#king do your filial duty

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Heart Sutra ~ Buddha x Goddess! Reader

Gate gate para gate para sam gate bodhi swaha...

"Your pronunciation is getting better, Y/N." King Jataka laid on the grass, underneath a tree, watching the beautiful woman besides him create various models of flower crowns with her magic. "Really? You truly think so?" her charming smile seemed to radiate as bright and warm as the Sun itself. "Yes, I think so. A little more, and you can sing the Heart Sutra perfectly." Jataka found himself smiling also. "Ahh, you are being far too nice, 'Taka." she waved her hand dismissively, returning to her idle work. "Y/N, do you mind if I ask you something?" she hummed, encouraging him to continue. "You are a Goddess. Why have you been staying at my court, disguised as a Bodhisattva?" he asked, deep in thought. Y/N turned her head to look at him properly. "Why, you ask?" Y/N didn't have an immediate answer. "I suppose because it makes me happy." "Does it, really?" he murmured, intrigued. "I think so, yes." she smiled kindly. "Every time I see the smiles of people that I healed, my heart bursts with happiness, and I feel lighter. In this prospect, I suppose that yes, being here, among humans, and aiding them does make me happy." "You are always smiling." Jataka nodded his head, pensive. "You have the most beautiful smile I've ever seen." "Jataka." she called out his name, placing the flower down and leaning back on the tree. "What is bothering you?" "Ahaha... Saw right through me, didn't you? No wonder you're a Goddess governing the nature, peace and serenity. Only someone pure and benevolent like yourself could understand my troubled heart." the King spoke softly. "I am nearing the end of my life, and through this, I have come to realise that although I have done my duty well, made my people happy and that my kingdom is flourishing... You see... I feel... Unfulfilled. I feel... Empty. Like there is something missing. I feel... Deep unrest and... Sadness. As though I am nostalgic over something that I have never had... And never will."

"Your reason for sadness is the very reason over which I took a leave of absence from home, up there." Y/N gently wrapped her arms around the King, placing his head on her lap. "There is no creature alive that can feel happiness over being controlled by a higher being. We blame destiny and duty, or even Gods for out sadness... But the truth is, Jataka... We are the masters of our own destiny, and only we have power over our own lives." Y/N looked away with a sarcastic smile. "If only that were entirely true, huh?" "Lavishing in all these material luxuries, being hidden away from any misfortune, I have been ignorant over what it meant to live." the man sighed deeply. "As I watched the starry skies one night, from the balcony, I realised how vast the skies are - And if the skies are endless, then so must the Earth be. I watched birds fly, unhindered by any restraint, and I realised that I was nothing more than a caged falcon, bound by a rope, never allowed to venture too far. Since my birth, I have been told that I must uphold my duties as a prince - As the future King - And I did everything as best as I could, out of filial love and duty for the people I am responsible for." Jataka felt a sense of relief, feeling the Goddess' hand gently caressing his silvery locks. "Do you think I am selfish, Y/N? For wishing for my own happiness, for once?" "No, Jataka. I do not think you are selfish. Truth is..." though Y/N smiled, it was bitter, and a tear escaped down her cheek. "I am just a little upset that you did not realise it until it was too late." a few more tears followed close behind, surprising the young King. "You are such a good man, Jataka. It always pains me, seeing young men and women like you, who have done only good in their life, and are repaid with only misfortune. I hate how unfair life can be, and I hate that I am unable of meddling with diseases that humans cannot conquer yet. If I were to keep every living being alive, forever, than it would only bring calamity and a disbalance of life." Jataka felt a pang of pain in his heart, realising the emotional woman before him cared so much for him and all the people she governed over - Despite all the births, deaths and rebirths that she's witnessed over the course of aeons, for as long as she has been alive - She still couldn't get over the suffering of loss. "But if I make an exception with you, then I would have to make an exception with everyone, as my heart wouldn't allow me to spare one over the other. A cruel fate, out of which I cannot escape. And you, Jataka, are correct, you are no different - A beautiful song bird, trapped in a golden cage, embellished with the most precious jewels, forced to sing the songs of the nobles, yet unable to break free and witness and experience the world in front of your eyes; Unable to spread your wings and feel the air brushing through your feathers."

Y/N felt two gentle hands cradling her face, wiping away her diamond beads of tears which created blooming flowers where they fell on the ground. Jataka smiled, and kissed her forehead. "Having your love means more to me than anything else in the world." he spoke in a soft voice which mellowed the Goddess' heart further into trembling with emotion. "Though I cannot live the life that I wished, nor live eternal in this mortal husk that my body is - I have a single wish, that only you may fulfill. It is the only thing that can bring me a little comfort. Can you promise me something, please?" "Of course. I will do anything." she placed her hands over his own, intertwining their fingers together. "Please, take care of Siddhartha for me. He is still young and naive, still fooled by the luxuries of the palace. He needs you, the same as I do. He is a good man. Please, care for him the same as you did for me." the two locked eyes, and their hearts came to a deep understanding. A vow was formed, for millennia to come. "I will."

Weeks passed by, and though Siddhartha had no clue that Y/N was actually a Goddess, he enjoyed his time spent with her and Jataka. Ever since she appeared at his Kingdom, quite a while ago, he felt that those two were kindred spirits, in ways that few could accomplish, as though they could understand each other simply through looks and smiles. Or maybe that's how mature adults think. One of the two, he wasn't quite sure. Either way, he often teased Jataka about taking her as one of his wives. He always got scolded when he did.

Y/N wasn't the most talkative, but he always appreciated her care for everyone, including him. All her kind words and sweet actions towards people made the young man want to spend more and more time with her.

At some point, he even came over to her, offering flowers - He had the most innocent, boyish grin - He was so adorable, really. Still, for some reason, Y/N only smiled sweetly at him, kissing his cheek and went away. Though he was flustered, he also felt... Rejected? Maybe his intentions weren't obvious enough? He wasn't quite sure - Not to mention, Jataka just laughed, but gave him no answer. Was he teasing him? Ha!

Jataka's time was nearing its end, and for the first time since they've known each other, Siddhartha was met with a confusing confession for his elder brother figure - The validity of his happiness. Was he happy, truly? Was the material world was the soul's fulfillment was? Or perhaps he was too shallow to realise... Or too inexperienced? Jataka said he realised how much he wanted to see the world and... Live. Alas, he couldn't, not only because of his illness, but because of his duties as a King, trapped in the comforting gold of his kingdom.

He panicked, seeing his older brother's bitter smile, looking into the horizon at the setting Sun, and he felt dread, watching the blood dripping down his hand as he continued to cough.

When the country went into deep mourning, he was shocked not to see Y/N anywhere. She must be glued to the coffin, no doubt. Everyone knew she was the closest person Jataka ever had. As Siddhartha rode towards the kingdom, he saw the people sobbing and weeping for their deceased King.

"The life I lived, who did it belong to, in the end?"

"Do you truly think I am a happy person?"

These questions rung through Siddhartha's mind, as soon as he heard that one assumption - "The king must have been truly happy."

But was he, really? Who's to say he was actually happy? The kingdom's prosperity? The people's well-being? No war, nor famine or plague in the lands he was governing?

At once, Siddhartha came to a revelation. He jumped off his horse, and weeping, he started cackling loudly, making people believe his grief drove him to madness.

As expected, as soon as he entered in the temple, he was met with sobbing people, lots of flowers, and a single woman glued to the King's coffin. Yes, Y/N loved flowers, and consequently, so did Jataka - Hence why Siddhartha gathered a whole basket of field flowers and strutted all the way to the coffin, throwing flowers around.

"Siddhartha...?" Y/N's sweet voice called out to him softly as she rose her crying face to look up at him. "You were right. I understand now, and I admit, you were right." he smiled at her. "I won't say it a second time though." "What are you talking about?" Siddhartha moved his gaze to Jataka, and offered a melancholic smile. "Hey, bro. You 'bout ready to go out of here?" with extraordinary strength, Siddhartha picked Y/N and placed her gingerly on his shoulder, as his other hand held Jataka's coffin. He was completely deaf to all the others yelling at him to stop his mad actions. "Piss off. Whatever Gods you're praying at today - My bro Jataka doesn't need their blessings. Because happiness... Comes from within."

Y/N gasped hearing his bold words - And she started crying. She was proud of him. Afternoon came, and the two knelt on the ground, gazing at the beautiful King amongst the flowers, having his coffin lowered onto the river sheen. "You are free, my friend. Now go and find your happiness yourself." they watched him disappear into the horizon, engulfed into the red rays of the beautiful Sun.

For the first time in the many years since they've known each other, Siddhartha witnessed Y/N offering him her undivided attention. As soon as the silhouette of the coffin was visible no more, she threw her arms around his torso and sobbed like a child. Siddharta smiled, moved that someone cared so much for his bro, and he held her smaller form into his embrace. "Why are you crying so much, you little crybaby? Don't you know - Suffering is only a concept bound to the material world. One day, when we enter Samsara, our souls will reunite with Bro's, and we will be friends again, in our next life - Again, and again, until we reach awakening and attain Nirvana." his words sounded so wise, unlike the childish beliefs of yester-year. "It is alright to upset, the wound is still fresh and ablaze. But Y/N - One should find happiness in remembering the beautiful memories guiding your future, rather than mourning the past." "I am so proud of you, Siddhartha." her words were nothing that he expected, and the young man was taken aback. "You are right. Yes, you are entirely right. If only that life was kinder to benevolent souls like yourself and Jataka." she continued vaguely.

Y/N rose her head to look up at him, a wide smile through her tears. "But, Siddhartha, you see - That truth only applies to mortals. As a Goddess, seeing beautiful souls die so young... Beautiful flowers withering all around you, as the garden you tended with so much love and care dies upon winter... It hurts every time, and no matter how many thousands of years pass, I cannot get over the suffering that loss has on me." Siddharta frowned slightly, confused at her statement. "Goddess, you say? Ha! That's funny." he grinned at her. "You see, I have just come to the realisation that I absolutely despise anything that tries to control my actions. I am a firm believer that we seam the tapestry of our own lives through the choices we make. Now I understand why Bro was so upset last time we met. You knew all this, didn't you, you little minx?" "Of course I did." she huffed lightly. "Siddhartha - Do you hate me for not saving Jataka? Now that you know my identity, you must be very upset that I just let him die." The young man let out an over-dramatic hum, placing his hand to his chin as if to mock thinking, before he popped out a negative answer. At least he retained his childish vitality. "What are you Goddess over, anyway? You healed people. Goddess of Life or what?" "Nature, Peace and Serenity." Siddhartha let out a sound of understanding. "No wonder I and Bro felt so good around you! It's like everything was good around you!" he cackled weirdly. "Must be hard on you, huh?" his theatrical expression turned more gentle and kind. "Having to take care of so many things at once. You know, my wife told me once that she can feel what our child feels. I'm not sure how it works, but it must be similar with you and everything you create right?" Y/N nodded her head, albeit, bewildered at the accurate comparison that he figured out on the spot. "Having to feel the emotion of every living being must be a huge pain in the ass." Y/N giggled in amusement. "I love and care for every living being, Siddhartha. It is like a gardener tending to a flower garden. Every human, every animal, every tree. Everything has life, and their vitality, their energy surges through my veins." she explained, taking a step back. She rose her hands up to take his hair away from his tail, letting it swish with the wind. His hair was so long, that it matches her own. "You dig in the dirt with your own fingers, and you bury the seed of life. Every morning, every afternoon and night, you tend to this seed, and care for it - You water it and fertilize it, protect it from parasites and the harsher weathers. When it comes up from under the first, you see the cutest, littlest sprout, braving to live and grow more. You watch it get bigger, and stronger over the course of many days, until finally, it reaches maturity, and it blossoms into the most beautiful flower." she smiled widely, creating a gorgeous flower crown, which she placed on his head. "But once it reaches maturity, the risk of illness increases. It matures until it grows old. You watch it lose its vibrant colours, the petals fall off one by one, until only a frail stem remains, falling from the faintest breeze, until finally, the roots rot, and the flower is no more." Siddhartha's grim comment about life made Y/N's beautiful gem-like eyes gleam with emotion. "So is life, yes." despite being overwhelmed with emotion, Y/N continued to speak. "Out of all my flowers - Siddhartha, you are my most beautiful lotus flower, and I am most proud of you." the young man blushed in surprised. "Creating humans, creating life - It is the effort of the collective of Gods, not mine alone; But creating, and caring for, is different. I may not be able to look over every living being in this large, large world, but I am most honoured that I was able to meet you and see you grow into such a wise young man."

At once, Siddhartha pulled Y/N into a tight hug, swinging her around enthusiastically. "Awwww, you're the sweetest! You're making me blush!" Y/N was quickly beginning to get dizzy from all the twirling and swinging around from the awfully strong prince. "What did you promise Bro?" "Oh? You knew about that?" Y/N chuckled softly, trying to regain her balance. "I promised that I would take care of you, the same way I did for him." Siddharta grinned widely. "Nope!" Y/N looked at him, a little confused. "I've got a better idea, actually." he brought Y/N at arm's length, his hands placed firmly on her shoulders. "You knew I liked you, didn't you?" Y/N nodded her head. "But a mortal doesn't live long enough, so they can't hang around an immortal, huh?" Y/N's eyes lingered towards the river, before nodding again. "Welp, I've got an idea!" his dazzling smile was more charming than any God. "You see, I want to go on a pilgrimage, all by myself. I want to find myself, and my own happiness. I want to find my purpose. I need to do this alone - Though don't worry, if I am to encounter a like-minded friend, then we will travel together." he spoke. "Will you wait for my return, Y/N? Until I reach my Enlightenment and become an iteration of myself with which I can be proud of?" Y/N smiled dearly at the young man, glowing like the morning Sun. "I will wait for you for as many cycles it takes you to find me again. I hope that, by the time you return, you will have achieved true happiness, and I can see your beautiful smile again. Siddhartha."

The young man smiled brightly before pulling Y/N into a sweet kiss. "Something to look forward to." he gave her a peace sign before walking away. "See ya, Y/N! Laters!" "Have a safe journey, you little troublemaker." Y/N smiled dearly, waving at him. Though life as a God was long and tedious, and relationships were shallow, she felt a pure love like she's never experienced before. Whether she sees the young man again or not, she knew he was going to be just fine.

Since then, Y/N returned to the Gods, continuing her boring life, watching over the nature of Earth from above. Life truly wasn't all that exciting for deities living so long, but once in a while, something big happens - Big enough for the whole foundation of Valhalla to shake to the core.

If a human becoming a demi-God wasn't exceptional enough, considering the bravery and righteousness that Heracles displayed; A man had somehow attained supreme spiritual awakening, and ascended to the title of Buddha the Enlightened, the Wise. A human achieved Godhood.

Siddhartha Gautama

As soon as he saw the Goddess, completely frozen from shock of seeing him in Heavens, he let out a childish squeal and leapt on her, rubbing his cheek on her face as though he's a kitten or something. He told her how much he missed her and what not - Surprise! He even had his own brand of delicious lollipops to share with her! And lots and lots of chocolate too! Oh, and they had so much to catch up!

He told Y/N all about his journey and the people he met, those he guided on their path to achieving happiness, and all the sightseeing he did. Best of all, he reminisced all the awakening he did over the years - And how much he missed her! Haha, a joke - He is always determined to get what he wants, so of course, he was patient. Craving would only bring him suffering, thus the knowledge of knowing the Goddess was there, waiting for him, soothed his worried into a calm peace of mind.

Siddhartha - Now, Buddha - Still felt so giddy, being called by his name. Only Y/N could call him that, of course! No one else had that privilege. The more she spoke his name, the happier he was. Buddha ended up playfully pinning Y/N to the bed, kissing all over her face and tickling her, feeling his heart lighter with every sweet giggle she let. When she couldn't take the tickling anymore, the Goddess wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him flush against her chest; She took off his hair tie once again, and the pretty crown-like accessory holding it in a lotus-like style, and she caressed his locks soothingly. "I missed you." three simple words, yet they had the strongest effect on him. He felt compelled to engulf her in his strong arms, cuddling together, two hearts soulbound for an eternity of spiritual happiness.

Many, many years passed, and Buddha and Y/N were inseparable. Gods may argue, and so do humans, but never once did anyone even see them disagree on anything, let alone argue. Was it the endless patience and compassion of the Buddha, or that Y/N was always too kind to say anything that might upset someone, and detested confrontation; She'd rather walk away, or smile, instead of disagreeing with anyone.

That was their biggest similarity, but also, their biggest difference - Buddha was never one to back away from a fight against someone he couldn't stand - In his case, most of the Gods. Ironic, isn't it, he told Y/N so many times; How one can detest the very being they became, with the same strength that they love another just as much. He was a God who hated Gods, yet a God, who loved a Goddess as much as he loved the happiness and freedom he achieved.

"You have to find your own happiness within you." he told her once, watching Y/N dancing around the forest. Everywhere she stepped, flowers grew. "That may be so, Siddhartha - But my happiness increases whenever I see you." she bent to his side, grabbing his wrists and pulling him up to dance with her. Though all kinds of flowers bloomed wherever she stepped, hence why she always walked with no shoes on; Where Buddha stepped, beautiful white lilies grew. Together, they created endless flower gardens, more ethereal than any other God could make.

One would think eternal bliss was in store for them - Alas, one so connected to Nature as Y/N, was bound to suffer greatly, to the hands of the mankind she cherished so much. Buddha often saw how Y/N would try to sneak away into the forests, all alone. Though he hadn't seen her, he could sense her distress, her agony. After the third time that she refused to confide in him, preferring to keep the problem hidden, the newly Awaken God decided to confront her himself.

Instead, once he arrived at the edge of the forest, he found Y/N collapsed on the grass, writhing in pain. Panicked, he fell to his knees, cradling her in his arms, calling out her name; She seemed feverish and weak, but Gods couldn't contract illnesses, could they? Surely, they can't. He held her tight in her embrace, wishering the Heart Sutra in her ear over and over again, until finally, her breathing evened out, and the pain subsided.

"Pfeww, don't scare me like that, gorgeous! You're going to give me a heart attack!" he collapsed on his back dramatically. "Forgive me... I didn't want you to see me like this." Y/N sighed, rolling on the grass next to him. "I did not want you to see me cursing the humanity that I loved so much." "Humanity caused you this pain? What do you mean?" he turned to his side, his blue water lily eyes widening. "Take a look for yourself." she guided him to the edge of the floating forest. "Look there - They are at war. Countless people are dying all at once, the grass is drowning in blood, the animals are perishing." she sighed softly, before pointing to the opposite side. "And there - The deforestation, the excessive hunting - That whole hill is bare of life and decrepit, all so that humans may build and build and build some more." "Ahh, I see, so I was more right than I realised, though to think it would affect you to the point of being physically ill. My poor, poor baby Y/N!" he threw his arms around her, rolling on the grass with her dramatically. There was nothing that he could do to save her from this - It was the course that humanity took for itself, but perhaps there might be a way to somehow detach her, even by a little bit, from her connection with that which was created. Perhaps, that-a-way, the suffering may subside. Until then, however, he can only distract her with his love and playfulness. It was working wonders.

For thousands of years, humanity existed, with the will of the Gods, until that will was no more. Even Aphrodite herself, disgusted with the state of the world, agreed to decimate mankind. Shocked with the outcome, Y/N was the first to step forward and protest. Though she couldn't see Buddha looking at her, she could feel his presence and his lingering gaze. She wanted to fight for the mankind that destroyed her from within. None of the actions of humanity were directly affecting either of the Gods, except for her for the most part. She was the only one with the validity of voting, and if she wanted mankind to continue living, she had every right to vouch for them.

But they didn't care for her opinions - Instead, they laughed, saying her pain will disappear along with the humans, and she can achieve serendipity. How ridiculous. Thankfully, Brunhilde's plan of inducing Ragnarok worked, and thus, the thirteen fights were to take place.

Worried, Y/N quickly rushed out of the conference room, needing some time alone to regain herself. She was panicking and afraid. True, eliminating the humans was bound to relieve her heart of suffering - But at what cost? There were so many good people, innocent people out there, who did nothing wrong. Why should they perish, for the mistakes of others? Like how Adam and Even were cast away from Heaven, due to the disgusting lies and deceit of the Snake, so will billions and billions of other people suffer eternal Doomsday.

It wasn't fair.

A mother doesn't kill their own child for misbehaving. The Gods were being as selfish as always.

"N'aww, sweet-cheeks, don't tell me you're crying again! You know it breaks my heart seeing you like this!" though Buddha wasn't expecting to be pinned to the wall, Y/N's fingers digging deep into his shoulders. "We can't let them die, Siddhartha! We can't! They are innocent!" Y/N cried out, looking into his beautiful eyes. "Please, don't tell me you're on their side! We can't - We can't let them die! But what can we do? We are so few, against so many of them - And they're all so unreasonable and short-sighted." Buddha felt pain in his heart, listening to the distress of her voice, seeing the glimmering of her eyes. "I know! I'll... I'll fight for mankind! I... I've never fought in my life... But I am the Goddess of Peace. To know Peace is to know War; and to know War, is to know Peace. One must protect that which he holds dear. That's right, isn't it?" "Y/N." he called out in a gentle, calm voice. "Please, calm down." "Siddhartha...?" she found herself calling out his name. "You and I - We are soulbound, aren't we? We want the same thing. And you, more than anyone else in this world, know how much I hate being told what to do." he pulled her into a deep kiss. "And I'll be damned before I allow anyone to make you cry." Her distressed look turned into a content smile of relief, and she snuggled into his arms. "I love you so much." those words never failed to make his heart leap with joy.

Once Ragnarok began, Heimdall would call out the champions of the Gods, while Y/N would call the Mankind warriors to come over. It was the least she could do, apart from encouraging each of the fighters.

Mankind had a staggering two consecutive losses, and each time, Y/N took the short pause between matches to weep and regain herself. Staying in the ring for the duration of the fight, she used her magical powers to create a strong shield for the audience, so that none of the match-attacks would mistakenly harm anyone watching.

She felt sad yet emboldened seeing Lu Bu's tragic death, but also, his horse and brothers in arms asking for death, to be reunited in Niflheim with their General. She saw Thor smile for the first time in his life, after having fought with all of his mind against an honorable and strong member of mankind. Likewise, her heart shattered watching Adam's conviction is protecting his children from perdition, the very same she wished.

Thankfully, the great Sasaki was able to slash to death none other than Poseidon himself; Though not the most agreeable person, she still felt sad to see him gone forever. Alas. Y/N hugged the old man, thanking him for his resilience and strength before picking him up and bringing him to the infirmary.

The same happened with Jack the Ripper, a man despised by all mankind and humanity for being the scum of the earth. Y/N knew better - She knew all of their lives. In truth, though she disagreed with his actions, she pitied Jack, the poor man. He truly was a pitiable one. Unlike Poseidon, Heracles was wept by all, Gods and humans alike, whilst Jack got ostracised, ridiculed and insulted, even having stones thrown at him, despite already being injured. That angered Y/N.

"How dare you speak ill of the man who put his life on the line for humanity to keep living?! He has no descendants, he has no family - He fought for humanity, though he had nothing to gain out of it! He got the recognition of Heracles himself, and tied the score against the Gods with his shrewdness and wit - And yet you dare talk down to him? I don't see you in here, facing the wrath of the Gods who want you dead!" Buddha felt himself cackling from the stand, watching the Goddess pick up a grown man like he was a bride and actively healing him with love and care like none other before. What a darling she always was.

Unfortunately, Mankind lost the 5th match, with poor Raiden dying against Shiva, the God of Destruction. Still, the only good thing coming out of all the matches was that Y/N could sense the fighting Gods getting genuine admiration for the strength, selflessness and righteousness of humanity, beginning with Thor calling Lu Bu his friend, Zeus acknowledging Adam's strength in protecting his kin, Sasaki defeating Poseidon himself, Heracles loving humanity and Jack himself, and Shiva admiring Raiden's power.

And thus, the sixth match was to take place. The doors opened, and two rows of seven pink water lilies appeared - The familiar silhouette of Buddha appeared. Y/N looked at his unbothered face, blowing up bubblegum, his weapon lazily swung over his shoulder. He was smirking, winking at Y/N mischievously, reveling in the spotlight before he stepped by the Goddess' side and pulled her over into his side as he got to where the human representative was to stand.

He spit his gum in Heimdall's hand, snatching away his Gjallarhorn. "Excuse me. Testing. Testing." he spoke into the horn. "Uhhh... I'm gonna fight for Mankind. Ya dig?" the whole arena was in ecstasy. Numerous comments were thrown around, denigrating Buddha as he shattered the horn in his grasp. "Piss off." he pointed with his weapon towards Zeus. "Y'all made my girl cry. Screw you. If the Gods aren't going to save mankind, then I will. And if any God gets in my way..." he slammed the butt of the weapon into the ground, his expression now serious and devoid of any joy. "I'll kill 'em."

He truly is the kind not to take orders from anyone. Though Heimdall tried to press on that he can't switch sides, Zeus himself approved anyway. "Are you prepared to make enemies with all of the Gods?" "Dang, you're such a pain!" Buddha scoffed at Odin, pulling Y/N even closer to his side. "Remember what I said before? Whether you're allies or enemies, good or evil, Gods or Humans, none of that matters!" Buddha was glowing brightly with intense confidence. "In all universe, nothing else matters, except me!"

Such a narcissistic comment, added to the intense frustration of the Gods, made Y/N burst into laughter along with him. Two weirdos. "So, who am I fighting?"

The Seven Fortunes stepped into the arena and fused into a single deity. Vaisravana was no more, and instead, one called Zerofuku appeared. The Eight Gods of Fortune were actually a single entity. This Zerofuku guy was a real weirdo, even for their standards, and he confessed his intense wish to slaughter Buddha with all of his might, as he created his sinister weapons which got bigger and bigger the more misfortune he encountered.

Though Y/N didn't know of Zerofuku's past, he knew Buddha. He was able to take the misfortune of the humans into his own body, until he couldn't any more, only to receive discontempt and realise that those he tried to help were in no way less misfortunate than before. Material luxury and sinful indulgences did nothing to appease the soul. Instead, Zerofuku had to witness strings of people following Buddha in his path to Enlightenment. He got jealous, unable to understand his teachings - Yet somehow, no matter how cryptic or enigmatic Zerofuku found Buddha's words, the other people - Including those whom he helped previously - Began following the Awakened One close behind.

The more Zero attacked, the bigger his weapon grew, for Buddha could see the flickers of his soul and evade all the hits before they even happened. He was even taunting the God, intentionally or not, driving him into a mad frenzy. The few attacks that Buddha threw all landed with tremendous effect, earning cheers and applause from the audience.

Though he couldn't see Y/N reaction, Buddha was sure she was a worrying mess - That's her caring nature, after all - Yet seeing Zero's weapon growing as large as the whole arena, and him not moving from his spot, well - He feared she might be fainting on the spot, like a poor damsel in distress. Well, he'll just have to sweep her off her feet and protect her like the chevalier of light that he is!

Y/N knew, in theory, that Buddha's weapon transformed in each of the Six Paths identities depending on his emotions, and with his being a master at controlling his moods, he could form anything at will, more or less, so she wasn't all that surprised when the weapon transformed into a Shield to block the huge weapon. Still, she almost wished she could see all of the Paths.

Next, he used the Spiked Club of Nirvana, trembling to charge in an attack - And so he did, sweeping to the ground and causing lethal damage on the demon's side. The demon's weapon turned into two swords, to which Buddha made his weapon turn into a large halbert, easily countering every one of Zero's attacks. His misfortune was increasing, and his weapon turned into a multitude of hooks acting like snakes - He retaliated with a Vajra, running around and cutting them away to bits.

"Love yourself!" Buddha encouraged the poor demon. "I actually like you quite a lot, Zerofuku." that comment made the misfortunate one start sobbing and staring at the graceful God, shining brighter than the golden Sun. Zero's anger subsided and he finally understood who he really is, and what he wants from life. His weapon disappeared, and Buddha also threw his own to the ground, proposing an outright fist-fight. What a child, Y/N giggled, watching that playful smirk on his face as he intentionally allowed the pitiable demon to strike him back. Y/N could never image ever letting herself feel physical hurt just for fun - Alas, men were weird, and Buddha especially, was one of a kind.

Zerofuku was on the ground, sprawled, with all his misfortune and anger seeping out of his in a cloud. His purple hair turned pure white, and his blissful grin, that childlike innocence and glee were sparkling in his eyes. Buddha, also, was happy to have helped another worthy person achieve spiritual happiness - Until the horns on either side of his skull penetrated deep into his brain, worming their way inside his body. Zerofuku was engulfed by two dragons, one blue and one red. Buddha could do nothing to safe his new friend. Instead, he was forced to watch Zero disappearing, and a true evil appearing in his stead.

The Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, Papiyas, was reborn.

Buddha immediately leapt back, afraid for the first time, for there was a creature of pure darkness, whom he couldn't read. He hadn't an inkling of brightness in his soul which he could read. Y/N, like everyone else, was trembling from the sheer malevolence of the demon. Terrifying, Y/N ran in front of Buddha, standing protectively in front of him - She knew, if need be, her defense magic was second to none in Valhalla.

There goes this legend about a terrifying foe from Helheim - Hades told her this story once, dating before he was ruled of the Underworld - That this enemy destroyed half of the realm... Or rather, it was lucky enough that even half of it was left intact, to some degree.

Once Papiyas turned his arm into a weapon, Y/N summoned her polearm into her grasp, parrying the attack. The Gods all gasped - It has been thousands of years since they've seen the Goddess of Peace fight. In truth, it was only during the Titanomachy that she fought - To protect her Peace, one must go to War. It was an irony that she had to accept as a true axioma.

"H-Hey, Y/N, it's not your fight! Two people can't fight for a single side!" she heard Heimdall's shaky voice call out. "To hell with your rules, Heimdall! If this freak doesn't die, we're all screwed!" Y/N growled, struggling to push him back, counter and block all of his strikes that came at the speed of lightning. "If Zeus accepted the intervention of the Valkyries for all the other fights, then for goodness' sake, there's hardly any difference, is there?!" "I SHALL ALLOW IT!" Zeus' amused voice called out from the stands, as Y/N leapt back, just a step in front of Buddha. She was breathing heavily from the effort. "Siddhartha, stand back." her overprotectiveness was taking over her senses. "I will fight with my fullest power." Papiyas glared at the two. "THAT WAS YOU HOLDING BACK?!" Y/N cried out at him. "Gosh... Buddha, come over." quickly, Y/N placed a few flowers in his hair. "This will protect you from harm... I hope." she muttered the last bit, watching as Papiyas was preparing a drill-like strike called the Pandaemonium Cycle. Before she could react, Buddha dragged Y/N behind him, pulling his shield up - But the drill was capable of penetrating through it, gouging his left eye out.

"S...Siddhartha...?!" Y/N started, shuddering in distress at her lover's injury. He protected her, while he got his eye drilled into mush. "Don't worry about me, worry about that monster!" Buddha transformed his weapon into the sword away, engaging in an exchange of slashes that barely left a scar on the demon's neck. Buddha had to make adjustments to his attacks, because of his blindspot. fighting with one eye only as he was gradually being whittled down.

"Judgement." Papiyas smirked, impaling Buddha's foot, urging him to leap back once again. Y/N couldn't believe there were idiot Gods out there, begging for Buddha's death - Idiots. The Demon King pointed out Zerofuku was no more - He ate him - Shocking both Buddha and Y/N. What a monster, they thought, and the Enlightened one was feeling even more angered, enough to curse at him. "I've made up my mind. I'm gonna KILL YOU!" Y/N, nor anyone else, ever saw Buddha's wrath. Hopefully, it will serve him and humanity well. His staff transformed into the Hatred Emotion which created a weapon he's never seen before, the Warscythe of Salakaya, which had a menacing head of a roaring lion on it. "Preposterous." Papiyas spat. "For a piece of trash such as you, to defy a supreme being like me... I will waste no time passing judgement! And nothing could be more pleasant than that!" his laugh roared through the whole arena. "Stick that judgement up your ass, you sick fuck!" the audience gasped with the curse of the Goddess as Buddha attacked first with his blade, before unleashing an infernal fire towards the demon.

Blood spilled to the ground, though Buddha was the most confused of all. He was the one who initiated the attack, and it was his blade that cut away at Papiyas' arm. It was him who was supposed to get impaled by the enemy's weapon - So why the hell was Y/N standing before him like a meat shield, while he was unscathed?! "Y/N...?" his single remaining eye was wide with shock, staring at the blood splattering to the ground, and the soft tremble of her body. "The flower protected you." Y/N smiled weakly. "That is my happiness in life. Caring for those I hold dear to my heart." she giggled softly. "How pathetic. Any last words?" Papiyas grunted menacingly. "The whole world shall freeze over before I allow a pathetic little shit like you hurt my children. You, and all the Gods that oppose us - All who wish for mankind's erasure - I will fucking burn you all to death until there's nothing left of you to commemorate your wretched existence." Y/N smirked, grabbing Papiyas' arm and forcing herself through the weapon, sticking her own blade into his shoulder. That pissed the demon enough to kick her into the God behind her, toppling them to the ground. "Never do that again!" Buddha briefly scolded her. "Sorry, love, but I will do that, for as many times as my body keeps holding me. I am not strong, but I am resilient. It is you who can kill him, not me. If you are alive, we can win this. Together." Buddha got up, glaring angrily at the demon. "You have twice more, Siddhartha. That is my limit. After that, you're on your own. Use my power wisely." Buddha understood the implication well enough without any explanation - If he gets careless again, Y/N will die, protecting him. Similar to the story of the Moon Rabbit, so is she; Whilst the monkey, the fox and the bird gathered fruit, mean and nuts for the traveler to eat, the rabbit, knowing it could only gather some grass, threw itself into the fire for the man to eat him. Moved by the selflessness of the rabbit, the traveler, who was actually Sakra himself, made it so that the fire did not burn the rabbit, and instead, created the moon in its liking, and the fumes that would have burnt it, the fog surrounding it.

Still, Siddhartha did NOT want to see Y/N actually killing herself like that; Though an admirable and selfless act, he did not want to mourn her, the way he did Jataka long ago. He had to win. He MUST win.

"You're weak. Way weaker than Zero." Buddha taunted the Demon King into attacking him, and he parried all of his hits for as long as he could, before getting kicked away again. His continuing of the mocking caused the Demon King such rage, that he managed to find the perfect opening through his attack, impaling him again - Only, it wasn't him, but Y/N, much to Buddha's dismay. "Damn it, Y/N! Damn it, damn it, damn it!" he wanted to destroy the last flower in his hair, but he didn't have the strength. "One last chance, Siddhartha. Don't waste it." Y/N felt so weak as she got thrown away to the other side of the arena, rolling to the ground like a used ragdoll. "Y/N!" she heard her lover called out, afraid for her life - But as long as the flower of life was pulsating energy within him, he was reassured she was still alive and continuing to actively heal him.

Buddha continued his plan of mocking the enemy, causing him uncharacteristic fright, to the point that he tore off his arm to create a mighty weapon.

Buddha attacked again, though surprisingly, the blade of his Scythe got cut off and shattered to the ground. "Seriously...?!" he gasped, not having expected his Divine Treasure to break, of all things. He tried to defend with his staff, but that, too, broke, sending him away. He was sent to the ground, crashing down with such force that he couldn't move. "SIDDHARTHA!" Y/N cried, crawling to his side and holding him in her arms. She tried desperately to heal him, but he was unconscious, thus nothing she could do. As Papiyas was menacingly approaching, Y/N used her weapon to hoist herself up, creating a shield to protect the two until he woke up.

Thankfully, Buddha achieved enlightenment once again, and he got up, holding Zerofuku's old weapon. The crown holding his hair together shattered, and his gorgeous hair was shown for all to see. "Thank you, Y/N, Zero. Let's fight together, yes?" Y/N smiled sweetly, seeing him confident once again. "Yeah. Let's." despite her bloodloss, Y/N smiled, preparing her weapon. "Samavadhana Volundr!" Buddha and Zero together created a Divine Weapon that only Buddha could attaint through sublime enlightenment. A gorgeous and strong weapon, containing the strength and feelings of all the Gods of Fortune.

Ready to fight, Buddha kept up perfectly with the Demon King, parrying all of his attacks as strong as never before - And he was grinning, confident and self assured, even managing to inflict massive damage, at the cost of some minor injuries on himself. Still, he had to finish things fast, before either he or Y/N perish. He managed to slash away perfectly at his chest one again, though it wasn't as deep as he'd have liked. The climax was approaching fast. Y/N stepped by his side, holding his hand to transfer the last bit of energy into him, so he could keep going - At this rate, he'd only get more injuries, so at least he must keep his vitality and strength, for as long as it lasts. The one sided exchange of life that only Y/N could gift to another.

No matter how Papiyas continued to attack, Buddha was so fast and accurate that no more hit grazed him. The last ultimate attack of the Demon King - All thought landed, but instead, it was a clone, crumbling in an array of petals. Y/N grinned impishly, pointing behind him, as Buddha was ready to kill the foe.

Just as he turned, the last thing Papiyas saw was Buddha's Godly form, perfect beyond boundaries existent to Godhood, and the sword of light, love and compassion shined bright through the dark arena, slicing down the Demon King in two or three. different parts. It didn't matter that Papiyas tried to attack again, for Y/N slapped his hand away, watching as Niflheim was crumbling him to dust.

Somewhere in the sky, the light of heaven showed the happy soul of Zerofuku and the other Seven Gods of Fortune, ascending to Nirvana - Together, in friendship. Buddha couldn't contain his tears of glee, as he brought Y/N into his side, holding the sword dearly into his grasp. Everyone was chanting Buddha's name as he reveled in his win. The sword disappeared, but a bird that loved Zero sat on it, weeping for the loss of its benefactor.

Barely able to stand up, Buddha used all of his strength to drag Y/N out of the arena - Somehow, he was rather sure she was in a far worse shape than he was, having taken two direct hits like that. Not only that, but the refreshing feeling of the gentle caress that Y/N's energy felt, healing him, was keeping him very much alive and giddy. "You were so cool, Y/N. I didn't know you could do all that." Y/N smiled enigmatically. "They say true strength can be found when protecting that which is dearest to you. The truth is, Siddhartha, that I love you more than anything else is this world. You make me the happiest I've ever been." "Ha! Hear you, all sappy and sweet! Y'know you're gonna make me melt!" he cackled, pulling her into a gentle kiss, afraid of causing her more pain. "Let's get all better and continue rooting for humanity, yes? We've done all we could. The rest is their burden to bear - And I think they've done a pretty damn good job so far, don't you think?" "Hella." when she lost strength in her legs, Buddha immediately reacted, picking her up and cradling her in his arms like a princess. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you did that intentionally." he teased her, kissing her forehead. "If most of my blood was inside of me, and not out in the arena, it would have been intentional." she smirked back at him just as comically.

After getting the much required medical care, they continued watching the matches from the comfort of their chamber, laying on the comfortable, fluffy bed, cuddled in each other's arms. Y/N had tied his hair up again, and instead of his golden crown, she replaced it with one made of flowers. He, in return, caressed her hair until she relaxed completely, singing softly the Heart Sutra for her, for as long as it took for her to achieve a much needed peace.

All things are empty: Nothing is born, nothing dies, Nothing is pure, nothing is stained, Nothing increases and nothing decreases. So, in emptiness, there is no body, No feeling, no thought, No will, no consciousness.

There are no eyes, no ears, No nose, no tongue, No body, no mind. There is no seeing, no hearing, No smelling, no tasting, No touching, no imagining. There is nothing seen, nor heard, Nor smelled, nor tasted, Nor touched, nor imagined.

[only-lonely-stars]

Hair As Gold As Straw (Chapter 5 - Meetings)

[Prologue] // [Chapter 4 of 9] // [Chapter 5 of 9 - you are here!] // [Chapter 6 of 9] – (FFN) (AO3)

Part of the @ninjago-fairy-tale-au!

Summary:

Once upon a time, Princess Vania of Shintaro lived in an ivory castle in an ivory city. Her father, King Vangelis, kept her safe in her tower, where no one could hurt her and she could not hurt herself... until the day when she ran away. A Colania Snow White retelling.

Chapter summary:

One fateful meeting can change many people's futures.

Cole entered the passageway toward the Geckle caverns hastily, seeking to leave the Munce behind in order to find the princess. A flash of white passed through the door at the other end, only visible by the light given off by the mossy stalactites. Cole ran toward it.

"Princess Vania, wait!"

He ran to the door. It was shut tight, heavy on its hinges. He opened it, looking around quickly for her. He saw the Geckle homes on the wall but did not stop to look at them; instead, he followed the flash of white that raced through a smaller corridor out of the cavern. A few short purple creatures tried to stop him, but he pushed through them and followed her.

The princess kept weaving in and out of view as she raced through the tunnels, which slowly became obvious as mines. The stalactites became coated with the glowing plants, and gems sparkled in ever-greater numbers on the walls and ceiling. Cole did not stop to look, however; he raced after the princess and turned corners recklessly, hoping to catch her.

Eventually, they came upon a dead end, where the mine opened up to another natural cave. This cave was nearly bare, with no stones nor moss; instead, it was lit by strange green lanterns. Cole entered breathlessly and immediately stopped.

At the other end of the cave was Vania, looking around frantically for an exit; a cornered animal. Cole hesitated, but he slowly entered with his hands raised.

"Princess Vania?"

For a moment, she was still, but then she turned around, tense. When she him, she relaxed somewhat.

"...That's me."

"Your father sent me to bring you home."

She seemed to bristle. "I don't want to go home."

Cole was puzzled. "Why not?"

"It's not a safe place for me to be." For a moment, the princess looked almost exasperated. "You adventurers seem to have trouble seeing that."

"What do you mean? Did the king do something?"

"He's done a lot of things, most only obvious with separation. Isolating me was only one of them. I won't go back to him."

"I don't want to put you in a position like that," Cole said.

"Good. Then leave me be." Vania stood firm, clearly allowing no argument.

"Wait," he said. "I can't just leave you down here. Can't you explain more?"

So the princess explained to the knight all that had happened to her- her father's isolating treatment, her escape to the tunnels, and meeting the Geckles. Then she said something that caught him off-guard.

"You aren't the first person my father sent to find me."

"I'm not?" Cole and Vania were no longer at such a standoff after her tale, but this make him wary.

"Yes. I doubt he promised you anything different than he promised them."

"Who else has come down here?"

"He started by sending his guards."

-----

A squadron of Shintaran guards were sent below the mountain at the direct order of King Vangelis, tasked with bringing the princess home. They were told she had been lost below the mountain.

The reason for her disappearance was not said, but gossip was rampant. Guards snarked about it all; it was a consequence of negligence. Lieutenant Hailmar had helped her escape, whether because of secret romance or filial love or misplaced duty to her orders. She had fled on her own, slipping past his watchful eye. She had been in the gardens and pushed into the mines, being locked behind the grate by a mysterious figure. She was banished. Every day, a new rumor grew. However, despite whatever the reason was for her disappearance, the guards' orders brokered no argument.

The first squadron descended early in the morning, twenty strong at the outset. By the time they had reached the Geckle and Munce caverns that night, they only boasted eleven, all disheartened due to the loss of their men. They had faced terrible things in their journey below, speaking of horrific monsters and darkness to the princess. One said that he could swear spiders were crawling on him, descending into a frenzy whenever so much as a hair brushed him. However, the princess refused all their attempts to return home, so their leader came to her personally to ask for her return.

"Princess Vania, we came to find you. So far, nine men have been lost to the quest of finding you. Will you not return with us?"

"I cannot, but I thank you for your service. My father is not the man you know him to be, and I must not return."

"What shall we say to him when we return without you?"

"Tell him that I cannot be found."

Such was the way they returned to the surface, and a second squadron was sent out. This one fared better than the first, ending up with eighteen men when they reached the princess. They spoke of a rushing river and untrustworthy floors, which led to two men's deaths. Their leader came to speak with Vania.

"Princess Vania, we must bring you home. Eleven men so far have perished to find you, and nine of those deaths were futile. Come back to the surface with us."

"I cannot come back with you. My father is a wicked man, intent on using me for his own purposes."

"Surely the king will understand when you return, now knowing what it is like to lose you?"

"I thank you for your loyalty, but I cannot be sure. Go home, officer, and tell him I cannot be found."

The second squadron left the caverns, and Vania was left in peace. She did not meet any more Shintarans for a little while. In time, several more squadrons came to her, each of their leaders speaking to her urgently.

"Princess, we lost twelve men to a rushing river. For their sakes, you must come home!"

"Your highness, my brothers in arms have suffered for this journey, falling into the darkness in these caverns. Will you not return with us?"

"Princess Vania, you have not come home despite all our efforts to bring you to safety. Why do you stay here?"

Despite every plea, Vania refused to return to Shintaro, the ivory city. She spoke to each officer and each guard, having compassion. She eased their nightmares and took care of them, making them comfortable as they rested for the return journey. She thanked them, too, and each swore to keep the secret of her location. Each squadron left the caverns, and Vania was eventually left in peace when no more were sent.

-----

As the princess finished her tale, she addressed another subject.

"The guards were not the only ones to come, either. There were also three adventurers like you."

"They found you too?" Cole asked, knowing it was not much of a question.

She nodded. "They did. They are living in the Munce caverns, while I live with the Geckles. So far, they do not want to leave."

Cole considered these things. "This is not what I was told when I was sent down here. The king did not tell me any of this. I'm sorry, your Highness."

She looked surprised, but took his hand comfortingly. "You don't have to be sorry! My father is a skilled liar; I simply did not see it. He knows full well how to hide the truth."

"That's clear enough for even a stranger to see." Cole turned her hand over in his, rubbing it gently as if to soothe her or himself, and thought about all she had said. She smiled and waited for him to speak, and finally, he did.

"Could I meet the others that were sent?"

Vania nodded. "I will lead you to them. However, you must know that their opinion is no different from mine."

"Regardless, it will make it more clear." He stepped before her. "Princess, your father did not say you ran away. He asked me to save you. I see now he was wrong; you need no saving."

"You are correct." She took his other hand, holding them gently as their roughness brushed against her, so different from her soft, royal hands. "You are not like the men my father feared, are you?"

"I do not think so," he said, slowly and consciously retracting his hands. "You are a princess; who am I to order you to come back to the surface?"

"A good question." She stood and turned to go. "Come with me, I will show you the way."

Cole followed her through the tunnels as she led him, with her following indistinct tunnels like the back of her hand. They passed through caves and caverns, tall and short spaces, light and darkness, all of which she navigated with the ease of someone who had known them all her life. Eventually, she led him to the open cavern where he'd seen her disappear, with the tall doors shut so tightly.

"These are the Geckles caverns. The Downly live here, with me and the Geckles and Chompy. They are likely mining right now."

"Why do they mine? There's plenty of stone all around."

"To open up more caverns. The natural passageways are never enough, and the stone and gems are useful for building. Now, come." She led him into the mine.

They walked for a time before they came upon a group of miners; a mix of the Geckles and Munce, with a dragon hopping about on the floor. At the front of the pack, three humans paved the way by digging out the very tip of the tunnel.

"These are my friends: Murt, Mimble, Molt, Gleck, Grit, and Gipper. The dragon is Chompy." Said creature came to her cheerfully, and she lifted it in her arms, such that it could nuzzle her chin. "He doesn't do any work."

Cole smiled, hesitantly petting the dragon. "Nice dragon…" Vania smiled mischievously and put Chompy in his arms, where he settled and made himself comfortable on the knight's shoulders. Cole watched it nervously. "I don't think this is a good idea."

Vania laughed. "Nonsense! He won't hurt you. The dragons in Ninjago may, but not him." She petted the dragon once more and then led Cole to the humans, and all the while the dragon stayed upon him. She tapped the shoulder of the one with a large hat.

"Fungus, another one has come," she said to him. He turned to Cole and then smiled widely.

"Oh, I see! Welcome, stranger." He nudged his companions– a brutish redhead and a thin roguish one, drawing their attention. "We are the Lowly."

Cole greeted them with a hesitant bow, trying not to drop Chompy. "It's good to meet you."

"You too," the thin one said. "I'm Plundar; these are Fungus and Korgran."

"Korgran is glad to meet you," the other one said.

"You've come for the princess?" Fungus asked.

"Yes, her father sent me."

"He sent us too," Plundar said. "Never sent anybody to look for us, though."

"Korgran abandoned below. The king does not care about the Lowly."

"He asked you to come here?" Cole asked. "He never told me about you, or the guards."

"Of course he would not," Fungus explained. "He would not want to dissuade you, my friend. He wants to return his daughter to his custody more than you know." Vania nodded at this statement. "Shintaro isn't a good place for her."

"That's what she told me," Cole said. "I don't understand. Shintaro is beautiful and safe, and the king wants to protect her. Princess, why would that be bad?"

"He's possessive," Plundar chimed in. "He thinks she's too strong-willed."

Vania shook her head. "My father believes I am a poor heir, too proud and unlike him. He expects I will hurt myself, or worse, destroy his legacy." Vania frowned. "It took escaping to understand that."

Cole paused for a minute, considering all these things. "What should I do, then? I have to go back up."

Chompy gave Cole a dismissive look and leaped off his shoulder, going to weave around Vania's feet. He watched them all as they considered the question.

"Do you? Korgran did not leave," Korgran interjected. "The Lowly are happy here."

"I can't stay," Cole repeated. "And the princess can't either."

Vania nodded. "He's right; I have to go back to the surface. What do we do about my father?"

"You don't have to go to him," Cole said. "You could leave and go somewhere else until it's safe."

"What do you mean? I would go with you?" she asked, looking at him with wide eyes. "Where would we go?"

Cole's heart beat hard in his chest. "Anywhere safe." He met her eyes, unable to avoid noticing how vulnerable she seemed.

"Then it's settled," Fungus said, interrupting them and breaking the moment. "We will go with you, too."

"You will?" Cole asked.

"We can get up a lot easier with a bigger number," Plundar noted. "May as well go together; my mom's waiting for me up top anyway."

"Korgran misses home. All he brought with is his axe, which does not talk." Korgran hefted his pickaxe. "Pickaxe is no good substitute."

"Indeed. In fact, you can call us the Upply now!" Fungus cried, sweeping off his hat. "In honor of our journey."

Vania smiled at them. "Very well. We will go back aboveground together in the morning." She leaned down and patted Chompy. "Cole, you should stay with the Upply. I have to say goodbye to the Geckles and Munce."

Cole nodded. "Thank you, princess." He hesitated for a moment. "I'll keep you safe," he added.

"I know," she said. She picked up Chompy and put him back on her shoulder. "You knights really are as the stories say." With that, she left and walked out of the mine, stopping frequently to talk to different Geckles and Munce. Her fading presence left no room for argument, but Cole found himself unable to speak.

He watched her go, but eventually Cole turned back to the Upply. "Let's go, then."

[lokislytherin]

lookism x percy jackson

look i KNOW i should stop coming up with au ideas but. i thought of a way to write that soldier poet king au and it’s a lookism x percy jackson universe

the original song was technically about recovering from abuse, and i’ll put the summarized / paraphrased / slightly changed interpretations here so it doesn’t clog up space where my notes are

soldier: physically remove the abuser and trauma they caused 

poet: provide rationale against the abuser to fight their influence

king: show kindness and love to overcome aftereffects of abuse

SOLDIER: CHOI SOOJUNG

original lyric: there will come a soldier // who carries a mighty sword  // he will tear your city down // oh lei oh lai oh lord

daughter of zeus: canonically daughter of one of the most powerful men ever, father has other ‘kids’ (10 geniuses are zeus’ adopted children)

my interpretation of soldier: listens to father’s instructions, the gods’ number 1 supporter, would destroy you if the orders were given to her because it’s her duty and duty is unavoidable and inevitable

soldier with og meaning: would remove any threats to the people she cares about, not afraid to get blood on her hands for law and order

weapon of choice: sword, lightning

POET: PARK HYUNGSEOK

original lyric: there will come a poet // whose weapon is his word // he will slay you with his tongue // oh lei oh lai oh lord

son of aphrodite: the signature Beautiful Guy (dg is son of apollo probably), loved by everyone, not the best at fighting but gets better

my interpretation of poet: weapon is his word because he’s a son of aphrodite he can literally charmspeak people into doing whatever the hell he wants once he learns how to do it well, slay you with his tongue bc aphrodite forced him to learn how to french kiss like irina jelavich from assassination classroom

poet with og meaning: able to confront the truth for what it is, understand it and overcome it, calm and capable of talking people down from fights

weapon of choice: bow, shapeshifting

KING: HONG JAEYEOL

original lyric: there will come a ruler // whose brow is laid in thorn // smeared with oil like david’s boy // oh lei oh lai oh lord

son of hades: not hades / hong kyeongyeong’s favorite child, but definitely is the most powerful one, inherited the most of hades’ abilities

my interpretation of king: the most powerful in terms of fighting ability & authority (let’s face it soojung is not zeus’ fav kid even though she’s the only true half-blood daughter instead of having diluted zeus blood), he’s also the one who’s most experienced with godhood so he’s the one people go to to ask what’s the ‘right’ decision

king with og meaning: if he loves you he’ll be the kindest person you’ll ever meet, would sacrifice everything and/or be a martyr if it means safety

weapon of choice: scythe, physical shadows

PLOT

prophecy: do NOT ask me to poetry right now but it basically implies hyungseok is going to destroy the gods (aka the four crews / 1st gen / pre gen), soojung and jaeyeol are also involved in the prophecy, states that one of them will die but nobody knows who. naturally they get forced to go on a quest together

expectation: soojung and jaeyeol will kill hyungseok because they’re children of the big three and hyungseok is just a nobody who got abandoned at birth and grew up with a poor mortal + he’s going to destroy their parents and they should have some filial piety right

plot twist: well guess what jaeyeol and hades are not on the best terms, jaeyeol literally would not care less if the gods got kicked off their pedestals, somehow he and hyungseok befriend each other and jaeyeol falls for him but hyungseok is oblivious. hyungseok is still hoping the prophecy has a double meaning and has 0 idea about jaeyeol’s feelings the whole time, jaeyeol gets bullied by aphrodite. actually hyungseok likes jaeyeol too but he’s scared of being bullied by aphrodite / jaeyeol hating him when he finds out / dying, so he doesn’t tell jaeyeol anything

reality: somehow someone tricks hyungseok into cursing jaeyeol and soojung to fight each other, the gods are already kind of in panic because hyungseok is pretty op by now but jaeyeol doesn’t want hyungseok to die at the end of the prophecy so he lets soojung kill him, but this is precisely the reason why hyungseok goes ballistic and destroys the gods

ENDING

we could have the good ending or the bad ending what would you prefer

bad ending: hyungseok destroys the gods but gets mortally wounded in turn, he dies hand in hand with jaeyeol and the furies rip their souls to shreds so they will never be reborn but at least they’re dead together. soojung tries her best not to get crushed under the guilt and grief of losing two of her closest friends

good ending: hades pops up at the end like damn ok. you had your character development. i guess it’s time for me to start my good dad arc. and then revives jaeyeol, so basically the gods get bullied by a half-mortal twink trying to protect his not-boyfriend who was un-alived and has now been re-alived. the prophecy works out bc nobody said dead people couldn’t come back to life + the gods got rekt that counts as being destroyed

will i write this au? i don’t know! will it be fun to write? oh absolutely

[fideidefenswhore]

do we know much about fitzroy's relationship with his stepmother? i remember reading something about how he didn't like her and returned or exchanged a horse she had gifted him.

Well, assuming you mean AB bcus Jane was his stepmother for all of, what, weeks before he died and as such I don't believe there's any record of gifts between them (although it is possible that Jane knew of him more than your average courtier, since Edward Seymour had been his Master of the Horse);

I don't think exchanging a gifted horse indicates much of anything outside of he simply didn't care for the horse, given that Fitzroy did the same with his own, actual mother?

"Bessie chose to make him a present of horses, demonstrating a level of awareness in his interests. They were not an altogether successful gift, however, with the boy exchanging one of the horses with his chamberlain for a gelding [...]"

Bessie Blount: Mistress to Henry VIII / Norton, Elizabeth

This idea of animosity between the pair has been popularized by Weir's rather disengenous characterization of the quote "'a malign smile seemed to pass over the features of the young duke' during the proceedings" (apparently, her execution, since he wasn't present at the trial) as simply one from a "later account", the implication being something as touch-and-go verifiable, two-generations removed as George Wyatt or maybe the Spanish Chronicle...would it surprise you to know how much 'later' the 'account' of the event was (1...8...7...9)?

Discluding her fall there's really not much we know about their relationship. Even including that, despite Chapuys' report, he either didn't believe Fitzroy's response to his father's assertion that Anne would have poisoned him was worth posterity, or, more likely, he didn't give one. Presumably he believed him and attended her execution, but should we read much more into that than filial, even sacred (when your father's King, it's both) duty? He was also constrained to attend the executions of the Carthusian Martyrs in 1535, and no one reads into that the same way, in fact the preeminent biographer of his mother, Norton, suggests that his maternal family was more inclined towards traditionalism than Reform.

Certainly there's no reports of Anne disparaging him, or not wanting him in her company, nor, until May 1536, of attempts to poison him, like there were for her stepdaughter. He seems to have been somewhat of a fixture at court, but then, he was married to one of her ladies (something it seems she arranged and that Chapuys did suggest was to 'reduce' his status, but he said the same about the Earl of Surrey's marriage by her machinations and was wrong on that account, too, a daughter of a Duke wed to a Duke was entirely appropriate). Despite that he, at the least, overtly conformed where her stepdaughter didn't, it's probably safe to assume Anne was, on some level, wary of him (he wore purple, members of his household referred to him as "the prince", etc.); and maybe that went both ways (he complained with "perhaps a hint of disgruntled petulance" when his property of Collyweston was taken from him and granted to Anne, although he was politic enough to vent to Cromwell, not his father directly). If they were, they were both smart enough to bury resentment or suspicion of the other under courtly politesse.

[casualmelody]

Patriarchal Ruin

CW: Murder, Physical Abuse Mention, Self Harm Mention, Angst ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The seas of Japan were always beautiful, especially during its winter months. The ningyo had always held ties with the Jiaoren kingdom, and Xingshen could remember these cold months spent playing with the children of nobles during visits here. That’s how she knew he would be here. With night upon the land, she slowly swam to that familiar summer manor. She knew its halls well. She tried to suppress the sounds of a delighted child’s laughter that came to memory, but the ghosts of the past were vocal tonight, especially when soon one more would join their ranks if all went to plan. The princess finally reached the master bedroom. She leaned her ear fin towards the door, and once she heard the deep breathing of the occupant on its opposite side, she slowly pushed it open. The room was luxurious: thick ornate carpets, walls painted the richest of yellows and reds, bed covered in the most expensive of brocade comforters and silk sheets. Upon the many pillows rested a very old-looking Jiaoren, illuminated by dim lamps in the corners of the room. His long hair was loose and more gray than its usual ebony, and his face was deeply lined. Unlike his glory days of active constant combat, his body was now thinner and less muscled as if he had aged many centuries in just a few years. Xingshen stared at him as time ticked by. She heard a benevolent voice in her consciousness: “Do not do this.”She ignored the voice as she slowly pulled the dagger from her sleeve. If the voice did not want to appear before, when she desperately had need of it, she refused to heed it now. “You do not truly want to do this. The regret will haunt you for the rest of your days. How many nights have you said that you seek me and my blessings? Yet now you ignore me when I speak directly with you.” Again, Xingshen ignored her as the dagger glinted in the dim light of the room. She felt tears going down her face as she stared at the man who so made her life hell from the moment she was born. The voice blasted through her mind, though it did not raise in volume: “I warn you, Xingshen. If you do this you will turn from my path.” “You above all others know why I must do this.” Xingshen whispered, now with the blade raised overhead. For the briefest of moments, she did pause. Could she do this? Would she do this? Would this not make her the very tyrant she thought to slay this night? But her mind went to the scars across her back that this very blade had caused during nights where the old king’s crimes played repeatedly in her mind. With a vengeful cry, she plunged the blade into the merman’s chest, stabbing over and over and over even as his body jerked. She didn’t know how many times she stabbed him, she only stopped when her hands were too soaked with red to hold the blade. As she held the blade now firmly in his chest, she sank to her knees, sobbing. It was over…it was all over. She knew the goddess would appear even before she heard that beautiful voice. “He did not have to fall, Xingshen. I warned you. Explicitly. You ignored my warnings, and now you must answer for this crime.”

Xingshen released the hilt of the blade, turning to face the Bodhisattva Guanyin. She was far past composure now, her white dress splattered in blood. In a desperate, hysterical tone she shrieked, “How could I act any different?! Look at me! LOOK AT WHAT HE HAS DONE TO ME!” Guanyin did not respond, only looking upon the princess with a blank expression. With the silence, Xingshen moved her skirt, showing her heavily scarred legs. “Wounds gained from fighting his battles! This is what your “filial piety” has rewarded me with! As a son, was I not dutiful? Did I not remain true to his twisted ways even as we defied and battled against one of Heaven’s most sacred creatures? I was sixteen, Bodhisattva, and younger still at the first violation! I cannot help what I have become, what he has molded me to be! Where were you then? How dare you appear to me now?! Where were you centuries ago when this all started? Or the near decade ago when the kingdom fell and I was left to die?” She let the skirt fall. As she spoke, her voice had grown until it filled the room, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed all the more. “You should be grateful the Celestials are not punishing you, and that they have not named you a demon. I see you for what you really are and interceded on your behalf.” The Bodhisattva’s hand moved forward, gently holding Xingshen’s cheek. At this, Xingshen only cried harder, feeling the maternal warmth her broken heart had always craved in simple touch alone. “You have suffered deeply, but that does not give you the right to commit one of the worst sins imaginable. Thus so is my judgement: You are to learn what it is to receive that which you denied your father...mercy. Am I correct in assuming you wish to repent for the atrocities I just witnessed?” Xingshen’s hands wrapped around the immortal’s that still held her cheek. In a broken voice she whispered, “All I ever wanted was to be loved.” “Then let this be your final chance. On the surface there is a country called Womanland. Its populace worships me devoutly and is full of the love you so seek. Go there. Serve the people. Remain true and humble, then perhaps you will begin to pay back the debt of the life you stole. If you feel as though you waver on your path, call upon me. You will know I am with you.” Xingshen closed her golden eyes, feeling the warmth of a mother’s love slowly filling her entire being. When she opened them again, the Bodhisattva was gone, leaving only her and the Jiaoren King. Without looking at the corpse, Xingshen rose and fled the manor before any servant could wake from her lullaby curse. She thought of the immortal’s words, feeling the lingering warmth that nestled in her heart. If this was a chance at a better life, Xingshen would take it. She had not a thing left to lose.

[stoicbreviary]

Chuang Tzu 4.3

Tsze-kâo, duke of Sheh, being about to proceed on a mission to Khì, asked Kung-nì, saying, "The king is sending me, Kû-liang, on a mission which is very important. Khì will probably treat me as his commissioner with great respect, but it will not be in a hurry to attend to the business. Even an ordinary man cannot be readily moved to action, and how much less the prince of a state! I am very full of apprehension. 

"You, Sir, once said to me that of all things, great or small, there were few which, if not conducted in the proper way, could be brought to a happy conclusion; that, if the thing were not successful, there was sure to be the evil of being dealt with after the manner of men; that, if it were successful, there was sure to be the evil of constant anxiety; and that, whether it succeeded or not, it was only the virtuous man who could secure its not being followed by evil. 

"In my diet I take what is coarse, and do not seek delicacies—a man whose cookery does not require him to be using cooling drinks. This morning I received my charge, and in the evening I am drinking iced water—am I not feeling the internal heat and discomfort? Such is my state before I have actually engaged in the affair—I am already suffering from conflicting anxieties. 

"And if the thing do not succeed, the king is sure to deal with me after the manner of men. The evil is twofold; as a minister, I am not able to bear the burden(of the mission. Can you, Sir, tell me something to help me in the case?" 

Kung-nì replied, "In all things under heaven there are two great cautionary considerations—the one is the requirement implanted in the nature; the other is the conviction of what is right. 

"The love of a son for his parents is the implanted requirement, and can never be separated from his heart; the service of his ruler by a minister is what is right, and from its obligation there is no escaping anywhere between heaven and earth. 

"These are what are called the great cautionary considerations. Therefore a son finds his rest in serving his parents without reference to or choice of place; and this is the height of filial duty. In the same way a subject finds his rest in serving his ruler, without reference to or choice of the business; and this is the fullest discharge of loyalty. 

"When men are simply obeying the dictates of their hearts, the considerations of grief and joy are not readily set before them. They know that there is no alternative to their acting as they do, and rest in it as what is appointed; and this is the highest achievement of virtue. 

"He who is in the position of a minister or of a son has indeed to do what he cannot but do. Occupied with the details of the business in hand, and forgetful of his own person, what leisure has he to think of his pleasure in living or his dislike of death? You, my master, may well proceed on your mission. 

"But let me repeat to you what I have heard—In all intercourse between states, if they are near to each other, there should be mutual friendliness, verified by deeds; if they are far apart, there must be sincere adherence to truth in their messages. Those messages will be transmitted by internuncios. But to convey messages which express the complacence or the dissatisfaction of the two parties is the most difficult thing in the world. 

"If they be those of mutual complacence, there is sure to be an overflow of expressions of satisfaction; if of mutual dissatisfaction, an overflow of expressions of dislike. But all extravagance leads to reckless language, and such language fails to command belief. 

"When this distrust arises, woe to the internuncio! Hence the Rules for Speech say, ‘Transmit the message exactly as it stands; do not transmit it with any overflow of language’; so is the internuncio likely to keep himself whole." 

[inquisitorismone]

lucy's canon world state - dao codex entries

might do a couple of these for each post-game world state to flesh out the kinda unique things that come out of my canon!

cousland warden, made anora solo queen at the landsmeet, had alistair & morrigan do the dark ritual because she couldn't stand the idea of anyone else she cared about dying<3

Traitor’s Fate (Unique Item) This goblet was once the favored cup of the Teyrn Highever, Fergus Cousland, fashioned from the skull of the traitor Rendon Howe. The cup is lined with refined stoneheart, refracting light into shimmering pink and green when wet, and the sockets for the eyes are filled with dwarven rubies, gifted by King Harrowmont of Orzammar. Those loyal to House Cousland will travel for a hundred miles just for the chance to sip from the traitor’s skull and pledge their loyalty to Teyrn Highever.

On the Matter of the Traitor Loghain Mac Tir By the proclamation of Her Royal Highness Anora Mac Tir, under the banner of Ferelden’s First Regiment at the Royal Palace of Denerim, according to common law and practices under the Chant of Light: In recognition of the Hero of Ferelden’s unique circumstances and her heroic deeds during the Fifth Blight, Queen Anora has permitted the temporary remittance of the remains of her father, the Traitor Loghain Mac Tir, into the property of Fergus Cousland, Teyrn Highever.  It is the Queen’s greatest desire to honor the memory of her father in the way befitting of a daughter’s duty. She humbly requests the return of the remains of the Traitor Loghain Mac Tir before the end of the harvest season, so that she may place him to rest in accordance with Chantry rite. The Queen is eager to assure Teyrnir Highever that no special honor will be afforded towards the burial site. As appropriate to his status as a Traitor, the grave of Loghain Mac Tir will be unmarked and unhonored. The Queen seeks only to fulfill the filial duties required of her as his only child. Special dispensation will be required If the remains of the Traitor Loghain Mac Tir are not remitted to the Royal Palace by the end of harvest season.  -royal proclamation declared to Teyrnir Highever by order of Queen Anora (9:32 Dragon)

The Ferelden Prince-Consort Across northern Ferelden and the Bannorn, where loyalty to House Cousland runs deep, he is sometimes referred to by his subjects as the Widower King - despite the fact that his wife lives and he is, according to royal standards, not a king at all. There are many rumors surrounding Fergus Cousland: that the Hero of Ferelden introduced him to Queen Anora at the coronation, and the spark was instant; that he was forced like a reluctant daughter into a political marriage by his own sister in a blind play for power; that his children with Anora are all bastards, or products of blood magic. The truth is far simpler. He married Queen Anora to avoid civil war, and accepted a title secondary to his wife for his own sake. As King, the hereditary Cousland lands would have been absorbed into the Crownlands. As Prince Consort, he retains his rights to Teyrnir Highever. His eldest daughter will become queen; his second will become teyrn when she comes of age. In Denerim and Gwaren - her father’s old stomping grounds - Queen Anora is adored. The widow and the widower, a match made by the Maker. Their grief unites them, the people say. Personally I have never known grief to do any such thing. He is no Cailan, Your Majesty, but his loyalty is first to his living children, second to Highever, and third to his sister and therefore to the Grey Wardens. The peasantry of Highever, Redcliffe, and Amaranthine still hold wild dreams that the Hero of Ferelden will return and seize the throne from Loghain Mac Tir’s daughter. At your command, pressure can be applied - discreetly. -a report on Ferelden loyalties as delivered to Empress Celene by her spymaster (9:40 Dragon)

[monoman1c]

Claudius. 'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, To give these mourning duties to your father; But you must know, your father lost a father; That father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound In filial obligation for some term To do obsequious sorrow. But to persever In obstinate condolement is a course Of impious stubbornness. 'Tis unmanly grief; It shows a will most incorrect to heaven, A heart unfortified, a mind impatient, An understanding simple and unschool'd; For what we know must be, and is as common As any the most vulgar thing to sense, Why should we in our peevish opposition Take it to heart? Fie! 'tis a fault to heaven, A fault against the dead, a fault to nature, To reason most absurd, whose common theme Is death of fathers, and who still hath cried, From the first corse till he that died to-day, 'This must be so.' We pray you throw to earth This unprevailing woe, and think of us As of a father; for let the world take note You are the most immediate to our throne, And with no less nobility of love Than that which dearest father bears his son Do I impart toward you. For your intent In going back to school in Wittenberg, It is most retrograde to our desire; And we beseech you, bend you to remain Here in the cheer and comfort of our eye, Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son.

Gertrude. Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet. I pray thee stay with us, go not to Wittenberg.

Hamlet. I shall in all my best obey you, madam.

Claudius. Why, 'tis a loving and a fair reply. Be as ourself in Denmark. Madam, come. This gentle and unforc'd accord of Hamlet Sits smiling to my heart; in grace whereof, No jocund health that Denmark drinks to-day But the great cannon to the clouds shall tell, And the King's rouse the heaven shall bruit again, Respeaking earthly thunder. Come away.

Flourish. Exeunt all but Hamlet.

WAKE UP BABE HAMLET ANON IS ON ‼️‼️‼️

[fanfiction-artist-prototype]

You're still a boy; it's only been two years since your brother died and you've just about gained the right to look your elders in the eye and it not be taken as cheek, but here you are.

Here you are, sixteen as of yesterday, surrounded by fated heroes and unsure as to how you're going to keep last nights dinner down as you rush through the demon lords palace with a sword too big for you, said companions voices fading into the general cacophony of battle as they break the line and allow for you to slip away, in search of the one you must fight.

They all think you're just a short eighteen year old, because your brother was only two years older, and mother said you looked similar enough to pull off being his twin and so when the farm got destroyed you took his place. Mother had bawled, telling them they'd gotten the wrong child, that no child of destiny resided in the ashes of the barn, but you lied and went anyway. Your brothers body was beneath the charred wood of that same barn you'd been in when you told them 'your' name. Nobody could know the fated hero had died; it was treason.

Your mother would have a fate worse than death if anyone found out, and you couldn't allow that! Even if the idiot had gotten himself gorged by a boar trying to impress some random village boy, it would still be deemed Mother's fault and you were a filial child. You'd keep your family safe. You had been for the few years he'd been dead before the heroes arrived and so it was easy to transfer that duty to the kingdom.

Brother had taught you everything he knew, and you'd kept pace with him - always saying that perhaps it was because you were going to be a heroic companion that the fates allowed you to match his pace. It was a cruel joke when fate revealed that you were simply plan B.

Broken from your thoughts you duck down, sword scraping against the cobbled floor at the same time the axe that had been aiming for your neck shrieks against the wall, leaving a deep angry gash for your wide eyes to tremble at. A noise must leave your mouth, though its been sealed shut behind the too-big helmet that had been shoved onto you last minute by a faceless knight who you think knew you were much too young for this.

The thing, now revealed to be the demon king you've come here to fight, tilts its head at you. There's no 'face' on the thing, it's this pitch void with flickering red and gold light somewhere in the impossible depths you look into, a animalistic hulking frame lugs the axe back onto its shoulder.

You realise then, you're on your knees, clutching the pomle of your blade in ill-fitting armour, and you pose no threat to this thing.

"They said the fated hero was dead."

It doesn't speak with a singular voice, instead what comes out of it is several human voices overlapping, each starting the sentence slightly slower or quicker than the others (you think you know those voices), with an undercurrent of what you recognize as the croaking of insects you'd hear in the early night hours at home on the phone, there's a growling quality to the whole thing as well, like a dog. They warned you the demon king would play with your mind, but you didn't expect to hear the voices of your friends, your mother and your brother.

It's head tilts to the other side, and you do nothing but grip tighter to your sword - to your brothers sword.

"They have sent a mouse to fight a God." it muses, "Little boy speak, tell me the name of the fool they sent in a dead mans place."

If you were anyone else, you wonder what it would be like hearing those words - some sad sack would probably have been told they were the hero, some random kid or man would believe that and if they somehow survived and got here everything would be revealed to be a lie. You wonder how that would feel; knowing that the hero had died long before you were sent to be the blood sacrifice, the hopeful distraction so that those who were important could run away?

"..."

Your name sticks in your throat.

You could say your brothers name, try and bluff even though you both know the real one is dead, or you could give another name one that isn't yours or your brothers, or you could be truthful. It's a demon, it can probably tell when you're lying.

Demons like Fae can probably do something to you once they have your name. But you're not the real hero, so there won't be any godly connection to exploit, and you aren't half the hero anyone in the lower levels of the castle are. You're just a stupid little farm boy who learnt to use a sword because you desperately wanted what your brother had; you wanted to be brave, to be strong, you wanted everything that came with being the chosen hero - you wanted mother to look at you too, you wanted Father to make time to return from the city for your birthday too; you wanted people to smile when they saw you because you were you and not because you were his brother. You didn't want to be the spare.

And now, you're nothing more than a little farm boy holding another dead farm boys sword, taking what you wanted under the guise of being the boy you always hated and loved in equal measure.

"Well?" The thing isn't even taunting you it's just bored, the lack of approaching noise signifies how alone you are, because why does the chosen hero need help in his final battle with his nemesis?, "Did they chose a mute boy so you couldn't scream as they dragged you to your death?"

"[-]"

The name comes out stilted, like you aren't too sure if that is your name. You've been living as your brother for longer than you'd taken on his name; sometimes it's hard to remember you exist underneath it all. Does that child really still exist anymore?

That child lives on his farm, with his mother, the only blood on his hands the cows, chickens and sheep that are slaughtered for food; you - nameless as you are- have the blood of demons, of men and women on your hands, you have the blood of non-animals to stain your hands and dreams. That little boy is so tired but he has light in his eyes, he greets each day with something to live for. You are not that little boy.

You do not wake, you simply become aware, and drag yourself on with each day because the less you drag your feet the quicker your death will be. And you could have let yourself die on any of the hundreds of battlefields you'd found yourself on in the past two years; but you wouldn't die like him, you wouldn't die in a stupid way - you needed to be different. That stupid little boy chasing ghosts needed to die honourably; even if people cursed him in death it wouldn't matter, because the boys name wouldn't be used, your name would be unblemished, but you deserved a hero's death all the same.

But there you were, on your knees, shaking and tasting the salt of your tears on your lips.

"You're still a boy." The creature echoes your previous thoughts and it steps back, like it's trying not to spook you after already confirming that it's going to kill you. It almost sounds sad, "Take your helmet off child, let me look you in the eyes."

You shake your head, the helmet slides up ever so slightly and you can do nothing, because the moment you let go of your brothers sword is the moment you've given up the fight, even if this was never a fight to begin with.

The place of your death will be a random corridor, you never even made it to the throne room.

It moves impossibly quick, and you shriek as it none too gently rips the oversized helmet off, the heavy metal clips your nose and you curl forward, the edge of the handle digging uncomfortably into your chest but you're so scared, and you can feel the blood dripping down your face because they removed the helmet so quickly it broke your nose-

"Oh I see what they've done now." In the back of your mind you realise that there's only a singular human voice speaking, but you're too busy curling inward, scared, in pain, wanting your mother, wanting to hug your dog, to grab the bear your mother had snuck into your pack before you left. You should have brought him with you, maybe that stupid belief that he protected you from the demons beneath the bed might have manifested itself into truth. "They're taunting me now. ARE YOU SATISFIED FATES!?"

You can't look up, you don't want to know what about you has made this thing so angry.

You wanted to die honourably, so that even if it wasn't your name you'd be remembered. You wanted to be someone people would wistfully talk about in times gone by - muttering about how they don't know what they expected when they sent a boy to fight a mans war.

You-

"Oh my dear son, look at me won't you?"

How cruel this thing is, to use the voice of the one man who would never say those words to you.

'Boy', 'Child', perhaps. But not 'my dear son'.

Can't it kill you without this, can't it let you die not knowing what that sounds like out of your Father's mouth?

"You're bleeding- I did that didn't I?" hands too big to be human grasp your face and pull, you're forced to look into that void, and it's impossible to breath because warm eyes greet you, eyes you see in every reflective surface. Eyes you hate for how they soften, "Oh [X] I'm sorry."

He didn't hear you properly, you suppose. Since he's still saying your brothers name.

Your hands shake as you approach the final battle. Everyone is confident you’ll win since they believe you’re the Chosen One. What they don’t know is the “Chosen One” was your older brother, and you’ve been using his name and identity ever since he died when you were 14

[nettlestonenell]

To clarify this scene (b/c Scientist Lee Gon–and his scientist Oemma–would want me to): Electricity, in and of itself, is not a chemical reaction; however, we do use chemical reactions to derive electricity. Ergo, the electricity generated in this reunion scene comes as a result OF CHEMISTRY.

The King: Eternal Monarch Catches Plenty of Hate Online Why That Is, And Why You Should Ignore It

(for @dumbassdictionarysds)

Part IV: Cries of “no chemistry” between the lead romantic pairing

Uuummmmm, okay? More than any other challenge I’m going to make, this one is the most difficult to refute, because I suppose it’s necessary to say (even though it feels to me like a person would have to be blind not to see the chemistry here) that when it comes to what couplings work for which viewers, ymmv. 

The King: Eternal Monarch’s romance plot, here, is the reverse of what one would see in most stories and shows. In kdramas, of course, it is almost universal that the lead romantic couple will have a childhood connection of some kind and have known each other if not outright have “dated” or whatever you want to call young children in precocious couplings declaring they are going to marry each other.

I don’t know, maybe you keep falling in love with a mermaid you met when your soul was a young boy’s and then a grown man’s hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Something like that…

While the time travel aspect of the show cleverly toys with these characters interacting in the past in very inventive ways [spoiler], again subverting expectations by turning them on their ear (b/c we’re dealing with a time loop), when the looping begins, they have no shared past.

Even so, enjoy these baby faces

And the romance plot is decidedly front-loaded. As the show goes on viewers get less and less time with Lee Gon and Jeong Tae-Eul together on-screen (as indeed, plot-wise the two see less and less of each other). It’s the first three or so episodes that see them share the most scenes (a reason this viewer perpetually goes back to rewatch their early moments together). That could frustrate viewers, but

In this story, the further in love these two fall, the further apart fate/the broken flute conspires to keep them.

The love plot is not allowed to overpower their responsibilities, and in fact that is a BASIC element of what the show is trying to present. Someone (was it bitchesoverdramas or kfangurl?) pointed out that it is remarkable (within the genre) how well it is shown that Lee Gon and Jeong Tae-Eul’s love story is not allowed to gobble up every moment of their lives. No, these two have responsibilities at every turn. 

For heaven’s sake, Gon is integral in running an entire country! Jobs and obligations that cannot be shirked get in the way of their throwing everything to the wind and being together. 

So much work to do! First, I will remove my entirely-for-show ‘I’m a handsome actor’ spectacles!

If you don’t understand that that’s literally a point the show is making, that commitments and duty—even filial responsibility–are essential complications of LG and JTE’s love story, and obviously if you really, really can’t see the pining, swoony but prickly-with-spiciness chemistry the two actors are able to put out there as their characters when they do share scenes, well, you’re going to hate this show.

*Please see also Subtitles? More like Sub-par-titles for additional thoughts on why the leads’ chemistry fails to spark for some viewers [TLDR: poor subtitling, subverted character expectations working against the challenge of reading an actor’s face whilst simultaneously reading the subtitles] 

On to Part V:  The King: Eternal Product Placement?

[livlepretre]

So this is a weird thing to bring up, but I was thinking about the weirdness regarding the accents of all the Originals and remembered the scene in ATFBBTF where Elena tells Klaus that she knows he is faking the accent. In canon, we know Mikael has a British accent (despite being a viking in a settlement located in current day Virginia) and all of them speak the way they do in the present throughout all their flashbacks. I love all of your charactizations throughout your fics and wanted to know: What are your personal headcanons regarding all the accent stuff and how all the cultures the Originals have lived through have affected the way they speak, think, behave, etc.?

Not a weird thing to bring up at all, because as it turns out, I am hyper-fixated on this franchise and would love to talk about any element of it! 

This is kind of long so I put my answer under the cut: 

Personal headcanons: I like to think that all of their accents are subtly WEIRD not only because they have moved all over the place but because pronunciation of languages like English have shifted so much over time. Like, I remember an early interview with Daniel Gillies where he said that he tried to make his accent sound like it was from everywhere and nowhere, because the Originals had traveled so extensively over such a long period of time. The other thing is that their syntax tends to lag inevitably behind-- yes, they incorporate new phrasings, like Elijah using “OMG” with such relish in 2x19, but I try to think about the way English was shaped in modernist novels when I’m writing Rebekah-- her idioms are all about a century out of date-- or slip in little anachronisms that aren’t quite off but are no longer common in daily speech like “shan’t” or even older slang like “belle chose.” 

The scene in FE where Elena asks Rebekah how many languages she speaks sums it up pretty well-- they’ve been speaking a lot of these languages as they evolved from middle languages to early modern languages to modern and then contemporary language. The slippage amongst them must be pretty extraordinary-- I like the idea that even though the Originals “mostly” sound contemporary that there would be a lot of random archaic forms peppered in. 

Another idea I had is that their names are probably different than the ones they originally had, but since they’ve all traveled and evolved linguistically/culturally together, they have changed how they think of each other, and maybe even their original names are getting fuzzy in their mind (Rebekah alludes to this in that same conversation in FE). This is partially born out of my general distaste for the Viking!origins that make no bloody sense to me and the fact that even if they’re all Vikings, why is Klaus’s name Niklaus (the German form of a Greek origin name), and then Elijah, Esther, Mikael, and Rebekah have Hebrew origin names and then mysteriously Finn, Kol, and Freya have Viking names? It makes no sense which is why I came up with the idea that they’ve changed their names over time, adapting and adopting what suited them. 

The idea that they grew up in Virginia a thousand years ago is so cringe that I mostly try to block it out (I was writing ATFBBTF while season 3 was airing, which is why I reference it explicitly; that was before I was comfortable just papering over things I don’t like so much)-- like, Elijah, there weren’t wild horses in the Americas a thousand years ago! You’re confused! 

I’ve talked about this at detailed length with @icebluecyanide (whose thoughts on this are AMAZING) but I’m really fond of irrevocably attached to the idea that the Originals are actually Russian or some other Slavic country in origin. Playing on the whole “my father was a wealthy landowner in Eastern Europe,” and also in a meta-sense playing with Eastern European vampire folklore. (Also I would love anything that gets rid of that awful Mikaelson “surname”! That name keeps me up at night. Also, why does Rebekah have it. She’s not a son.) 

I do think that they all tend to be really, really stuck in the middle ages in terms of their thinking about their place in the world, the roles of men vs. women, fathers vs mothers vs sisters vs brothers, and who has filial duty to whom. Maayyybbbeeee some Humanist ideas sunk in, but honestly, there’s a reason that Rebekah still cleaves to Klaus and it’s because he’s her brother and she very much conceives of herself as lower in the family chain, even though she also rebels against it (but never quite seriously). Klaus is patronizing and domineering because he very much so sees that as his divine right-- he’s the special one, the hybrid, the king of kings. And also, he’s not even aware of his sexism when in SWBS he tells Elena things like “don’t you want to be a nurse or a teacher or a mother” (not that those aren’t critical, difficult, amazing careers!)-- it’s just that his idea of career options for women hasn’t changed in like at least a hundred years so he falls back on to him the obvious standards. 

Hmm what else... they’re all definitely cultural chameleons, though, obviously, some places left bigger impacts on them than others. I think of Italy, and England, and New Orleans when I think of their “home” cultures, but that might be because that’s where we see them in flashbacks the most often. It’s easier to blend in for the three who are awake for most of everything, of course, because changes are incremental and fluid from their perspective, happening little by little and organically as they travel. 

Oh! And I think my last thing is that I am really fond of the idea that Kol and Finn were both just caught in a supernatural sleep for all that time they were daggered... so Kol is constantly having to reinvent himself and his facility with language since I get the impression he gets daggered pretty often, though also undaggered whenever his siblings decide they miss him, which is often enough to keep him spry and make him really really good at learning language and adapting, but poor Finn has to learn contemporary English from scratch when he’s undaggered and he’s lost and bewildered in the modern world and it’s really only the fact that he already thinks of his whole existence as a bewildering haze of hell on earth that he (eventually) learns enough English and modern customs to cope (so long as no one pays close attention; he blanks a lot on which word he should use.). 

I think that’s it??? 

[asianhappinesss]

The King: Eternal Monarch (2020)

Summary

Yi Gon is the third Korean emperor of his generation. His citizens regard him as the perfect leader. But behind this flawless appearance, hides a deep wound. When he was eight years old, his father was murdered before his eyes following a coup. Today, instead of respecting his filial duty, he prefers to escape the palace to attend university conferences. During one of his escapades, he sees himself propelled into a parallel world where he meets Jeong Tae Eul, an inspector with whom he teams up with to defeat the criminals but also close the door between their two worlds.

Review

This review may contain spoilers

What Went Wrong in this Show ? - Not Worth Watching

Note : I'm hella sorry , if I hurt anyone your feeling by this review as if because I'm gonna be trashing the show . Completely a negative review . If y'all wanna positive review for this show , lemme down at comment section below ! When The King: Eternal Monarch was announced as the newest project of star writer Kim Eun-sook, drama fans were looking forward to another blockbuster hit. Kim probably has the longest-running streak of hit shows among Korean screenwriters. She has dominated three successive decades with award-winning and commercially successful shows, from her Lovers’ trilogy in the early 2000s, to Secret Garden and The Heirs in the 2010s, and finally, Descendants of the Sun, Goblin, and Mr. Sunshine in the 2020s. It seems that with The King: Eternal Monarch, Kim wanted to ring in the new decade with yet another hit but ended up not quite hitting the mark. The show premiered to much hype by virtue of being Lee Min-ho’s comeback drama and a decent 11% nationwide rating. Towards the second half, however, the show failed to move past the 6–8% bracket, ending its run with a measly 8% ratings. This was surprising, especially for a Kim Eun-sook drama, as her dramas are known for breaking ratings records. Many are wondering why, despite having so many factors to its advantage—a stellar lead pairing in Lee Min-ho and Kim Go-eun, interesting supporting cast featuring Woo Do-hwan, Lee Jung-jin, Jung Eun-chae, and Kim Kyung-nam, enormous budget, an exciting sci-fi premise, intense promotions by Netflix—did the show fail to make the splash we were all hoping for? Let’s look at some possible reasons. An Under-Utilized Villain The main villain of the show, Lee Rim, portrayed by the mysterious and dangerous-looking Lee Jung-jin, was probably one of the biggest let-downs in the plot. He is introduced to us as the evil uncle who leads a coup against Lee Gon’s father, steals the magical flute manpasikjeok, and tries to kill Lee Gon in the very first episode. Following this, he travels to a parallel world using the flute, finds his counterpart in that world, and kills him. Pretty scandalous, right? The show sets Lee Rim up to be a formidable villain, but the characterization all but falls apart in the later episodes. For the entire run of the show, viewers are not given a backstory for Lee Rim’s character. We know that he is evil but get no insight into either his motivations or what he’s actually scheming for. Is it political power? Does he want to rule both parallel worlds? Does he want to kill his nephew and take back the other half of the magical flute? We never find out. He stays a mystery throughout, and while that’s usually a desirable trait in a villain— this time, it fell woefully short of expectations. Lee Rim never feels dangerous or creepy enough for viewers to be invested in his eventual downfall, which, frankly, was just as disappointing as the character himself. Poor Choice of Leads One of the criticisms often leveled against Lee Min-ho is that he plays the same character in all his dramas. Here, too, he plays a role very similar to his previous dramas—the rich, bratty guy, except this time he’s an Emperor from a different world instead of a wealthy heir. The cocky rich guy is a concept even I, a non-fan of romance, tend to enjoy occasionally. But after Boys Over Flowers, The Heirs, City Hunter, Legend of the Blue Sea, and now The King: Eternal Monarch, it is getting boring and repetitive. Granted, no one does justice to this trope like Lee Min-ho does, but some range and depth in acting would be nice. That’s why I think King Lee Gon failed to charm viewers as easily as Lee Min-ho’s previous characters have. As for Kim Go-eun, having watched her films and her eventual transition to dramas, I personally think that she performs better in more serious, nuanced roles like the films Coin Locker Girl and Tune In For Love. She wasn’t bad in her debut drama Cheese in the Trap either, which was a slice-of-life show that didn’t require her to be in hyper-realistic settings. In Kim Eun-sook’s fantasy dramas,

however, Kim is prone to overacting—be it as Goblin‘s (Guardian: The Great and Lonely God) Ji Eun-tak or The King: Eternal Monarch’s Jung Tae-eul. Even within the show, she performed much better as the street smart Luna than the emotional Tae-eul. Minimalistic and nuanced acting seems to be much more within the actress’s range and depth. Lack of World Building A science-fiction romance fantasy involving time travel, multiple timelines, two parallel Koreas—one a monarchy and the other a democracy—the original concept of the show sounded too good to be true. And then it aired, and we realized that it really was too good to be true. Initial episodes set the stage for several mysteries—the power of the magic flute, the mechanics of traveling between two parallel worlds, everyone from one world having a doppelganger in the parallel world, Lee Rim’s schemes, and so on. But the developments of these arcs left a lot of be desired. For starters, the show doesn’t dedicate time to explaining the exact powers of the magical flute manpasikjeok, which is surprising because it is the most important piece of the puzzle in the show. The world building between the two Koreas starts off as promising but ends up getting confusing when viewers can’t tell which world the characters are supposed to be in. I wish there were color tones, or something I could have used to distinguish between the two words because I spent the first few episodes thoroughly lost. When the actual time-traveling begins, the plot is too far ahead for any tension to build up so viewers are left accepting whatever the show throws at them. Frankly, it came off as unrealistic that Lee Gon could travel back and forth in time, altering timelines, without any cosmic side-effects. Isn’t that the inherent rule and tragedy of every time-travel movie/show ever? No Build Up to the Romance For a romance drama by one of the greatest romance drama writers of all time, the romance in this show is shockingly lacking in depth. It begins quite abruptly with Lee Gon hugging a stunned Tae-eul at the end of the first episode itself. We only know that Lee Gon has grown up thinking Tae-eul saved his life. But what makes him fall in love with her, we never find out. Tae-eul, though initially distrustful of Gon, eventually opens up and falls for him, too, but this transition again is too jarring to tug at emotions and make the viewer invested in the relationship. The few kiss scenes we get lack any tension or buildup, seeming almost forced. As a viewer, it never felt like we saw Lee Gon and Tae-eul genuinely connect and as a result, their impending separation and reunion wasn’t as high stakes as it should have been. I was reminded of Kim Eun-sook’s previous dramas like Goblin (Guardian: The Great and Lonely God) and Descendants of the Sun, where the main couples’ banter and chemistry became one of the reasons for the shows’ success. Here, the dialogue was clichéd, romance was full of tired tropes, and chemistry was lacking. The happy ending didn’t end up being satisfying, and it hurts me to say it, because this story had so much potential. Excessive Product Placement (PPL) The excessive PPL in the show has also come under scanner, though this is a complaint mostly from Korean viewers. PPL is common in every drama with a big budget as broadcasters seek to recover the money they spent on the show. The difference between good and bad PPL, however, is that the former is cleverly injected into the plot and doesn’t ruin the flow, while the latter, well, does. Korean viewers have called this show’s PPL some of the most notorious they have ever seen in a drama, and let me tell you why. Almost every meal the characters are shown eating is the BBQ chicken they are promoting, and in one scene, Lee Min-ho’s character goes beyond eating to raving about the chicken…right in the middle of the plot! We know South Korea’s fried chicken is to die for, but come on. Several times, the show switches from a drama to an advertisement in the most jarring of transitions that break the flow of that particular

scene. Yet another instance is Kim Go-eun breaking character to promote a lip balm, while she is supposed to be on duty as a detective. Most international fans don’t even blink at the PPL in K-dramas, but this time, we did. Too Many Side Arcs Instead of building up the parallel worlds, the villains, and the lead couple’s story, the focus of the show seems to be on the many, many side characters as well as their counterparts in the parallel world. There are so many stories going on at once that focusing on one was difficult. Still, if the side arcs are done well, they only add to the plot. But side characters in The King: Eternal Monarch that looked like they would impact the main plot turned out to be irrelevant. I quite enjoyed Jo Yeong/Jo Eun-seob and Kang Shin-jae’s arcs, but Goo Seo-ryung, Prince Buyeong, Myeong Na-ri, and Min Hwa-yeon, who got significant screen time, eventually ended up contributing nothing. All this time could have been spent on developing Lee Rim’s character or the romance between Lee Gon and Tae-eul. All in all, The King: Eternal Monarch boasted of an amazing concept, but the execution left much to be desired. It seems that writer Kim Eun-sook tried to experiment with a new genre but got lost on the way. This is not to say that I’ve lost faith in her work—it’s simply a minor setback in a long and illustrious career. K-dramaland is bound to be just as excited for her next work as we were for this one. Have you watched The King: Eternal Monarch? Let us know your thoughts about the show in the comments below!

[qiu-yan]

in hindsight, the ending of this post isn't correct....

lan wangji during the past portion of the book was also in his own moral dilemma - from the perspective of himself and his society, his own moral tragedy. lan wangji not ditching everything else to stand by wei wuxian in wei wuxian's first life...was also a decision, even though it was one that happened offscreen and involved inaction instead of action. as we all know, he later concludes that openly supporting wei wuxian would have been the morally correct choice, as wei wuxian was correct to protect the wen remnants. lan wangji himself concludes that the fact that he did not directly stand with wei wuxian, and instead only took action when it was too late, to be a failure of his moral duty.

but - though it's never directly discussed in the book - lan wangji also presumably had decent reasons not to do so: his duties to his own sect; his duties to lan xichen and lan qiren, his family; perhaps he had his own doubts as to the acceptability of wei wuxian's actions. lan wangji is not a sect leader; him standing with wei wuxian would not have the same degree of consequence for gusu lan as jiang cheng standing with wei wuxian would have for yunmeng jiang. however, it's still reasonable to conclude that such a choice could make him a liability to gusu lan. what if his decision compromises the jin support the cloud recesses needs to rebuild? how is he going to contribute to his sect in their hour of need if he's farming radishes with wei wuxian - doesn't gusu lan need him too? and can he really wholeheartedly support wei wuxian's use of resentful energy? it seems directly siding with wei wuxian would in fact also involve some degree of moral transgression. there's no squeaky-clean path forwards.

and, as @yraelviii said in the replies, lan wangji attacking and injuring the 33 elders lan xichen brought after they caught up with him and wei wuxian was, by the standards of his society and probably himself as well, a moral transgression. mdzs's jianghu seems heavily confucian; the confucian value system in turn places a heavy emphasis on duty, adherence to structure and the proper way of things (as in, the son should be loyal to the father, the subject should be loyal to the ruler, and so on), proper conduct (ie. behavior that does not destabilize society), and filial piety. directly attacking that many of one's own family elders is unthinkable by traditional confucian standards. and even if we move away from the period-typical confucianism, many modern schools of ethics (western or eastern) also generally consider committing violence upon your own family members to be a moral transgression.

but what is the alternative? to give up on wei ying? to allow wei ying to be killed, when the cause wei ying stood for and ultimately burned for was in fact morally righteous? that too would be a moral transgression. and that was the moral transgression lan wangji ultimately decided was unacceptable.

...

it is funny how absolutely no one in the fandom side-eyes lan wangji even a little for the 33 elders, though. everyone just says: "you know what? you did your best, king."

one topic i've been interested in lately is the idea of moral luck.

let's start somewhere else. i was surprised to learn that the question of "do moral dilemmas exist" is actually debated upon in moral philosophy. broadly speaking, a "moral dilemma" is a situation in which the agent can only choose one of several mutually exclusive options, and yet the agent has moral reasons compelling them towards each option. some philosophers have argued that, given a sufficiently robust moral philosophy, a "genuine" moral dilemma cannot exist: the moral philosophy will organize the differing moral reasons for each course of action into a hierarchy, in which more important moral reasons override the others; thus, the moral philosophy will always be able to identify one or more correct courses of action.

based on my own analysis - if one takes a more moral-pluralistic point of view, though, this is no longer true. moral pluralism indicates the view that multiple different values can all be equally valuable and morally significant, even when they are contradictory. in this case, a moral reason may not be able to override another moral reason. in my opinion (which i am not sure if lines up with official ideas of moral pluralism), this entails the return of the moral dilemma. after all, if the agent can only choose one of several mutually-exclusive courses of action, and the agent has genuine moral reasons for each course of action, and these moral reasons also cannot override each other - then it seems the agent is doomed. no matter what the agent chooses to do, they will be violating some moral reason. they will be committing some moral wrongdoing.

the idea that someone is doomed to commit some moral wrongdoing is referred to as moral tragedy.

this is all kind of abstract, so let us consider a more concrete example. first, let's consider the trolley problem. from a deontological perspective, the perfect duty of not violating the categorical imperative by killing the 1 person comes before the imperfect duty of taking action to save 5 people from death; hence, the correct choice is to not pull the lever. from a utilitarian perspective, the outcome in which 5 people live and 1 person dies involves less harm than the outcome in which 1 person lives and 5 people die, so pulling the lever is the correct choice. however, from a more morally pluralistic point of view, both the choice of pulling the lever and not pulling the lever involve violating some moral duty. people have a moral duty to not kill people, and people also have a moral duty to not allow people to die through inaction. you can only either kill the 1 person to save the 5 people or allow the 5 people to die through inaction. no other choice exists. thus, no matter what choice you make, you will be violating one of those two moral duties; you are trapped in a moral tragedy.

now let's consider another example. suppose you are jiang cheng, and wei wuxian has just busted wen ning's wen remnants out of the jin labor camp at qiongqi pass. from a more morally pluralistic point of view, you are also caught in a moral tragedy: no matter what choice you make, you will be violating some moral duty.

if you choose not to stand by wei wuxian, then you are violating some of your moral duties. wei wuxian is your martial brother; you have a duty towards him. wen ning and wen qing helped you greatly in the past; by the virtue of reciprocity, you owe it to them to help them too. furthermore, as a human being, you have a moral duty to stand against the mistreatment of innocent people. choosing not to stand by wei wuxian entails violating all three of these moral duties.

however, if you choose to stand by wei wuxian, then you are also violating some of your moral duties. you are the leader of the yunmeng jiang sect, which is currently recovering from near-absolute annihilation and thus lacks the resources the other great sects have. as the leader of yunmeng jiang, you are its representative: thus, you standing by wei wuxian when he has alienated lanling jin means that you are making yunmeng jiang stand against lanling jin. and since the jin sect is tied to the other two great sects via the venerated triad, if yunmeng jiang stands against lanling jin, then the situation will become all three of the other great sects against your one weak recovering sect.

you are the leader of the people in yunmeng jiang. those people just fought a war for you. as their leader - or even simply as someone for whom these people bled and suffered - you owe it to them to put them first. as a leader you exist for your people. if you act in violation of what is best for your people's safety and happiness, if you actively choose to put them in danger, then you have broken the social contract by which they gave you authority. then you have failed your duty. and since choosing to stand by wei wuxian puts everyone under your protection in danger, choosing to stand by wei wuxian entails violating your moral duty as a leader.

so. no matter what choice you as jiang cheng make, you will be violating some moral duty. you will be committing some moral transgression. you are caught in a moral tragedy.

from a morally pluralistic point of view, any choice in a moral tragedy entails some moral wrongdoing. so what determines whether you end up in a moral tragedy or not?

luck.

it's commonly said that a person's moral character can be determined from the choices they've made in their life - judge a man by his actions and all that. in other words, we look at what moral violations he has committed, as well as what morally upstanding acts. and yet! if he's ended up in a moral tragedy before - then he had no choice but to commit a moral violation, because all of the available choices were moral violations! does that mean that a person's moral character is subject not just to his own choices, but to luck as well? whether or not you can be called a good person or a bad person is affected also by merely how lucky or unlucky you were?

i do not personally use the framework of "good person" vs "bad person" very often; the utilitarianism i favor cannot be used to judge entire moral characters. however, it certainly is the case that other people will judge an individual's entire moral character by the choices they've made. and yet, it seems that - again and again - the concept of moral luck is not considered.

who did not have moral luck? who ended up in a moral tragedy?

wei wuxian. jiang cheng. lan xichen. jin guangyao. nie mingjue. and many others.

who did have moral luck? who avoided all the moral tragedies?

lan wangji.

[inidgoduelistaa]

the prince—now king, king of nohr, unburdened by filial pity—cannot help the way he leans into his retainer's touch, pressing the sword-callused fingers of his hand against his cheek. he turns his head to press a kiss upon his palm, maroon gaze fixed upon laslow. "there are few means i can repay you for your loyalty, for all you have done for me, but if i may be selfish once more, allow me to request one thing," the way the words are intoned are nearly a purr. "touch me, laslow."

unprompted, xander / @hamartio​

laslow’s hands bare the burdens of worlds lost to the ocean of time, the weight of the dead he carries with him- and yet, xander kisses his hands as if they belonged to something cherished, and not to him. 

“ we’re touching right now, aren’t we ? ” a tiny smirk curls the corner’s of laslow’s lips- as he peers up ; face warm from his king’s touch. ( the two of you, the dutiful sons of your mothers. you wonder if they’d like him ; if they could see the way his eyes soften slightly as he tries holds back a smile, the love he bears for his people, for his family- and you wonder if the late queen would like you as well. you hope so. )

“ i’d do anything you ask of me, but i have one request of you. ” laslow’s free hand twines golden locks around his fingers, then he runs his fingertips down xander’s face and neck ; his touch feather-light across his king’s adam apple- nimbly undoing the buttons of the other’s vest, then pausing over the first button of his dress shirt. “ i want you to call me by my true name. and only you. ”

[thehamletaesthetic]

HAMLET ACT ONE SCENE TWO part three

King: 'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, to give these mourning duties to your father: but, you must know, your father lost a father: that father lost, lost his; and the survivor bound, in filial obligation, for some term to do obsequious sorrow: but to preserve in obstinate condolement is a course of impious stubbornness; 'tis unmanly grief: it shows a will most incorrect to heaven; a heart unfortified, a mind impatient; an understanding simple and unschool'd: for what we know must be, and is as common as any the most vulgar thing to sense, why should we, in our peevish opposition, take it to heart? Fie! 'tis a fault to heaven, a fault against the dead, a fault to nature, to reason most absurd; whose common theme is death of fathers, and who still hath cried, from the first course till he that died to-day, this must be so. We pray you, throw to earth this unprevailing woe; and think of us as of a father: for let the world take note you are the most immediate to our throne; and with no less nobility of love than that which dearest father bears his son do I impart toward you. For your intent in going back to school in Wittenberg, it is most retrograde to our desire: and we beseech you bend you to remain here, in the cheer and comfort of our eye, our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son.

Queen: Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet: I pray thee, stay with us; go not to Wittenberg.

Ham.: I shall in all my best obey you, madam.

King: Why, 'tis a loving and a fair reply: be as ourself is Denmark.--Madam, come, this gentle and unforc'd accord of Hamlet sits smiling to my heart: in grace whereof no jocund health that Denmark drinks to-day but the great cannon to the clouds shall tell and the king's rouse the heavens shall bruit again, re-speaking earthly thunder. Come, away.

[Exeunt all but Hamlet.]