burying your face in your knees while the world that you thought you knew came crashing down around you.

#exo #exo fanfic #exo fanfiction #exo mafia au #exo mafia!au #junmyeon x reader #kim junmyeon #suho #exo gang au #exo gang!au #exo series #exo scenarios #Sins of the Father

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harostar · 6 years ago

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SNK feels and rambling

So between this month’s chapter, the repeated focus throughout these last two arcs, and the preview of the Final Panel.....

Time for some feels, thoughts, and theories.

I think things have truly come full circle, with the series ultimately focusing on the idea about the world we leave behind for our children. Beyond the larger international questions about the world, it strikes a chord because Japan has struggled with an aging population and lower birth rates. We have it taken to its most extreme with Zeke’s ultimate goal of Euthanasia, arguing that it is better not to bring children into a doomed world.

Viewing the series as a larger whole, it truly has been about Generational baggage and what we leave behind for the next to follow in our footsteps. Our main trio were introduced as children, and we followed the 104th through their training days and slow introduction to the world as fully-fledged soldiers. Theirs was a generation of Innocence Lost, being thrown straight on to the frontlines as their world changed dramatically.

We have, over the course of the series, lost the Veterans slowly one by one. This ultimately results in the death of Erwin, with Armin and Jean struggling to pick up as strategists and leaders. Now only Hange and Levi remain of that older generation.

The Uprising Arc saw the old government overthrown, with the bastard child Historica slaying her father to take the throne. Her focus has been on the children that were forgotten, as she once was. Historia is now poised to become a mother.

Mikasa saves a child in Trost, much as she herself was saved as a child. Sasha saves a little girl when she returns home as a soldier.

Eren learns that he killed his father, inheriting the Titan’s power and the burden of being a Savior for Paradis.

Our children, the 104th, are now the Adults of the story. They are the veterans making the decisions and shaping world history and policy. Everything is in their hands now.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have the toxic nature of the Warrior program. Children offered up by their families, symbolically and in some cases literally cutting off their bloodlines. The Galliard, Leonhart, Hoover, and Grice families as well as Pieck’s family are all seemingly condemned to die out. The children have been sacrificed, and no one will be left to carry on their families when the Curse of Ymir takes them. The Brauns are eager to similarly give up their children, with only the one unnamed cousin possibly living to carry on their clan.

The Tyburs have been wiped out. All that remains of the old-world Fritz line is Zeke, who intends to wipe out his entire race.

I think it is no accident that our time skip started out with the children. The first person we meet is Falco Grice, a child with dreams that is burdened by the sins of his uncle. Both Grice brothers are Warrior Candidates, ending their bloodline to protect their older relatives. Falco and Colt both see the flaw in this system. We meet Gabi, the second Braun being offered up as a sacrifice to Marley’s war machine. And we see an adult Reiner, burdened with his sins and desperate to save the next generation.

The sins of Grisha are echoed in his two sons, children burdened by his obsession and his rage. Doomed by his selfishness and headed rapidly towards a very ugly end. One wishes for oblivion and an end to his people. The other has been burning every single bridge and may be intending Genocide to save his little island.

When confronted with the killer of his daughter, Mr. Braus rejects the idea of revenge. He points to the cruelty of nature, and the responsibility of adults to care for children and to NEVER leave their burdens to the next generation. He refuses to harm Gabi, because she is a child. Because Sasha was an adult and a soldier that understood that “going into the forest” meant risking her life. He takes the pain and the anger and he refuses to allow Gabi and Kaya to take them on.

Mikasa protects Gabi, because she is a child. The 104th help Gabi and Falco because they are children forced into something much bigger than themselves.

Nile broke his promise to follow Erwin, in order to have a family. In these dark times, facing his possible transformation into a mindless Titan, he thinks of the things he wishes to tell his children. He saves Falco and takes him back to his friends, telling all three that children have no business on a battlefield. He saves children because that is the duty of adults.

Armin’s introduction to the true horror of the Colossal Titan’s power is seeing a dead child in the rubble. Mikasa chastises Eren with tears in her eyes, pointing out the children he has willingly murdered. Sasha dies because she refused to shoot a child. Jean’s actions are left ambiguous when faced with killing a child to get to an enemy.

The final panel of the series, as revealing in the preview, is a baby being held and told they are free. It is ambiguous for now, but nods to the larger themes discussed above. The ultimate idea of the future, of creating a world for the next generation, of how having children is the ultimate refusal to give into despair.

The Survey Corps dies on the hope that others will pick up where they left off. Erwin uses this as inspiration before his final, deadly charge. The next generation will be the ones to make our lives matter. The Survey Corps survives and dies on Hope, moving forward because others will take their place.

The Warriors live in despair, because there is no future for them. The centuries of Eldian inheritance cycles involve the child consuming the adult, dooming themselves to a shortened life and brutal death at the hands of a successor. Historia defies this cycle, and refuses to carry on her family’s tradition. Grisha chooses to doom both of his sons, using the first as a tool for his revolution and then refusing to entrust his Titan to anyone but his 10-year old son.

Our seemingly-ultimate Villain is a man that believes salvation comes from Death. His ultimate goal is to sterilize an entire people, committing a slow kind of genocide. Dooming the current generation to living out their final days without hope of a future.

Now we have Onyankopon and Armin discuss how Zeke’s Euthanasia plan renders years of hard work pointless. Without children, there is no point. Without a future, their struggle becomes meaningless.

I think it is no accident that the first chapter is titled: “To you, in 2000 years”.

We are approaching the 2000 year mark of Eldian history.

Ymir Fritz is witnessed in the Paths as a girl, not the Goddess or the Devil of myth.

The story begins with a child. It starts again after a 4 year skip, again with another child. And it apparently ends with a child.

At its core, this is a story not of Giant man-eating monsters. But one of humanity and the necessity of leaving a better world for the next generation. One of recognizing that our petty conflicts and selfishness should die with us, instead of becoming the burden of our children and their children.

#snk #aot

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tarisilmarwen · 6 years ago

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Tari’s Top Twenty OTPs - #12

OTP: Kili/Tauriel

Fandom: The Hobbit film trilogy

Kili: Kili is perhaps the youngest dwarf in the Company, brash and foolhardy and a little bit ignorant of the dangers of the world. He and his brother Fili are heirs to Thorin and the throne of the lost Erebor, princes without a kingdom, and both have had to grow up a bit on their journey. As the second-born, there is not as much pressure and weight on Kili’s shoulders as there is on Fili’s. He’s allowed to be a little cheekier, a little more coddled and less responsible. But he’s dreamed of seeing his people’s ancient homeland all his life, and desires to become the kind of man he perceives Thorin to be: noble, battle-hardened, a great proud warrior and hero.

Tauriel: At the young age of six hundred, Tauriel is already an accomplished warrior and holds the noble position of captain of the guard of the elven kingdom of Mirkwood, having been taken in by King Thranduil after her parents were murdered by orcs. Tauriel has no love for any manner of foul creature and can be utterly ruthless in pursuing and taking vengeance upon the evils that are taking hold in the wood. She has a strong sense of justice and moral duty, which sometimes puts her at odds with her king, whose isolationist polices frustrate Tauriel, and she is not afraid to criticize and question him. Tauriel also has an inquisitive, gentler side. She’s interested in and cares about things beyond the borders of Mirkwood, and is curious to learn about other peoples and cultures. Above all, Tauriel is compelled to do what she feels is right, even if that means rebelling against her king.

Together: Though members of opposing races that typically mistrust, despise, and even outright hate each other, Kili and Tauriel are largely free of the typical prejudices that come between their peoples. The racism of their forefathers is not yet ingrained into them and so they’re much more curious and intrigued by each other. They can sit down and have polite conversations and swap stories about their travels and cultures and just generally find each other interesting. Kili is the more besotted of the two, and a bit awkward about expressing it, also seeming to realize how impossible her returning his affections should be. Tauriel is mostly confused, amused, and even possibly a little bit mildly flattered by his admiration, though it becomes clear later on that she’s also come to care quite strongly about the dwarf and his well-being, in some fashion. They fall quickly, and hard. Theirs is an innocent, fledgling sort of relationship, not quite fully considered and only in the beginning stages of its story. It remains nothing but a sweet possibility in the end, as their relationship is cut short by the tragedies of war before they can fully realize what they mean to each other.

How I Got Into The Fandom: Being a movie-birthed fan of The Lord of the Rings I just sort of… inherited the Hobbit films as a fandom really. I wasn’t chomping at the bit for the movies to happen but when they finally did you can bet I was right there flailing and fangirling and being super excited for them with the rest.

When I Started Shipping Them: Honestly I was kind of doomed to ship them from the start. I’d heard the rumors about their little romantic plotline before the second film came out and, being that Kili sounded like he was going to be an absolutely precious dork about her and that I completely adore that kind of thing, I supported the ship’s existence almost by default. Collected little bits of fanart here and there. Nothing big. And then I went and got to see Desolation of Smaug. And Kili was absolutely precious about her, just staring at her in awe from the moment he laid eyes on her. And as the movie progressed and Kili and Tauriel interacted they hit more and more of my favorite shippy tropes. I was majorly into them even before the halfway mark and by the end of the film, with their last scene… well, suffice to say they pretty much had me completely. The next evening was spent gleefully diving into the fandom with vigorous abandon.

Why I Love Them: I am super into guys being super into their lady loves and just completely adoring them and admiring them and thinking they’re awesome and not being emasculated by their badassery. Kili and Tauriel have this adorable kind of Gender Role Reversal to their relationship: Tauriel is the stoic badass that swoops in to the rescue and Kili is the damsel in distress who just has stars in his eyes every time he sees her. (The height difference helps cement that.) Add in a healthy dose of culture clash, angst from the fact that they are Star Crossed Lovers from feuding races, and the tragic separation and end to their budding romance, and you have one super-heartwarming narratively doomed ship that will just completely break your heart. Hurts so good though.

Three Favorite Moments:

1. “She walks in starlight in another world...”

Ngh, I could watch this scene forever. The lead-up to this moment is awesome too, with Tauriel choosing to stay behind and heal Kili’s poisoned wound and Kili literally seeing Tauriel in sparklevision. (Well, okay, not quite literally, there is a canon explanation that elves’ true forms are very shiny and full of light and those on the edge of death can see it.)

Once things have calmed and Kili is out of danger, he lays on the table semi-delirious and then, unexpectedly, calls Tauriel’s name.

Surprised, Tauriel just smiles and tells him to rest. Kili, still not quite conscious, assumes he must be having a dream, and whispers reverently about how the real Tauriel is far, far away from him, walking in starlight. He reaches for her hand, brushing her fingers with his, and wonders aloud if she could have ever loved him.

Tauriel’s expression pinches with emotion before we cut away.

2. “If this is love, I do not want it.”

After the Battle of the Five Armies is over, Thranduil comes upon Tauriel, kneeling by the dead Kili’s side and mourning him.

“They want to bury him,” she says miserably.

The contempt Thranduil held for Tauriel’s feelings is gone, and he can only feel pity for her now. Pity as she begs him to take this emotion from her, cries out that she doesn’t understand why it hurts so much.

“Because it was real,” he tells her gently.

Numb, Tauriel lets her tears fall, leans down and kisses Kili goodbye, sliding the runestone he gave her back into his hands and weeping softly.

3. Saving him at the river

Kili, impulsive action-taker that he is, has taken an arrow to his thigh in his reckless attempt to open the sluice gate and allow the company to escape.

He collapses, and the orcs begin to descend on him. But all of a sudden an arrow flies in from offscreen, killing the nearest attacker.

Kili’s head whips around and he stares in awe and wonder as Tauriel charges in, accompanied by a dramatic swell of her theme. A worried expression on her face, she engages the orcs, slicing through them, only once distracted by Kili’s cry of pain.

#kiliel #kili x tauriel #tauriel #the hobbit #shipping #meta rambling #talking bout ships #tari's top twenty otps

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fmdalyssia · 5 years ago

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Self- Paragraph -- The Journey from Da-hee to Alyssia

Premise: Let’s start from the very beginning Word Count: 1, 833 words Time Period: Days leading up to 8th March 1994, the day Park Da-hee was born, to 4 years after that when Da-hee first experiences an encounter with sickness and death through her beloved mother; Jeju Island Trigger Warnings: domestic, csb abuse, alcoholism, sickness, death Mentions: None Author Notes: I cried so hard while writing this.

No one knows how Park Minghan manages to bag himself such a pretty wife. She’s slender, willowy and tender-hearted in every way that he is not, with her doe-like almond shaped eyes and delicate features. She’s everyone’s dream girl, delicate, devoted and pure, with a smile that could light even the darkest of the rooms. On the other hand, Park Minghan is nothing like his wife. A strapping male that came to stay in the lesser parts of Jeju Island with his wife Minji, one could tell that the male had been handsome.

Once.

At the very least, before life and alcoholism took that all away. No one understands why Minji doesn’t leave him, even with the sound of smashed bottles of glass against counters, the soft sounds of the young woman crying by her window entering their ears. Everyone just simply glances at each other knowingly, darkened looks on their faces, and continues trudging their own way.

Its the sickness of the masses--the negligence of many, thinking that none of the issues are something that they should take care of.

Someone will always come along. But its not me.

And so the cycle carries on, and everyone is forced to watch as Minji withers slowly away in front of them. None of them know of Park Minghan and Im Minji’s origins, save for the fact that they’re a couple, and that Minghan is an abusive, alcoholic. But neither do they doubt the fact that Minghan is at the very least 10 years older than the youthful Minji, whose looks could pass for a nineteen to twenty year old. They just know that the couple is one of the many couples, forced to relocate into lower parts of Jeju because of...circumstance. Its a normal thing, and everyone goes through it, one way or another. There’s nothing really too special about it.

Life doesn’t treat them well either, so why care about others when they weren’t self sufficient themselves?

Of course, that didn’t mean that there were one or two kind-hearted souls who offered Im Minji a reprieve to the abusive environment she lived in, the bruises on her pale skin tearing the hearts of mothers, but halting youthful wives with too eager husbands.

Come with us, Minji. Leave that man alone.

It only breaks their hearts further when Minji shakes her head and offers that too brittle smile, one hand resting delicately on her belly.

I can’t. She tells them, her eyes soft but sad. I can’t.

Its nine months later that Da-hee is born, and as usual, Minghan is nowhere to be found. Everyone knows by now that Minji’s pregnant, but also know that neither is she in the best of states. Her heart doesn’t keep up with her sometimes, her breaths short and gasping, and face paling at times when her chest tightens, hands clutching onto the back of the seat.

Its asthma. Some gossip. Heart problems. Others postulates. Braxton Hicks.

Its because of the benevolence of others that Da-hee gets born in a hospital, her birth registered as legitimate. A kind Samaritan that found Minji collapsed at the side of the road, one hand against her heart, the other on her stomach as she pulls through each contraction with pained breaths. He even pays for the medical bills, and Minji doesn’t see her husband until 3 days later, when she’s finally discharged with Da-hee in her arms.

Da-hee is everything that Minji wishes and dreams of, even as the doctor tells her she’s too weak to have anything else trigger her. Her daughter is soft, warm, alive and cuddly in her arms, and Minji feels nothing but bliss even as her body screams in pain with every move it makes.

Its through sheer willpower that Minji holds onto her every shred of life. Giving birth to her daughter has made her body constitution weaker than anyone else, with dangerously high fevers during winter, and flus during the summer. She’s glad that inspite of everything, Da-hee never inherits her weakly body constitution, even though she looks like a carbon copy of herself.

The abuse continues, and Minji can only try and protect her daughter as much as she can from Minghan’s calloused hands. She spends four blissful years, watching Da-hee grow, and its everything that Minji can ever wish for.

...

Da-hee hates the fact that she doesn’t recall much of her mother, save for the last day that she sees her face, and for the fists and warm body that envelops her constantly as her father rains down fist upon fist on their bodies. Its a curse that humans don’t exactly remember their memories of anyone until they’re beyond the age of six or seven, because her childhood is marred with days and nights of a predator, and not of the blissful moments of the woman she calls her mother.

Da-hee remembers Minji as the warmest ray of light, the delicate ray of sunshine. Her mother was like a plant--wavering in the wind, but yet still strong and steadfast to her will. She never blames her mother for choosing not to leave her father. Where would they go if she did? A young woman and a child, barely ever four years of age, and on top of that, her mother’s body wasn’t in the best shape. It was a tragedy from the very start, and something doomed from the very beginning.

She doesn’t even blame her mother for the domestic abuse they both suffer--if anything, the home that Park Minghan provided covered their necessities, even if they had to suffer blow after blow upon their bodies.

She does blame her mother however, for not noticing the signs of her father’s predatory behaviour. Its even more sickening that he doesn’t wait till her mother’s fully gone to begin his predation upon her young body. It starts with the touching--its always the touching, the hugging that’s too close for comfort. She’s too young to understand that it isn’t affection, and her mother’s too sickly to know what happens when her father watches over her when she isn’t around.

And Da-hee remembers always being more worried about her mother, even as a child who didn’t understand things in her four year old mental capacity. To her, mother was always coughing--always crying, always desperately holding on. Her heart hurt her...most of the times, and so did father’s fists.

Da-hee remembers clearly, however--the first time that her father had ever hit her. It hadn’t been accidental, and her mother had always done everything she could in protecting her. Bruises marred her pretty face, her hands always trembling as she touched her all over after each brutal beating at Park Minghan’s hands, and Da-hee remembers that she always cries when her mother desperately touches her body and face. She senses the panic, and desperation--that desire to protect something so precious, and its an indescribable feeling for a four year old to watch her mother being beaten repeatedly till she bleeds, and being able to do nothing about it, because its always her mother that tries to protect her. All the bruises that she knows are supposed to appear on her body and her face--are right there, just on her mother.

Its tears of helplessness, of terror, of fear, of despair--and even as young as she is--her body instinctively knows it. If anything, Da-hee remembers having inherited the strong-will of her own mother. Its a powerful thing that they both have, indomitable enough for Minji to stay on and protect her daughter for four long years, even though her body has expired, and for Da-hee to still function as a normal child, even under such intense abuse. But the stubbornness and the pride that she has--that was something that she definitely got from her father, as was the unquenchable fury.

She remembers the day she threw herself in front of her mother, screaming at her father as he rained his fists down on her mother’s tiny frame, the desperate cries of her mother to hide back in her arms falling upon deaf ears. It works--as soon as that first few punches pummel with full strength against her small body, and jars Park Minghan to a halt. It works--because he strides out of the room, red-faced and with a wild but shocked look in his eye as she beams widely at her mother, one eye already swelling shut as her mother cries and cups her face.

We match. She tries to say, reaching for the black eye that her mother sports as well, but the pain is too much, and she ends up crying till the blood vessels burst in her tiny face. All she remembers of the day is not the glory that she had, protecting her mother, but the repeated tears and apologies that fell from her mother’s lips as she cradled her in her arms like the most precious thing in the world.

The fact that she still got hit takes a huge blow to her mother’s health, Da-hee realises a tad too late. She’s four and half and trying to help around the house when her mother suddenly coughs out blood and clutches her heart. Its alarming, and Da-hee remembers the adrenaline that pumps through her veins as she runs from door to door, trying to get the neighbours to help.

But no one wants to help someone who doesn’t want to leave an abusive husband themselves. Its something that she deserves--Da-hee feels it in their eyes as they close the door on her face, condescending and judgemental, and its far too late when she returns back to her house, without a doctor in tow.

She spends her last moments with her mother on the tiny bed that they share, in the small room that’s apart from her father.

I love you. She remembers her mother’s last breath as the words of love and adoration from the woman’s lips, the smile of liberation that finally truly graces her lips.

Her father doesn’t even return home until two days later, drunk and smelling heavily of booze. She’s spent the past two nights lying with the corpse of her dead, cold mother, unable to cry as she sits next to her mother, stupefied and traumatized. She doesn’t even feel sorry when Park Minghan collapses to the ground in sobs, grabbing onto her mother’s hand as though it was the most precious thing that he could find in the world.

He deserves it. Even in the mental capacity of a four year and a half year old, Da-hee knows how to differentiate things far too easily--its a blessing and a curse from growing up just a little too early. She wanders out of the room and into the open space, right by the beach where her mother would frequently take her as a tiny escape from the horrible life that they both shared.

See the birds, Da-hee? Aren’t they so carefree.

And she finally bursts into tears.

#||SELF-PARA**♫ drunk on the stars #((+2 points))#((wc: 1833 words))#((i spent half an hour crying after finishing this))#((then cried again as i checked through the whole thing and read it all over again))#((i hate myself for putting aly through this))

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scratchface · 6 years ago

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So if Yusaku = Atlas Then Takeru = Prometheus?

I’m a huge nerd for Greek mythology, so I hope you’re prepared for what you just unleashed, because I’ve thought about this too much.

Theories about Greek Mythos Allusions in Vrains

There were four notable second-generation Titans, all brothers: Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus, and Epimetheus. These four brothers and their father, Iapetus, are considered to be the progenitors of all life. Less notable are a couple of their cousins, including Astraeus and Perses.

Atlas “the enduring” was the leader of the Titan’s rebellion against Zeus after Zeus chopped up his dad Cronus. From Atlas, humans are said to have inherited strength, daring, and patience (which fits Yusaku perfectly); he also taught humans astrology/astronomy, navigation, and agriculture. Punished for his role in the war, Atlas was forced to take up the mantle of his father and uncles, who were the original four pillars of the heavens and the Titans of the West, North, East, and South. As the only remaining pillar, Atlas bears the burden of the sky all by himself. He now stands at the very end of the Earth, and is considered difficult to find/reach.

Some sources claim the war between the Titans and the Gods lasted ten years. The record of the war, however, as in the poem detailing it, has been completely lost to history.

Prometheus is remembered for being the one to steal fire and give it to humans, but he was the Titan of forethought, not fire. Most importantly, he was considered clever and forward-thinking because he sided with the Gods over the Titans. Atlas, on the other hand, led the Titans against the Gods alongside Menoetius.

Menoetius is associated with rashness, wrath, pride, and might, and is doomed because of it. While Atlas is forced by the Gods to carry the sky, Menoetius was thrown into the darkness of Tartarus after being defeated by Zeus. It is said humans inherited his tendency for violence. (He has some kind of weird bromance with Hades after being stuck in the Underworld, but that’s probably not relevant)

So where I’m going with this? Takeru is Menoetius. Takeru is rash, he’s got a carefully smothered quick temper, and is the only character so far to be seen as a combat fighter. He sides with Yusaku when almost no one else does, but it crippled by his tendency to rush is head first.

Humans inherited Prometheus’s cleverness, and Epimetheus’s foolishness/regretfulness. The two of them represent foresight and hindsight. Considering it’s Kogami that in canon was compared with Prometheus, and Ryoken is his successor, and Prometheus carries the “guilt” of a crime against Zeus, I think it’s fair to say Ryoken’s the one likened to Prometheus, in the eternally suffering benefactor of mankind kind of way. Ryoken may not be a Lost Kid, but he was heavily involved in the matter. That means very well that Epimetheus could be Spectre: the one that came to the side of Hanoi after, as Epimetheus mostly follows after Prometheus.

That leaves three other kids, for which there’s a couple different options, which won’t become clear until we know more about them and their respective Ignis.

Astraeus is associated with the wind and dusk, and all the zephyrs of Greek Myth are descended from him. Obviously, this is probably the child of the Wind Ignis. I think this is probably Jin, but Jin and Spectre could possibly be switched here.

Helios is the Titan of the sun. That’s…pretty self-explanatory. Hyperion could also fit, but these two are not always distinct entities from each other. Some stories say Helios allied with Zeus against the Titans, so that’s not a good sign for the child of the Light Ignis.

Perses is the Titan of destruction and peace. He’s pretty unknown too, but he was the father of Hecate. He was also the cause of droughts and a source of scorching heat, which is a tenuous connection to Earth. Mount Orthys was the base of the Titans, and when the Titans were defeated and banished, Gaea made Typhon, who would eventually become a mountain; so hey, there’s two options. There’s Mylinus too, who was the Titan of an island and harvest, both earthy stuff. Sykeus is another option, as an Earth Titan/Giant that fled from the war and was hidden by his mother, Gaia, from Zeus. Gaia even gave him a fig tree. The Earth kid could really be any of these, even if he’s Spectre or Jin.

Pallas is pretty unremarkable besides being the Titan of warcraft and being, like, a goat or something, but he was married to Styx. As in, the Titan goddess of the River Styx, associated with water and oaths and hatred, and who also represents the boundary between the Earth and the Underworld. She, funnily enough, also sided with the Gods, and is possibly the only reason the Gods won, since she brought along her kids, including Victory/Nike. Alternatively, Clymene/Asia was an Oceanid (daughter of the ocean) and Titan of fame. She was the mother of Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus, and Epimetheus, and she was also the consort of Helios. Other promising candidates include Eurybia and Tethys, both sea Titan goddesses. All female Titans were either neutral or sided with Zeus in the war. Does that mean the Water Child will be siding against Yusaku? Who knows.

It seems to me that Yusaku is Atlas, but backwards.

-Atlas fought against the Gods and ten years later was forced to carry the heavens on his back in eternal agony. Yusaku was forced to go through agony and carry a great burden, and then ten years later, started a war against Hanoi.

-Same for Takeru: he’s Menoetius in reverse! Banished to the darkness, then ten years later comes back to join “Atlas” in his challenge to “the Gods”.

-Spectre is the same, if he’s Epimetheus (Joins gods, makes new life, finds companionship in Pandora, gets punished). Get’s “punished”, finds companionship and a new life, joins Hanoi.

-Same with Ryoken as Prometheus (Joins gods, betrays Zeus to save humanity) as he betrays his father to save the kids, then dedicates himself to serving the father he betrayed.

If the story really is being told in reverse, it makes sense that Kogami, (as Zeus, the youngest of the gods and titans involved) exits early on. But that means, won’t the story end with Cronus in power?

There is another possibility. We may be misinterpreting Yusaku as Atlas, when Yusaku may actually be associated with Atlas’s father, and the original pillar of the West, Iapetos, Titan of mortality, life (as in, the progenitor of all mortal life!), and fate. Very little is known about him besides the fact that he was immensely powerful (you don’t have four sons as influential as he did without having some serious clout) and enough of a threat to the Gods that he was imprisoned in Tartarus right next to Cronus. There were three other pillars, all brothers, that together held the Sky/Ouranos still while the fifth brother, Cronus, castrated him and threw his genitals into the ocean, resulting in the birth of Aphrodite (Aphrodite Ourania, not Aphrodite Pandemos, if we want to make a distinction between the two). This version of Aphrodite is associated with homosexual love, spiritual love, and obviously the sea foam from which she was born, and is represented by a tortoise.

That would make six children of Ouranos linked to Ouranos’s fall from grace: five male, one female. The Titan of fate, the Titan of light, the Titan of intellect/stars/prophecy, the Titan of spring, the Titan of time/agriculture (an ongoing debate), and the deity of love.

Iapetos, as the opposing pillar to Hyperion of the East and light, could be associated with darkness. Iapetos is considered by some scholars to be the “ender” of all things. He represents the end that ultimately awaits everything and everyone (even the sun), and therefore, is a pretty ominous dude. So, please, feel free to side-eye Yusaku hard for being associated with this guy and his son.

That said, the four pillars are super, super obscure, while Atlas is the most famous of all Titans, so I think the Atlas theory is the most likely. Plus, all four children of Iapetos are heavily associated with inevitability and self-destruction! Sounds a lot like Yusaku, Ryoken, and Spectre, huh? Takeru is probably going to be prone to the same tendencies.

But there’s another interpretation too. If we think of Ryoken as Heracles, the greatest of humanity, then Vrains might really be taking from the 12 labors. Atlas featured prominently in the 11th labor, and was tricked by Heracles into retrieving the sacred apples and once more taking up the sky. Other labors featured Cerberus (Akira), the Nemean Lion (possibly Takeru?), and many others. (Spectre could be the sacred tree, which Heracles has Atlas pluck the apples from? Weird.) This one seems like a bit of a stretch to me, but may be more valid later on when other characters come in. The main factor is Heracles deals a lot with guilt and redemption, which is Ryoken’s whole deal.

But I think the most telling part of all this is, in many tellings, Zeus/Heracles eventually forgave and released all the Titans from their sentences (including Prometheus, I.e. Prometheus Unbound), except Atlas, who must remain as the pillar of heaven for all time. Some of these stories suggest Atlas chooses to remain, as he alone can handle the burden of the heavens and keep the world safe. Good luck to Yusaku! He’s gonna need it!

#this has been your apparently now weekly vrains analysis #vrains #yugioh vrains #ygo #yusaku fujiki #takeru homura #kogami ryoken

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bookishreviewsblog · 6 years ago

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Sarah J. Maas: Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass #7) | Lara

Years in the making, Sarah J. Maas’s #1 New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series draws to an epic, unforgettable conclusion. Aelin Galathynius’s journey from slave to king’s assassin to the queen of a once-great kingdom reaches its heart-rending finale as war erupts across her world. . . Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day… With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world. And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever. As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.

4,5 STARS

“Once upon a time, in a land long since burned to ash, there lived a young princess who loved her kingdom …” After eight books of this amazing story I still can’t believe it is over. Although I started Throne of Glass series in May, I still find these books very dear to me and Celaena’s journey will stay with me for a while. I will most likely put a lot of spoilers in this review, because I am not sure I will be able to write it without some references, so be careful (there will be warnings of course). Even though this book was almost a thousand pages long, it wasn’t anything near boring. It was filled with action and twist from the beginning to the very end. Story and Celaena/Aelin herself have changed so much, that it seems so painfully far to look at the beginning of Throne of Glass. Maas introduced many more characters and storylines, that the length of the book seems quite fair since there was a lot of questions unanswered and stories unfinished. I like world-building and concept of Sarah’s worlds. In fact, if there is a map I can follow through the book while reading about war tactics there is 90% chance I will like the book. By now I can say I know the whole continent by heart since I used to check every city, river or mountain that was mentioned. Something about Sarah’s world-building that bothers me since A Court of Thorns and Roses is that there is no magic system. There are no rules of inheriting power or knowing how powerful one can be. Characters are just born with enormous power and every one of them has some different magic. Book was easy to read, chapters were short, each from different perspective. Descriptions were thorough and beautifully written as well as dialogues. I always admired Maas’s writing, but in this book, I was amazed by all those remarkable descriptions of places, battles and of course characters and their feelings in this amazing world she created. I could picture every scene and even empathize with characters I don’t like. Maas certainly knew how to make this one last story epic and unforgettable, while still pleasing us readers and fangirls. I still feel like there isn’t anything I can write that will put my feelings about this book in one place, but I will try with the characters. As I said before, long way since that lonely assassin in castle, hating the king and struggling to choose between crown prince and head of the guard. Story, characters, even villains have changed, completely. Perhaps I should start with Aelin, because she was character, I was most pleasantly surprised with in Kingdom of Ash. My perspective of her character changed a lot through the series. I loved her character from the beginning. She won my heart in The Assassin’s blade and I loved her strength and determination as well as the idea of 16-year-old assassin. Somewhere in Queen of Shadows, after she took her role as a Queen of Terrasen, she became annoying and I started to dislike her character. She kept her plans to herself and everyone praised her a bit too much, to the point where it felt like she was supposed to be the only important character in the story (where there are dozen main characters). I guess author was trying to make an impression of her being a good queen, still learning to rule, but it was rather annoying more than convincing. But I must say from the beginning of Kingdom of Ash, I started liking Aelin immediately. Maas did a really good job in writing her in state of torture, recovering and finally, continuing fight she started. *spoilers about Aelin’s character development ahead*Aelin showed her strength once again, during two months of brutal torture, by Maeve who wanted her to tell her where are the keys. She never once broke thinking about her country and how she must save it. During that period, I started to understand Aelin more, her motives and personality: how ashamed she was that she left Terrasen for 10 years and now she suffered so her people could stop suffering. From her recovery (which was very realistically described!) to her return to Erilea I forgot all about how she annoyed me. She has changed, started trusting her friends and allies, but those traits that made her one of my favorite character of all times still remained. Brave, willing to sacrifice herself for her friends and her country. She fought through all her pain and loss to glory and love. That scene where she ran out in golden armor in battle and when she stopped the river from destroying entire army were one of my favorite scenes in whole book. Maas did really good job with Aelin in this book, putting her a little bit on the side and creating some space for other characters, but still keeping Aelin as the initiator of everything and never letting her loose her value. There is nothing much to say about Rowan, my opinion on him remained the same as in the past two books – I feel like he is there only to play the role of love interest. Yes, I love him and Aelin together, but I could never connect with his character on a level I could with others and I haven’t seen much development of his. My favorites and the best power couple ever are Manon and Dorian. They were my OTP from the moment Manon was introduces to the series. I love them both so much and hey are my favorite characters from these books. Lots of angst and feelings, but I was disappointed *spoiler* they got separated at the end. I love cruel Chrochan Queen who was raised to kill and torture, but still finds her way and believes in herself. Her character was one of the best developed and most interesting character of the entire series. I loved her from the very beginning, but in Kingdom of Ash she showed not only her brutal side of a warrior and Ironteeth, but merciful and brave side of a queen who will unite and bring her people home. Her relationship with Abraxos and The Thirteen were one of my favorite friendships, **BIG spoiler* the scene of The Thirteen’s sacrifice was really painful. “The choice of how our people's future shall be shaped is yours," Manon told each of the witches assembled, all the Blackbeaks who might fly off to war and never return. "But I will tell you this." Her hands shook, and she fisted them on her thighs. "There is a better world out there. And I have seen it.” I wasn’t particularly fond of other characters, except Dorian and Chaol because they are part of the original trio. There was a whole lot of new and old characters and I couldn’t make myself care for all of them. I literally see no purpose of creating Elide or Lorcan than to add another perspective. Elide wasn’t even that interesting and her so called powers were brought up twice (I even forgot what were they). Sure, I started to like Fenrys, Lysandra was inspiring and I loved Aedion from time to time (although I find his character annoying and poorly developed). *SPOILER* When they are all summed up, we end with a big specter of main characters and, surprisingly, not single one of them died. I mean, I get it, it was a lot of pain and sacrifice throughout the book, but there was so many characters and I guess I even expected to be some painful deaths (that were not sideline characters). *following paragraph contains major spoilers for ending of Kingdom of Ash* “Let’s make this a fight worthy of a song.” I have a desperate need to comment on the ending of Throne of Glass series. As I said before, I was disappointed in lacking of deaths. It is not that I enjoy watching my favorite characters die, it is more about the impression certain ending leaves. I think ending should be emotional, especially after such a big finale. After finishing Kingdom of Ash, I was in state of “book hungover” for two hours (which is negligee compared to few-weeked depressions I endured after really emotional endings). Actually, the only things I was sad about was Aelin’s loss of power and separation of characters. Another thing that slightly bothered me, although I can’t say I am entirely unhappy with the outcome, is how forging of the lock turned out. I expected it would kill Aelin in some very emotional way, or at least it will take an enormous toll on her or Dorian, but at the same time I am glad they survived since they are my favorite characters after all. The whole ending just leaves the huge expression Maas didn’t want to kill of any important character and tbh I find that quite unrealistic and disappointing. Final battle was really tense, well written and I enjoyed reading it. I loved how it was all untangled between Erawan and Maeve. It would be pretty predictable and boring if it ended by them being destroyed with the keys, so this final battle gave the ending an epic note. “Aelin looked at Chaol and Dorian and sobbed. Opened her arms to them, and wept as they held each other. “I love you both,” she whispered. “And no matter what may happen, no matter how far we may be, that will never change.” All in all, I can say I am quite satisfied with this book since I have waited it for a few months and have been dying to see how will it all turn out. Throne of Glass series are really good work and I recommend it to any fantasy lover. The journey of young assassin has come to an end, but I can’t say I regret one moment of it.

#books #bookreviews #sarahjmaas #kingdomofash #throneofglass #youngadult #fantasy

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mickeycookies · 7 years ago

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You Dont have to answer this If its still a Secret But for your corpse matsu Au Who murderd karamatsu ???? 👀👀👀👀👀

Welllllll …

after Homura runs away, Totoko’s parents make it a point to stay and comfort Matsuzo and Matsuyo when they begin to fear she isn’t going to come back and that the wedding could possibly be called off. As all their children are screaming (”WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH THAT JYUSHIMATSU’S GETTING MARRIED?? I’M RIGHT HERE SINGLE TOTOKO-CHAN!!” “SHUT IT YOU STUPID NEET–I JUST CAN’T BELIEVE ONE OF YOU SHITTY VIRGINS IS GETTING MARRIED BEFORE ME!” “THEN MARRY ME TOTOKO-CHAN!!” “NO!”) They just can’t help but notice how mature Jyushimatsu is being about the whole thing as he stands off at the window by himself quietly, eyes searching for any sign of his runaway fiance.

-:-

When Homura never returns and her parents apologize stoically on her behalf, handing Matsuyo and Matsuzo a small check for their troubles (nowhere near as much as they would have gotten from her dowry and her inheritance) and asking them to go on as if this never happened, Totoko’s parents are there beside them again as they lament, what are they going to do? Homura was the only eligible lady willing to marry one of their sons! They’re running out of time, they’re running out of money what are they going to do??

“Jyushimatsu can always marry Totoko.”

Matsuzo and Matsuyo burst out laughing so hard they’re in tears, slapping their knees and holding their sides cause it’s funny, and they appreciate that the Yowais were trying to make them feel better. But the Yowais aren’t laughing. They’re serious. As it turns out, it hasn’t exactly been … easy finding a suitor for Totoko. While their daughter is beautiful and popular, nobody is ever good enough for her, and she’s developed a bit of a reputation herself for being high-maintenance and impossible to please. As much as people love her, it just seems that’s nobody’s willing to marry her, and the ones who have tried have all already found wives after being mercilessly turned down. But … the Matsuno boys are all still single. Matsuyo and Matsuzo are speechless, jaws to the floor as the Yowais explain how they’ve noticed how much Jyushimatsu has grown up compared to the others. While the rest of the boys were screaming back and forth at each other–at each other’s throats over their daughter, Jyushimatsu stood by Homura’s side, happy and content, listening carefully to everything he was told by the priest, picking her up whenever she stumbled, still trying to run after her even as Totoko kept him from leaving the room, silently waiting for her return even as it grew dark.

Totoko would never get anywhere with the way she acted so they finally felt like it was time they stepped in, that she no longer had the privilege of choosing her own suitor. As much as they needed the money, Matsuyo and Matsuzo still looked towards each other worriedly, they knew how much Jyushimatsu cared for Homura, how he was still waiting for her to come back. “I-if you feel like marrying her to one of the boys is for the best, I’m sure all four of them would be willing to prove how mature the–”

“This offer is only for Jyushimatsu.”

“… Very well then. He accepts.”

-:-

Jyushimatsu stands at the altar, smile small, eyes dead to the world as Totoko spreads her fingers for him, glowering at him as he just holds the ring, not making a move to slip it on her finger. A loud slam comes from the mostly empty pews and Jyushimatsu slowly turns, smile falling completely as Osomatsu glares at him, muttering under his breath before sliding out of the pew and stomping towards the church’s exit, slamming the doors open and letting them slam shut behind him. Choromatsu stands up next, brows knit, looking like he’s about to cry before turning his head and excusing himself as well, opening and shutting the thick church doors much more gently then the eldest. Ichimatsu stands up as well, face neutral, and Todomatsu stands too, face flushed furiously, and they both leave the church together as well. Totoko scoffs at the scene before clearing her throat at Jyushimatsu (nobody hesitates when marrying Totoko, nobody)

-:-

Totoko stands in complete shock as Jyushimatsu pants, his eyes filled with tears and hands shaking after such an emotional outburst. Jyushimatsu turns his back on her and leaves, running out the door without another word to her. The mansion is empty, tables on their sides and the poor excuse for a last minute wedding cake crumbled into a sticky mess on the floor from when everyone had run away in a panic, escaping from the hordes of walking talking corpses. Nobody was here to see her whine, complaining of having to not only marry a NEET but marry a poor one at that, how nobody had it harder in life than her, how nobody would ever have it harder than she does, how she was doomed to a life of dissatisfaction, how she hated her parents for making her get married, how she hated him for being worthless, how she hated his brothers for ruining her wedding, how she hated the undead for ruining her reception, how she was so unhappy. Nobody was here to see Jyushimatsu snap out of his motionless state, tears in his angry eyes,or see him yell at her–that she wasn’t going to be the only one in this marriage who was unhappy. He hated that his brothers hated him now, he hated that he couldn’t marry the one he truly loved, she wasn’t the only person in the world who had it hard!

Nobody was there for any of it, but as she stands in the empty mansion by herself, Jyushimatsu having been long gone by now, she feels her hands clench into tight fists. She starts to breathe heavily, fury building up in her heart.

How DARE he talk to her in such a way!

How DARE he turn his back on her!

How DARE he walk out on her!

She snorts angrily, finding herself running after him, because NOBODY leaves Yowai Totoko! NOBODY!

Slowly, the rest of Jyushimatsu’s brothers come out from all of their hiding places; Osomatsu emerging from underneath a flipped table, Choromatsu peeking out from behind the grandfather clock, Ichimatsu losing his grip and falling from the chandelier he’d shot himself up into in cat-like fear when the corpses ‘attacked’, Todomatsu peeking out from behind the kitchen door–their cousin Todoko looking over his shoulder as well. They all stare at each other with wide eyes, having no words.

Two things have happened here that they all never thought possible.

The dead walked the earth and one of the Matsuno sextuplets rejected Yowai Totoko right to her face.

-:-

Karamatsu smiles gently as he takes his younger brother’s hand and places it over Homura’s, the two looking at their connected hands before looking up at each other, blushing and smiling happily.

“JYUSHIMATSU!”

Jyushimatsu’s smile falls and his eyes go flat at the voice. The three of them turn to see Totoko smashing someone with the church door as she charges through it, the rest of his living brothers right behind her. She looks the angriest he’s ever seen her and Jyushimatsu knows it’s because of him. She stomps down the aisle, pointing an accusing finger at him, “DON’T YOU FORGET YOU’RE MARRIED TO ME!” Jyushimatsu flinches, all his courage from before gone as he watches her angry form stomp closer and closer, like an animal ready to attack. Karamatsu’s head nearly snaps off from how fast he turns to look at his younger brother, eyes wide and jaw dropped.

“YOU MARRIED TOTOKO-CHAN?!” Karamatsu yells, shocked beyond belief. He can’t believe his ears, his eyes, everything! He’s so shocked he doesn’t even care that the rest of his brothers are standing with her looking at him curiously before recognition hits them all, their own eyes going wide as they realize just who they’re staring at.

Before Totoko can even open her mouth to yell again, the church door flies off it’s hinges, the undead and living crowd running from the pews to get away from the massive door. The bent over, snarling figure of a short monster like woman emerges from the dust, huffing angrily. “I’VE HAD ENOUGH!” she growls at Totoko, stomping towards the angry woman clad in a wedding dress, “YOU JUST KEEP GETTING IN MY WAY!”

Totoko turns to her in disgust, “HUUUH? JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?? THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU?”

As Totoko and the hippo-like woman growl at each other, Karamatsu’s eyes widen. If his heart could still beat, he knew it would have stopped then. He opens his mouth to speak, but words don’t come out. It’s been years since he’s last seen her, but he could never forget her. How could he?

She was the one who convinced him to marry her.

She was the one he waited for in the graveyard.

She was the one who killed him.

“You.”

Karamatsu clenches his hands to keep them from shaking, finding his voice coming back to him, “You.”

The short woman looks at him from the corner of her eyes, still butting heads with Totoko before her eyes widen. She flings the other girl back with ease, Totoko going down in a string of curses before squinting her eyes at him, “Kara-chun?”

Naturally, it’s the ugly flower fairy lol

#unnyuu96-reblogs #IT ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH IT DIDN'T CRASH I'M SO HAPPY #but yes after all the signs pointing at one character it's really another lol #Corpse Matsu AU #answered

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