#if he just be evil to live then evil he must be

[decaffeinateddreamlandturtle]

Some idea that I got while reading this

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If Danny said that he was a manifestation of a concept and emotion, and then He said He killed Danyal, but Damian knows that it was himself, as the son of the greatest detective in the world (also the most paranoid man in existence, quality that he genetically seems to pass to his descendants), maybe he would try to think about the meaning of 'The Concept and Emotion' of the being, and why the being decide to take the form of his dead brother (Hekilledhim)

Maybe Damian could end up thinking that He somehow have part in creating this being in specific?

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Constantine can sense that the concept of the being is 'Balance' but doesn't know of what balance especifically (Life and Death of course, the in-between)

But for Damian? That can make sense, what the being must represent (somehow in his distressed mind) is the balance between 'Good and Evil' (I don't know what I'm writing), because that is what He always think of Danyal, a contradiction, after all, the two of them were created not with innocent purpose, educated on the ways of assasination, made to be the darkness in this world and ruling it in the shadows. After living with his father and family, he could understand that the bloodline He cherished so much in his younger years was the representation of 'Evil'

But Danyal was not that, he was too weak, no, Danyal wasn’t weak -even if the fact make him full of envy and hurt his pride-, Danyal was as strong as he was determined to follow his own ways even if the rest of their world not like it (alwaysstrongerthanhim)

Danyal was weak, not because he doesn't know how to fight, Danyal was the best fighter of the two of them -just not with the sword, as he doesn't seemed trully interested in that sacred art-, Danyal was weak because of his soft heart, he had what Richard will call a 'Heart of Gold', one able to resist being forced to kill, one able to see the good, as if Danyal could see what sins have you comited in life just to know if you can be forgive, the type that would give you closure, the type that wouldn't doubt in give a helping hand; Danyal was weak because he was Good, the only good -the only peak of light- in a place like Nanda Parbat, a quality that was not cherished in the Al' Ghul's, a sign of weakness

Danyal would not kill, not when he can sense that the one supposed to be his victim can be redeemed, not when the one he is supposed to kill is a kid of his age that doesn't understand what he's forced to do, not when the one he is supposed to kill haven't commited any sin

--That person ran away Danyal, he must be punish. He just wanted freedom--

Danyal was Good in a place full of Evil, he knows how to be evil and how to kill, but he wouldn't do it, because that wasn’t him (Just like father, but almost like Todd)

Danyal was balance, and that made him weak.

But that being was also made of an 'emotion', What emotion could it be? It would be Danyal's emotions or his own?

[Both? Both. I want both]

Danyal was happiness, integrity, hopes for the future, forgiveness, mercy, determination, naivety, kindness (Fear).   Danyal was closure, He was solace for the lost ones

But Damian? Damian wasn’t that, Damian was anger, envy, hate, greed, narcissism, power, pride (Guilt).   Damian was the one that will break your closure, He was the one that will deny you your solace

And in Danyal's last moments?

Their emotions were running wild, but he can remember what he felt, he can remember the emotions flashing trough his brother's eyes

Fear, anger, sadness, disappointment, discouragement, frustation, disillusioment, hate.

(GuiltguiltguILTGUILTGUILT)

Contradictions, Danyal was a contradiction (and He was a contradiction too)

He hated and envied Danyal his whole life -just to now call him his beloved brother?-, he always hated how meek and forgiving Danyal was -but He too will seek his presence to give him solace-, he was disgusted of how his brother seemed so weak even more weak when Danyal was with him -how naive and idiot Danyal was-, how Danyal would seek for Damian, to be with him and give his unneeded company -but sometimes in the deepest of his soul, he waited for that moments that somehow give him closure and affection-

(Hypocrite)

And Danyal loved him as much as he feared him the day he killed him (the look on his brother's beautiful blue eyes losing all his hopes and light)

......

The cruelty of this being, because the being look like him with the beautiful eyes of his brother (after all his brother died too young for the being to mimic a body clearly older, so it must be his own appereance)

Acting all high and mighty -like Damian would have done-, saying how he killed his brother with such pride..

But it was him the one who killed his own brother

He was the one who killed Danyal, He killed his own brother, He killed his brother, He killed him

And the being (himself) is looking straight a him with his brother eyes (Danyal), giving him the same expression he gave to his brother the day he took away the light of his eyes

The being was balance

The being was forgiveness, mercy, hope (Fear)

The being was anger, power, pride (Guilt)

And the being looked at him while holding such resentment in the deepest of his brother's eyes

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That was the idea that got me after reading this, sorry if isn't really understandable, I'm not that good at English and don't really trust Google translator for this ngl

I use red and green when writing Damian in representation of who He was and who He is now, and blue for Danny/Danyal for his eyes, my way of saying that that's what Damian remember more of him, what he liked/envied more of him

Damian will always think of Danyal in blue while Danny/Danyal will always think of himself in red

Demon Twins and Death

Inspired by this post by @spiders-in-the-primrose

Damian had spent years loathing Danyal. The weaker, pathetic son. The son who did not have what it took to carry the name Al Ghul. The twin who had died and was swallowed by the Lazarus pits, never to be seen again.

The twin Damian killed.

His brother had welcomed death with tears and sobs. His last words were stained by the blood he choke out, "It had to be you, akhi." He whispered as the blood spilled from his mouth and a sword was pressed further into his stomach.

When he was sent to his father, he remained with his belief in being the better son. That Danyal was not worthy of being the son of the demon and the son of the bat. He could have been one but in the end, only Damian was worthy for both.

And yet as the years passed, Damian grew and changed. And then he finally understood.

In his family of heroes, his family who strived to make the world better—Danyal would have been a better fit. Instead, Damian had been the one to become his father's son with his own twin's blood on his hands. His father must never know.

The idea of Danyal sparks rage, resentment, and utterly self-loathing. His kind and sweet brother who would have been the perfect son for his father. The son who was clearly the better person. Not in skill, power—but morals. Because like their father, Danyal would never kill.

What would have happened if Danyal was here with him? If he were still alive?

Damain can imagine his brother in the colors that Robin wore, another costume, another name. Because Damian will not give up that name after he managed to take it from Drake. But Danyal would have work the colors, would have been bubbly like Grayson. He would have taken care of the children on the streets like Todd. He would have helped their father in cases like Drake.

He would have been the brother they would have wanted.

And Damian tries not to drown in what his brother could have been. He can't help but admire this figment of his imagination. This hero in his kind that wore what could have been Danyal's face. This light within the darkness of Gotham who had a voice identical to Damian's.

And Damian does drown. Because he wants what his brother could have been.

Danyal Al Ghul died by the hands of his brother.

In the back of his mind, he thinks that he just wants his other half back.

Danny Fenton was born as the girl who would be his sister dragged him from a lake and nursed him to health.

The Fentons were strange people with strange ideals. Jack and Maddie were obsessed, they were not suited to care for children as they grabbed their weapons and hunted down any ghost their could find. When they were absent, Danny was left with Jasmine.

The memory of Damian is strong and cruel and it burned itself into his mind. The memory of that katana sinking into his gut, just as blood bubbles up his throat. He remembers an older brother who had to be the one to kill him.

He remembers and then he looks to Jasmine. She is warmth incarnate, with fiery hair and bright eyes that reminded him of stars on painting. His parents lack the warmth he craves but Jazz gives him so much that he can't help but melt everytime he's in her arms.

Neither of them can forget how fearful he was towards her when she first found him. He had only been six years old, feeling the effects of the Lazarus pit on his skin before he was spat out somewhere far, far away. He remembered being in Nanda Parbat then he was spat out somewhere in Illinois.

Jasmine had found him. Jazz had found him.

And Danny has decided long ago that Jazz was much better than Damian.

Even from the distance between them, Danyal continues to fear Damian. The part of him that he wished died when his own twin stabbed him to death continued to live on.

Then he died.

Again.

And he can't help but hope that Danyal is finally dead. That the failure was finally dead. His body only needed two. He only needed Danny and Phantom. Yes... Danyal was dead.

Danny would kill that part of him himself if he could.

He donned the mantle of hero, even when the people called him a menace at times. Danny was finally a hero, he was finally someone who could do good in the world. It was a blessing for him.

In all honesty, being a hero had been fun, even as he suffered. His rogues that fought him felt like friends that he had missed in his life. Parts of him yearned for when Skulker came out for a fight. He laughed whenever Ember moved to blast her music through the town and he was forced to fight her. He was fond of both Kitty and Johnny, even when they fought and caused havoc. Trouble felt like home for once.

The half of him that was dead yearned for a fight, yearned for an obsession. Protection—he was told—was his own obsession.

To protect, to fight, to make sure that whatever fell into his obsession was safe and sound. He thinks of Amity Park—his haunt, his domain—and assumed it was what he wanted to protect. He had fought Pariah Dark, became King through conquest and continued to protect.

But a part of him knew that something was wrong. He knew that it wasn't Amity Park that he would protect at all cost. No.

It was always Jazz. Always his big sister who cradled him, who figured out he was Phantom, who could tell whether he was himself or not. The greatest part of his obsession fell onto the older sibling who loves him unconditionally, always reminding him that there was another half of him in the world that killed him. But Jazz was none of that.

Danny loved his family. He loved Elle who grew to be his little sister. He loved his parents even when they were difficult. He loved his friends—Sam, Tucker, Valerie. He loved them so dearly and yet they could never match up to Jazz.

Danny doesn't know what he'd do without her.

(Lies. He knew what would happen if Jazz was taken from her. He knew what kind of monster he'd become—one that the observants demanded to be killed. He knew damn well that Jazz Fenton was the only thing that kept him human.)

(Dan existed for a reason.)

(Danny would burn the world for his sister.)

(And he'd kill himself for fear of his brother.)

Fate is a cruel mistress that knew what she was doing. Twins were tied by blood, mind, and soul. An invisible thread that made sure they were connected one way or another. He shouldn't be surprised that they were going to be reunited at some point.

Danny Fenton and Damian Wayne meet.

It's been years. They've changed. They've become new people. Damian is Robin, the son of the bat (not heir to the demons head). Danny is Phantom, High King of the Infinite Realms (not the failure devoured by the Lazarus).

But that doesn't stop Danyal Al Ghul from drowning in fear at the mere visage of Damian Al Ghul.

Danny plays as ambassador, not king. He won't risk himself by telling people who he truly is. He can't. No.

When he summoned and claims that he is an ambassador sent as a substitute, the Justice League accepts what they are given and pleaded for aid.

But Robin is there with Batman. Robin and Phantom meet.

Robin sees Danyal and Phantom sees his murderer.

The moment his body was no longer frozen, Damian sucked in a deep breath as he stared at the face of his own beloved twin. His brother that died by his hands and was claimed by the pits. Had the Lazarus turned him into a creature of the realms?

"Danyal..." Robin sounded hopeful, desperate. He reached forward and almost crossed the circle if not for his father and Nightwing pulling him back with confusion and concern. They look towards the Ghostly being with a face that resembled their father and youngest a little too much.

Danny? Had he been human, his heart would have stopped after ricocheting. He stopped breathing, rendering his lungs useless. This was Damian. A hero of his own right even when he was a monster in Danny's eyes.

Danyal Al Ghul feared Damian.

Phantom was a manifestation of something of Danyal's death.

"You mistake me for someone, Heir to the Demon's head." His voice tore through air, distorted by his own will. Danny was king, he had to remind himself that.

"I am a manifestation. I am born from a concept and emotion. You would not have met me." The lies were not lies. Truths bended to his will as he spoke and pressed against the barrier made by the summoning circle. "But you recognize this body that I have taken form in."

"Then your appearance belonged to a living person." Batman growled.

Danny realizes that this was his father. Perhaps Ra's was right at some point—blood calls to blood.

"What have you done to Danyal?! Where is my twin brother, demon!" Robin's words leak venom as he slams a hand against the barrier.

Danyal tremblesPhantom was amused.

"Bats, tell your brat to back off! That's the ghost king's fuckin' ambassador." The Hellblazer hissed, watching as Batman pulled his son away.

But Damian—Robin—stands still.

Phantom grinned, flashing his teeth as he leaned closed to the barrier. Even when his appearance was born of inverted colors with Lazarus eyes rather than the sky, Damian could recognize his twin's face anywhere.

Both of them knew what happened to Danyal. Killed by his own brother.

But only Phantom knew what happened after.

"Oh little bird... I killed him."

Masterpost

[chaoticwriting]

Gotham's New Rouge 5

Part 4

-Watchtower-

The Justice League is having their weekly meeting today and as always, Batman is reading the reports for global events that the others already read but Batman says that he is sure some of them Barry and Hal don't.

So here they are, bored out of their minds when suddenly, an alarm went off. Not the 'Oh no the apocalypse is happening' alarm. More like ' Oh no something big is happening' alarm.

Cyborg clicks some buttons on his arm and a hologram appears on the table. The hologram shows a livestream with a kid wearing a half mask that has a big red creepy smile on it plus his weirdly glowing green eyes. Both Barry and Hal shudder when they see the eyes of the kid. Suddenly, the kid starts to laugh while greetthe viewers.

Trickster: Hello, everyone! Today, I have a very special livestream. I am doing an interview!

The kid turns the camera into a view of 2 men in white suits being hung from the ceiling staring intensely at the kid.

Trickster: Presenting our guests for today. Would you like to introduce yourselves?

Agent P: Fuck you! You ghost scum. Just you wait until I get out of these restraints.

Agent Q: Release me you bastard! You wouldn't get away with this!

Trickster: Oh yikes. Our guests today are quite violent aren't they? Anyway, let me introduce them. Over here are Agent P and Agent Q or Simon Hawk and Larry Rose. They are members of the now infamous Ghost Investigation Ward, a secret government branch that focuses on "researching" and "developing" weapons against ghosts.

Agent Q: We develop them to fight against scum like you. You evil scheming bastard.

Trickster: Now, that we talk about it. Here is their research conclusion. *Pulls out a stack of paper* *Takes out a pair of glasses and wears them* Ehem Ehem. Ghost or ecto entities are defined as creatures that are made of or heavily contaminated by ectoplasm. Ecto entities are non sentient nor sapient. They take on the form of our loved one to deceive us and kill us. They are evil and must be destroyed.

After Trickster finishes reading the document out loud, he takes off the glasses and puts down the document.

Trickster: Anyway, I'm pretty sure I am sapient and sentient because I have been thinking real hard on what is the next prank is going to be. And I'm also pretty sure that I am not a ghost, at least not fully since I don't know who I am supposed to impersonate except myself.

Agent P: Shut up! We all know that you ghost scum all tell lies. Deception is in your nature from the moment you are born.

Trickster: Racist much? Heh, if I am capable of lies then, I am sentient and sapient but if I am not sentient nor sapient, I shouldn't be able to lie. Make it make sense people.

Agent P: You liar! I've seen what your kind has done before this. That Phantom scum is lucky we didn't catch him or else we would have cut him open and torture him to death.

Suddenly, Trickster stalls at the words. The viewers can see frost starts to form around the room as ice slowly crept up the two agents' legs. An alarm suddenly turns on and Trickster suddenly wakes up from his budding rage.

Trickster: Well well well. It seems we have visitors. Off you go.

Picking up the two agents, Trickster throws them into a portal that he opens as Nightwing and Batman appears on the scene.

Batman: Where did you take them?

Trickster: Sorry, but I ain't gonna tell you. I have a special game for this type of person.

Nightwing: Wait! Trickster, I know you are a good kid. We can talk about it. You can still stop before you do something you might regret.

Trickster: You know, Nightwing. I used to have so much mercy. I let them live. Time and time again. No matter what they did. I forgave them. I let them go. I believe in the preciousness of human lives. But I am not 14 anymore. I can't stay positive and expect them to one day turn to the good side. Not when they don't learn anything from their wrong doing. And I will teach them that every action has consequences.

Nightwing: Wait!

Batman throws a batarang at Trickster but he easily blocks it with a wall of ice. Nightwing tries to rush after Trickster but the portal has already closed before he manages to catch up to Trickster.

The two of them stare in silence as the only thing left of Trickster is the camera that he used to livestream.

[curiouspupsicle]

Good Omens Fan Fiction Friday (1/31/25) - Resistance!!

Being a well informed American living under an administration determined to dismantle our democracy (already stressed) and cause as much damage as possible has even my comfort moments turning to resistance. After all, evil people have always existed. And good people have always resisted. So is there anything my Good Omens fixation has to say about resistance? Given Terry Pratchett's moral universe, we could argue that all of Good Omens is steeped in resistance. But I'm going to limit myself to a few specific favorite fics that highlight different forms of resistance.

Let's start with the series that got me thinking in this direction: Demon and Angel Professors (G) by Ghostinthehouse (@ineffableghost). This is 200 ficlets, each exactly 666 words, hanging on a silly premise. Everyone loves literature Professor Fell who goes on regular tangents about his sweet husband Anthony. Everyone fears grumpy botany Professor Crowley who treats his students like he treats his plants. And anytime Crowley goes near Fell, the first-year students go into protective mode. Because surely Crowley must be up to no good and a potential harm to dear Prof Fell and his precious Anthony. But beyond that bit of fun repeated every year with a new group of incoming students are amazing stories of resistance against those who would cause mental harm or physical violence to disabled people, folks with a variety of gender identities and presentations, queer individuals, people dealing with trauma--basically anyone who might be vulnerable in a thoughtless and even wicked society.

Sometimes resistance is persuading someone to do better. Other times it's offering a hint that makes someone think. It may involve a hands-on approach to someone who only knows violence. Or it may be getting someone to a safe place as quickly as possible.

I read it over a weekend. But I think there's a better approach to reading this long series--bookmark it in your phone when you are doing a hurry-up-and-wait activity (jury duty, medical treatments, picking up kids at school, etc.). The short length of each fic makes it easy to pick up and put down. The variety of "ducklings" tales (what the ineffable pair call the students they help) will keep you interested. And the sense of joy and hope will make it a good way to spend time on a challenging day. Resistance fics aren't all human AUs. Check out The Last Angel (E) by @bellisima-writes. For millennia, Crowley has been Hell's Grand Inquisitor. He never served on earth. After Hell won their war against Heaven, they finally track down the last remaining Angel, Aziraphale. Crowley's given the job of torturing him for information. I don't want to give too much away. But Crowley's form of resistance involves being true to himself no matter what Hell demands. And Aziraphale has a more direct form of resistance planned. It's an exciting read as well as thought-provoking.

@snae-b writes the kind of fics you don't want to start reading before bed--at least not if you plan on getting up early the next day. Echo (E) is no exception. Each day, barista Aziraphale wakes up and goes into work. He serves a chauffeur, Crowley, who seems strangely familiar. Asking questions like "what makes one human" and "how do you fight against an evil activity that no one knows about," Echo is also just a plain old compelling story. And a resistance tale that, despite its futuristic setting, would not feel out of place beside a tale of the French underground resisting Nazis.

Mutual Aid (T) by malicegeres predates the Good Omens tv show. So presumably that makes it part of the Book!Omens universe. In it, radical bookseller Ezra Fell ends up hiding anarchist Crowley from the police after he's injured by skinheads. As the title indicates, they find a common cause and start working together. Loved the depiction of Adam as a leader. And the fic includes a listing of leftist political resources at the end.

Many consider The False and the Fair (E) by @princip1914 to be one of the best human AUs in the Good Omens universe. I certainly do. Aziraphale Wright's family runs a coal mine. Anthony Crowley, his former best friend, is the son of a mine worker. I don't want to spoil the story if you haven't read it. But what appears to be a story of regrets and making amends has a strong thread of accountability that results in wrongs being made right after a powerful act of resistance (with some help from the press). If you haven't read it, check it out. And if you have, read it again--with an eye towards resistance.

Finally, I'll end with a WIP, Good Works (E) by @majnoonathelibrarian. Set in 1987, Aziraphale is an assistant parliamentary secretary in the Thatcher government who finds something strange in the documents he's handling. Crowley is a mysterious "fixer" for a consulting firm who finds himself drawn into queer activism. Both of them have to navigate their day jobs along with increasing activism in a couple of different streams. The characterization is fascinating and the writer strings out the mysteries through the tale. This WIP is regularly updated and nearly complete. Remember, the fan fic community is a COMMUNITY. So don't forget to encourage writers of works underway by leaving kudos and comments. Writers are a gift to fans and we need to show them our appreciation. Finally, I'll give my pitch as someone who has been around much longer than most of you reading this. The yucky things happening in the world can be overwhelming. But it's a backlash. Because we've already made so much progress (both The False and the Fair and Good Works are good reminders of just how deadly the 1980s were for queer people). So resist. By making art and telling stories. By protesting. By contacting the people in power making decisions you disagree with. By caring for the vulnerable. By speaking out at local political meetings. By amplifying the voices of marginalized people. By using any of your unearned benefits to advocate for others. And by just existing as the beautiful and unique individual you are.

[mutatedtruth]

This is literally why so many guys are trooning out to be "trans lesbians".

They sign up to get told they are "perfect just the way they are" & any woman who has an issue with him must have some subconscious transphobia; that lesbians must bend over backwards to include him in their female-only activities. He can intimidate and pressure lesbian women to "try him out" so they won't have rumors spread that they are transphobes or TERFs. He doesn't have to worry about rejection, it's now the women who are put under scrutiny for rejecting him. They even get another group of mentally unstable women - FtMs - which they can take advantage of, bully as much as they like, and it's all excused by their communities because "it's a (trans) woman picking on (trans) men, who cares; (trans)misandry isn't real", " 'he' must be a transmisogynist, so it's justified for 'her' to lash out at 'him' " (Remember DARVO). I think this is where some of the worst abuse takes place.

They're very careful about their marketing because they know most of their marks won't go for "men's rights" bullshit so they have to rebrand the woes of "misandry" as "transmisogyny" ...

...while convincing every female that she needs to mark herself as "TME (transmisogyny-exempt)" so she never speaks over one of these special men.

It's funny because I don't think this was the outcome of coining "transmisogyny" that Julia Serrano intended, he even said that FtMs should coin their own word to describe their specific struggles, but most of the other MtF activists on tumblr are completely against the idea of any female person having a word to describe their issues that a special trans woman couldn't ever possibly relate to. They say trans women experience all misogyny, and if they can't then it's not really misogyny (i.e. forcing women to have children, reproductive abuse)["This issue affects (trans) men so it's not really misogyny" "trans men don't experience misogyny but trans women do", "misogyny is about hating women, not about hating pregnant people!" So it doesn't matter, if Woman is just an idea in a man's head instead of full-fleshed people that exist regardless of his will] or they jerk off to it and they say they WANT to be able to experience this abuse. "Trans women ARE women, this is more than just a slogan [delusion]! Convince yourself of that, live by that, don't think of us any differently than normal girls, or you aren't our ally."

They're literally obsessed with having the highest "victim points", because they think it translates to being treated with more deference and privilege in Progressive groups. That's why they try to say misogyny doesn't exist unless trans women experience it. They don't give a single shit about the truth, or the origin of patriarchy, or anything. They just want to secure their own social position, and make female people feel guilty and afraid to live their lives or even think about themselves uncentered around males. Then they get female people to pat their asses and tell them that everything's okay, that they're not evil men, whenever they have a moment of self-doubt or guilt, which they quickly reframe as "internalised transphobia/transmisogyny". This is how they try to solve all the fears that these men are describing right here. Unfortunately, a lot of people are manipulated by this bullshit.

If she really wants to know the answer to her question, it's here.

[raayllum]

Immortality & Longevity in TDP

Because season 7 brought up some very interesting Threads to contrast with the series' previous sentiments on immortality / ridiculously long lifespans. So let's go.

Those Who Naturally Live Forever(-ish)

There are three main camps of characters who experience longevity in TDP.

Those who experience it naturally, but can still die (the Archdragons, some elves)

Those who acquire it through dark magic means

Those who cannot permanently die (the First Elves, Aaravos)

I want to talk about the Group Number One first, because it includes the most characters and was the basis for this meta. Besides Lujanne and Akiyu, we don't know too many elves who have lived for hundreds of plus years, although it wouldn't surprise me if Aditi did. Lujanne and Akiyu are both mages as well, with Lujanne living at the most powerful concentration of Moon magic in the world, so that could be part of the reason why she's lived so long, and Tidebound elves (as Finnegrin had Sea Legs' sister for 40+ years) just naturally live much longer than other types of elves (Moonshadow, Sunfire) as far as we know.

The Archdragons themselves also don't talk much about the length of their lives, since it's a species-shared trait and so second nature to them. However, whenever they do talk about it, we get a very clear picture:

It's not exactly... positive. Now, some of this is because of their mental states. Sol Regem lost his beloved mate a thousand years ago, lost his position as the king of the dragons, and been effectively cut off from Xadia's political sphere / the other archdragons for a long time. Rex Igneous is similarly isolated (though it seems more self-inflicted) and we know he had a previous falling out with Avizandum (presumably over Zubeia). We also see Zubeia grow increasingly listless both times she falls ill / almost loses her family (S3, 5x09) so it seems that despite being very rare and accordingly isolationist, Archdragons don't tend to do well alone and without families (understandably).

But the verdict seemingly from at least 2/4ish known archdragons is that

In this way, the Archdragons' view of their quasi-immortality isn't that different from how Aaravos views his literal one:

The stars have never smiled upon their creations. This world was made by cruel, unfeeling hands. It is an instrument of pain, of torment. To exist within this world is to suffer. Even death is no reprieve.

So what about the characters who disagree to the point of doing terrible things so that they can exist forever?

Kpp'ar and Kim'Dael (Crafted Immortality)

Although there's only two characters in the "dark magic induced immortality" category, they paint two such completely different pictures that, in many ways, it shows the full spectrum of just how one can achieve an unnatural immortality.

On the one hand, we have Kim'Dael, who takes dark magic's canonically to its long believed natural conclusion of cannibalism. Kim'Dael takes parts (blood) from magical creatures (in this case, elves) and consumes it to enhance her own abilities and her livelihood. This doesn't always mean fully killing and draining someone, but often can (Bloodmoon Huntress) with multiple individuals / sometimes whole families at a time as she must experience semi-regular rejuvenation; it is unknown if she needs to eat or consume anything else in her day-to-day life.

Her magic use was also confirmed to be a form of dark magic in this interview:

the way that she does, is beyond primal magic. She’s found ways through dark magic to extend her primal moon powers. It’s very evil how she is able to do what she does and extend her life

Despite the dragons who don't have to work to be immortal being far more despondent about their long, long lives, it's not hard to think of reasons why Kim'Dael would want to be immortal. Death is a scary unknown, she (like Finnegrin) is out of tune with her primal knowingness on a fundamental level, and she can do so without harm to herself. Like most dark mages we've seen, her dark magic use requires using and taking from the people around her more, accordingly, than it's taking from her. She takes from others to give herself power: dark magic 101.

Kpp'Ar's search for immortality is way fucking weirder, IMO. It's not necessarily that dark mages, or dark magic, never uses the caster's body for spells. It inherently saps energy (hence the white streaks, nosebleeds, collapsing, etc) and drains life from the body; each spell harms the caster in at least a small way. It's also not like we've never seen a dark mage use their own body parts for a spell; Claudia uses and drinks her own blood mixed into the pentapus ink in 5x09, and Viren mutilates his own heart in 6x08 rather than use someone else's.

It's just, that if Kim'Dael has a way to chase immortality that does mean using somebody else's body... why on earth would you use your own?

It seems that before his change of heart, Kpp'Ar was experimenting with one of the darkest of all magics. A way of extending life. Indefinitely. A horrible and strange kind of immortality. The ancient and disturbing practice of self-eating.

Now, some of this may come down to access or skillset. Presumably Kim'Dael could drink human blood and use it for her spells, since the arcanum of the elf she's drinking from doesn't seem to matter. However, even if you can use human blood, Kpp'Ar at this point was older and used a cane (if we assume this was a later in life pursuit, and not over decades); he likely wasn't going to be able to kidnap and haul back anyone but children back to Puzzle House, and while we know he's willing to sacrifice children (6x06) it's not canonically clear if he's willing to use them.

Either way, we know Kpp'Ar was pursuing immortality as well as the location of the Garden of Innocents concurrently. We don't know if this was interrelated, but we do know that unicorns are connected to the Star arcanum, which is presumably what makes First Elves immortal-ish so... maybe? It's not clear why Kpp'Ar would want immortality in general, especially that type of immortality, for himself, but clearly there will be a reason. It could be that he wanted to transfer it to someone else (Soren) and gave up, but that's not fundamentally different than what Kim'Dael does, so... again: why himself?

(Arc 3 come home to me)

Cannot Die

Last but not least, we have Aaravos + the other First Elves in the 'cannot die' category, except when they can (Leola). I've written more before about how... odd the info surrounding what the Cosmic Council can and cannot do and what we may be missing, for lack of a better term. Quick rundown:

The Cosmic Council can execute Startouch elves. Aaravos did not have enough power to stop them. (*At the time of Leola's death, as things may have changed since then)

Aaravos seems to be utterly unconcerned that the Cosmic Council conceivably could, if they became aware of his actions, execute him in the same manner. Aaravos does not seem to care if they notice, given that he asks, "Are you watching?" in 7x08.

When Aaravos' mortal form (like the one Leola had/used on earth) is destroyed in 7x09, there are noticeable visual differences to the destruction of his daughter's.

Aaravos seems to want to bring the First Elves into "this world" as it is an instrument of pain that begets only suffering, and "I want them to suffer."

We also know that Aaravos believes the First Elves don't care about / love their creations at all, so destroying the earth can't be the endgame goal. We also know that something is keeping Aaravos from accessing/attacking them, otherwise he would've done so before being imprisoned.

Presumably, something in the interim has changed with either 1) Aaravos is no longer able to die or 2) He has found a way to be able to kill the other First Elves if they went after him, rather than the other way around. Potentially dark magic is the road to get there, or a form of ancient magic the First Elves tried to keep hidden that became the basis for dark magic.

Either way, we know that the First Elves are able to end an otherwise truly immortal being's existence permanently (at least so far) and that it's a power at one point Aaravos did/does not have. I'll be curious to see what we learn about all of this and self-eating in the future.

[mhevarujta]

I hate the "Mina is bound by Destiny to Dracula (because we need a fanfic of the rape survivor to belong to her rapist)" shit in the movies being used for Ellen by fans saying that she is destiny bound to Orlok like Mina is to Dracula. How about we retire the trope of a woman having no agency to which man she must love.

To be fair, Dracula 1992 tried to be its own thing. Coppola actively took the direction of a gothic romance that transcends time between Mina and Dracula. I get why some people may be into that. Even though I personally don't like my gothic romance with the woman involved being completely lacking in agency and being defined by a convenient idea of 'destiny'.

But I think that Nosferatu 2024 leans more into the gothic horror. There IS a sense of a greater power being at work in the movie, a sense of destiny, but I think that this 'destiny' lies in Ellen's own power. She shapes it, despite the fact that she does not have full control because her society has oppressed her so much that she doesn't even have the language for what she feels and what she is, let alone the training to put her psychic powers into conscious use. And yet they are a big part of her.

Ellen and Orlok are not bound all along. They are not 'meant to be'. She calls for anything in a moment of desperation, she doesn't know what she's signing up for, and he clings onto her, on the one hand providing a sort of bliss that has been and will remain umatched for her until they consummate at the end of the movie, but also violating her. He is able to do so in the first place because HE made a deal that condemned him to be this creature, since (unlike Ellen) he could not accept his nature. And when she tries to escape him, Orlok tries to own her like she's property. He's no better than her oppressors and it's no wonder. He doesn't just represent Ellen's shadow, but also the collective shadow of the patriarchal society that so treats her.

Ellen keeps fighting his influence and by doing so she is partly fighting herself, because her desire is tied to him and she does not know how to reject his evil AND to embrace her natual yearning at the same time. But this is ultimately something that she decides she MUST manage, both for herself and to save the last living person that she loves. And she does. She embraces her sexuality in all its transgressiveness AND crucifies Orlok's evil(which is something that many viewers like to ignore). Even as she has been coerced to her final decision, Ellen uses Orlok's appetite against him and instead of becoming a demon herself, as she feared, she avenges herself, saves Thomas and redeems her society while embracing the sexual instinct that it stigmatized in her.

She is fulfilled by the creature that her body craved AND she has the affirmation of the love that she chose. In her final moment in the human world she is unashamed, accepted, entangled in Orlok's shell but staring at the man she loves; the one she wanted to keep alive. She is not defined by one or the other, but by both. She reaches a state that, while it cannot last indifinately in the human world, is an amalgamation of all the things that SHE desired to have.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Gary Willig

The third round of hostage releases of the ceasefire deal is set for tomorrow. And once again, the youngest hostages, 2-year-old Kfir Bibas and 5-year-old Ariel Bibas, will not be among the freed hostages.

There are two possible explanations for the continued imprisonment of babies and toddlers. One is that Hamas is still playing games with the lives of innocent children, that after depriving them of light, love, food, and medicine for more than a year it still delights in prolonging their suffering. The other, and perhaps more likely explanation, is the terrible possibility that Kfir and Ariel no longer have lives with which to play games because they died in the captivity in which Hamas has held them for so long.

Either explanation is further proof that the evil of Hamas cannot be lived with or tolerated and must be destroyed once the hostages are returned. In either case, their lives mean nothing to their captors.

To kidnap a 9-month-old baby, the age Kfir was during the October 7 massacre, and a 4-year-old boy is an act of pure evil. The butchers of Hamas showed no mercy even to the most innocent of their victims, with the youngest murder victim of the October 7 massacre being just three months old.

The Bibas children should have been released immediately. Then they should have been released during the weeklong November 2023 ceasefire. They should have been released every single day, every single minute, since they were brought into Gaza by the bloodthirsty barbarians of Hamas. Instead, they remain captive 15 months after their abduction.

Why has Hamas done this? It has done this because it knows how precious their children are to Israel and the Jewish people. It knows that victimizing, kidnapping, and murdering children is the ultimate torture it can inflict on Israeli society. It has done this because its ultimate goal is exactly the same as the Nazis', the annihilation of every Jew down to the last baby.

To Hamas and its supporters, Kfir Bibas is evil personified because he is a Jew, the innocence of his childhood merely a smokescreen for his nefarious inborn Judaism. His birth is itself a capital crime. It is no wonder Hamas terrorists love to read Mein Kampf and stores named for Hitler are popular in Gaza.

There can be no peace with an entity that thinks like this. Hamas has not moderated an iota after its losses in the war. Thanks to its propaganda successes and the useful idiots who value the lives of baby killers over those of Jewish babies, Hamas believes it can continue to rule Gaza and prepare for the next war, where it will use the same strategy of both lying to gullible Westerners and deliberately causing the deaths of its own people to escape the consequences of murdering Jewish children. Its leaders still vow to carry out more massacres on the level of October 7.

This ceasefire has three phases. Whatever phases two and three look like, if Hamas is still in power in Gaza at the end, the war must resume. If a “permanent” ceasefire sees Hamas remain in power after what it has done to the Bibas family, after it has vowed to start this same war all over again with more massacres, then Israel will have failed, the US will have failed, and even Donald Trump will have failed. Evil will have been allowed to endure, and more hate and death with follow.

Only the full defeat of Hamas can put an end to the Hamas violence. Only the full defeat of evil can prevent its resurgence. Monsters who deny babies the right to live have forfeited the right to live themselves. Any person who joins Hamas is an enemy of humanity. Any person who joins the ranks of the baby butchers should be treated as part of the Nazi death squads, because that is the level of evil they have chosen to champion.

[wintershieldbingo]

⚔️ January in WinterShield-Land ⚔️

Check out all the Shieldlings and WinterBabies who participated this past January!

Remember to be highlighted in these monthly masterlists, you must use the bingo fill submission form so that the mods will be notified of each submission you create. Don't forget to tag us in your posts here on tumblr using @wintershieldbingo and #wintershieldbingo if you’d like to be reblogged. We don't want to miss your tumblr posts!

A Cry at the Final Breath That Is Drawn by moss_writes @ilovemosss

⚔️ Fanwork: New Fic in a Series ⚔️ Warning: Major Character Death ⚔️ One morning can change everything, but not always for the better. Bucky never wanted to know what it felt like to have half of his soul torn away in a moment, but as Steve's illness progress, the end comes too soon for both of them.

An Apple A Day by SquadOfCats @norelationtoatticus

⚔️ Fanwork: Multichapter Fic ⚔️ Warning: No Warnings Apply ⚔️ Fresh out of the ice, Steve makes a trip to the farmer's market and finds a few simple things worth living in the future for. Namely: apples, and the hot guy selling them.

Eight Minutes by gfawkes @gfawkesphoenixchokingonashes

⚔️ Fanwork: Multichapter Fic ⚔️ Warning: Graphic depiction of torture or violence, Rape and/or Non-con ⚔️ The client liked what Steve had drawn, but he wanted something in particular; he wanted body parts. “Like severed limbs?” “Anything goes, really. But they have to be bound with rope, ties, that sort of thing.” Steve could do that; he enjoyed drawing the human body, and now that he knew that the client was looking for kink, he would produce just that. Nat smiled. “The darker, the better. Perfect for you.” Another dime-a-dozen sick bastard. Lovely.

Fem!Stucky Western AU by @lavenderbuckyy

⚔️ Fanwork: Moodboard ⚔️ Warning: No Warnings Apply ⚔️ Bucky lives a quiet life in the small town where her father acts as sheriff, wiping down the tables at the saloon and daydreaming her days away. When a new horse rides into town with a rider on its back, Bucky's interest is immediately piqued. Stella Rogers is gorgeous and whip-smart — and almost definitely on the run from the law, if her secretive nature is anything to go by. Still, Stella is sweet, and gentle, and she kisses Bucky out back of the saloon like she's afraid to hurt her. Bucky's father wouldn't approve. But when Stella's got her hands in Bucky's hair, or when Bucky has her arms around Stella's middle, head tucked into her shoulder as they ride into the night, Bucky finds she doesn't really care.

marvel rivals bucky / pre-serum steve by mutantrentboy @disterra

⚔️ Fanwork: Fan Art ⚔️ Warning: No Warnings Apply ⚔️ marvel rivals bucky meets movie verse pre-serum steve

No pickles by mutantrentboy @disterra

⚔️ Fanwork: Fan Art ⚔️ Warning: No Warnings Apply ⚔️ smol stucky chibis in meme form

One deep breath out from the sky by @musette22

⚔️ Fanwork: Oneshot ⚔️ Warning: No Warnings Apply ⚔️ “Hey, Buck,” Steve whispers, cautiously running a hand up and down Bucky’s back. “You feeling any better?” Bucky doesn't answer straight away. “Think so,” he says eventually, the words slurring together with sleep or exhaustion. He stretches again, shifting on top of Steve, and – Uh. The low moan Bucky lets out coincides with Steve’s realization that what he can feel poking him in the hip is not, in fact, a gun, like he’d assumed a minute ago, but something altogether more incriminating. Jesus. -- Or: the fic in which Bucky gets hit with some evil Hydra gas that makes him irrationally scared at first, and insatiably horny later. Steve helps him out with both.

Shower and Comfort by BuckysWintersoldier @buck-star

⚔️ Fanwork: Oneshot ⚔️ Warning: No Warnings Apply ⚔️ Steve helps Bucky not just with a shower but also to calm his anxiety during the shower.

Soldier’s coming home by BuckysWintersoldier @buck-star

⚔️ Fanwork: Oneshot ⚔️ Warning: No Warnings Apply ⚔️ Bucky comes home to his boyfriend after his assignment for the army.

Steve's Night Off: Chapter 3, Aching For You by @otpcutie

⚔️ Fanwork: Multichapter Fic ⚔️ Warning: No Warnings Apply ⚔️ Steve and Bucky make the most of their night together.

That is Mine by gfawkes @gfawkesphoenixchokingonashes

⚔️ Fanwork: Multichapter Fic ⚔️ Warning: Graphic depiction of torture or violence, Rape and/or Non-con ⚔️ He thinks about his Sister and what she would say about his unclothed state. “You would think,” she’d begin, green eyes flashing, red hair bouncing as she shook her head. “As old as you are,” she’d put heavy emphasis on the word ‘old,’ “that you’d think of stowing a pair of breeches in that pouch of yours, Rogers.” It won’t matter in the end, his nakedness. The elixir will take away all focus on himself before he even catches a chill. It will also lower the heart rate and body temperature, canceling out any chance of frozen skin on sensitive flesh. And, besides, there is someone here much more important than himself. Bucky.

Untitled Fanart by @lavenderbuckyy

⚔️ Fanwork: Moodboard ⚔️ Warning: No Warnings Apply ⚔️ When a misunderstanding leaves Bucky's family thinking that his best friend Steve is actually his boyfriend, the two decide to go along with it. Bucky's family is always pestering him to meet someone anyway, and he's pretty sure Steve is the perfect guy to bring home to mom. Steve doesn't have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving break since his ma passed. When Bucky offers for Steve to stay at his house, he jumps at the chance to avoid being alone in his dorm. But as they spend their Thanksgiving together baking pumpkin pie, getting ribbed by family members and wearing the matching sweaters Bucky's mom knit them, the line between pretend and reality start to blur. Soon enough, both Steve and Bucky find themselves wanting their "fake" relationship to become real...

Untitled Fanart by @lavenderbuckyy

⚔️ Fanwork: Moodboard ⚔️ Warning: No Warnings Apply ⚔️ Steve Rogers loves being a wedding planner. He loves the attention to detail it requires; loves meticulously organising everything until it's just right. Most of all, he loves fulfilling the promise of a perfect, seamless day. He knows he's good at his job. But although he sees loved-up couples day in, day out, Steve's never been in love. This time the bride has requested a flower-themed wedding, and Steve seeks out the help of a local florist. Bucky Barnes is sweet, gentle, and unexpectedly funny, and the flower arrangements he creates are stunning. Soon they're meeting up not just to discuss wedding plans or bridal bouquets, but to grab coffee and get lunch. Steve's falling for Bucky fast. But if the shy smiles Bucky sends his way are any indication, he's not the only one.

Wasted Potential by @endlesstwanted

⚔️ Fanwork: Oneshot ⚔️ Warning: No Warnings Apply ⚔️ Steve thought bartending would be simple, but between Natasha’s meddling and Bucky’s charm, he’s not sure what to pour next.

your love in every flavour by eighthchiharu @lanalanakova

⚔️ Fanwork: Oneshot ⚔️ Warning: No Warnings Apply ⚔️ Steve underestimates the snowy weather, but Bucky is there to warm him up with good food, cozy socks, and TLC.

Make Stucky proud by reading these works in your spare time!

Happy Fic Hunting,

Bingo Mods

[gaia-aviva]

As the last of the living female hostages have been released from Gaza, Israelis and their supporters worldwide must face a horrifying reality. Israeli officials have failed to provide confirmation, but their silence speaks louder than their sparse words. Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel Bibas, and Kfir Bibas, all kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, may have died in Gaza. Shiri Bibas’ husband, Yarden Bibas, is expected to be released tomorrow. Think of him, as we recognise that he may learn his wife and children have passed away.

The atrocities of October 7, committed by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and mobs of Palestinian civilians, were encapsulated in the footage of this terrified mother, Shiri Bibas, clutching her boys to her chest as she was dragged into Gaza by terrorist savages. Her husband, Yarden, was kidnapped separately, and footage showed Palestinian terrorists beating him over the head and blood running down his face. Since the current ceasefire agreement has moved onto releasing male hostages, it seems clear that Yarden Bibas was held separately to his wife and children, which itself is an act of torture.

The anguished comments of Shiri Bibas’ cousin, Jimmy Miller, leave any civilised person heartbroken.

As reported in Ynet, Miller said:

What will we tell Yarden if he is freed before his wife and children? What will we say to him? We have no words. These are difficult times — our worst nightmare.

In November 2023, Hamas claimed that the Bibas family was dead. This was their explanation for not releasing the family during the first round. Israel’s officials did not provide any stinging reaction, instead claiming that the Bibas family was being held by another terrorist group. They wouldn’t say who, or how they came by this information. In light of “grave concerns” and demands for clarification from Hamas, we may well suspect that the Israeli officials have been preparing the Bibas family and the Israeli public for the most atrocious news since then.

As The Jerusalem Post noted:

The Israeli government seems to be priming the public for tragedy. There’s no indication that officials have insisted on their release during the first weeks of the current ceasefire, even as others have gone free. A delay in the release of another civilian, Arbel Yehud, threatened to derail the ceasefire and led Israel to clamp down on Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Israel has made no such ultimatums around the Bibas family.

If the worst is confirmed, the Bibas family, along with the Israeli public, will be thrown into an even deeper pit of trauma than they have already faced. The idea of a defenceless, friendly, happy, smiling family with a love of Batman being dragged from their home, separated from a relative, and then sent to their deaths in the cesspit of evil called Gaza is too much to bear. It is an encapsulation of all the horror that occurred on October 7, a wound that will likely be reopened.

If the worst is confirmed, then the whole world will see that the Palestinians they enabled and cheered on are barbaric monsters, inhumane, total savages. Because those are the only valid descriptions for people who kidnap terrified mothers and babies, and beat the fathers over the head, keep the latter hostage, and, if confirmed, murder the former. Do not forget that prior to Shiri Bibas’ kidnapping, her father and mother were murdered. So Yarden Bibas no longer has a father- and mother-in-law. That’s a double wound already, in addition to the disappearance of his wife, his two little boys, and his almost 500 days being kept under lock and key by the evil mutants that destroyed his life and his community in one autumn morning.

All of those who legitimised Palestinian terrorism, claiming it was “the only way” to resist, and plainly ignoring both Palestinian sabotage of peace negotiations and the open jihadist proclamations of Palestinian society, you are a disgrace to the whole of mankind. You are not just enablers of evil: you are evil yourselves. The blood of Shiri Bibas and her two little boys, if all three are confirmed as dead, is upon your hands. This is your great “cause”. You weren’t fighting for a Palestinian state, but for the butchering of Israelis. That’s why you cheered the atrocities on October 7, and those of you who knew better than to celebrate openly turned to moral equivocation, obfuscation, and misdirection to give the imprimatur of legitimacy to the most despicable terror attack within recent memory. And many of you turned to denial, in spite of Israel’s open trauma, in spite of the terrible images, in spite of horrifying testimony, in spite of the Palestinians live-streaming their atrocities and phoning their relatives to boast of their murders, burnings, and lootings. To this day, the Palestinians are both proud of their savagery and in denial that it ever occurred. And you fraudulent “human rights activists” still dared to call the Israelis liars.

Shame on you forever.

[bet-on-me-13]

Lex is Vlad reincarnated

So! Lex Luther, the greatest person to ever exist, had recently made a discovery.

A few weeks ago, a Cult of moronic simpletons had managed to kidnap him. Him! All for some stupid Demonic ritual where they sacrifice the wealthiest man they could find in return for something meaningless like "No More Poverty" or "No More Starvation".

He had survived, of course, and was unfortunately save by Supermoron.

But before the Man of Steel had busted in, he overheard something from the Cultists. Apparently they had chosen him for more than just his wealth, there was something more about his Soul that they were after. It felt "Divine", as if he had the soul of a God stuffed in a Mortal's body.

And obviously it must be correct. He was already the most intelligent man in the world, One of the wealthiest, and held more political power than any single man on the planet, so of course "God in disguise" was the next logical addition to that List.

Over the next few weeks he studied and prepared.

He needed to make sure that his efforts would be rewarded, that those Cultists had been correct about him despite their idiocy.

After buying up as many Magical Artifacts as he could related to Identity and Soul, he tested himself on Each and Every One. And Lo and Behold, he is truly a God.

Well, the Reincarnation of One. Apparently this was common in immortal beings such as himself, reincarnating themselves into mortal bodies as a sort of Vacation from their Duties. All he needed to do now was find a way to regain his Memories and Power without dying, and he would truly become a God On Earth.

A few more weeks of Preparation, and he was ready.

Apparently the Manchild of Steel had caught onto his plan in that time. His Ego probably couldn't bear another God living in the same City as himself, so he tried to stop Lex's plans of Ascension. Thankfully, in his research he had discovered his Rival's vulnerability to Magical Attacks, and set up countermeasures for him and his Breakfast Club should they attempt to interfere.

He stepped into the Ritual Circle, and began his Ascension to Godhood.

Try as they might, the League could not foil his plans this time. The Ritual Circle lit up with a sickly green light, and expanded to cover his entire body. The Ritual began to finally complete itself.

He had Won.

...

Oh.

...

Vlad stood at the center of the circle for a few moments. He took in all his Memories of his most recent Life, and Facepalmed so hard he was sure The Badger heard it back in the Realms.

Ten Tousand Years of Therapy specifically to curb his egotistical tendencies, and That is how he decides to spend his most recent Life? Acting as a Billionare Supervillain attacking a well meaning Hero for nothing less than Ego?! He even Cloned them!? Had he learned NOTHING!?!?

"Careful Team, we don't know how powerful he is now." He heard his current Nemesis say.

Oh right...they were still there.

He didn't really feel like explaining everything to them, and he technically still had about 40 years left on his Vacation...

He simply turned his back to them, flew back to his Mansion, turned back into his Human Form, and set about his Day. Maybe he could right a few of the wrongs he had done on this life?

It would certainly throw his current Nemesis for a loop. And while he may not Hate him anymore, he definitely still liked to Mess with him.

Maybe this would be more entertaining than he thought?

[warrioreowynofrohan]

One of the oddest Silmarillion takes that I’ve seen recently is the idea that Beren and Lúthien had it easy.

I mean, let’s take a look at Beren’s life. The Battle of Sudden Flame hits when he’s in his early twenties. He spends five years carrying on a guerilla war against the invasion of his homeland by orcs and other evil creatures; his mother and all his female relatives have to flee, and he has no knowledge of whether they are desd or alive, or captured. There’s a strange darkness speading over the forest and turning it into something out of a horror movie, a place most people won’t even dare to go into. The band of guerillas is slowly whittled down to about a dozen people, who are hunted constantly by Sauron and his wolves. Then, while he is away, his father, his uncles, and everyone else remaining are brutally killed, and he returns to find crows eating their corpses and orcs joking about looting the dead.

He carries on an guerilla alone, against Sauron, for another several years, in the haunted woods od Taur-nu-Fuin. When he absolutely can’t last any longer, he crosses the most horrifying wasteland in all of Beleriand, where the only water present is poisoned and turns you mad, filled with evil spiders and who knows what other creatures. He’s in his early thirties but he’s been through so mich that he looks like an old man. He has lost literally everyone he has ever known; he does not know if any friend or relative of his, anywhere, is still free or living.

Then he meets Lúthien.

When he leaves Doriath on the quest of the Silmaril, which every sane person in Beleriand knows is laughably impossible, he goes to Finrod, the one person he can hope for any assustance from. Finrod has an entire realm; I don’t think Beren is any expectation that Finrod will go with him personally. And what happens? The king of the largest remaining kingdom in Beleriand besides Doriath is overthrown by his own people at the instigation of Celegorm and Curufin and left with only a few loyal people around him. All of whom then die torturously in the dungeons of Sauron, followed by Finrod’s own death saving Beren.

On top of everything else he’s been through, on top of spending several months in despair being tortured in Sauron’s dungeons, the survivor’s guilt that Beren must be feeling is extreme. Even after Lúthien rescues him, it takes him a while to recover. And he still hasn’t made any progress on the quest itself!

Then they’re attacked by Celegorm and Curufin – the people who bear a substantial amount of respinsibility for the death of Finrod and the Ten, the people who very deliberately abandoned them all to due and coerced all Nargothrond to do the same, and the people who kidnapped Lúthien and attempted to force her into marriage – and they try to kidnap Lúthien again, and to murder Beren.

The fact that Beren does not kill Curufin in that moment is a deed of extreme moral fortitude. The difference between Beren and Lúthien compared with many of the Finwëans isn’t that they don’t face temptations, or that their choices are easy, it’s that they overcome those temptations.

So. Beren spares Curufin’s life at Lúthien’s urging and Curufin immediately tries to murder Lúthien; Beren jumps in front of the arrow, is severely wounded again, and for the third time since they met Lúthien gets to work healing him. Virtually all of their time together has been spent with Beren recuperating from physical injury, psychological injury, or both.

And as soon as Beren recovers, he walks away from the one person who loves him who’s still alive, and prepares to rob the gates of Hell, alone. Because Beleriand is dangerous, and as long as Lúthien is with him and therefore unable to go anywhere safe, she will be in danger from both the servants of Morgoth and the sons of Fëanor. And even if there’s a virtual 100% chance that him walking into Angband will lead to him being slowly tortured to death, that’s a better option than the one person he has left getting killed or, worse, captured, because of him.

And then she goes with him anyway. And beyond all hope they actually succeed in getting a Silmaril - and then he immediately loses it, and his hand, to Carcharoth, and it was all for nothing.

And for the fourth time since Lúthien met him, he’s near death and she’s desperately fighting to heal him and kerp him alive, while she’s exhausted to the point of collapse. And this is the moment when she gives up and goes back to Doriath, because that is what has the best chance of keeping Beren alive.

And then, at last, a ray of hope – Thingol looks at all they’ve been through and says, fine, you crazy kids can get married. And they’ve scarcely been married yet when they learn that oh, it’s not over, Carcharoth is rampaging through the land killing people and this needs to be dealt with. And Beren, even after everything, insists on going. (Because, hello, survivor’s guilt! he probably feels that this is his fault for, uh, getting his hand bitten off.)

(The fact that the Silmaril was, for a time, inside a wolf and outside Doriath, and Celegorm, noted hunter, never got near it, is, okay, rather amusing to me.)

And then Beren dies, saving Thingol, because he knows deeply what it feels like to lose his family and he’s not going to let that happen to Lúthien. And she loses him instead.

Now let’s shift to Lúthien’s point of view. Since her first meeting with Beren she has been betrayed by literally everyone she knows and everyone she meets except for Beren and Huan. She has been treated like a child, and a madwoman, and a trophy, and a pawn, and a sex object, and literally everything except an adult person whose choices have worth and meaning. She is not a superhero; she does not know what she is doing; she is terrified for practically every moment of it, for Beren’s sake even more than for her own, and for much of it she is hopeless. She does not know how or if she can achieve anything; she only knows that she has to try, because it is better than sitting in Doriath waiting to find out if Beren is dead. She puts substantial work and thought and effort into figuring out how to get out of Doriath (given in more detail in the poetic version) – and then, just when she thinks she’s found help (note: Celegorm and Curufin do not give her their names when they first meet her; she doesn’t know they’re the sons of Fëanor), she is again taken captive, this time with the goal of forced marriage and the threat of rape hanging over her. And she still knows Beren is in desperate danger, and she still can do nothing about it.

When Huan aids her and she goes to Tol-in-Gaurhoth, it isn’t because she feels she has the power to fight Sauron one-on-one! It’s because she’s desperate and can’t think of any other options. And in fact, it is not she who defeats Sauron, it is Huan; once he is defeated by Huan, she has the intelligence and strength of will to force his surrender by threatening him with something he fears more than defeat, and to demand – not the freeing of Beren alone – but the destruction of Tol-in-Gaurhoth, freeing all its prisoners. The reason she defeats Sauron is not that she’s a half-Maia badass who can wave her hands and do everything easily! The reason she defeats him is that she shows up there completely vulnerable and in effect uses herself as bait. That is an extraordinary degree of courage, not some kind of deus ex machina. And she’s putting all the strength that she has on the line – she’s pretty much passing out by the time she finds Beren. Similarly, all her healing of him is hard, exhausting work that she’s doing despite being, the whole time, terrified that he’s about to die. None of this is easy.

Likewise in Angband – Huan’s advice and Lúthien’s magic of disguise and sleep is invaluble in getting them through the door and past Carcharoth, but the reason she is able to enchant Morgoth and cast all Angband into sleep is not primarily because of extreme power, but because, like every other non-Beren person she meets, he doesn’t take her seriously. Morgoth finds the idea of using Melian’s daughter as a brief entertainment amusing (and, if you read the poetic version, makes some truly creepy sexual threats against her), and that’s how she is able to get him unguarded enough that she’s well into her song and he’s already getting sleepy before it starts to occur to him that maybe this isn’t going quite as he planned. Lúthien’s victories are not because she’s just on a different power level from the rest of Beleriand, they’re because she’s amazingly brave and willing to walk into the most dangerous places virtually defenceless. And she and Beren rely on each other utterly – after her sleep song she’s practically passing out and can only get out of Angband because Beren is holding her up.

So this is who they are, at Beren’s death. A man who has lost everyone he loves and everyone who loves him, every friend or family, often helplessly witnessing their gruesome death – everyone except for Lúthien. And an elf-woman who has been betrayed by everyone she loved or trusted, except for Beren.

When Beren dies, I wonder if he’s even relieved that it’s finally him dying instead of everyone around him. When he sees Lúthien in the Halls of Mandos, I believe his first feeling would be not joy or love, but horror. That the last living person he loved, and the one he wanted above all to save, had now died because of him.

But Lúthien isn’t done. She goes to Mandos, and she sings, and her song says: look at what we have been through, look at what all Beleriand has been through, Eldar and Edain. We don’t want realms or glory or power; we only want a few moments of peace with each other, and we fought so hard for it, and we didn’t even get that. And when she’s offered bliss and immortality for herself, she says No, I don’t want it, not without Beren. She isn’t promised happiness or long life – she only know that for the short time she will get, she will have the chance to be with Beren. And that is enough for her; for that, she gives up everything else.

This is a faerie-story; but it does not sound to me like a trite tale of easy victories handed to the heroes by Fate or by the author! They fought and struggled and sacrificed for those victories, amd they did it without ever letting go of courage, and mercy, and humility. There is a reason why this is the story that Frodo and Sam hearken back to for inspiration.

[stiffyck]

people hating a character because they very clearly misunderstand them is forever going to make me so mad

[redeemed-wren]

I'm only halfway through it, will finish it...later. but my biggest gripe so far with Troy (2004) is how much they are butchering Menelaus. And not just by mispronouncing his name. He's portrayed as a cruel brute and I'm like bro. He does not deserve this treatment 😔

I understand some changes due to cultural shift and the nature of a different medium but. Why'd you gotta do Menelaus like that?

[completeoveranalysis]

[3]

OHOHO Now we’re getting into the JUICY cause and effect. 

Like, we already know that Lava Lamp is being too hard on himself - he always is. He couldn’t have known any of this. He was only trying to do a good thing and protect Sakura. He was under extraordinary pressure and was very young. He did the only thing he could. 

He is not really responsible for the ripples this may have caused in the universe - he doesn’t control the universe. He only made a wish, as he’s allowed to do. 

But on the other hand it IS potentially the result of his action, and therefore he IS kind of "responsible". 

But in that big grey area between “he may have caused something to happen” and “this is your fault”. Lava Lamp doesn’t deserve the BLAME that any of this happened, especially because he was manipulated into doing it in the first place, but he would also be the FIRST person in line to blame literally everything wrong in the universe on his own actions. 

That aside - DO I think Lava Lamp’s time distortion caused Fai and Yui to be born as twins instead of a single person?

OH WOULDN'T THAT JUST BE THE MOST TRAGIC POSSIBLE OUTCOME?

ISN’T THIS WHAT ANGST THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF?

ISN’T THAT THE JUICIEST DRAMA WE COULD EVER POSSIBLY HOPE FOR?

I kind of want it to be true JUST for the narrative pain of it all.

But - BUT - that still wouldn’t make it Lava Lamp’s fault, and we know Fai and Kurogane will say the same thing in a few pages. 

Said mother who is hiding behind this Read More because of the nature of that scene:

Of course this is where the concept of Lava Lamp’s “responsibility” for things really falls apart. Because sure, maybe the time distortion let Fai and Yui become two people instead of one (like with the egg, and with Watanuki), but it absolutely did NOT cause the death of Kurogane’s parents. 

That was, quite specifically, Evil Wolverine stabbing them with a sword.

[revehae]

we need to kill everyone at sm entertainment

[hakuaryouga]

- Why was Ryouga the only one immune to the Trinoid's attack? - Ryo-chan doesn't hate anyone or anything!