#''demons'' should KNOW that because it was AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE WAR so either theyre LYING orrrrr) and we're actually

[sourinartt]

the hatred that skr fans have towards Naruto should be studied, how they try everything to make their favorite a victim and Naruto an evil being

It's incredible how they ignore Naruto's background and just say, "It's misogyny" if Sakura is criticized

to start with, these people understand that Skr was a child when she was a rude person but they don't understand when she is Naruto, how funny because even she is rude as a teenager

"why is Naruto allowed to be mean" Because everyone is mean to him, Naruto shouldn't have any respect for someone who constantly insults him, We vary to the fact that Naruto as a child the only thing he knows are bad looks and comments telling him to die and that they hate him, to the village, Naruto was known as the "demon"

It is because of this and because Naruto is alone that he does not know respect for others, Naruto only knows the hatred of people and mainly hatred towards himself, This leads to them not having respect because they think that people will insult them or continue looking at them badly, because that's all he knows, literally being a 12 yrs

Basically he's a kid who lives on the defensive because he thinks he's going to get hurt again, which isn't a wrong thought because the Konoha 12 didn't have any respect for him at first either

Sakura is a girl who does have parents, who instilled in her respect (probably) and always looking presentable, something that Naruto doesn't have, she has adults who can guide her, Naruto doesn't have them, and even though iruka exists, he is not that present in that way

"But Sakura suffered bullying" not only does not put her on the same level as Naruto but she had Ino who helped her gain self-esteem and authority another thing Naruto never had because he had no friends and no one who truly cared about him

Sakura has so much and yet she still disrespected Naruto by talking badly and making fun of him for not having parents, She was rude when she separated from Ino who helped her in everything just for a boy and then continues insulting her.. Isn't it disrespectful to talk about the luck of not having parents in front of another orphan?

with the list when they are introduced to the Konoha children, they are thoughts of them in their mind, they do not really speak to them out loud And again, he has these thoughts because they don't want him and he doesn't want them either lol, it's simply the beginning of the protagonist's relationship with the other characters(Just look at this,...it's incredible how their friendship has evolved)

But seriously, are you going to demand a little kindness from a child who is hated, despised, alone, and who people can't even see? Children like that sometimes can't be kind because they only know pain and hate and it is common for them not to have any kindness at first

when the manga continues to evolve Naruto sees the faces of each of the 12 and that's how they become friends

Ino = At first they don't have much communication, but there isn't much of her being mean to nart, In part 2 she shows a lot of emotion when she sees him again (and there is more scene of her looking happy when she sees him) she cures Naruto, she helps him in the war, Then she becomes such an important ninja that Naruto needs her help constantly

Shikamaru = a hateful character who later becomes very close friends with Naruto, especially during the Chunin Exams and the rescue of Sasuke. Shikamaru visits him in the hospital when he is injured, shows happiness when he sees him and returns from the dead for Naruto

hinata = Girl that Naruto considered strange (with many reasons) But seeing how badly she was treated because she was weak, he decided to give her confidence and encourage her, Naruto literally considers her a good friend after getting to know her thoroughly

Kiba, Shino and Choji don't have many scenes with him, Kiba considers Naruto a rival and that's why he mocks him, Shino doesn't have bad scenes against Naruto and considers him his friend, Choji only agrees with Shikamaru at first because, well, they're both friends. All this if we don't count Sasuke, Neji, Gaara, Lee and others, simply

"calling an older woman a hag" I guess this is Tsunade's scenes where it's comedy and it's not serious if you talk like that and then you're fans of the girl who disrespects the same woman for not looking young

"insulting someone from a dead clan" well, the U clan is always acclaimed as the best in the entire village and Naruto knows it, this is why Sasuke is the most loved (despite what he goes through)teasing in such ways exists between them and even if it were not right, Who is the one who does everything for Sasuke's pain and for his clan? Who is the person who gives him love and quality for all the suffering he goes through? Sakura? The girl who compared the tragedy of the U clan to her pathetic love and the same girl who tried to kill him because of the condition that made Sasuke orphaned? Don't make me laugh

you can't say that Naruto is a bad friend as a child when as a child he understands empathy and when he makes mistakes it's not because someone yelled in his face that he should be better, he realizes it himself. everyone from Konoha later becomes his friends and Naruto protects them all, even Sakura herself, who, upon seeing her injured by Kurama, decided to stop using it

well, I can't ask for much if you know that these people haven't seen Naruto

they are pathetic

[abyssalpriest]

God I could and should write a whole fucking book by the end of this life here on Lev and his symbols

ill write it then burn it before anyone else gets a copy. or i wont. im supposed to be helping him this incarnation here to get a better anchor in this plane so maybe it would help more than itd be weird - im just getting from him the energy of "yeah no people already effectively have these things, people on my plane already know me inside and out to an extensive degree, may as well have it here too" you know. fair

[crinj-central]

I don't think it's fair to call King Harald stupid or a traitor for wanting to join an organisation that has a highly curated, squeaky-clean image that 99% of the world believes in. Joining the WG for the sake of building good relationships with other kingdoms and attending the Reverie in order to establish connections and free trade agreements is a pretty logical step for someone who believes in "trade over plunder, seek peace not war". It's not power-hungry either to want a seat at the Reverie as a political representative for an otherwise insular nation that seeks to be more connected with the world.

I think it's easy to forget that just because us readers know what WG is actually like, that still doesn't apply to the vast majority of the world. We only knew that the marines could be really evil and corrupt early on in the story, but we weren't aware of what the WG was actually capable of until Ohara. And the scary part is that 99% of the world still believes that the scholars of Ohara were demons that deserved to get annihilated. Because that's just how powerful the WG propaganda is, they have perfected the art of it.

It was a twist of fate that Saul survived and managed to get back to Elbaph. I find it really interesting that he chose to go to Elbaph specifically, seeing how one of the last "normal" conversations he had with Robin were about how much he detests their savage culture. I think it very much implies that he's known about Harald's audiences with Sommers pre-Ohara, maybe even supported them as a vice-admiral, and that's why he was rushing back to Elbaph first. Because he had to warn Harald of this organisation's true colors. He had to break that image and spell that he himself was under back when he was a loyal vice-admiral.

1146 does imply that Harald was working out on a certain deal with the WG and then diverted from it without Sommers' knowledge. He was most likely pretending to still be aboard with them for 8 years since the Buster Call in Ohara, all while coming up with a plan on how to pull Elbaph out of this mess without risking getting Buster Call'd themselves. Fire is Elbaph's greatest weakness, after all.

And because Harald always put himself last, he must've decided that he should die in a tragic death, slain by his own son, just how the prophecy foretold. Because then the WG would lose their most important political asset that Sommers has been working to acquire for several years, most likely decades. And they wouldn't be able to pinpoint the blame on Harald seeing through them either. Because it's supposed to look like a tragic family feud that nobody could've possibly prevented. It would shift focus immediately and whatever "deal" Sommers and Harald were working on would've gotten nullified by default.

The real problem is that Harald most likely underestimated how insanely evil Sommers himself is. I've been saying this since his debut, but it really does seem like they had a rather friendly relationship with each other. So even though Harald managed to make the next generation of warriors highly undesirable, it does beg the question of how much of that was part of his plan to fool the WG in the first place, rather than him wanting a peaceful future for the next generation all along. A future he wished for his sons when they were growing up.

[purplesoulcollection]

Unnatural Love

Part 6 Synopsis : Name has being transmigrated into the world of I'm Not That Kind Of Talent without ever reading the novel. She's not being reincarnated as a human but as a devil as well. Hi There! I want to let you know that this fanfiction story isn't solely my creation. I borrowed the concept from @quqiwo2. I haven't actually read the novel either, just some spoiler to the end.

I hope you'll excuse my spelling and grammar mistake, because English not my first language.

Finally after we were anxious to think about our future relationship. We also decided to keep our dating relationship as a secret from the Demon King .

But that's not the most important thing I want to say...

Because…

Finally, Deon himself revealed his secret. To ME!!!

He said that because for him we were already together, that's why he would also tell his secret life story.

I've actually wanted to know about him since a long time ago but wasn't sure how he would respond if I asked. So I'm afraid that if I want to ask directly,

The past is a taboo topic for soldiers. Because they have to sacrifice their humanity to fight. It would be unethical to ask casually. It’s also will drop the mood and interrupted that person.

He was the one who told me that his name was not Demon Arut, but Deon Hardt. And he also asked to just call him Deon when we were alone, I agreed with him.

He said that his original name, Deon, changed to Demon because he was being misunderstood by the devil's advertisements and was constantly being misunderstood his whole life.

And finally, Deon also told me about his life story, starting from when he was born albino, had a weak body since birth, was forced to fight in the war between kingdom, survived through struggle and luck and too often lost his memory.

When I heard everything Deon told me. I honestly feel very sad and sympathetic to him. But also wondering...

Is it accurate to say that his family is so unkind as to send him to war despite his physical condition being unsuitable?? Is there really having no misunderstanding at all?

Why am I asking the reality of the Deon’s story?

Because it’s really contradictive for me…

If his family really intended to kill Deon, why didn't they try to escape knowing that Deon could return home after 8 years of war? It is difficult to believe that Deon will not harbor any resentment towards those who sent him to war and they should be the one who know that.

Life is the second most valuable thing for nobles, after money of course. If they don't live, how will they enjoy their money? It’s logical to think that they would try to save their lavish life.

Just imagine, okay?

We become war soldiers for 8 years, and 8 years can survive in a war that can make people's minds go crazy. The psychological burden of a murderer must be enormous-- the possibility of the person becoming crazy and psychopathic is also possible occurrence.

Of course, the normal people would usually try to avoid Deon, who miraculously survived.

But his family, who tried to kill him, didn't run away and instead welcomed Deon home. As if they weren't aware of Deon's grudge for not being willing to become a soldier?

It's either that Deon's parents are stupid, greedy, trash, or a misunderstanding.

That's the biggest possibility of Deon's story which has a definite plot twist. Because Deon's story from start to finish is truly spectacular, suitable as a fantasy novel full of drama and tragedy. As an expert on fantasy novels, I am sure that there is a misunderstanding that has occurred.

Besides, his older brother, Cruel Hardt, also has oddities, Deon said that his brother hate and want to kill him, he also becomes a hero following his younger brother. Why did his brother never try to kill Deon who killed his parents with his own hands. Why?

Revenge is most delicious and satisfying when it is done with one's own hands. People who want revenge will never allow their targets to be killed by others. Because that is the revenge system that can satisfy a heart full of revenge.

So it is clear that there must be a big problem hidden without Deon's knowledge.

I believe this aligns with the perspective of seasoned readers. Those who enjoy cliché fantasy novels frequently trust their gut feelings. I can feel that in the future there will be will be a sacrifice that will occur if this situation continues and it will affect Deon too.

I actually don't know about psychological problems. But Deon's character is very unsuitable for someone who has becoming the hero of the war.

I'm not mocking him, but the trauma he has should be there for someone who didn’t want to do a war. He even told the story as if he didn't have any trauma at all. He talked about his 8 year war so casually, didn’t took any life at all but he took the lives of his family, and then he was sent to be one of the hero's journey companions and his hero died, but he became the Commander of the demon king's zero army now, but he said he was weak?

There's no way that could happen, war is never a joke. Only the strong can survive. It’s the same principle in this devil’s world

Even if he was lucky, Luck didn't work like that. That's why I say Deon's story is very suitable because it is a tragic fantasy. Especially the plot hole that occurs due to memory loss. I'm sure it must be because of his psychological problems, Deon's psychology seems so unstable that he can be like that.

I've only heard of it but is it possible that he has a split personality. According to an article I once read, people who have multiple personalities will not remember what the other personality did, As a mechanism to take care of itself. This symptom is match with his condition.

So I can't tell Deon all these facts I just thought about.

If all my hypotheses are really true, then tragedy will come to Deon. Because it's impossible to have a happy ending after all of Deon's stories have happened. Then what about me?

“Adele, Adele!”

Surprised, I turned to Deon. He looked at me with a worried look. "Adele, was my story that surprising to you?"

It seemed like he was worried about my situation. Maybe he thought I was in shock after my fragility earlier, even though I was just thinking about the possibility that Deon's story was a fantasy story from earth or not?

I exhaled tiredly. Of course, my thoughts above are just a hypothesis. It seems that I really have talent as a novel writer if my imagination continues like this.

"Even if your story is so surprising to me, this is your story. Of course, the one who feels the saddest is Deon, right?" I tried to empathize with him, even if I've never experienced the same thing as Deon.

Deon just looked down and made a shadow with his hair. This makes him feel very far from me. I, who couldn't stand seeing that, slowly touched his hand first before finally holding it.

Only then did he look back at me. I smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry I made you remember your past. But I'm glad you were honest with me about your past. Would you like me to hug you in return?" I opened my arms, inviting him to hug. At first she was hesitant, but then she came into my arms.

When he hugged me, suddenly a panel screen appeared in front of me.

The screen shocked me and shocked Deon too until his body turned stiff. I immediately stroked Deon's back. Trying to calm myself and Deon too.

"Sorry, Deon, I thought there was an insect passing by."

"Bugs won't come in here!"

"That's why I said I saw wrong."

After that, Deon was silent and I continued to stare at the damn screen that suddenly appeared in front of me.

Is this a clue to the reason why I am in this world.

Does that mean I came to this world without notice and had to suffer in this world because of Deon?

To change Deon's tragic fate from beginning to end…

.

.

.

Do I have any other choice but to accept it?

I had come into this world without warning, suffered, met Deon, interacted with him without thinking of him as a tragic character and we dated too now.

Maybe this screen is waiting for the right moment so that I can't resist it. Honestly, if I got this quest before. Maybe I will reject it outright.

But because I already know Deon, know him, like him, he finally was honest with me about himself. Do I have the heart to let Deon meet his tragic end? My conscience really couldn't bear to refuse this quest.

With a heavy heart but also with an anxious heart, I pressed the yes button.

And I can see a list of skills that I can get if I do the quest. This is like farming games where I have to deposit items first before I can get the prize.

Wait a minute, Why do I have to do Quests all full of romantic scenes. 

Teasing Deon, holding hands, hugs, cheek kisses, and so on until there is something most erotic that makes you

My face heated up instantly.

But in the most erotic part, namely doing it with Deon, the prize was clearly visible.

‘Clear the karma of Deon hart’

My eyes and mouth opened wide. I reflexively tightened my hug which made Deon squirm. I realized that I immediately let go of our hug.

"What's wrong with you all this time, it's like you've been seeing a ghost?" Deon's face became dirty. Maybe he's sulking because I keep bothering him.

I can only smile nervously. Technically, it is true that the screen that appears suddenly is like the jump scare.

"N- it's nothing! This is just because I'm hugging you for the first time. So I'm nervous." I avoided Deon's gaze. I don't even know if Deon can accept this reason.

Of course I'm not a fool who would say screen to Deon. He must not know that he had a tragic ending and only I can change his life.

If he found out, he would most likely kill all the demons and himself right now.

Of course that's something that can't happen now.

“Me too, this is my first time in a long time. "

“Then shall we hug again, I promise this time I will be quiet. “

Well, we hugged again, and in the end we both fell asleep.

To Be Continued

How is my innovations? Are you like it?

[elizais]

how to survive the great war

pm!osamu dazai x pm!reader summary: the night dazai has to leave, he knows he can't lose someone else. warnings: some spoilers, i change some stuff around a teensy bit (obvs), a bit angsty but we work through it, alcohol mentioned throughout but not descriptive wc: 2.4k

that night dazai knew he had to leave. he knew what he was told to do and he had just lost one of the people who kept him going, he couldn't lose you too. so, when you found him in your favourite abandoned spot once you couldn't find him anywhere else, you were distraught. the man who had helped you both more than you could ever think of wasn't there anymore, and osamu had to leave as well. you couldn't leave with him or else the chances of survival for either of you went down tremendously, so you two devised a plan:

the past few days, you were barely together due to work. that's what everyone knew so they didn't question it, and that was true! you both worked for the port mafia so everyone knew of you two. but, tomorrow everyone would know that the demon prodigy had left and you would go to work and "find out" then and there.

to make this plan work and be believable, the new reason for not being around each other was "because you had an awful argument" a few days ago and once you won't go home straight away tonight. you will go to chuuya's and be inconsolable over how you haven't had a real conversation with osamu "not because of work but because of arguments." and get chuuya super drunk. you will act drunk but only get tipsy so that you can recall what happened last night with chuuya when mori inevitably interrogates you.

"osamu, what will you do while i'm there?" you asked him for your peace of mind. "don't worry, just don't go in that hat rack's car at any point of the night." was his response. "can you make sure he doesn't take the blame either?" to which he sighed. "for a mafioso you do care an awful lot." osamu teased. "well an old friend said i should be on the side that helps and protects people." you eyed him. "fine." he rolled his eyes.

after chuuya's event, you will go to your apartment see dazai had left a note reading "this is over. goodbye y/n" and you will get yourself fully drunk (not really, you will empty your alcohol bottles into the plants. but you will tell mori that this is why you can't remember anything else.) as this goes on, osamu will be starting his time off the grid. you genuinely couldn't know anything, if anything happened and it forced you to give away that information - you were both dead. as much as this killed you not knowing where he was, at least one part of this story would be true.

at around 2:30 am, you will go and grab a new phone with a new phone number from one of the mafia's distributors. mori had told you a while ago you should change phones to not build a trail against you, so when they message mori to tell him after you buy it this will come up in mori's interrogation. your answer will be simple "i was incredibly upset, your words spoke to me and i didn't want to ever contact osa-, dazai again. i thought he was just skipping work when i didn't see him when i walked in today." that would kill off that lead for mori.

then, you would finally go back to your apartment and organise the sale of it. this is what really got to you when you put it into action. the apartment you both got when you were 16 with your mafia connections the moment you found out he was an executive in a shipping container. when this is brought up by mori this will be the longer answer, at this point you would have 'found out' he betrayed the port mafia. "i will be damned if he knows where to find me after what he done." will be your explanation if mori finds out about this sale.

that was the last step of the plan, because osamu assured your teary eyes "we will find eachother again. i promise." he never lied to you about such important things, and after all.. you were another mafia executive who has known this man since forever. you held out your pinky before he connected his before kissing the part where your pinky touched his. "i'll see you later, 'samu." you knew this was the end of your relationship, for now. he responded as he stroked your cheek "i'll see you even sooner, my dear." before you both turned around, not looking back once as time was strong, but you two were even stronger.

and that is when you went right to chuuya nakahara. to begin what divides dying because you're in the mafia or dying because you left the mafia.

"y/n? what's wrong?" the ginger asked, shocked one of the toughest mafia members was shaking at his penthouse's entrance. you were genuinely upset but not over what you were about to tell him. "it's osamu.. we haven't had a real conversation since that argument." you explained, allowing a few tears to fall. very unusual from a mafia executive. and then the plan was given the go ahead when chuuya's solution was alcohol. just like you had planned. you did feel bad for tricking one of your closest friends but this was for both of you. once you got him complaining about everyone, he was absolutely done for the night. you slowly removed yourself before you were too intoxicated to move to the next step of the plan.

you headed to your apartment. you knew there would be a note there that would upset you for the story but you couldn't help but fight back real tears. you couldn't cry yet as you had to come off as tipsy on cctv so that when mori performs a makeshift investigation, you are in the clear. but the second your apartment door shut behind you, all your feelings were let out. you prayed this was some sick joke and osamu was in the other room and nothing bad had happened to the man who kept you both alive on many separate occasions. but you had to survive, because you knew osamu was trying his best too.

on the counter, you saw the note, the note that sealed this reality. although it was you who put that into the plan it killed you. it killed you more than what the mafia could ever do to you. then, you went through what you and osamu discussed.. it was time to dump the drinks. you laughed at your thoughts as you remembered how samu would make fun of you and your plants but now they were saving both of your asses. you checked the time.. "2:08" read out on your phone's screen. hours ago was the last time you would see the person you love most for a long, unspecified amount of time. you had 22 minutes before you had to get a new phone. you decided to spend those 22 minutes, or 1320 seconds pulling out the box of memories underneath your clothes.

the beat up gift box held your fondest memories. for a leader in a mafia, you were a big softie. you knew dazai was too (deep down as well). you traced over the stickers your love put on when you called it boring. fruit stickers, the labels of his bandages.. the most random ones. you smiled as you saw the hello kitty ones he stole from elise. remembering the day your mission was to babysit her and you bought face paint. your phone buzzed with a notification from the bed as you kneeled on the floor, not even opening the box yet. the time read "2:23" and you decided that it was close enough and you got ready to leave.

walking out of the apartment you looked at the note again, a little harder this time. pieces of the ink had ran a little bit.. was it possible he had cried? your heart broke into a million little pieces and the glue that could fix it was off the grid for everyone.

you drove to the warehouse that supplied the mafia's doings. you brought the money in cash as per their requests. they would send a message to mori informing him of your purchase which is exactly what you needed to happen. you only needed a new phone but you splurged for a new laptop too. just to cheer you up. but as you stepped out of your car and walked into the warehouse that is usually empty held hirotsu and kouyou.

before they could see you, you put on a brave face. they would certainly ask what you were doing and why. you headed in.

"oh! y/n! what are you doing here, sweet?" your dear friend kouyou asked. you two had built up a strong relationship and you trusted her. but not enough. hirotsu had walked into the storage room with one of the workers so it was just you two. "me and.. him.. we got into a bad argument." and that was all she needed to hear before pulling you into a hug. "have you spoken to chuuya darling? aren't you two friends?" she questioned, concerned for you. you nodded and by then she had to leave. you left 20 minutes later, not seeing hirotsu again and picking up your new devices with another shady worker.

then, you found your way to the place you called home and organised the sale of it in a month. you didn't care about who desperately wanted it, you just had to make it through a month here without your person.

the morning rolled around and you did not sleep at all, you knew what happened but nobody else knew you did. everyone knew what happened so as you walked into the infamous HQ, all eyes were on you. some people completely avoided you, others sent you sympathetic smiles but mori did nothing of the sort. he put on his gentleman facade as he waltzed into your meeting that you lead for your subordinates. "hello everyone. we have all noticed a certain mans absence so consider the rest of your meeting a time to catch up on paperwork." he beckoned you over and walked behind you to his office.

"y/n" he spoke as he sat down. you cut the polite greetings. "where is osamu, mori?" you glared. of course you knew but he didn't know that.

"that is exactly what i grabbed you to ask. what do you know about his disappearance?" he tried to look right through you but you did not let him. "i haven't had a real conversation with him in ages.." you began with lie number one. "where did you go after work?"

"straight to chuuya's. i know i'm not a drinker but it just all got to me last night." mori nodded, silently asking you to carry on and you did. "i got there and we both got drunk with his collection. i don't know how long i stayed." mori looked at his sheet that faced him and nodded, most definitely adding up with what the redhead said.

"afterwards?" and that was your cue to get the tears welling up. "i went home.. and there was a note and i just drank it all away.." lie number two. "you can go if you want.. i don't want to be where he used to be." you tossed him your keys to search your apartment before beginning again. sounding angrier. "it's one thing betraying me but.. the port mafia?" and that was what got mori to believe you. you explained the new phone and he didn't even ask about you selling your apartment. you didn't know if he knew about anything else but this conversation went really well.

"i don't need to look through your apartment, y/n. i'll take your word for it." he passed the keys back before dismissing you. with your back turned to him, a smile creeped onto your face. you wouldn't know for at least a year but for now.. you were both safe.

walking into your own office, an envelope with a red wax seal was on the middle of your desk. it wasn't there before.

opening it, you could make an educated guess of who it was from. there was a sheet which read "7280285E" . and then below it the address of where an abandoned building used to be, the same one you and osamu would sneak into when you were 15. but why would he put the emergency armed vault's code too? until you remembered the building was demolished and turned into an apartment complex.

it hit you immediately after what you needed to do, you added up all of the individual numbers in the code: 7+2+8+0+2+8+5. equalling to 32. osamu wouldn't stop there. 3+2=5. searching up the new building, the apartments that were in there did have one called 5E. you knew that was where osamu wanted you to go.

once the day was over, you got into your car and just drove. you smiled at the kind receptionist as you beelined for the elevator. the glowing circle with an 'E' in the middle was begging you to push it. as you were carried up you felt nervous. what if it wasn't him? what if it was the worst news ever behind that door?

walking as fast as you could without appearing suspicious, you found the door. the keypad stared at you as you knew what code was needed for access. "7280285". engraved into your memory. walking in felt like a fever dream.

a large cardboard box sat on the counter of the unfurnished room waiting to be a home. opening it carefully revealed books. classics, new releases, romance, fantasy.. and then your favourite at the bottom. the spine was broken and it was completely annotated?

you skimmed over the pages noticing every paragraph there was a word highlighted in a familiar green, contrasting the purple covering the rest of the words. the green words read in order:

stars, crows, television, don't, worry, sweet, safety, is, here, come, every, 4th, weekday, dogs, grouse, naive, they, it, noodles

you couldn't help but laugh at the random words he sprinkled in. but your message was clear on how to communicate with him. every thursday you will leave a book mindlessly annotated for him to read between the lines of and he will do the same.

it won't be easy, but you will find eachother again.

sorry this was long and for not updating the past few days! i was busy writing this and my practices were all over the place! i got carried away but i think i will work on some multis stuff because those seem to be loved. thank you for all the kind messages and i love to speak to people!

[666writingcafe]

An Interview With Simeon

Part Six

Question One: How do you feel right now?

A little tired, but otherwise okay.

Question Two: Would you rather live in the city or in the woods?

I find a lot more inspiration in the woods, plus there aren't nearly as many people. MC says that I'm an introvert because I get my energy from being alone, and I think they might be right. Not that there's anything wrong with groups of people; they just can be draining at times.

Question Three: Do you believe in soulmates?

Absolutely. But I don't believe in exclusivity. There are many types of soulmates, not just the romantic kind. Like, Luke and I are familial soulmates. I was meant to be his guardian, and he was meant to be my kid. *pauses* Don't tell Luke I said that. He hates it when I call him that.

Question Four: Who is the first person you call when you are happy or sad?

When I want to express good news, I call Raphael. He and I have grown fairly close since the war. But he's what I would call a fair-weather friend. He's made it clear that he doesn't want to hear about my struggles, and I've made peace with that. (So who do you call when you need to vent about something?) It depends on what it is. If I just want to gossip, then I reach out to Solomon, but if it's deeper and more existential, I call either MC or Mammon. MC is a great listener, and Mammon's been through a lot of the same things I have. Plus, he's actually willing to share his emotions with me, unlike a certain dark-haired demon I know.

Question Five: What makes you smile on bad days?

Luke and MC doing something together. They're quite cute.

Question Six: How would you feel if your daydreams became real?

In some ways, they already have. Unfortunately, I can't reveal much more than that, or I'd be in a lot of trouble.

Question Seven: What are you proud of right now?

I recently overcame a really bad case of writer's block.

Question Eight: What are you scared about not accomplishing in life?

Contentment.

Question Nine: What do you think about casual relationships and long-term relationships?

I think it's important to communicate those kind of boundaries upfront and check back in frequently to see if they need to change. Otherwise, the relationship isn't going to last, and one or both parties are going to be unhappy.

Question Ten: What do people say about you that you like?

Do you mind if I go on a bit of a tangent? (Does it pertain to the question?) Yes. (Then go ahead.) So, MC gives the best compliments. They have a way of looking deep inside someone's soul and saying what they need to hear. It can get very specific. (Give me an example.) MC once told me that the words I write rival the greatest pieces of art in the human world. They were reading a short story I wrote about nature, except nature was a metaphor for something--or rather, someone else. *pauses* Just thinking about it is making it hard for me to focus on this interview, and I'm sure you have more questions to ask, so we should move on.

Question Eleven: How would you define love?

What an...interesting question. *clears throat* I'd say love consumes you. You can feel it from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet, but its pull is strongest inside your heart. (Have you felt that way about someone before?) I feel that way about someone now, but to reveal who it is would cause an uproar. (Do they at least know how you feel?) Yes, and they've agreed to keep it private.

Question Twelve: How much value do you place on other people’s appreciation?

A lot more than I should. I'm not supposed to care too much about people's opinion of me, because my relationship with Father is suppose to supersede all of that.

Question Thirteen: Have you broken someone’s heart?

Yes.

Question Fourteen: What do you think about “love at first sight?”

I've seen it happen once. A bunch of us did, actually. (Was it during the initial exchange program?) *smiles* It was.

Question Fifteen: If you woke up tomorrow as a person of the opposite gender, what would you do?

The same stuff that I do now. I know, not very exciting. Technically, I could change my physical form to a person of the opposite gender if I wanted to. We only look this way as to not scare off humans. But I like my current appearance. I feel it matches how I feel on the inside.

Question Sixteen: What is the most ridiculous thing you have ever bought for yourself?

A 200 pack of glitter gel pens.

Question Seventeen: What was your last Doogle search?

As soon as I say it, you'll know exactly why I searched for it: "how to put out a magically-induced fire".

Question Eighteen: What do you think attracts people to you?

I'm able to appear calm and peaceful. It doesn't always reflect what I'm feeling, but that's a whole other story.

Question Nineteen: What color is your aura?

A light shade of baby blue.

Question Twenty: If the world ended tomorrow, would you survive?

With help, yes. If I was by myself, however...I don't think I'd last very long.

Question Twenty-One: If your house was on fire, what is the first thing you're grabbing?

Luke. Objects can be replaced. He can't.

Question Twenty-Two: If you could take your favorite celebrity on a date, where would you go?

They enjoy late-night picnics at the park. (You say that as though you've already been on a date with your favorite celebrity.) That's because I have. Several times, as a matter of fact. Although, their fame is subjective. They're not nearly as famous where they come from as they are here in the Devildom.

Question Twenty-Three: If you could shapeshift into an animal, which one would you be?

A human world Arctic fox.

Question Twenty-Four: If you could do anything without any judgment, what would you do right now?

It would require a hotel room with a magical lock on it, soundproof walls, and lots of...shall we say, supplies.

Question Twenty-Five: Do you easily get scared?

Not anymore. I used to, and then the war happened.

Question Twenty-Six: Can you keep a secret?

Can you? *awkward silence* (We should wrap this up.) Good idea.

Question Twenty-Seven: Have you ever felt tongue-tied on a date?

Yes.

Question Twenty-Eight: Can you spend a whole night awake?

I have many times before, and I probably will do many more times in the future.

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick, @5mary5, @expressionless-fr, @tenkobitch, @budbuddnbuddy

[sapphic-agent]

Let's Talk About the Leaks

[Spoilers for recent leaks, turn around if you don't want to be spoiled]

So I usually don't do this as I don't keep up with the manga other than for research and I only really check in with the anime from time to time, but holy hell I feel like I just woke up in the Twilight Zone.

My fellow antis have been talking about this all morning, so I figured I probably should be too. So. I looked at the leaks...

Bakugou's Quirk There's so much wrong here. Not only because of his awakening (he's had like three at this point), but how he was brought back. Apparently a drop of sweat made it into his bloodstream and restarted his heart. First of all, a small explosion is not the same as a defibrillator. If this was Kaminari's quirk we were talking about, that would have made sense. But an explosion- even a tiny one- has way more of a chance of hurting the heart than restarting it. Second of all, that's not how his quirk works. Bakugou's sweat is only combustive on his palms. It isn't just the glycerin in his sweat, it's a reaction of that with the acid that comes from his palms. No other parts of his body have ever produced explosions because no other parts of his body produce that acid. So it makes no sense that his heart was restarted by his quirk. No amount of work or dedication is enough to change your previously established anatomy. ("Pain" being the answer also makes no sense. His sweat wouldn't seek out an injury and try to correct it, again that isn't how that works)

AFO's vs Bakugou There's no way. There's no way that Bakugou's gonna take down the big-bad of the series. First of all, Bakugou shouldn't even be a match for the Demon Lord. It's been stated multiple times that OFA is the only quirk that can stand a chance against AFO. That's literally the point of passing it down and finding successors and why only a few heroes even know about AFO's existence. No random explosion quirk should be able to match against AFO. Second of all, AFO. Sweetie. Sister. Why are you letting this random kid get your panties in a bunch? Because he looks like someone you had a hate boner for 200 years ago? Not to mention his body is barely being held together. Drive a spike through his heart or some shit and be done with it. It's really not that deep for you to be letting him get under your skin. (All Might literally ripped his face off. There's no way he hates Bakugou more, there's just no way) This match-up is also random as hell. AFO and Bakugou don't have a moral conflict. There's no clashing of ideals or a reason for them to hate one another past AFO likening him to Second. There's nothing driving this fight. Either Izuku or All Might (or both) should be the ones to defeat him. There's no emotion to this fight. Nothing compelling and nothing interesting. It just exists to boost Bakugou as a threat level to AFO and make him more important than he is.

Izuku Izuku girlies stay losing, bro. He's barely had a part in this war. Shigaraki's clearly toying with him and that's the extent of their interaction. No deeper conversations, no indication that Shigaraki even wants to be saved. So his role in "saving Shigaraki" is all for nothing and doesn't contribute to the war at all. It would be different if this was a fight in the making. If Shigaraki and Izuku were set up to have a huge emotional moment in the end. But beyond the mall scene, they've barely had any meaningful interactions. Hell, say what you want about Uraraka wanting to save Toga, but at least they have had more than one interaction. Uraraka is probably the only one who does understand her to a degree. It makes some amount of sense that she wants to save Toga. But Izuku doesn't understand Shigaraki nearly enough to save him. They're supposed to be parallels, but they haven't been built up to be. This interaction is meaningless.

So that's what's going on in the manga right now, take it how you will. There's more I haven't talked about but I generally don't have the energy. If you guys have anything to add please feel free to.

[aredhel-erinti]

Love and Redemption Rewatch: ep. 1

I genuinely love and adore this show but with how little content there is for L&R, I had to made some for myself.

Beware of SPOILERS for the whole story! Seriously...

I'm so excited!!! The opening song is still so good and still so full of spoilers. Like really, Si Feng with the wings??? The creators were not afraid... it was a choice.

Who do we have here? Yep, they have shown our bird and our monkey right off the bat.

The whole opening monologue is such a great misdirection! They even say it - one comes after the other! But the viewer expects two players, so this very suspicious setup is completely disregarded.

Wow, they really show everyone, don't they? :)

The concept of soul AND primordial spirit was very hard for me to grasp the first time, but rewatch makes it quite clear.

I swear I have seen this guy somewhere...

Yep, it's this guy from The Journey of Chong Zi.

This is ANOTHER great misdirect because we know that God of War and Star of Mosha are going to be reincarnated at the same time and OF COURSE Si Feng is here... so who could he possibly be, am I right? :)

And another great thing? The demons genuinely don't have the most important information either. :D

I almost forgot that they need Rahu Ketu's weapon to unseal the cup... all these macguffins to keep track of.

And this ist how the story tells us that Xuan Ji and Ling Long are twins... pretty easy to miss.

Ten months?? That's quite post-term!

Ling Long is amazing from the start. Protective older sister is something I need more of... and Ling Long is fierce!

The introduction of Min Yan is also on point: the only one who can keep up with Ling Long and never leaves her, but at the same time is always backed into some corner by her.

He is regretting it already... :D

Ling Long is talking about all these "handsome men" she gets to meet and Min Yan is not amused...

I have questions! Are all of these golden winged birds?? If so, do they really cast out so many potential warriors? To fend for themselves in hostile world without their powers?? That's rough AND wasteful...

I can't decide which picture sums up the Master of Li Ze Palace (does he have a name???) better, but I love him and his terrifying claws.

The bird lantern! There truly is foreshadowing for everything, if you know what to look for!

Yuan Lang's and Wu Zhi Qi's "friendship" is so interesting to me, because sometimes Yuan Lang almost looks like he means it... but the powerplay always comes first.

Wu Tong goes from awestruck to smirking in 0,2 seconds and then proceeds to bully the sister of the girl he likes... it's actually quite realistic.

I honestly can't remember when Si Feng stops stammering... I will have to look out for that.

Ling Long isn't afraid to say it. :D

Min Yan still isn't enjoying the whole "let's look for handsome mysterious guys" vibe, but Ling Long has him figured out.

The relationship between these two is extremely enjoyable right from the start. :)

I think this is the scene that made me definitely fall in love with Ling Long. She is determined, driven, protective and smart, and she is not afraid to use tactics like this - the crying and evocation of their mother is extremely well done and the way she immediately cuts her crying once she gets what she wants is hilarious. No one can mess with her sister, not even their own father!

This is a very specific morning routine. It can't be easy to make your tea from dewdrops fallen from a plum tree... just saying.

This relationship is off to a very bad start.

I already forgot how hostile Si Feng was at the beginning. I would feel bad for Xuan Ji, but she doesn't mind...

Si Feng is repressed and Chuan Ji is absolutely clueless about everything and it's very entertaining to watch. :)

The candle dragon sounds are genuinely scary.

This is a very impulsive decision on Chuan Ji's part and one she should have thought out better. She knows the rules, knows that the mask is important. What is she hoping to achieve by taking it off? It frustrates me a little, this lack of forethought, but the story needs it to get moving.

And here is another clue... wow, that's quite a lot for episode 1.

One episode was enough to rekindle my love for most of these characters... this rewatch could get quite annoying unfortunately . :)

[dreamingsushi]

Till the End of the Moon - Episode 11

When Susu comes back from the Huangyuan, it’s already been three months since war has started between Sheng and Jing. Ye Qingyu is meeting up with Tantai Jin that tries to make him switch sides, arguing that his king is trying to get rid of the Ye family, deeming it is too powerful. I mean, it makes sense, if the general of your armies is too powerful, it could be threat to your own power. So will Ye Qingyu agree and save people’s lives or not?

Tantai Jin manages to convince Ye Qingyu to order retreat with his arguments that it might hurt his family, but it will spare the lives of many innocents.  Tantai Jin sends some people to take the Ye family to Jing, were they won’t be hurt. This probably doesn’t include his elder sister, since she’s now married to the prince. Also, Tantai Jin wants to unite all the countries so there won’t be anymore need for war. Isn’t conquest some sort of war too? Ye Qingyu asks about Ye Xiwu, but Tantai Jin says he has no news of her since she left months ago.

Susu leaves the little girl with a new family and gives her new name, so no one will find her as Lan An’s daughter.

The king is really angry that everyone from the Ye family disappear. He send the 6th prince to the front, but promises not hurt his wife. She’s being bullied by the people in town, because she comes from the Ye family. Xiao Lin wants to let her stay in the capital, but she begs to go with him. He finally agrees to bring her on the battlefield and to protect her. This girl is really annoying. She’s pretty useless. Anyways.

This is going to be a short recap it seems. Tantai Jin needs to absorb more power so Pian Ran tracks a monster for him down the Mo river. One their way to retrieve the dragon sleep below the waters, Susu intercepts him first after talking to her brother. When she’s about to get caught by Tantai Jin’s soldiers, she’s saved by Xiao Lin and Master Pang. Tantai Jin tries to convince Xiao Lin to side with him, but he knows they can’t work alongside and admits that they can only be ennemies. Xiao Lin says he’ll stop him right there. They wake up the dragon. The animation on this is pretty bad. It looks like a plastic toy. Intricate toy, but still a toy.

Stupid Bingchang followed her husband. Meanwhile we learn that this dragon is on the verge of either becoming a god or a demon. He’s right in a dream. To stop him from becoming a demon, it should awaken. Susu jumps into his purple eye to try and awaken him. To be honest, this is the first time I think she isn’t being smart. She knows the first key is a dream. Anyone else thinking right away that this could be related to the first key to break the evil bone? She only thinks that this could be the beginning of everything and jumps in without thinking further ahead. Tantai Jin gets in too. Then Xiao Lin. And then Bingchang falls carelessly and ends inside too. Once in the dream, they won’t remember who they are.

In the dream, Susu is reincarnated as the sister of Xiao Lin and is the princess of a water tribe. She’s admiring Tantai Jin, now reincarnated as the god of war while he fights against the demon lord. Bingchang seems to be Tantai Jin’s wife. I’m not going to explain any more than that, it was mostly Tantai Jin defeating everyone because he’s super badass in all versions of himself it seems.

That’s going to be it for today, hope you enjoyed this shorter recap. I’m trying to got straight to the point and only mention important part of the story, it’s taking less time to actually watch the episodes and also this drama is quite complicated with all the different characters and sub plotlines so I feel it’s easier for everyone if I skip some details and focus on the main events.

[curufiin]

Just found Calantar and I wanna know more about the baby🥺

OMGGG i’m so happy you like him 😭😭 okay let me try to explain his deal in an actually coherent way bc apparently i am bad at doing this

SO. He’s part of my curufin au, aptly named Ringmaker Curvo (fic coming never), where Annatar instead seduces Curufin while he’s still in Nargothrond to make the rings of power.

Basically after Luthien kicks his ass, and before Curufin gets thrown out of Nargothrond, Sauron decides he can’t go back to Morgoth like this and embarrass himself because Morgoth would kill him. So he ends up flying in the direction of Nargothrond, crashlands somewhere nearby from exhaustion, and is found by hunters from Nargothrond who take him there.

Once inside he snoops around, and finds out about the general chaos inside going on including the two C’s. Annatar proceeds to pretend ro have some super important request, is granted a meeting with Curufin, and they bond over their love of smithing. They end up going out pretending to go rescue Finrod, Curufin discovers Annatar is Sauron (he doesn’t really care and is immediately planning to use him and betray him later), they run into Carcharoth and murder him, and get the Silmaril somehow. Shoutout to @maironsbigboobs for helping me with this mwa

So anyway more unspecified things happen and honestly idk the plot of the AU. Onto Calantar. Celebrimbor disowns Curufin early and leaves Nargothrond by himself. Curufin is absolutely devastated, and by this point his sanity is at some questionable level, and he’s also kinda in love with Sauron (sauron x curufin ftw yay). So he approaches him, and is like “hey. My son fucking abandoned me. Give me another son.”

Obviously they can’t just procreate since they’re both guys and Sauron doesn’t feel like getting pregnant, so they decide to actually create a baby. Like, literally craft a baby. Curufin gives up a part of his soul for this (and almost dies), but they still need the flesh to bind the soul with. Sauron uses his flesh, probably cuts off a forearm <- that got changed! Here is the new post :) but TLDR it's the same except now Sauron splits off some of his soul and Curufin cuts off an arm. and after a long ritual involving necromancy and grave robbing and whatever, Calantar is made! He’s born as a toddler so no need to deal with an actual infant.

Originally, he was just named Laurinquar (golden fist) Curufinwe/ion because Curufin is awful with names. However, since he was made of Maia flesh, Calantar is *very* attuned with the Song, and his light powers eventually show up, hence the name Calantar (lord of light/bringer of light). He also inherited Sauron’s shapeshifting, but he can only shapeshift into elven forms, not animals.

Eventually Curufin is kicked out of Nargothrond anyway, plot happens, and he dies. I haven’t decided if Curufin should be taken to Angband as a “prisoner” or if he should die in the second kinslaying, but either way, he’s dead, Sauron’s got a ring, and Calantar is in Angband now.

The deal with Calantar is that he’s basically a mash up of every bad thing about Sauron, and every bad thing about Curufin. He’s arrogant, snide, extremely haughty, he’s a perfectionist, he thinks he’s better than everyone, and he is extremely loyal to his parents. He truly believes that Sauron is bettering the world, and he gets very aggressive when he thinks someone is insulting his family. He was also raised partly by Morgoth (who definitely also wanted to use this demon elf child for his own purposes) sooooooo

All of that means he functions as a very efficient attack dog for Sauron once he does grow up and get his powers under control. He isn’t really involved in the War of Wrath because he was still pretty young, but in the second age he does do a lot of dirty work for Sauron, including commanding his own battalion to attack Eregion. Ofc he has either no idea or only a vague idea Celebrimbor is his brother, and Celebrimbor has no idea who he is. When Sauron gets “imprisoned” by Ar Pharazon, Calantar is in Middle Earth managing Sauron’s henchmen and property (yay property manager!) and generally laying low. He fights in the Final Alliance, almost dies, and goes into hiding for many years.

Since he’s made of Sauron’s flesh, this means he’s also sort of bound to the ring in the sense he can feel its presence and can feel it calling to him. Eventually, he’s sent out to find the ring and return it, and this is where his elven disguises become useful. While Calantar is a huge asshole, he is perfectly capable of playing the role of a wise elven guardian and get people to trust him, only to turn on them at the last second. Watch out frodo

[deathwords334]

Good Dogma Info (Part 1?)

As I'm working on the fic, I kinda realized that some specifics aren't going to be talked about directly. I mean I could throw them in there, but Chapter 4 alone is gonna be so dialogue heavy that adding character bios and stuff would just ruin it all. So, for anyone who's curious or if I feel like looking back on stuff, I'm gonna post some character info/lore dumps.

Hopefully I can find time to do some drawing so I can get certain details out. Especially in the case of these characters. They probably have the most cosmetic changes.

The Stygian Triplets

First a bit of info from Dogma: In the movie, they work for Azrael, and implied to be demons. They might be connected with flies, but not much else is known about them. They're mute, deadpan, and look like teens.

Now the changes! For starters, they have names now: Nike, Bia, and Zelus. These are names they adopted soon after the Plagues. As far as they know, they didn't really have names when they were angels. Their pronouns are they/them. Partially this is because they rarely stray from each other, and how things were when they were angels. They have lives separate from each other, but if they had to chose between those lives and each other, they'd chose each other in a heartbeat. The triplets were Putti before the Great War. In this AU, a Putto was considered manual labor. They weren't given much say in projects or their conditions. In fact, a lot of angels generally ignored them. Most of them looked very similar: smaller/youthful appearance with smaller wings and unique hair. Literally the typical cupid stereotype. They were curious, eager to talk, and overly affectionate if left to their own devices. Many of them joined Lucifer's side or Azrael's side in the Great War. Unfortunately many of them died or were severely injured in the process. The Triplets were among those that joined Azrael. They lost a lot in the War. Currently, they are secretaries/data collectors for Azrael's department, but they still reap souls when they're needed. They specialize in deaths related to children and families because they look younger than others. They are mute and deadpan still, but Azrael can understand them without trouble. They know sign language. Bia: They act as a bridge between the death department and the rest of Heaven when Azrael is occupied. Specifically, they work with lower levels of angels as the Archangels tend to ignore them. While they do collect and manage records, they also have the task of subtly trying to convince angels to side with the death angels in the end times. They lost an arm in the Great War and wears a prosthetic to help with day to day tasks. Because they work mainly in Heaven, they adhere a little closer to heavenly fashion. Nike: They work closest with Azrael, having expressed zero desire to work with Heaven or Hell directly in comparison to their siblings. So, they handle data surrounding the judgement of souls (i.e. court reports). They lost their eyes in the Great War and have a pretty severe scar across their face. Typically, they either hide it with a mask/glasses and/or have eyes painted onto their face to avoid humans panicking. They consider the eye painting a bonding moment with their peers. Zelus: They assist in diplomacy between Azrael and Hell. While they still have work to do in Hell (mostly as a scrivener notary), Azrael assigned them this position so they could spend time with their partner. (Said partner isn't gonna show up in Good Dogma, so she's gonna be another post). Of the three, they are the most absent from the office. Azrael, however, thinks their position is just as important. They're the only triplet that didn't lose a body part in the War, and they feel some guilt from that.

Misc Details:

Putti have hairstyles with various cowlicks or protruding hair. In fact, in this AU, the Erics were Putti before the Great War. That should give an idea of what I mean. Nike and Zelus specifically have cowlicks that look similar to moth antennae. Bia keeps their hair back to fit in with angelic fashion.

Their clothes are similar to angelic cleric fashion, but modified to fit their respective roles. Bia's looks a lot like Muriel's. Zelus' is more punk/skaterboy. Nike's is similar to Bia's, but has some old fashioned eccentricities to mirror Azrael's suit. Their clothes are grey with muted colors when specifically working with Azrael.

[staringdownabarrel]

So here's my overall thoughts on the Demonwar duology as a whole.

I think my main issue here is that these two books really should have been one. It feels like in a lot of ways, this duology wanted to be in a similar kind of space as the Krondor's Sons duology early on in the saga: they add a bit to the world, but they aren't necessarily the most important to the series as a whole.

Unfortunately, I think the fantasy genre had changed a fair bit between the late '80s and early '90s, when the Krondor's Sons books were coming out, and the late '00s, when these two books were coming out. In the twenty or so intervening years, it feels like the assumption had increasingly been that any fantasy book coming out would be a part of this larger, ongoing series, so even stories that would have been fine as standalones got padded out into trilogies.

This duology was one of the clear losers of this assumption. Even though it would have been fine to turn around and say, "Hey, this is already a part of quite a long storyline, releasing it as a one and done will be fine," the publishers probably didn't want to hear that.

The other issue I have with this duology is that it's basically just a rehash of the Darkwar trilogy. Like, Pug and co. go into the fifth circle to deal with the new demon threat, there's a new breed of elf introduced that's meant to be super duper important but then turns out to just be there, and a legacy character gets killed off. Some new characters are introduced, but you sorta know that they're going to fade into the background after this.

I'm near certain that this is the entire reason I don't remember reading these two books at all. I'm almost certain that I did when I was first reading through the series in 2008-2010, because these two were the newest two out at that point. I forget if I reread them in late 2013/early 2014 though, because I know this or the previous trilogy is about where I stopped during that readthrough. (I got caught up with some uni-related stuff at the time.)

This is as far as I've ever gotten in the saga, though. The next trilogy in this saga, the Chaoswar trilogy, hadn't been released yet when I was first reading through these books. The final book had only just recently come out the second time and I stopped before I got to it.

Reading through these two books, I get why a lot of people feel the writing got worse as the books progressed. This has been an issue to some extent for a while, but prior to the Darkwar and Demonwar series, it was largely a matter of opinion if it was actually that much worse or if you were coming from a place of hardcore nostalgia from the earlier books. Here, it's definitely a matter of these books having worse writing in a lot of ways.

I think this is unfortunate, because in some ways, these two series had the most complicated plots. Instead of it just being an A plot, a minor B plot, and maybe a very marginal C plot, these books had four or five plotlines going at once. I think the actual problem Feist was running up against here is that this is the kind of plot structure that would have worked really well if he'd built up the lore a bit more early on, but at this point he's working with a very bare bones lore (for a series this long) and a series that he knows is winding down for good.

The other part of this is that traditionally, the Riftwar formula is that the A plot is either the new war between nations or the buildup to it, and the B plot might be Pug's magic shenanigans. This ties into the worldbuilding problem. Because the magic system hadn't really been built up beyond there being a Greater Path and a Lesser Path, except for when the distinction isn't there, most of the magic is basically "...and then Protagonist cast elemental spell, and Antagonist casts shield, but Protagonist put more energy into elemental."

Essentially, it's only two steps removed from some of the ki attack heavy fights you might have seen on Dragon Ball Z as a kid. This is unfortunate because now the series is at a point where it kinda does need a deeper magic system beyond it just being rule of cool stuff. Especially at the kind of levels Pug and co. are operating at, the plot would have benefited from there being some marginal rule of magic they could exploit to win the day against much more powerful enemies.

Usually I'm not the kind of person who thinks everything in a setting needs to be explained to the nth degree, but this is one of the places where having at least a few basic rules would have helped. This series is a really good example of things being a hindrance rather than a boon after a certain point.

Anyway, that's it for now. I only have three more of these books to go now.

[raven-6-10]

Ok, I had about five hours of sleep. Not enough but there are naptimes in my future.

For now, back to worldbuilding!

@hamelin-born @charlottedabookworm @starofthemourning @a-world-in-grey @cactusprisms

To get you up to speed, my convo with @aniseandspearmint from comments, that's relevant to this idea.

aniseandspearmint powiedział(a):

Maybe ancient alteran tech shields can keep out demons? Something something they’re responsible for the havens too? (And probably at least partially responsible for the scourge tbh given their actions elsewhere)

raven-6-10 powiedział(a):

@aniseandspearmint Ok I should probably clarify that SGC is //wrong// about the ruins. Sure they //look// like Ancient architecture but that’s because Solheim was copying the look.

And the havens are entirely magical and the work of humans in the generation post Astral War. Because I’m Done with Everything Is Ancient Tech Or Derived From It thing that stargate verse has going on.

aniseandspearmint powiedział(a):

@raven-6-10 Oh okay, yeah that makes sense! That does irk me too with everything in the stargate verse originating from the ‘four great races’. I was just thinking that if this IS an alteran research base, then they probably meddled you know? …. If its not alteran in origin, why is there a GATE there tho?

raven-6-10 powiedział(a):

@aniseandspearmint Why not? There’s shitton of gates all over the galaxy, some of them on worlds that are otherwise uninhabited. They could have left it there just in case. Or maybe a small group of them retreated to this part of the galaxy after the fall of Atlantis and relocated a gate for easier access. Who knows? Not me certainly.

Unless you mean the base in particular. Which was probably Solheim studying the thing tbh.

aniseandspearmint powiedział(a):

@raven-6-10 Yeah, good point. A lot of people fall into the mistake of HAVING to have answers for things there just might not be answers to! Its like, the og ring on EARTH wasn’t in its original place? And still isn’t! Its on an entirely different continent now! And the alterans were popping them on every planet they visited like flags so sure, there could be one on Eos without a deeper reason

Plus Solheim were presumably as curious about it as the military and scientists on earth were! So maybe this is a very similar set up to what happened on earth with the gate, except things derailed before they managed to figure out how to turn it on?

Yeah, so basically the Solheim Empire got their hands on a gate, managed to get past the outer casing to figure out: 1) it's a really high-tech thing inside; 2) doesn't match any of the known human cultures on their planet; 3) made to contain a stupid amount of energy for some purpose.

So they moved it and the DHD to a facility away from anything particularly important, and put it in the lowest levels so if it blew up on them it hopefully wouldn't take the entire countryside with it.

Why does the SGC think it's an Alteran facility?

Because I think it took place really early in the series, like between Jolinar and meeting the Tok'ra early. So they didn't actually see that many examples of Alteran architecture or tech. Their biggest finds were Heliopolis - which had that medieval castle aesthetic going - and that one ruin with the Archive.

So if they see a high-tech facility that's none-the-less several millennia old (and they didn't carbon date it exactly, either) and the address comes from the Ancient Database, they of fucking course are going to assume it's an Ancient place.

They are going to have a nasty wake up call (:

***

Back to Eos, I think this is a No Prophecy verse.

The thing with Somnus usurping the throne still went down, but a little differently :)

Like, Ardyn-never-arrived-at-Angelgard different :)

Like, there-was-actual-fucking-research- into-a-cure-to-the-Scourge different (:

So there are butterflies all over the place, even if I'm placing some nets so we have a mostly recognisable Eos to play with.

I do not need a ffxv/stargate crossover.

But if I ever wrote it, The Misunderstanding would be hilarious (for me) (not for sg teams)

[irregularjohnnywiggins]

talk about iron will's importance. now

Iron Will's importance to the series is kinda threefold, tbh.

On one level, it's clearly a reference to the Dragonslayer of Berserk fame, and therefore one of Taro's clear inspirations for especially the first Drakengard, where it appears as Hymir's Finger*.

Consequently, it's also tied in to Caim as the 'discount Guts' of the Drakenier universe***, which is extremely important to the events of Nier. See, I may be wrong about this, but aside from the Nameless Blade you get at the start, Iron Will is I think the only weapon the game... gives you? Like, there's weapons you get in the course of the story, but Iron Will is the only weapon the game itself hands you in a cutscene, and as such is kinda... by necessity relevant? Like, active thought had to go into handing you that sword at that point in the story, and considering that this is very early into Act II of the game, where our protagonist takes a darker turn along with the rest of the story... well, I may be too far up Mr. Yoko's thematical backside (please see next paragraph for evidence of that), but... I don't think it's an accident that you get given a weapon so closely associated with Caim at this point in the story, especially when the conversation immediately following Iron Will's completion ends with Nier resolving to help Gideon's mad quest for revenge purely because he gets to kill a single Shade at the end of it.

On a level deeper than even that load of nonsense, the evolution of the Iron Will as a weapon kinda mirrors the evolution of the series itself? As presented in Drakengard 1, the weapon story is about the weight of death, with the unsettling implication at the end that perhaps the sword has found a wielder who is unconcerned with death, a perfect microcosm of Taro's then-philosophy of 'you have to be pretty fucked up to kill people'. This evolves down to Nier, where the sword begins by boasting of the people it kills, but in the final part of the story admits that it dreams of things beyond its status as a weapon of slaughter. Then Drakengard 3 portrays it as a thing that despises its own existence as a weapon, consumed by bloodshed and longing for something it cannot have - kinda like Zero, eh? And finally**** Nier Automata, where the Iron Will is rusted, useless and abandoned, but dug up regardless to engage in unceasing pointless war, over and over again. That's the inherent advantage of the Iron Will, I think - it allows Taro to present the theme of the games in microcosm, because the weapon itself does not need more explanation than 'Dragonslayer at Home'.

Soo... yeah. I think the Iron Will is really important to the themes of Drakenier, and I'm really exited to kill all of humanity wielding it this time around the Replicant train.

*whose name, incidentally, plays into the 'reverse religious morality' thing that Drakengard 1 has going on thematically - in much the same way that the final two routes are the literal Red Dragon of the Book of Revelations fighting the literal angels of heaven alongside a man named after a literal demon, you do it wielding a sword named after what might be interpreted as either the creator god or the father of evil from Norse Mythology.**

**Which, in a weird way, also plays back into the Berserk influence - Guts in that series is fighting against something called The God-Hand, after all, but we're not here to get into Berserk right now.

***I don't know for sure if it's the sword Caim uses in Drakengard 2 - looking at the video of his arrival now I can't tell if it's Broken Iron or his own personal sword - but honestly it feels like it should be Broken Iron, so I'm counting it.

****I know what the DOD2 and Reincarnation stories say, but Drakengard 2's is about as bland as everything else about that game, and Reincarnation has the inherent problem of being a LiiiiVe SeeeRvICE, so you can't easily sum up the themes of every single story in it.

[purplesoulcollection]

Unnatural Love

Part 18

Synopsis : Name has being transmigrated into the world of I'm Not That Kind Of Talent without ever reading the novel. She's not being reincarnated as a human but as a devil as well.

Hi There! I want to let you know that this fanfiction story isn't solely my creation. I borrowed the concept from @quqiwo2. I haven't actually read the novel either, just some spoiler to the end.

I hope you'll excuse my spelling and grammar mistake, because English not my first language.

He grabbed the letter he had discovered along with the sword before finally making his way to the Emperor.

“Greetings, your imperial majesty. Will you entrust your life to me?” These were Deon's words as he entered Emperor Eduardo's private chambers. He's not even have any intention to make a small talk first.

The Emperor felt no fear from Deon's declaration; instead, he found reassurance in it. "What do you mean?"

"You and I both understand that neither of us desires a lengthy existence. Why not take matters into our own hands?"

"And what about the Duke?" The Emperor was aware that the Duke was somehow involved in Deon's anticipated revenge.

"My brother has handled that. I have defeated the demon king, and you are the only one left who has yet to face my retribution, Emperor Eduardo."

"Don't you want to embrace life? Wasn't your fierce will to survive what made you a hero during the eight-year war? And now, you wish for death?"

Deon sighed wearily at the emperor's words, recalling the struggles he faced during the war and the drive that kept him going. Yet, all of that seemed meaningless to him now.

"Yes, I fought hard to stay alive. I longed for happiness, but my frail body made that a distant dream. Finding joy amidst the chaos of war was simply impossible."

"I held resentment towards those who pushed me to fight. But in the end, I survived, fueled by a desire for revenge."

"Tragically, I ended up taking the lives of my own parents due to a misunderstanding. My brother nearly gave up everything for my sake, and my beloved Adele sacrificed herself to ensure my future..."

"My life feels like a tragic tale, filled with the sacrifices of those I hold dear."

And then he fall his gaze to the emperor, his face looks so terrible, mixed with anger and regret. "Do I truly deserve to live after escaping death at the cost of their lives, all while they wished for my happiness? I wanted them to be alive so I could find joy myself."

"If I am left alone in this harsh world because of their sacrifices, I see no point in continuing this sinful existence. I would rather cast away this meaningless life..."

And then Deon actually looked down the emperor like he is below him. "And what about you, Emperor? Are you certain you still wish to live in this world? Your nephew is eagerly waiting for you to relinquish the throne. Wouldn't your continued existence only stand in their way?"

Deon retrieved the letter from his blazer pocket and tossed it before the emperor. It was a summons for him to engage in battle with another kingdom. "Engaging in wars with other kingdom only serves to destabilize this empire, making it an unsuitable place for a new and inexperienced heir to take the throne."

"Do you really want the crown prince to endure a never-ending conflict because of your desire to fight everyone?"

"Moreover, after just emerging from a battle with the demon king, is it wise to provoke another kingdom and risk defeat? That would be quite humiliating, and the consequences won't fall solely on you, Emperor."

"And also aren't you already struggling with the repercussions of that curse, given your bad karma and a body that no longer heals?"

"How do you know so many things about me, Deon?"

"That’s not important, Your Majesty. What matters is that my reasoning should resonate with you. Your untimely death would allow the heir to ascend the throne without difficulty, freeing you from the burden of your curse."

"That's quite a provocative proposition, Deon. If I were to end your life, would you do the same to me?"

"I approach matters of business with utmost seriousness, Your Majesty. There's no need for you to be concerned."

"Then you would be labeled a traitor in this kingdom. Are you prepared for that?"

"I never sought that noble title in the first place. I don’t feel deserving of it, and to me, it holds no value. Besides, if the Emperor cannot eliminate me, I’ll simply wait to face the punishment for betraying you, your majesty."

The emperor burst into laughter upon hearing Deon's plan to belittle his capabilities, his expression turning fierce as he fixed his gaze on Deon. "So, you think you can take my life, regardless of whether I can take yours? You've truly lost your mind, Deon."

And Deon also made a crazy face, letting out his last madness. "You’re the one who’s truly lost it, Emperor. You’ve turned me into your royal pet. As the king, it’s your duty to manage your own wild beast."

"I see your point, Deon. It seems that only the insane can keep the insane in check. Fine, I’ll entertain your wild notion!"

"Don’t you want to bid farewell to your dear nephews? Don’t you care enough about them to let them live?"

"Not necessary; I can meet my end whenever I choose. I was merely curious—if I couldn’t take your life, would you then take theirs?"

"No, once I’ve dealt with you and you’ve failed to take me down, I’ll simply wait for someone to discover me drenched in the blood of your esteemed emperor. Your nephews are of no concern to me."

"What a heartless way to see my demise become the reason for your capture."

Do you want to answer one last question before I meet my end? May I ask, Deon?

With a look of irritation, he granted the emperor's final wish, "What is it?"

"Why are you doing this? You could have fought and perished in that war, yet you chose to come here to die instead."

Deon’s face twisted in bitterness, as if haunted by a painful memory. "I… I promised her, I wouldn’t kill recklessly again. For me, there’s a significant difference between killing in war and killing out of revenge."

"If I had to choose between fighting you or killing you, I would choose to kill you. I’m tired of war and death. I’d rather end it all by taking your life, and then my grudge would finally fade away."

"Alright, I see." That was their final exchange before they both unsheathed their swords.

The disparity in their strengths was evident. The king, bearing wounds that would never heal, faced Deon, who had risen to the status of a hero, making it clear who would emerge victorious.

As he had promised the emperor, he indeed took the emperor's life, drenched in his blood.

He then poured himself a glass of the emperor's wine, determined to savor it fully, as this would be his last drink.

Then the guards came and saw the situation where the emperor was killed with a very strong smell of blood wafting and Deon who was busy drinking wine was seen.

"Emperor! Your Majesty the Emperor!! You are a traitor, Deon hardt!!!" The panicked guards immediately surrounded Deon who wasn't even surprised when he saw the sharp spears being pointed, he even looked bored by all this.

"Yes, arrest me right now and sentence me to death." He obediently raised his hands, not having the slightest desire to fight the guard.

Then after being arrested, Deon calmly waited for the day of his death, he was visited by his older brother, but that didn't change what had happened to Deon, he would still be executed.

Meanwhile, Lofty's troops who were left behind tried to rebel. But thanks to Deon's cooperation to calm Lofty's troops and disband the troops under Deon's leadership who had betrayed the empire.

The troops who were forced to be scattered ended up living a life outside the army. They no longer kill each other but live peacefully as citizens.

Then the day of his execution arrived, Elphidius, who had not yet been officially appointed emperor, presided over the execution of Deon, the hero of mankind, which was attended by the people who also mocked Deon.

What a tough start for Elphidius.

"Bring Deon Hardt is to be executed here!" Elphidius commanded, inciting the crowd to hurl insults at Deon. He was forcibly taken away, preparing for his grim end.

"Do you have any last words before you meet your end, Deon?!" Elphidius, Allethea stood beside him, both visibly furious.

Their anger was understandable, given that Deon had killed their uncle.

This was the moment Deon had anticipated. "Absolutely, I have something to say! Do you know why I killed the former emperor?"

"I don't know, weren't you just obsessed with doing that?" a voice from the crowd shouted, met with a chorus of agreement.

"Let me explain. The previous Emperor ordered me to engage in battle against another kingdom." A wave of shock rippled through the crowd, followed by murmurs of discontent. It was clear they were unhappy with the former emperor's command.

"After our empire fought against the demons, we are short on troops to take on other kingdoms, yet the emperor still insists on waging war. Is he out of his mind?"

"He'll surely draft soldiers from among you, the citizens of the empire, to satisfy his war cravings. This could lead to the downfall of our empire, and Crown Prince Elphidius might lose his throne."

"I couldn't let that happen to our empire or to any of you. So I made the choice I believed was right as a true hero and end him right now..."

"Liar!! You must have killed him because you wanted too, Deon. Even though uncle was good to you!!" The crown prince said he was shocked by Deon's words. He didn't expect that his uncle still loved them both…

"Kind, where does he's so kind, crown prince? Oh yes, crown prince Elphidius and princess Allethea, you were also really loved by your uncle until the end, one of his last questions was whether I would kill you both…"

"Execute him right now." The crown prince no longer wanted to hear anything from Deon. He was already very hurt by Deon.

After the order was issued, Deon was forced to bow and his head was finally beheaded…

But after that rumors circulated that Deon should not have been beheaded, because he was a hero who saved an empire that was maniacal about war…

The End?!?!?!?!?

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This is not the end of my story, but if you're feeling great with this bad ending, it's okay to not see the next chapter.

[thebindingofpillo]

Belial

Despite looking like a run of the mill demon (and a pretty weak one at that!) Belial is actually a fallen angel.In his angel days, he was very peculiar, being some sort of double angel, like a weird French playing card. They had four wings, two halos and four arms, and were, by all intents and purposes, considered a single entity by everyone else. While types of angels and choirs are pretty standard, outliers are still possible! Like humans, angels come in all shapes and sizes, so even very unusual angels like Belial can exist. They’re not treated any differently (as long as they stay true to their purpose and continue to serve God). Some angels might be born without body parts, or with extra body parts. I might need to update the angel lore post aaaah oh no what have I done.

Before falling, Belial was a Dominion, and as such was tasked to watch over human civilisation, and aid where necessary to help humans evolve towards the best version of themselves (civilisation-wise, biological evolution was another thing entirely) BUT while helping humans was permitted, directly interfering with their lives (even to make them better!) was strictly prohibited. Belial could, for example, inspire a human to do the right thing (with a prophetic dream, or a vision), but he couldn’t outright push them in that direction. And, not being an archangel, he couldn’t directly speak to humans either. This displeased him to no end, but while one half of him understood that humans were creature of free will, and he couldn’t force them to follow the path of God, the other half was not having it. If humans didn’t have free will, then they wouldn’t engage in wars, or made eachother’s life worse! There would be no hate, no cheating, just good little sheep, following God as they should.

The two halves fought constantly, and this caused them to split in a pretty gruesome way. This is also what caused Belial to fall: his insistence of steering humans in the right direction and interfering with their free will caused him to lose his status as a Dominion but he didn’t fall like a normal angel! His wings were given to his other half, as well as his halo. While his halo wasn’t broken into horns, this still severed his connection to God and limited his powers. In the fight that preceded the split, he also lost an arm, that was later given to his other half as well.

What once was one, now was two: Belial is now both the shadow that roams Hell, longing for the power he once held, and the weird half angel with two halos and three arms, still watching over humanity.

More lore under the cut and his connection to Judas.

Once fallen, Belial found himself extremely weak, even more than an average demon. Most of his time was spent trying to survive in Hell, and trying to find a way to get to the human world. Belial still felt a twisted love for humanity, and if those stupid angels were so hellbent on stopping him, he would find his own way to get those stupid humans on the right path. He just needed people. A whole army of them, to spread his message and push humanity on the right path. And who knows, even change those angels and God’s stubborn ways. ANYWAY since he’s basically half a fallen angel, he’s too weak to do basically anything. He can manipulate shadows, but it’s more an illusion thing, he can’t really fight with them, and even his brimstone is weak as shit. To acquire power he needs a host to possess - and that’s where Judas comes in (and others too, but Judas is important and we’ll talk about him at length later). Finding a host is usually easy - he targets vulnerable people, outcasts, people in desperate situations etc. so he can get close to them and possess them at once in a moment of weakness. While Belial is a fallen angel, a possession works differently for him, he can actually bind himself to a human (like a demon does) and physically get inside their body to control it (this is also because he doesn’t have a traditional physical form like all the other fallen do). Anyway why would Belial need to possess humans? Even a possessed human is no match for a powerful enough demon. The only way for Belial to acquire any sort of power is to have a big enough army of followers, and this is where the Children of Belial come in (I swear I’m not gonna make this weird, bear with me).

The phrase “sons of Belial” (beni beliyaal) is used in Hebrew to mean “worthless people” such as idolaters or the people from certain cities or groups. Just know, that whenever I’ll refer to the “children of Belial” it’s actually a metaphor for the people who follow him, and not his actual children. The Children are basically a massive cult of brainwashed people. Belial is not powerful enough to actually take away a human’s free will, so he just resorts to indoctrinate people the old fashioned way. The indoctrinated humans are then sent on their way to recruit more and more people into Belial’s army, and by using the powers of their human souls combined, one day he’ll be able to take down both Heaven and Hell and establish a new way of life. In his eyes, he’s already doing something good by bringing people to his side. His followers do not fight with one another and he’s convinced they’re living in perfect harmony, without crime and violence. And while harvesting their souls will mean killing all his followers, that’s a necessary sacrifice to make. The first army of Children of Belial was wiped out (I don’t know if I should attach a biblical event to it, but maybe maybe Jericho) so now he needs a new one and THAT’S WHERE Judas actually comes in!

Judas was already on Belial’s radar since he was Jesus’s best friend, and Belial still held a huge grudge against God because he killed all his children and set his plan back by centuries SO getting closer to Judas was a no-brainer. He first tried to entice him with promises of knowledge and riches, but what Judas really wanted was to get together with Magdalene (HAHA sappy), since he was jealous of all the time she spent with Jesus, which was even better for Belial! He could get Jesus’s two best friends, getting back at God in the best way possible. So Belial struck a deal with Judas, and bound himself to Judas’s soul. Now he just had to get the girl and get to work. Betraying Jesus was just the icing on the cake. Only that Judas hung himself, mad with grief for having caused his best friend’s death, so Belial’s grand plan to rebuild his army went to shit real fast.

BUT while Belial needs Judas’s soul to gain his powers, he can’t really harvest it yet, since his plan is far from being over. Judas’s soul doesn’t belong to Belial yet, and this is why Judas can still get to Heaven! (that, and being God’s best friend. We will also get to that). Sadly Judas is a little bitch, and still feels unworthy of heaven after all these years, so he keeps coming back to life (I need to elaborate on that too, and actually explain why the cast keeps getting reincarnated but I’ll do it in a later post). Anyway, God keeps giving Judas new chances at life because He loves him very much and wants to see his friend happy for fucking once, and Belial is caught in the middle, always trying to get his way in the meantime. He wouldn’t even need Maggy to get his plan in motion, but over the millennia he’s become slightly obsessed with her, as a point of pride. What better way to get back at God than using His two dearest friends for his plan? She’s THE Mary Magdalene, like come on. He needs her to be the first follower of his new army, as a last fuck you to God. Only then he’ll move onto other people, she has to be the first. And it’s gonna work this time, for sure! He’s been preparing for this moment for millennia, nothing is gonna stop- Wait, Judas killed himself before he could even start thinking about his plan? GODDAMN-

Note: as being said, Judas can still get to heaven because his soul doesn’t belong to Belial just yet. This could change if he were to harvest Belial’s powers, even to do good (or maybe not, I still need to think about that). This also puts Judas’s suicides over all his lifetimes in a new perspective, since now he doesn’t kill himself over and over again to escape Belial, but also to protect Maggy.

Very small tangent on the Book of Belial The BoB is basically the sacred text of Belial’s new religion, but also a collection of magic formulas, spells and dark, forbidden knowledge. He put it together himself the first time he possessed a human, and since it’s all blood magic (the same kind monster use!) it taps directly into a human’s life force, and can be therefore used by humans too. Belial usually entices his prey with promises of infinite knowledge, and then works his way into their minds. Now that Judas has made a deal with him, the book is his property, and Belial always finds a way to make him find the book, in every single life. The book itself is incredibly old, and has been copied over and over again to preserve its knowledge. Only the first 100 pages or so are actually written by Belial tho, the rest of the tome is actually written by Judas, like some sort of fucked up diary. Judas is a nosy little shit, so he kept taking notes and writing down any weird supernatural occurrence he’s seen and occult creature he’s come across. Kinda like the three diaries from Gravity Falls, Judas is Stanford.