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

[midnite-c6]

Hear me out. Pink Guard Reader (any shape guard; triangle/square/circle) who watches the contestants of this horrendous game fight for the money that glows above them and their own survival for it. Pink Guard Reader who notices two particular contestants, Nam-Gyu and Thanos. Both of them seemingly seem to stand out amongst all the players since everyone seems to be taking these games seriously besides those two, mainly. You keep a watchful eye upon them (and perhaps, sneakily help them in some situations...maybe, saving their lives at one point...?) and it doesn't take for one of them to notice and inform the other. And they now keep a particular eye on you, and perhaps, when they see you standing alone in a certain area with your pink guard uniform and mask..IDK, PLEASE HEAR ME OUT

guys tables turned!!! tthank thank..tjanks for sharing to the class hahahahahah PURRRRR. omg the way theyd absolutely look down on u bcuz like ure the one supposed to kill them and be evil so why r u being so nice? (they take advantage of this ofc) 🫶🏻

thanos & namgyu x pinkguard!reader warnings: 18+, DARK content, dubcon

つ⁠｡⁠☆ you were just so intrigued by them! i mean, they were literally treating the games like... games. no deaths, no consequences, just fun! they were insane. you liked insane, tho. you'd even save them in the game mingle. unfairly killing other players. you wanted them to live because.. you were bored, and they kept the games fun, anyways.

it was now dinner time, when the two guys would line up for their own share of food, thanos would notice it was you! the same guard that saved them since the button on your jacket was slightly broken,, "my bro, can i get extra?" he'd press his hands together, and you'd happily give him extra because, why not? nam-gyu was just behind him, asking the same, he'd even give a polite thank you.

both of them noticed how they were the only ones getting unfair advantages, so when everyone's too busy with their food or talking to their groups, they walk up to you, as you were standing guard next to the bathrooms. you couldn't speak, since you'd be scolded to talk without permission, but the two have got nothing to lose, and they'd make it their life's goal to bother you. "pst. triangleee facee. talk to us!" thanos would poke you, his other hand occupied by the extra milk you gave him earlier. "ah, this dude's boring."

thanos would even offer the small pills inside his cross necklace, you politely decline. simply shaking your head. "do you think there's a person inside there?" nam-gyu would press on your mask as he wonders, "you're right! what if this guy is just a robot..? shiit. technology is getting good." nam-gyu would stare at you intently, trying to find something underneath that mask. he'd take his hands to touch your chest and stomach, in search of any indications on your body, of course, the touch makes you jolt. you immediately point your gun at him. "woah, woah ..my bad." he says as he puts both of his hands up. "ah, fuck dude you angered him!" they'd both laugh, and you lower your firearm. "so it must be a human." thanos would get all up in your face. "hey, tell me, man, why'd you save us?" you can't answer. "why can't you speaaak??" he was getting frustrated, clearly. you'd only turn your face to the guard with a square on his mask, signaling him as your superior. "i think if he talks, that guy would get mad." "ohhh yeah no shit, dude." and before you could react, thanos quickly pulls you to the mens bathroom, guess you have no choice but to speak now..

"there! surely you could speak now!" he exclaims and after a few seconds of contemplating, you would speak, although the voice is distorted , "that's correct."

"take off your mask then." such a straight-forward request, but you'd do it with no protest, you're just the same as them, nothing to lose. once you've lifted your mask to rest ontop of your head, you'd happily breathe in the cold air. the two stares at you dumbfoundedly. "fuck dude, your pills are starting to make me go crazy." "me too bro!!" "is it just me or are you also seeing a chick?" player 124 would rub his eyes with his hands. "what the fuuuuuuuuck." you'd only snort at their comments. "hey! you've been shootin' people , huh?" the purple-haired one would scold, "is there something wrong with that?" nam-gyu chuckles, "bet she looked hot doing it, to be honest." thanos touches your face with his hand. "you're like.. a guardian angel to us." you're embarrassed honestly, it was such an awkward moment. they'd both look at each other at that moment, reaching to some kind of decision, "hell yea, do i wanna fuck my guardian angel."

nsfw below!!-> 💘

"mmph-. god. fucking a murderer feels crazy." thanos happily blurts out in groans, as he pushes heavily inside you, putting in all his weight , balls deep inside your pussy. you couldn't moan out, with nam-gyu's cock shoved down your throat, his pace was much more abusive and mean than thanos', bruising your poor throat. they didn't even bother to go inside a stall, instead deciding to be right in the middle of the mens bathroom, where your suit was pushed to the side. they'd keep the gun slinged to your body, and your mask still slightly lifted up from your face, the mask stays on, what a hot image. the one thrusting inside your cunt was ecstatic, like he was so pent up he'd thank the gods he could put it all out inside you. "awwh.. pretty pink guard.." he would tuck your hair behind your ears, your forehead dripping with sweat. "pretty pink pussy n' all. you're so evil.." nam-gyu would also thrust far too deep, making you gag, your hands would grip on player 124's legs, letting him know that he was going too rough! and for what! "you're tough, i'm sure you can take it." and he goes even faster! it was like they were punishing you for only doing your job, not even bothering to say thank you for saving them :(

...sadly, the rules are strict when it comes to being a guard. and you've been gone for way too long, atleast you went out with a bang! literally.

I MADE THIS SO SILLY 😭🙏🏻. guys sorry mah brain nawt working LOLs but they can do it day and night every position until i learn fluent korean fr. born to ride both forced to only write and read for them😿 maybe i make masterlist after this 🤨

[thekitsandthekats]

i don't see the point of season two being to set up season three. i genuinely think that the writing is good and the choices made in this season add to the overall story while also being something that can stand on it's own.

season two, to me, is about three things: the collective, consequences and human nature. outside of red light green light, every game we've seen has been a team game. every game is designed for multiple people to win. the voting is a group effort. people have to come together to vote to stay or leave. it forces everyone to be involved and encourages them to think of the person next to them. this is where the focus of the collective comes in. when spend so much time with the games and the team's playing because the season is about their grouped success. its also an incredible tool to use to show the split in emotion. how people who were cheering to play one more game in hopes that more people die, turned around and hoped for their success. and to speak metaphorically, its about the power of the people fighting against a system. the great evil system of capitalism.

the voting system and the illusion of choice fall into the idea of human nature. inho talked about this in the limo before taking gihun to the games. he said that the players chose this, that they will always choose this. they will always chose to play the game because it is human nature to gamble, to be selfish. the season is about looking at the nature of humanity and what people will do when you put them in an impossible situation. gihun thinks they would chose to save themselves and everyone, inho thinks they will chose to serve themselves and forget everyone. this is why inho joined the games. to prove a point to gihun that look this is humanity, this is how they are and how they always will be, selfish.

then this brings me to gihun and his revenge trip . one of his biggest character traits is that he is always willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, to trust that their intentions are pure. and as we've seen that is almost never the case. twice now he's been fooled by someone wearing a 001 number, and it doesn't dawn on him because he naturally looks for the good in people. on top of this, gihun believes he's doing the right thing. by trying to stop the games for good, he believes that people’s lives will be better, that they will no longer be under the thumb of capitalism and greed, that they will be free. but he is also out for retribution. not only does he want to stop the games, he wants revenge, he wants those in charge to pay. to do this he needs everyone. he needs the collective, and he needs to trust in their nature to be one of wanting to do the right thing. again, to get metaphorical, to take down a system like capitalism, to fight against the rich to live to exploit the poor, then the poor need to band together and rise up. or at least that is what gihun thinks.

that's why we focus so much on the ensemble of characters in the story, all of whom are different, endearing, frustrating, and so on, and yet we care. we care about all of them getting out, we care about their collective survival because the season has pulled all of us in to care. we're a part of the revolution because we as the audience have been roped into gihun plans too!!

that's why i think consequences are a big idea too. we know that the consequences of squid game are the deaths of thousands of people. we know that inho thinks this is a small and necessary sacrifice to make. we know that gihun disagrees. until he doesn't. inho asks him before the rebellion if he's willing to sacrifice the few for the many and gihun says yes. he contradicts his own ideals in the moment and so inho must show him the consequences of that. this is to speak to the consequences of trying to fight against oppression, almost to say that no the system will always win. it will tighten its security, crush you under its booy and always come out on top.

i think 011's story is really the only part that explicitly feels like a set up for season three, or like a sleeper agent kind of thing, where she'll pop up exactly when she's needed.

with inho and the boat crew, i actually really love what they did there because the whole story line was a waste of time. you're supposed to feel like it was a waste of time because it literally is. the captain is wasting their time sailing them in circles, never coming to the island. they go around and around and so the plot itself goes around and around, and by the end, even the reveal of the captain reads as flat and expected, and i love that. i think it's really interesting story telling, and granted i might be reading into it but that is the beauty of media and interpretation. i like to think that the writer did that on purpose so we feel exactly what the boat crew are feeling, that all of this is a waste of time.

i also understand that the season isn't flawless, that there might be some things that could've been done better but i honestly believe that season two of squid game is just brilliant.

twitter is actually so frustrating because i think people are deliberately misunderstanding what squid game is and what it's supposed to be doing. of course the pacing, the tone and everything about season two isn't going to be the same as season one. because things are different now. gihun is suffering from incredible trauma, junho was shot by his brother and is desperate to find him, it's been three years since gihun's games, of course things are different! it's not going to just be games and death, it needs to be a story, a JOURNEY, like we need things to develop, grow and be different! like is that difficult to understand?

nothing about season two is boring because all of it is deliberate. yes, all that stuff in the first two eps before the games is deliberate! the attention given to the voting system is important and deliberate! junho and his suspicious captain and his band of military men on the boat is important and deliberate! because as we've seen with season one, the writing is incredible and i don't see that changing for this season and the final season. if you just wanted dramatic games, death and all that then idk go watch season one again. or maybe ask yourself why you wanted just deaths and games and all that because its giving vips, its giving a refusal to understand the bright, glaring metaphor

[deusvervewrites]

I would say it is weird that people think Midoriya is childishly naive when his very first phrase of the story is "not all men are created equal", when the first chapter has Midoriya going about how he was deluding himself, when he talks again and again how lucky and blessed he is, but we have already concluded Horikoshi needs some sledgehammers.

But yeah, people seem to look down in a way at empathy, when having empathy despite everything Midoriya has gone through shows his strength. He could have easily just have given up, but that isn't who Midoriya is.

I've touched on it before, and others have gone into far more detail about it, both in other media and in general, but there's a deceptively cruel undercurrent throughout an alarmingly vast percentage of media. A single, insidious idea that has been reused and recycled and repeated.

THE VILLAIN MUST DIE

Think about that for a moment. Really, think about it. Why does the villain have to die? Think about all the works out there about the cycle of revenge. Think about all the works out there about how you should be kind to one another. Hell, just pick a Disney film. No matter how Heroic the hero. No matter how central mercy is to the theme. And yet.

THE VILLAIN MUST DIE

Sometimes they dress it up fancy. A Villain rejects the offered hand only to accidentally kill themselves, as in Tarzan or countless others. Or their own scheme ends up killing them without the Hero doing it. Sometimes it is the hero, by some accident.

And it makes sense, right? The villains do horrible, awful things, and many of them show no signs of remorse or even stopping. Taking them out is for the best, right?

THE VILLAIN MUST DIE

Why.

How can they not choke on the hypocrisy. How can they stand there and tell us that love and compassion and understanding will lead Darth Vader from the Dark Side but the Emperor needs a one-way trip down the reactor chute?

THE VILLAIN MUST DIE

It's much cleaner, as a narrative. When the noble hero slays the evil king, there's never any depiction of the inevitable succession crisis that would ensue. Imagine having to... reform? From the worst possible version of yourself, a character in blood stepped in so far that, should they wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er? Having to try and do better? Even if they could never atone? Even if it could never be made right? But yet. But yet. You still have to live and do better?

THE VILLAIN MUST DIE

Why?

I know. Help us all do I know that there are people out there that will not change. Are staunchly against changing. Would die before they ever had a second thought about their actions. But. But. They are still, first and foremost, people.

And yet.

THE VILLAIN MUST DIE

WHY?

This world has no end of fools who mistake weakness for strength and boast their foolishness from the rooftops. People who think that kindness is a weakness and compassion a curse.

I can't help but wonder what this world could be if we all held each other with a bit more empathy.

Since recorded history began, people have sold their hearts for power. This weakness should not be celebrated. Power means nothing.

Midoriya's empathy is his greatest strength. It's the thing that makes him a Hero.

And I'm glad that there's been a trend lately in Shonen Jump towards empathic protagonists. The Promised Neverland. Demon Slayer. Dr. Stone. My Hero Academia. All of these works can't help but wonder what this world could be.

How are we meant to make the world better if we can't imagine a better world? How are we meant to dedicate our lives, knowing that perhaps that kind world is far away from here, that we may have to miss it because it's far beyond our years, if we think it's impossible?

WHY DOES THE VILLAIN HAVE TO DIE?

WHY IS IT EASIER TO SEE THE ENEMY THAN A PERSON?

WHO ARE YOU LETTING CONVINCE YOU THAT DEATH CAN BE DESERVED?

People act this way about Midoriya because that's how we are trained to experience media. He is, by the nature of his kindness, a subversion of expectations. The idea of treating the enemy like a person, understanding why they act the way they do, why they want to hurt, that's... difficult. It can be hard to remember in the face of human cruelty and depravity. But you must. If you can't understand then you can't prevent it. Yes, there are people who must be stopped. Yes, characters in fiction reflect this fact.

Even so.

To say that the villain must die, that is a justification of violence that has been used by real humans to cause real harm.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

As I said above, media has shifted recently. It's small, and I doubt it will be mainstream anytime soon, but the shift is there. Not just in shonen, but other places as well.

"We have a saying, my people. Don’t kill if you can wound, don’t wound if you can subdue, don’t subdue if you can pacify, and don’t raise your hand at all until you’ve first extended it."

-Wonder Woman, Gail Simone

[thescreaminghat]

just thinking about tf armada optimus after unicron is defeated (spoilers), when he's been battered by fighting and is now drifting aimlessly amidst the debris in space and comes across the matrix of leadership, the very symbol of authority and hope for the autobots---the symbol that he chose to discard before accepting a final fight with megatron---and how he resignedly says, "i dont deserve it".

like ig there's the interpretation that he somehow "stooped down" to megatron's level by engaging in the 1v1, but i dont really get that vibe, and it feels a little too simple, even for the often questionable dialogue choices for the eng dub. i dont get the impression that somehow optimus is now "bad" because he accepted megatron's challenge, because he's been fighting megatron for fucking 10 million years, and it's presented as a "necessary evil" even though the whole point with the minicons is that conflict and war and fighting is, probably, more of a harmful thing than a good one, because megatron's purpose is to control and exploit the minicons for his own ends (i.e. the series series is still a kids' show, meaning certain tropes, like "the good guys ultimately need to come out on top", are still going to be used even if moral complexities are explored).

rather, i get the sense that optimus's somewhat mournful/regretful rejection of the matrix comes from the fact that he didn't fully acknowledge all sides of him and never got the change to. despite the fact that his obsession with op clouds his judgment like 99% of the time, megs knows himself way too well---there was no way on god's green earth that he and op were going to hold hands and kumbaya and that's what he lived by his entire life. bro held onto an infatuation of the millennia but also held a level of animosity and craving that likely rivalled the level of forgiveness and generosity of primus himself. and megatron accepted this, accepted that he wanted to battle and feel in control and in the end, when the only thing he had left to prove was to his forever rival, that was all he wanted: one good fight and he would be at peace with the outcome of the entire universe (im counting what happens in tf energon as its own thing at this point, it's way too messy of a direct continuation of armada). imo megatron stayed true to his own feelings without the necessity of hamfisting a redemption arc, he went through notable growth (biggest example being his shift after starscream's death) but in the end, there were parts of him that were never going to change, so in a way, he saw his journey through to the end and made the choice to sacrifice himself for optimus because of that acceptance

in contrast, i get the sense that because optimus must constantly act as a figurehead to the autobots, he's not truly able to be 100% honest with what he wants, and who he is. not that there's any doubt that he truly believes in his mission, and that he hasn't been deceitful or dishonest, but i got the sense throughout the series that optimus keeps a lot to himself because he can't be anything less than the protector of the matrix (e.g. when starscream leaves the autobots, hotshot, furious and hurt at the betrayal, starts yelling at optimus and doubting why he made the choices that he did, op doesn't say anything. instead he just walks away, with this pained silence following him out the door, leaving scavenger to chew out hotshot for "disobeying orders"---which seemed kind of, idk, a weirdly ironfisted way (at least from the autobot side) to shut down some genuinely good and earnest questions. and that specific moment of tension never really gets resolved, because optimus sacrifices himself to, in a way, "make up" for his and starscream's mistake). why doesn't he defend himself? if he truly believed in starscream and the inherent goodness of all cybertronians then why not express that directly to hotshot with passion, with conviction, with acceptance of all aspects of his own beliefs?

ig what im trying to say is, being the bearer of the matrix seems to instil (at least to me) this sense of "purity" or "virtuous aloofness" in optimus, whether out of duty or a genuine belief in those qualities as being the ideal. so when optimus discards the matrix specifically to fight megatron, and subsequently tells himself that he "doesn't deserve" that symbol of leadership, i think what he is berating himself for is having enjoyed a fight just a little too much or at the wrong time, having chosen to do something that wouldn't have fit the mould he had held himself to. his first response to megatron's reminiscing about how their fight reminded him of the "good old days" is denial ("i can't say that i enjoyed it").

tldr my interpretation (definitely wrong) is that op has a lot of responsibility and it seems to create a kind but also distant version of him in armada; it feels like op is repressing a lot of who he is and the rejection of the matrix brings him into the daunting realization that yeah, maybe that was for the better. maybe it's ok to not deserve that honour. he'll have to accept that and live with it, but it's ok.

[9amartt]

“Blindly” trusting Allah is the epitome of sight. 

I entrust my affairs to Allah, from the smallest issues to those that could twist my life’s plot, from my daily decisions to those that have a great effect in my entire life.

I heard, and I believe that the affairs of the Mu’min are always good. Whatever Allah decrees for the believers is good for them either in dunyah or akhirah. 

Anything that comes from my Lord is good, and I am pleased with it and grateful, and since gratitude is Ibadah, I worship Allah by being grateful to Him.

I know that since the day I uttered La Ilaha Illa Allah with my tongue, believed it with my heart, and acted upon it with my limbs, and didn’t commit that which nullifies it, that I am a muslim from the muslims, and a believer from the believers, from those believers who are under the mercy and protection of Allah at all timed and all places. 

Now the only thing left good expectations from my Lord and creator, -the one who is more merciful to me than my own mother!- And loads of Du’a and taking asbab. 

This is the recipe of success for those who seek it. 

You may say: “Okay now I took all the possible asbab. What do I do?” 

The answer is easy: 1-Dua Dua & Dua (which you should have been doing from the beginning) continue making it. Never despair in du’a and don’t get tired of it at all or ever expect anything but a response from Allah in sha Allah. 

And know that the answer of a Du’a is always good, either you get what you wished, or a protection from an evil, or a raise in ranks.

2: Never ever think or utter the phrase: ”it’s impossible” and even if shaytan causes you to, rush to repent from this since it’s an insult to Allah و العياذ بالله. 

3: Wait with patience and perseverance and increase in Ibadah (especially istighfar and Qiyaam Al Layl)

4: Abandon sins!! I really can’t stress this enough. Perhaps Allah didn’t answer your dua yet because of your sins!!

ويل الفتى دعى ربه فعصاه فلم يستجب له!

Woe to the young man, he makes dua, then sins and Allah doesn’t respond to his dua because of that sin. 

Try to abandon sin, and even if you fall or slip (and you surely will) rush to istighfar and tawba. Be as clean from sin as possible. 

And that’s it really, the actions themselves are relatably easy, patience is the hardest part, and to increase your patience you must read the Qur’an and ponder upon it, and also count your blessings, reminisce old times in which Allah’s blessings showered you.

And remember, good is in that which Allah chooses for you.

This ‘waiting stage’ is a real blessing wallah, take advantage of it. 

In it, you worship Allah out of need, and slowly get closer to Him to the point where you love Him and your relationship with Him improves, and you may even -with the assistance of Allah- reach the level which many of the salaf narrated about: the level of living in Jannah while in dunyah. 

So make your goal getting closer to Allah with every trial and every blessing. 

And I don’t know what each one of your dreams and ambitions or trials may be, but if you can get at least one thing from this patience of yours, let it be being closer to Allah and starting to truly Love Him to the point on which everything you see reminds you of Him, and to the point which He becomes the first one you think about when you wake up and the last one you think about before going to sleep, and to the point that every sin you commit becomes painful to you and you cannot let it pass without repentance, and to the point where you cannot keep your love to yourself, you will feel like you have to tell everyone about how much you love Him! 

Wallah. 

And it is one of the best feelings if you maintain it. May Allah grant us all such feeling, and may we return to Him in such state. Ameen.

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

In loving memory

based off a heartbreaking dream I had last night about Hua Cheng and his mom

Near the old border of the Xianle kingdom, there used to be a burial ground. It was not a place for the lavish mausoleums of nobles and royalty, nor the resting place of great scholars or renowned artists. The many plaques that used to dot the grassy expanse of that field had long eroded, or been destroyed, the lands of Xianle having fallen to wars, ruin and reconstruction countless times over the hundreds of years since the kingdom had met its tragic fate.

The people buried there had followed the same fate that all living beings did, their bodies lost to decay and their souls following the reincarnation cycle until they completed it. Those left to remember them had dissipated just the same, and with them, so did the memories of their loved ones.

New homes were erected, new cities appeared, new kingdoms rose, new people lived and died and loved, clueless to those before.

But near the old border of Xianle, in a corner of the old burial ground, a small mound dotted with red flowers and a dark marble headstone remained. The writing on it seemed to have been engraved in a long lost language, the letters glittering silver, so it was hard to say who the grave belonged to. It bore an elegance like no other, simple though incredibly refined, and no matter the tempest it endured, be it human or natural catastrophes, it stood unmoved, shaded by two, beautiful willow trees.

Some believed it to have been a monument to some great warrior, perhaps a beloved benefactor - but nobody had been able to find out anything about the person that lay there or the life they lived. More importantly, nobody seemed to know who it was that lit incense there every day, or how it was kept n such pristine condition although nobody was ever seen visiting.

Legends and folktales circulated, some speculating that it must have been the work of evil spirits or some sort of supernatural being, though no cultivators had ever found any ghost or monster haunting those lands - in fact, the vicinity of the grave was mysteriously un-haunted, like something was keeping evil at bay to protect the small monument. It was even said that, should one find themselves in a dangerous situation, like being chased by thieves or frightened by demons, if they bowed three times by that grave, the danger would pass them by and their life would be spared.

Regardless, it seemed whoever rested there had been loved immensely - because even if it was unknown who tended to the grave, its appearance spoke of great affection and respect. It had been often that people that passed by marveled at it, wishing that they would also be loved so deeply after they pass that their resting place would be kept so beautiful many years after they pass.

Xie Lian had passed by the grave once, in his long, aimless travels in the mortal realm, and had also wondered what kind of person rested there and how kind they must have been to be remembered even long after their language had disappeared and their home had fallen to ruin.

Though, he could not allow himself the luxury to imagine being remembered so fondly or loved this much, knowing his memory had been tainted and his name cursed too much to even dream of such a thing. And death had long been forbidden for him as an escape as well, no matter how much he had wished for it.

So troubled had he been at that time that he had not stopped to look a second longer, and continued on his way, only hoping that, in time, people would at least forget him enough not to hate him any longer.

---

It was many hundreds of years later that Xie Lian saw the grave again, this time at his beloved's side. He had not explicitly asked Hua Cheng about his family, but it had been one night as they held one another that the topic came up, and Xie Lian had opened up about his parents, about his family, about how they died but more importantly, how they lived. It had not been something Xie Lian spoke of easily, but with Hua Cheng, he felt safe enough to share the burden of both his memories and his regrets.

Unlike him, Hua Cheng didn't have too many memories of his parents, as he had run away after his mother died. He could remember his father being a distant man, involved enough to provide basic necessities but absent enough to feel like he was never around. He'd had siblings, but they had never been close, as Hua Cheng had been born much later than them and so they were older and looked down on him, thinking him an accident born of their parents' negligence. There had been much bullying, to the point that he had learned it better to cover his mismatching eye to avoid the mockery of his peers, but that didn't help much either.

It had been unclear to Xie Lian whether that day when little Hong-er had fallen off the wall had been an accident or an intentional decision, and he had not pressed for answers. Part of him did not want to find out that the man that would become his beloved had consciously taken the dive back then, and another part of him knew Hua Cheng did not want him to know either.

So, Xie Lian instead asked about Hua Cheng's mother. She had been a kind woman from the fragments of memory Hua Cheng had of her, and she had loved him very much. She had come from foreign lands with many riches, but it was unclear what had happened to them - they had never been rich and Hua Cheng believed either his father spent recklessly or his siblings had taken advantage of their mother's kindness. Either way, Hua Cheng saw nothing of a comfortable life as a child, but he had not minded the poverty so long as he could take comfort in his mother's love.

But she had fallen ill unexpectedly and spent several months bedridden, and as such, Hua Cheng's father had left her, unwilling to care for his sick wife. Though he had been barely a teenager at the time, Hua Cheng had taken care of her to the best of his abilities - but when the money ran out, so did the medicine, and she wasted away in great pain and torment.

It was Hua Cheng alone that buried her, and her funeral ceremony had been incredibly modest. He visited her grave as much as he could when he was alive, and as a ghost as well. So, when he finally became Hua Cheng, Crimson Rain Sought Flower, and was not Hong-er any longer, he revisited the forgotten gravesite and sculpted a befitting headstone for his mother and made sure that her place of rest would be honored properly as long as he existed.

He had not been able to find her soul, and so he had taken solace in the knowledge that, somewhere in the world, in a different form, his mother's soul had, perhaps, found happiness. But as a dutiful, loving son, he honored her the best way he still could.

Xie Lian gazed at the masterfully carved gravestone and couldn't help a sad, remorseful smile tugging at his lips. He imagined little Hua Cheng crying for his mother, left alone in a cruel world, he imagined Crimson Rain Sought Flower carving her headstone with the same loving care he carved all of Xie Lian's statues.

He lit up four sticks of incense, and bowed to the grave alongside his husband, distantly remembering the tales he'd heard of the peaceful atmosphere that seemed to surround the mysterious grave at the border of the old Xianle kingdom. Perhaps some of it had been Hua Cheng's power and reputation keeping evil at bay. But, though her soul must have reincarnated, Xie Lian wondered whether some of the love remained.

Thank you. Thank you for having loved and cared for the one I love today. And for entrusting him to me, though I have not made it easy for him. Wherever you are, I hope that you can somehow feel that he is loved and he is happy. I will do the best I can for him to always be.

---

"Thank you for bringing me here today, San Lang." Xie Lian spoke after a poignant silence, on their way back home.

"I thought it was time gege met my mother... however, I must ask, had you been here before?"

Xie Lian huffed fondly, Hua Cheng's observant eye having not missed the familiarity in Xie Lian's eyes at the sight.

"A long time ago. I was in passing."

"Gege did not stop."

"No, I didn't... I was... troubled."

It was Hua Cheng's turn to huff. "If you had, I would have found you sooner."

"Such is fate, San Lang." Xie Lian laughed softly, taking his husband's hand in his.

Hua Cheng smiled, sincere and loving. "Then I am glad I could subdue fate enough to finally be able to meet you."

[seattlesea]

From Chapter 11: Family Dinner.

As of now, since 'A Final Gig Named Death' where Copia became Papa Emeritus IV, besides the Pre-Imperatour show at the Target Center, Ghost has done 140 concerts. Counting tonight's ritual in Tennessee, the first Kia Forum show on September 11th will be the 10th show from today. Or the 150th concert, in which no recording is allowed. Have fun with this information :')

[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.

[demigods-posts]

i just thinks it's neat that luke's whole shtick is targeting demigods whose faith in the gods and their environment are weakening. and one of the last people he visits before he turns is annabeth.

[citrinekay]

Episode 5 -> Episode 12

The Worst of Evil (최악의 악) 2023, dir. Han Dong Wook

[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

[sinnbaddie]

Sasuke wanting to kill Kakashi makes a lot of sense when it comes to Sasuke’s view of himself.

Sasuke’s fully content being destroyed by the path of revenge if it means he can reach his goal. We saw that all the way in early OG.

That’s part of why his relationship with Kakashi is so complicated. Kakashi isn’t entirely against the concept of revenge itself (see his support of Shikamaru) but what gets to him the most is the destruction of oneself to complete it.

Itachi tells Sasuke he has to kill his best friend if he wants to defeat him. Even after Itachi dies, Sasuke still tries to fight Naruto, but in the end he can’t (emotionally and physically atp).

Kakashi’s teachings didn’t reach Sasuke because he refused to learn them and when he’s met with him again years later during Sakura’s suicide mission, he’s not only refused to learn them but actively looks down on them. Kakashi’s very core traits go against Sasuke’s line of thinking; “destruction of oneself to achieve a goal is inhumane to your person” Vs “losing one’s self to the path to get to the goal is the only way to achieve it”.

He needed to be rid of Kakashi because his person was proof that his ideology was wrong, but it also aided in his own destruction. I think on some level Sasuke thought he needed to be destroyed since he was the only one left. He had nothing, he didn’t feel like a person and then his teacher saw him as one and he couldn’t stand it.

He felt like he needed to kill Naruto because he was proof that he could love and be loved, killing Kakashi was no different. Both of them saw Sasuke for who he was and he couldn’t have people who saw him as a person - as a living human being - be alive.

Sasuke didn’t want a future, he didn’t want to feel like a kid, or a teenager. He didn’t think he’d live that far and he didn’t think he deserved to.

When I rewatch that scene between Kakashi and Sasuke I don’t think Sasuke is being cocky or arrogant because he thinks he’s better than him, I think how sad his life is that he felt the need to rid one of the two people who saw him as a person worthy of living.