mysterionrises
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Dear Miss Seong, the letter begins.
I should apologize to you for many things. First and foremost, for having to deliver the news of your father's death.
Most importantly, however, I apologize for my part in keeping him away from you.
Seong Gayeong is her father's daughter. In her empathetic heart and her smile; her ability to read people and her inability to get anywhere on time.
In the wake of learning of her father's death, Seong Gayeong chases ghosts.
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such is the purpose of nightmares by mysterionrises, pulseandhaze
Fandoms: The Sandman (TV 2022)
13 Oct 2023
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Everyone has the sorts of fears that grow into nightmares; some are simply more obvious than others. Morpheus is happy to give an adrenaline-seeking Robert what he wants in addition to what he needs.
or; Morpheus gives Robert nightmares, but only when he's asking for it.
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The article is published a week and a half after the end of the world. Within twelve hours, it's been shared over six hundred thousand times across social media.
Lio Fotia: The Man Behind the Myth
April 23, 2049
By Benjamin GiraudWe all know his name by now. Leader of the Mad Burnish, the inferno terrorists. He had been arrested barely a week before, apprehended by Galo Thymos and Burning Rescue 3rd Division; and just hours previous, he had gone on a burning rampage through the city.
But when I first encounter him, he is bringing a water bottle to a tired volunteer. In fact, I don't even recognize him at first. Covered in ash and without the patented leather jacket, he looks like any other disaffected citizen. I snap a picture of him as has become habit, but it's only later that I truly learn who my subject is.
Lio Fotia is something else. His voice is quiet, but it commands attention when he speaks. He gives orders definitively, and when he does not know the answer he has the grace to direct you to the person who does.
Or: the aftermath of saving the world, through social media.
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a doua șansă | Romanian | "a second chance"
Trevor Belmont's not sure why he knows Sypha Belnades, but he does; or at least he used to, a long, long time ago. And he knows Adrian Țepeș, too, although he kind of wishes he didn't.
All he has now are dreams that might just be more than dreams, and the threat of something far worse returning from his past to haunt him.
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"Here was Gi-hun, with his lifetime of tragedy and difficulty, picking up strangers in the rain and campaigning for the inherent value of mankind. And if that existed, if it was possible to sustain that even in spite of immense hardship, maybe it wasn't circumstance that had turned In-ho into something bitter. If Gi-hun was possible, if his worldview was somehow sustainable, that meant that whatever In-ho became was not a result of a bad situation; it was inherent. He was always empty, or capable of emptiness, and wasn't that the same thing?"
FAKE DATING AU. No Squid Games, just other trauma and the power of grief competing with the audacity of hope.
Bookmarked by mysterionrises
01 Sep 2025
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Gi-hun could have done what it took to save himself if he thought that was necessary for the child's survival. In-ho realizes this, and in anticipation of Gi-hun's intention to sacrifice himself, presents his proposal without the full context. No matter the outcome, part of Gi-hun has to die.
Bookmarked by mysterionrises
10 Jul 2025
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"He thought about Gi-hun, who was probably dead by now. After all, the world ate goodness. Consumed it like an animal eats raw meat, feeds on it and tears it up and destroys it. Who would know that better than In-ho? His wife, Gi-hun, these people were the type that the world swallowed whole.
And empty, rotten people like Hwang In-ho? Well, he'd probably live forever."
Hwang In-ho encounters Seong Gi-hun more than once, and each time, Gi-hun wedges himself deeper inside his mind. In-ho has been devoid of personhood for years, since his wife's death, but hope is a powerful thing. So, too, is love.
Bookmarked by mysterionrises
09 Jun 2025
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Summary
This was meant to be one maybe 4k word short story, and now... Here we are.
Empire of Light is an exploration of In-ho's character and the way modern art and philosophy play a role in the visual language of the show and overarching themes. Through the final part of that, and the sequel, I explore what In-ho and Gi-hun represent to each other in more depth, and how that dynamic can change as they get to know each other as people.
Unexpected Answer is a more traditional narrative than Empire of Light, and is much less dense, but it is a direct continuation that needs the context of the former.
Completed before the release of S03, but I feel as if S03 retroactively makes it land harder.
- Words:
- 56,648
- Works:
- 2
- Bookmarks:
- 8
Bookmarked by mysterionrises
04 May 2025
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In In-ho's room (S01E02) there are three visible prints of "Empire of Light" by René Magritte. One is on the cover of a book, alongside books on Van Gogh, Claude Monet, and two on Picasso.
Modern art, especially surrealism, is a huge influence on the visual storytelling in the show, and further, the associated philosophies of the artists and works play a significant role in the story. It is interesting to me that In-ho is, in fiction, invested in these same works that inspired the creation of the world around him. It would make sense if he bought these books as a response to the trauma of surviving his game, as a way to make sense of the absurd. Picasso: The Blue and Rose Periods is from 2019, four years after his game. Then there's his books on Lacan, Camus, and Nietzsche.
This is an exploration of that concept, of In-ho fixating on modern art, particularly surrealism, to make sense of his reality. The first part is based in NYC, when the Front Man is tasked to smooth things over with the Panther mask VIP in person. The second part follows Gi-hun's life after winning his game, as In-ho observes him. In the third, they clash.
Series
- Part 1 of Empire of Light
Bookmarked by mysterionrises
03 May 2025