#but suffering as the pinnacle of devotion is something i struggle with

[kataraavatara]

the way the fandom IMMEDIATELY jumps to saint iconography and comparison for Alicent (Mater Dolorosa, etc) actually says A Lot about the church’s reductive view of female sexuality and agency. It says A Lot about Christianity in general. Like I know she’s Westerosi Catholic so your mind jumps to that comparison but…

[hamliet]

about the shovel. it gets passed around a bit and i started to wonder it might have some symbolic meaning besides being just a convenient shovel. your metas are very interesting so i wanted to know your thoughts

Thank you for writing back!!! Yay, MXTX metas. *rolls sleeves up, clears throat*

So I know the shovel has multiple appearances, but the simplest answer is that it is a symbol. It symbolizes digging into the core, the foundation, of heaven, which is rotten to its core with corruption. Xie Lian claims:

“Lord Earth Master, how did you dig out this tunnel? I’ve never heard that it was possible to dig beneath the heavenly residences in the Heavenly Capital.” It must be known that the foundation of the Heavenly Capital was not the same as the muddy earth of the mortal realm.

Yeah, it’s not the same. It’s worse.

It’s also worth pointing out that the real earth master to whom the shovel belongs (Ming Yi) is an imprisoned skeleton in He Xuan’s lair, a skeleton that only moves to violently attack when someone mentions his title of “Earth Master.” Almost like that too is a symbol of exactly what the gods are: rotting and dead inside, moved to violence for their pride, prisoners (of their own misdeeds). This is also why the shovel is used explicitly only to help the people who have suffered most by heaven’s corruption: He Xuan, Xie Lian, Shi QingXuan, and Yin Yu.. and everyone who digs with it (Ming Yi, He Xuan, and Yin Yu) has a somewhat tragic ending.

Regarding He Xuan… well, he was posing as the earth master and uses the shovel to dig Shi QingXuan out of his brother’s captivity when Shi QingXuan uncovers the truth of what his brother did to He Xuan. Xie Lian notes that He Xuan couldn’t use the earth master’s shovel properly because he was not the earth master: “Why did you think he couldn’t control the Earth Master Crescent Moon Shovel well? Because that didn’t belong to him in the first place! .”

Symbolically, this is also showing how He Xuan’s freeing of Shi QingXuan through the use of the shovel failed in its purpose: he was hoping Shi QingXuan, by then aware of his brother’s crimes, would turn on his brother.

He Xuan whipped around and started pacing back and forth within the hall of Nether Water Manor, growling, “I’ve given you chances!”

Shi Qing Xuan shut his eyes, clenching his fists. Xie Lian recalled that excessively furious “Fine. Very well!” back at the town of Fu Gu, and that scene of ‘Ming Yi’ blocking Shi Qing Xuan’s path to follow Pei Ming in going to the East Sea.

Only, every time, Shi Qing Xuan had chosen to help Shi Wu Du.

He whispered, “…I’m sorry.”

But Shi QingXuan is not that kind of person (which… also likely applies to how he feels about He Xuan though it’s obviously complicated).

The second time is when the Upper Court of heaven’s been overrun by Jun Wu, when Yin Yu appears to dig Xie Lian out, only they both wind up captured and Jun Wu digs to the core of who Yin Yu is to eventually kill him.

“That’s dissatisfaction.” Jun Wu said, “You are bound by his grace and had nowhere to go, so you are only forcing yourself.” 

“…”

Yin Yu hung his head and didn’t speak. Xie Lian was breaking out in cold sweat.

He could now somewhat guess how Jun Wu planned to attack, and Yin Yu’s every expression, every gesture, from head to toe, was full of weakness!

“Then,” Jun Wu said, “Let’s turn this around. Let me ask you another question: Have you shown Quan Yi Zhen any grace?” 

“…”

Jun Wu continued, “On what basis must you place yourself in a dissatisfactory position to devote yourself and repay kindness when someone irrelevant shows you grace, but when you show Quan Yi Zhen grace, he made you fall this low?” 

“Yin Yu, to be in the habit of belittling yourself in order to help others is no good habit. You must know, no one will thank you.”

He was pushing on every step, and each step was trampling where Yin Yu hurt the most!

However, despite him killing Yin Yu, he wasn’t able to completely destroy Yin Yu and Quan YiZhen’s relationship because Jun Wu struggled to understand the complexity of human connection. Even though Yin Yu taking Quan YiZhen’s powers, Quan YiZhen did not hate Yin Yu, and because Yin Yu tried to protect him, Yin Yu is killed.

Regarding heaven’s corruption and the earth shovel... I want to talk a bit more about the foiling between He Xuan and Yin Yu, because they are the two we see digging with it. He Xuan and Yin Yu were both destined for the heavens before corruption saw to it that they were both… well, either didn’t ascend or were cast out. Shi QingXuan and Quan YiZhen are also foils, as are their relationships: designated “older brothers” (Ming-xiong and Shixiong) and socially nonconforming little bros. He Xuan didn’t die in the end of the novel, but he lost the life he had and the closeness that he desperately craved with Shi QingXuan–for now. In the end, he passes the wind master’s fan back to Shi QingXuan, telling him he’s capable of fighting his battles on his own with a divine weapon despite the fact that Shi QingXuan is mortal now: 

a hand came swinging, smacked him and sent him flying out... Although Shi Qing Xuan was sent flying, he only tumbled and rolled a few times, sprawled on the ground, and he immediately crawled up, “It’s fine it’s fine, I didn’t die! He didn’t really hit me, he was just lending spiritual powers!” 

“Really…”

Shi Qing Xuan examined his hands, then looked at his own body, emitting spiritual light from head to toe...

Just then, “Hua Cheng” flung his right hand, and tossed something at him. Without thinking, Shi Qing Xuan raised his hand to catch, but when he saw what it was he caught, his entire face blanched.

That object was the Wind Master fan!

Seeing this, Xie Lian who was on top of the giant divine statue couldn’t hold back either and asked, “San Lang, wasn’t the Wind Master fan with… the one down there is…?!” 

“Pay it no mind.” Hua Cheng said, “I called him over last minute to give a hand.” 

Shi Qing Xuan was clutching that dearly familiar fan, his neck stiff, and slowly turned to that “Hua Cheng”.

“Hua Cheng” then repeated again coldly, “Deal with it yourself.”

Essentially, He Xuan yielding not to what Shi WuDu so cruelly did to him, but he is accepting Shi WuDu’s love of his brother (specifically that Shi QingXuan was worthy of that love). He Xuan acknowledges that Shi QingXuan was a good god, one of the best and most capable, that his potential as a god is real. So that’s a step, but whether or not he will forgive himself ever, the novel doesn’t give us an answer. 

Yin Yu, on the other hand, dies but his last action was saving Quan YiZhen, atoning for what he had previously done and acknowledging that Quan YiZhen was stronger than him in potential:

Yin Yu continued, “I do want to return to the heavens, I do want to be ranked in the top ten! BUT! If I didn’t manage all that on my own then it’s completely meaningless! I’m unlucky, I accept it! If I’m not as powerful as him, then at the very least I can admit I’m not as powerful as him!”

“ADMITTING THAT I CAN’T COMPARE IS NOT THAT HARD!”

Still, Yin Yu is unable to be at peace with himself, to forgive himself, regretting that he has regrets when he dies, being so harsh on himself he doesn’t see that Quan YiZhen literally never thought of him as weak or a failure. However, there is the solace, for whatever it’s worth, that Quan YiZhen is learning from what happened to Yin Yu and will carry on his memory. Even if he couldn’t be the pinnacle of a perfect godly example to the world, Yin Yu was this to Quan YiZhen.

Both of these relationships thus foil Hualian in the sense that human connection, even if only to one person, is enough to enable someone to live on after death, to achieve the great heights that they never could else wise, to start anew. Human connection is a major theme in TGCF (see: how Jun Wu’s arc ends with Mei NianQing deciding to stay with him), but the novel is honest about how painful connection can be at times. And in some ways, it’s that pain that helps make these relationships beautiful (however you interpret them). 

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: PMMM Rebellion - Part 8

Last time on Rebellion: YES

The truth came to light, each of the Magical Girls got their moments to shine, Madoka once again found the Third Way (Let Homura kill herself to set them free/Kill Homura to free the others/Screw that, shoot out the ceiling and hug it out with the bae), and the Incubators got fucked up. Hot damn but that was satisfying.

We pick up after Madoka’s Arrow Rain, the surrounding area utterly devastated with not a single Bunny-Cat to be seen. Homura’s still out cold, lying on some sort of slab while holding her bow (I think? I know her post-Madokami weapon is a bow, but might be a staff of some sort). A Soul Gem enters? Mami places it on Homura’s sleeping form, it looks rather beat up from the Incubator’s experiment. Also, blue? I thought Homura’s color was purple.

Flutes pick up as more Redeemed Familiars gently set down the Muggles who were trapped in the Labyrinth (hey, I recognize these ones, they were in the Suicide Cult Labyrinth and appeared to tear apart Madoka. Brrr.). Some students, the Teacher, and Madoka’s family! Hey guys!

Meanwhile, Kyoko’s Batgirling on some rubble, looking out over the desert. Yeah, she did just get to hold hands with Sayaka (*squeeee!*), but now the Paladin’s job is over, isn’t it? Back to Magical Girl heaven. Same with Bebe/Nagisa/whatever her name is.

[Mami]: “No. They’re finally taking her away with them.”

What. What. Is you serious? Yes yes yes yes YES!

Loophole abuse! -Madokami leaves Magical Girls on Earth to fight Wraiths, takes away those who are about to become Witches -Homura Witchified inside her Soul Gem, remained an almost-Witch in the real world -Requirement for Magical Girl Heaven met!

[Madokami]: “Now I remember. I came here for Homura.”

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS! We’ve got some Last Battle of Narnia feels going on here! Further up and further in…

Nagisa and Sayaka are here too, driving one of Walpurgisnacht’s carts. Nothing but the finest chauffeur services for Homura.

Homura wakes up to see the Welcome Wagon, her friends standing by, and then Madokami in all her glory.

[Madokami]: “I’m sorry for making you wait so long. You’ve worked so hard all this time.”

[Homura]: “Madoka…”

Finally. Finally. The feels, you guys. The feels!

[Madokami]: “Now, let’s go. We’ll always be together from now on.”

Wait. What’s with the head turn. Why shadows

[Homura]: “Yes. We will.”

Homura what

[Homura]: “I’ve waited so long for this moment.”

Whats with the closeups why the deep tone and shadows why smirk what

HOMURA WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT WHY ARE YOU GRABBING MADOKAMI’S WRISTS

[Madokami]: “H-Homura.”

RED ALERT RED ALERT MADOKAMI IS SHOCKED MADOKAMI IS ALARMED

[Homura]: “I’ve finally…”

Homura’s Soul Gem just turned pitch black what no why despair now what

[Homura]: “caught you.”

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!

Yeah, I’m with you girls, what’s going on? Technicolor lights are spilling from the Soul Gem, music is picking up. Crap crap crap.

Her Soul Gem has changed color? “Worse than a curse?” So this technicolor stuff is worse than Black Despair? What is it then? Desire? Obsession?

Oh hell.

[Homura]: “It’s only natural that you don’t understand. Yes… no one in the world could possibly understand. This emotion is mine alone.”

Oh my Madokami, would you stop being emo for five seconds.

[Homura]: “It is for Madoka alone.”

Um, Homura’s Soul Gem is beginning to crack. And so is the surrounding area?

Hell, are they still in the Labyrinth?

Madokami is pleading with Homura (freaking pleading, what is this), saying that she’ll be ripped apart-

Ripped apart. Oh no. I see it now.

Ranubis said:[Madoka]: “You know how wimpy I am. And because I could never bear to do something that would make someone as strong as you cry like this.” Homura is saying that she understands, that she made a stupid mistake? [Homura]: “I shouldn’t have allowed that to happen. That no matter what I would’ve had to do, I should have stopped you back then.”

This was planned. This is Homura’s savior complex. She devoted herself to saving Madoka. In the end, Madoka saved her. But she intends to “save” Madoka. From herself.

Madokami DAMN it Homura!

The cracks have now struck Madokami, splitting into images of her human and Ascended forms.

[Homura]: “I told you, Madoka. I’ll never let you go again.”

Homura clutches Madoka as her Soul Gem shatters, this weird blotchy technicolor spreading out to cover all the Magical Girls. Then the Cracks and Colors continue to spread, covering the desert. Then the planet. Then onwards and outwards through space, covering the galaxy (that’s not the Milky Way? Or just a bad angle?). Finishing as a circle, a sigil of some sort.

A spool of pink thread falls.

Homura stands against a red-and-yellow background, Mysterious Transfer Student-ing it up. Then she… spits out her Soul Gem? I thought it nope guess it breaks here as she bites down on it. The pink thread reforms as some mix of a black chess piece and a purple crystal ball. Homura grabs it-

Ah. Incubator. Kinda telling that things have gotten so fucked up that that’s all the reaction I can muster for Bunny-Cat.

[Incubator]: “The world is being rewritten. Does this mean a new principle has been born into this universe?”

Now Homura’s got the “Voice from Everywhere” thing going on. She’s telling the Incubator(s) floating around that this is the second time she’s been here.

[Incubator]: “I don’t believe this. Your curse-blackened Soul Gem should have vanished along with your soul. So why…?” [Homura]: “Because I finally remembered. All the times I repeated history, got hurt and suffered over and over, all of that was proof of my feelings for Madoka. So now, even pain is dear to me. It’s no longer curses that soil my Soul Gem.” [Incubator]: “Then what does?” [Homura]: “Something that you have no chance of understanding, Incubator. It is the pinnacle of all human emotion. More passionate than hope, far deeper than despair.”

Homura what are you doing with the Chess-Orb? Eating it. Apparently.

Ah. It seems that Homura has pulled a Madoka, found a Third Way. -Hope, for Magical Girls. -Despair, for Witches. -”Love”, for whatever she is now.

Now Homura’s dressing up oh ok wow that is a thing.

[Demon!Homura]: “Indeed… As I am now, I’m not even a witch anymore. She was as sacred as a god, and I pulled her from heaven and undermined her. A being that could perform such feats could only be called a demon, I suppose?"

Seeing how Homura’s acting, the Incubator swears off human emotion. Bit late for that, dude. Demon!Homura grabs it, tells it that they’re sticking around to handle all the curses of the world now.

We get flashes of galaxies as I struggle to comprehend everything that’s happened. Then, back to earth.

Homura (in a much more sensible outfit) is sitting at a table. Ignored by the passing students? Mami’s walking by, there’s a brief shot of a Familiar moving behind a falling rose petal. Mami raises a hand, then Homura knocks a cup to the ground. Mami turns at the sound, but there’s no-one there. She looks into her hand, and sees a black feather. Does she remember- GAH GOTH KIDS JUST CROSSED SCREEN

Now some of Homura’s bird Familiars, they’re eating at an apple held by- wait, Kyoko? Food girl is willingly feeding wild animals. What is wrong with this topsy-turvy world Homura’s made?! Then she apparently sees more of the Goth Kids, throws an apple but Homura shakes her head and it falls into the stream instead. Kyoko looks startled by this.

Now it’s Sayaka’s turn. But she sees Homura?

[Sayaka]: “Do you realize what you’ve done?” [Homura]: *Turns, earring glints* “I see. Looks like you understand what’s happened, Sayaka Miki.” [Sayaka]: “You’ve broken off a part of the Law of the Cycle! The power of salvation that was the hope of all the magical girls!” [Homura]: “All I took was a tiny piece of it. Just the records of the person that Madoka was before she ceased to exist. Somehow, all of you wound up being pulled in as well, and it seems you can’t return to wherever you were before.”

Uh, yeah? Because I’m pretty sure you overwrote the last galaxy.

Sayaka’s pissed, asking what right Homura had to do all this. Homura… straight up says her alignment is now Evil, that’s she’s the Antagonist of the world.

Uh, scene of a bunch of Goth kids surrounded by shoes, jumping off… yeah, I know enough about Japanese culture to know what that is.

Homura’s all “only natural I upset the laws set down by a god.” Madoka- or now Devilura damn it, this really was Homura rebelling against Madoka, wasn’t it.

Sayaka asks if Homura intends to destroy the universe, not even moving as she summons Octavia behind her. Alright, still got your powers I see. Not sure how effective they’ll be against this new Homura, but…

Homura does a hair-flip, says that maybe she will once all the Wraiths have been destroyed. Uh, what?

[Homura]: “When that time comes, I suppose I can be your enemy. But do you think you’ll be able to stand against me, Sayaka Miki?”

All these shots of Homura have been of half-closed eyes, and looking at her now I can only describe her as tired. Still, far from weak. She claps her hands, and Octavia instantly disappears as Sayaka slumps.

[Homura]: “Even now, your memories are gradually changing, are they not?”

Shot of Nagisa running through falling black feathers, laughing. Sayaka grits her teeth, says that she “thinks” she was part of a larger being before.

[Homura]: “Why don’t you simply enjoy the happiness from getting another chance to live a human life?”

So wait, in your new world they aren’t Magical Girls then? What, you’re just setting the Incubators on the Wraiths?

Even as Homura calmly tells her that all this will seem natural someday, Sayaka insists that she will always remember that Homura is a demon. Homura just smiles, and says that they should pretend to be friends in daily life. After all, don’t want to upset Madoka, do they?

Goth Kids are running around, throwing tomatoes at Homura. Yes good there’s a part of you that knows this is wrong, listen to it!

And with that we’re back to Sayaka in the “real world”, watching students and Nagisa go by. A “good morning” from Hitomi and Kyosuke. And she cries? But not from sadness, but from happiness that she can see them again.

Wait, flash of her Magical Girl ring? So she still has her powers?

In class, Teacher is ranting about boyfriends fussing over breakfast as Homura looks out the window. But Teach says there’s a new Transfer Student? But Homura’s already here-

[Teacher]: “Come on in, Miss Kaname!”

Ah. That got Homura’s attention. Madoka enters, says that Mother got assigned overseas so the family’s been living in America for three years.

Later, the girls in class are asking Madoka about her American life. Madoka’s a bit sheepish but not as shy as I expecte-

[Homura]: “Everyone, you’ll tire Miss Kaname out, bombarding her with questions like that.”

The girls scatter, and Homura “introduces” herself to Madoka. And “offers” to show her around the school. Ah, reversal of the Hallway Scene then. Obviously Madoka’s a little confused at why this strange girl is pushing for first names already and leading her around.

[Madoka]: “No, it actually seems like absolutely nothing has changed. In fact, if I had to pick the one thing that had changed, I’d say it was me.”

Homura comes to a stop in the Hallway. And seems very upset at Madoka’s comment.

Madoka goes on, saying she should have a different form, a different role. Sudden swirls of light around Madoka, is she fighting it off?! Come on, you can do it!

But no. Homura grabs her.

[Homura]: “It’s all right. You are exactly what you truly are.”

We’re back in the Hallway.

[Homura]: “Madoka Kaname. Do you treasure this world? Do you consider stability and order more important than desire?” [Madoka]: “Well, I…Um...I-I do treasure it. I guess I do think it’s kind of bad to break rules because you feel like it.” [Homura]: “I see. Then I suppose someday, you will become my enemy as well.”

Homura removes her ribbon- ah. That’s the ribbon that Madoka gave her before. Now she’s giving it back.

[Homura]: “But I don’t care. Because even then, I will continue to wish for a world in which you will be happy.”

Yeah, absent of context I’m sure that Madoka is utterly confused and kinda concerned right now.

The sun sets of Mitakihara City. Sayaka steals pocky from Kyoko in the courtyard. Mami races forward to save Nagisa from falling boxes of cheese. In House Kaname, Madoka moves boxes with her family. And in the sky overhead, a stone turns.

Credits.

Post-credits. Night, the hill where I originally thought Homura was being brainwashed by Madoka (HAH). Homura sits on a chair, on half of a hill. Same with the moon, perfect semi-circle. Grass rustles, Homura turns to see the silhouette of the Incubator. Homura summons her Chess-Orb, and then dances to the music past WHAT that’s the beat-up form of the Incubator. Then she falls off the hill. Closeup of the Incubator, with matted fur andshaking eyes.

“The End.” … … … FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

[nishatnabib-blog]

Beat the Depression by Following Your Passion

What do you do when you get depressed?

 The most common answer would be. “I do drugs, not because I am addicted but to escape from depression”. The youngsters of this developing country are severely suffering from depression and yet there is no sign of getting rid of it. Therefore, our bright youngsters are undermining their capabilities, which led them to tumble around their dreams. However, there is another side of this coin where depression has been defected by passion. Passion, which does not just perish away the depression, it is something which guide an enriched soul to an ultimate success. Lets meet someone who does not just follow his passion; he crushed his depression through the claws of his passion. Ishnad Xabir Ahmed, a student from the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, on his way to step on the pinnacle of his dream, which was obscure by the shadow of depression.

The journey of Ishnad Xabir Ahmed began from a music studio at gulshan. In 2012, he saw one of his friend playing a set drum in a concert called “Rock Nation Ep3” at Shonargaon. From that day, he felt an urge to learn that instrument whole-heartedly. His learning process started with the help of his friend. Then he joined a institution where musical instruments were taught. He spent seven months there and another eight months with a renowned drummer of ‘Artcell’  bands drummer Sheikh M Reaz. For the first time he performed in front of a huge crowd was at Dhaka University in 2013.By then,He was working with a folk band named ‘Bayakkha’. He was a member of that band for about one and a half year. Over the time, he learned to play many genre music. Today, he is an expert of playing many genre like Rock, Folk, Heavy metal and Blues. In 2013, he joined a band named ‘page 31’, where Ishnad Xabir performed for about 8 month. During that time, he was so infused his passion. He could not made enough time to continue his studies. As a result, he failed to participate in the H.S.C exam. Because of that, he lost the support of his family. Until now, they were supportive and appreciated his work. According to Ishnad xabir, those days were very depressive for me. But he didn’t lose hope. He completed his GED and were admitted in the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, where he is completing his graduation. At the same time, xabir is continuing his passion from where he left it. He joined a band known as ‘Blood and Wine’.

When I was in conversation with Ishnad Xabir Ahmed. I asked him, “which drummers performance you admire most?” . He replied, “The composition of Martin Axenrot and Benny Greb’s touches me most. I love the solo performance of benny Greb. Whenever, I see his performance, the rhythm inspires me to play on.” When I asked Ishnad about his current band and about his work. He replied, “ I have been a member of ‘Blood and Wine” for about three years. The main vocalist is a very close friend of mine. We played in a number of concert across the country. We also did some cover of many famous bands of bangladesh.” He continued, “ I practice a at M&M music studio in Moghbazar’s media goli. There I also work a teacher. There I teach hundreds of music enthusiasts who wants to follow there passion in the various aspects of music.” When I asked him about his ambition he replied with a simple smile on his face, “ there were times when my kith and kin including my friends used to tell me not to follow my passion. Because it won’t be able to my me a handsome living. But I was always an adamant kid when it comes to music. Now by the grace of almighty, I live a very good life with full financial independence, while most of my friends are still studying or in learning process. Though it was never about money to me, yet we all have to make a living at the end of the day. Is there any better living then doing what you love and getting paid at the same time?”

   Xabir started from nowhere and with such devotion and integrity, he has paved his way towards the pinnacle of success. He is still the same kid by soul who just wanted to get rid of his depression by following his passion. He is an idol, an idol to the million of young people’s who are depressed, struggling with their life. It is people like Xabir who holds the torch of hopes and dreams, for whom millions of youngsters wont lose hope and passion. After all what’s life if it does not have passion in it?

A solo performance of Ishnad Xabir Ahmed

[aeroknot]

“he admits that part of this stems from not having grown up with a father himself, making it difficult for him to know how to interact properly with his own children, mostly with his son”

……..

naruto may have missed out on a relationship with minato and may not know the intricacies of raising a child but he damn well knows how to be a father and ‘interact properly’ with his kids, guys

i promise he does

this is garbage

he had iruka, in many respects kakashi, and sort-of-reliably jiraiya as father figures who loved him and were there for him, not even merely available, but proactively developing their relationships with him even if he was ever a cantankerous ass about it as a defense mechanism, as rowdy teens do, or on the flipside being insufferably overenthusiastic and perhaps a bit clingy. in any case they were consistently present, reliably engaged, and they balanced their high expectations of him with their proud encouragements. so on the flipside (and even from viewing their own mistakes as well), he learned what not to do, and that was especially summarized as to not. be. absent. abandonment, loss, orphanhood–all of these are the ramifications reverberating through a family that put duty above bonds and left their child on his own. loneliness, neglect, rejection, not being prioritized, not being chosen, NOT BEING ACKNOWLEDGED– those are pinnacle!! to!! his!! suffering!! to gaara’s suffering. to sasuke’s suffering. if you mean to tell me naruto struggles to balance his work commitments and his family commitments, i’d say ok, sure, we all do, and a certain amount of that as at least a small bit of contention is reasonable, but also: he would absolutely refuse to so entirely neglect his family, particularly his children!! sure, he’d most likely die for konoha if it was threatened and it came down to it – heroism is after all in his blood – but he’s the fucking unpredictable ninja who follows his convictions no matter who it angers or how many feathers it ruffles, least of all in bureaucratic circles. when the hell he ever gonna do what was expected of every other kage?? and especially when it involves how and when he gets to devote time to his family– his family, something he never had!! i know he wants to be hokage! i know he has to grow up and mature at least a little! but being so unavailable that his son says he despises him?? it’s just so counterintuitive to so much of what we know about him i can’t stand it. he’d find a way. he’d find a way and be better than this.

it just angers me so much that they thought in order to make boruto obstreperous and rebellious they had to assassinate naruto’s character to the point of insinuating and then outright admitting that he is neglectful and unavailable (and what’s worse is they then have him justify it!?!?! i don’t recognize this fool). there are about 100 different ways to keep naruto who he is while also explaining an insolent son, and many of the reasons that suffice boil down to “because he’s a bratty teenager” !!!!!!

i just??? can’t???

basically will the real naruto please stand up. ugh or just point me to where can i exchange boruto’s dad for naruto, please

[hannibalcatharsis-zero]

My Top 10 Favorite Women Characters (no fuck this it’s 12 + mentions)

tagged by the awesome @darkcyradis,  thank you once more for all the tags :) This was the interesting one!

I'll be completely honest: the moment I read the title, I thought 'Well I think this will take me a while' because I normally memorize the male characters more. With a couple of exceptions, I had to think title by title and run the mental list of characters - quickly enough though the names started popping up and I broke the title rule.

So, I’d keep this short, but.

零

I will take after darkcyradis and actually pour in my Ruins, my original characters from my stories and they don’t count to the top cause they’re RUINS and they’re zero

零 Big Bloody Sister / Kira K

Kira is her pet name (her real name’s quite longer), Bloody Sister her title. Go figure :) 

I always thought her younger sister and major character in the story would be my pick, but I cannot overcome the surprise and love I’ve created for Kira’s unexpected mixture of ruthlessness, cruelty and power together with her self sacrifice and pragmatic responsability over her life and her family, mostly her children. And fuck she has 7.

零 Projection 

I fucking love Pro. I love everything about her, her wit and sharp tongue, her complete and utter comfort with herself and living in her skin, her hair, her piercings, her dark humor and interest in decadent life. I wish I’d write her more.

零  Amanda 

I love Amanda since the very first imagining in my mind and first letter I wrote what’s like 10 years ago. Pragmatic straightforwardness and no-fucking-nonsense in face of people who are ruled by frantic and unthought emotion.

零  Angerius

Poor girl doesn’t have a sketch. Her inquisite mind and intellectual driven atitude contrasting with her almost childish actual interpretation of the dark world she’s in were an unexpected pleasure for me to explore and write. Also the fact that she falls in love with a slave (it’s a slave-based society) and has to deal with the reality that he doesn’t love her back was pretty cool for me. She undergoes the biggest character development of all these 4.

So the top starts here.

(in no order of preference)

1 - Toph Beifong (Avatar The Last Airbender/Legend of Aang; Legend of Korra)

Toph is the definition of badass. She’s so funny and powerful and amazing. Best character amongst a lot of amazing characters of Avatar world. I want Toph for me, the kid self and the old self. (also I think I’ll end up like her, blind and cranky and alone ruined as hell)

2 - Doll / Freckles (Kuroshitsuji /Black Butler)

Her innocence and naiveness she is able to keep even though the dark and horrible things they do and the hell she’s been through before is heartwarming. Her utter devotion to her family and the desire to keep it safe is gutwretching. Don’t tell me that you didn’t feel your heart get strained when reading chapter 35 or watching episode 10. If even Ciel feels guilty (well in time he does, kinda, he still thinks about it on chapter 95 so! She was the most innocent of all of them and he fucking played her the most)  about the utter destruction he brought to her, then you have to feel something too. Also her complete tomboy self in constrat to her circus image is awesome.

3 - Hange Zoe (Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan)

Funny hilarious hyper badass genuis mad genius all for truth capable of hideous acts and stand up to your believes and fight the damn opressive power. I like Hange a lot.

4 - Lisbeth Salander (Men Who Hate Women / The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

Her character is amazing in the books. The movies aren’t bad and capture her appearance beautifully and faithfully, but the books have Lisbeth.

5 - Morticia Addams & Wednesday Addams

Of fucking course. Morticia is the pinnacle of ellegance and darkness and Wednesday was my childhood hero whom I strived to be like. Morticia absolutely loves her family and has built one that is open to all sorts of bizarreness and embraces all of this with love, including having found a husband that shares this and with whom she can share who she really is.

Wednesday is a role model for the morbity and comfort of it. The whole Addams Family is what it means to be comfortable with being excentric.

6 - Bellatrix Lestrange (Harry Potter)

I love Bellatrix since the first time I read her in the book and branded her in my heart after the movies. It’s nice to have a female villain that’s just on par or above cruelty and madness of the main villain.

7 - Atia of the Julii (Rome) & Lucretia (Spartacus)

I’m pairing these two together because the first time I saw Lucretia, my immediate recollection was Atia - similar physical aspect and aura. Both women show the ruthlessness and power hungry and viciousness and unshattering resolve that makes such great antagonic female characters (they’d fit the antagonists criteria almost, but they’re not antagonists, they’re just absolutely the don’t-fuck-with-me-you-fucking-scum criteria)

Also, although with completely different outcomes, both their final scenes are memorable for me: in both cases, their aura of superiority and victory is palpable. Atia was cursed, suffered losses and struggles against her wishes and conquests and rises to the position she built and longed for, and Lucretia lost everything in a sort of curse of her own and became the ‘blessed’ curse herself, yet got exactly what she wanted in the end. Both finales are amazing. Atia’s final line is memorable:

“Remember: Far better women than you have sworned to do the same (destroy me). Go look for them now.” 

8 - The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3)

One of most powerful characters of MGS, a patriot beyond any definition of the word. She’s power and amazingness and tragedy incorporated.

9 - Alexia Ashford (Resident Evil Code Veronica X)

Alexia was an inspiration for me as a kid, even though she’s a psychopath and , she’s an insect - worst she’s an ant, she’s a FUCKING ANT and the Queen Ant. But I loved her and still do. Also her theme songs.

The only good thing about her in Darkside Chronicles are the improved graphics and the FUCKING BEAUTIFUL IMPROVED theme. Otherwise fuck Darkside Chronicles what the fuck did you do to my Alexia who the fuck is that person with her name how annoying

10 - Empusa (Primal)

She’s beyond words. She was one of my biggest inspirations as a kid. She’s such a memorable villain. Vampire evil aristocracy prespering from every frame. Just look as her. Perfection.

11 - Lulu (Final Fantasy X)

First and foremost character to have sparked interest in me in this  masterpiece of a game. She’s wonderful.

12 - Eris (Sinbad)

For Lulu and Eris, I break any rule on number of characters. The concept of this character is beyond words. Goddess of Chaos enter.

and Lara Croft

Characters I want to know more so they’ll enter this list in the future

tagging you specially if you read up to this point! As you can see this is one awesome exercise to do. Please mention me I really want to read your choices!

@lynxyz @aph-belarusia @nuuttikuu @hedera-helixwriteseruri @maavalas @the50-person @notweirdbutunique @arcadianwishdom @frenchieleigh @lvl99fangirl @mintful @cokris @animaniacal @lostcauses-noregrets @momtaku  @adrastia @fujoshilyfe @snapmaw @maty-yami @noteblue13 @fannibalmonica @cietsutsu @sithiere @the-winnowing-wind @wiith-my-hands @bu0nanotte @indezaisive @kimijude @cannibalcuisine @suntosirius @hammblwllgrhm @crave-that-mineral 

(SNK folk keep this one in mind for after the hype of the beginning of season2 please if you want to)

Honorable mentions:  

- Kyoyama Anna (Shaman King) - Sieglinde (Kuroshitsuji) - Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist/Brotherhood) - Olivier Armstrong (Fullmetal Alchemist/Brotherhood) - Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter) - Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) - Yuna (Final Fantasy X) - Rikku (Final Fantasy X) - Paine (Final Fantasy X-2) - Lumina (Final Fantasy XIII Lightning Returns) - Korra (Legend of Korra) - Kuvira (Legend of Korra) - Eska (Legend of Korra) - Penelope Garcia (Criminal Minds) - Lady Violet Crawley (Downton Abbey) - Surreal (The Black Jewels books by Anne Bishop) - Brienne of Tarth (A Song of Ice and Fire / Game of Thrones) - Arya Stark (A Song of Ice and Fire / Game of Thrones) - Lagertha (Vikings) - Carrie / Ana (Banshee)

[entergamingxp]

Video game cheating is back in the headlines • Eurogamer.net

Video game cheating has been around for as long as video games. But the eternal issue has once again hit the headlines – and developers are struggling to cope.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Destiny 2, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Valorant have all been under the spotlight recently for cheating, with players reporting matches ruined by aimbots, wallhacks and other prohibited power ups.

Cheating is a prominent issue for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and its free-to-download battle royale Warzone, with Infinity Ward recently announcing it had banned over 70,000 Warzone cheaters alone. And just this week, under pressure from its community, Infinity Ward announced it had stepped up its war on cheaters, saying it had devoted extra resources to combat cheating, and it would force suspected cheaters to play against each other.

“Cheaters not welcomed in Call of Duty: Warzone,” Infinity Ward declared in a subsequent blog post. “There’s no place for cheating in games. Warzone has zero tolerance for cheaters.”

Bungie has also come under fire from its community over cheating – this time in Destiny 2. It responded with a lengthy and unusually transparent post on Bungie.net, where it revealed cheating in Destiny 2 is up roughly 50 per cent since January, “and significantly more in the highest skill echelons”.

The reasons for this rise are interesting. Destiny 2 recently released super hardcore PvP mode Trials of Osiris. Here, teams of three are charged with “going flawless” – that is, winning seven matches in a row – in order to obtain the best rewards and unlock the Lighthouse social space. This is virtually impossible for a huge number of players, and so, according to Destiny, “when winning every match is more important than ever, it’s no surprise that there are some who are willing to cheat or pay others to cheat for them”.

“When your pinnacle achievements are denied by encountering a cheater on a high Trials ticket, or devalued by seeing someone else with ill-gotten goods, that’s frustrating,” Destiny Engineering Director David Aldridge said. “Those frustrations are happening too often right now, and the vengeance of the Banhammer is often too far behind.”

Bungie outlines some of the worst types of cheating it’s trying to stop. On PC (“where most cheating occurs, unsurprisingly”), Bungie is fighting infinite ammo, infinite ability energy, infinite respawns, teleports, aimbots, wallhacks, and lag switching. But cheating occurs on console, too. Here, players are suffering distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks in Trials, as well as lag switching.

Bungie, like Infinity Ward, is shifting more people to help fight cheating. It’s also changed a key policy: fireteammates of cheaters are no longer innocent. “We now reserve the right to restrict or ban any player who has benefitted from cheating, even if they didn’t cheat themselves,” Aldridge said.

“This includes scenarios where players group up with or provide account information to a guide or carry service, which then cheats on their behalf. We want you to find new friends out there, but be sure they have your trust before you go. If you LFG your way into a fireteam with a cheater, get out and report them. If you ride them to a flawless, the Banhammer will come for you as well.”

Bungie is even considering requiring a much higher player time investment to play Trials. “What if you had to have ~100 hours of play on an account to participate in any Trials match where a ticket with more than four wins was at stake on either side?” Aldridge asked.

One of the reasons Bungie is having a hard time fighting cheaters is because of the way the game itself works. Some of the memory-poking attacks (e.g. infinite ammo, infinite ability energy, infinite respawns, teleports) take advantage of Destiny’s hosting model, which Aldridge admitted “comes with some unique challenges in providing PvP security guarantees”

“This is a subtle point we’ve struggled to convey over the years: we do have servers hosting every match, but in our hosting model, those servers don’t have complete authority over the game simulation to prevent all of these sorts of attacks naturally. This makes it more difficult (but not impossible) to mitigate these attacks.”

Bungie also admits it may have made a mistake in not having Trials behind the Season Pass paywall, which would have created more friction against free-account-recycling cheaters. It’s looking at potentially changing that. “… if we’re forced to choose, we will choose for Trials to be a sacred space, even if that means fewer people can play.”

This week, the developer behind PUBG issued an open letter to its community about cheating in the battle royale. Executive producer Taeseok Jang admitted the company had “struggled against a relentless onslaught of cheat programs”, before outlining countermeasures for hacking and cheat programs.

“The fight against cheat programs is never-ending,” Taeseok Jang said, “and something we’ve been trying very hard to find a solution for”. PUBG has been criticised for apparently doing little to fight cheating, but Taeseok Jang insisted work had gone on behind the scenes.

“As these cheat developers excel at adapting to our measures, we chose to keep these efforts secret to increase the time it takes for them to react, as much as possible. The unfortunate side effect of this is that it makes us look like we’re doing nothing against a high-priority issue.”

To improve matters, PUBG is adding a two-factor authentication system to help prevent account hacking and improve security overall. “Your account will need to have two-factor authentication enabled in order to participate in ranked games to help ensure the fairest environment possible,” Taeseok Jang said.

“To date, we’ve banned millions of accounts for using cheat programs. However, even with bans happening on a massive scale, cheaters still make it through and in some cases remain for much longer than they should. This year, we’re focusing on enhanced detection for our automated ban system as well as improving our hardware ban systems.”

Valorant, Riot’s new competitive multiplayer shooter, is in closed beta, but it’s still suffering from cheating. Its controversial anti-cheat system must be installed on a PC before the game will run, but even so, cheating has emerged in this fledgling game.

In an interview with IGN, Riot programmer and anti-cheat lead Paul Chamberlain said cheating in the game started even earlier than he anticipated.

“My estimate before launch was that we’d see our first real cheats within the first two weeks of the beta,” Chamberlain said. “It turns out I was optimistic and instead we only had a few days of quiet before we had to be working at full steam ahead.”

In response, Riot has offered hackers up to $100,000 to find vulnerabilities in Valorant’s anti-cheat, dubbed Vanguard.

With video game sales and playtime up during the coronavirus lockdown, more people are turning to cheats to win online. Call of Duty, Destiny, PUBG and Valorant have hit the headlines for cheating recently, but in truth all online games suffer from cheating to some extent. With the makers of video game cheats determined to stay one step ahead of developers – and with millions to be made in sales – the problem is here to stay.

The question is, will developers be able to cope?

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/04/video-game-cheating-is-back-in-the-headlines-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=video-game-cheating-is-back-in-the-headlines-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net