#Asura the city of madness

[toastinthegrass]

[ratasum]

I know I bang on about this pretty regularly but god every time I do the Thaumanova fractal I think about the city that had been above it. I think about people trying to figure out what was going on, if it was just a light show, or if someone had messed with power crystals in the core again.

But then the stones start breaking apart.

Creatures blink in and out of existence, and so do people standing three feet away from you.

The reactor having a city high above it is a throw away piece of lore. Only really mentioned in one place and then swept under the rug. Hundreds of people displaced or killed, the first city that was victim to Scarlet's actions.

Everyone remembers Lion's Arch.

[justaboutsnapped]

need to watch more of the korean cinema i've saved to china's shittier cousin of gdrive but i don't have time to. sigh

[icedteadrinker]

[nxvermore]

Seriously, where are the gifsets of Jung Woo-sung chewing glass 😭

[randomisedgaming]

A list of of the Xbox 360 DLC still up to buy in the store! Along with all delisted DLC we are aware of.

With just over a week list we've put together a quick list of every game where the DLC is still up to buy in the UK store. They may be delisted in your region however. This list was made using the all search list, which is still up at present expect it to disappear on the 29th of July.

Link here: https://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Games/All?SortBy=Title&PageSize=90

Change the letters GB to the letters used for your region of the website North America is US for example.

All the games listed have at least one of their DLCs still up in the store, some DLC content may be delisted already and a few still show in the store and can't be purchased as we found out with the Map Pack for Ninety-Nine Nights II yesterday when we tried to buy it.

This is a full list and includes all games, some have the DLC on Xbox One / Series others do not. Some games like N+ and Lost Planet 2 have DLC on Xbox 360, but not in the Xbox One Store.

Some games like Fallout 2 and Star Wars The Force Unleashed have complete version. Others like Mass Effect, Borderlands 2 and Two Worlds have version with some of the DLC on disc, but not all.

I've tried to list free DLC and Compatibility Pack for games, but as I've done this in a hurry I haven't labeled them all. Hopefully I didn't miss any from the official marketplace webaite, but let me know if I did.

I've tried to list all games with their full name, but the shop's A-Z has some odd listings, something they list them by the word "the" but not others. Some games are just initials, some use the full name like Tony Clancy's etc.. others skip the author name and just use Splinter Cell.

Example Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes turns up in the C listing.

I've included a very rough list of delisted or unobtainable DLC at the bottom which is a work in progress. At some point in the future, I might try and turn this into a full list of games with DLCs.

All Xbox 360 Games With DLC in UK

0-9 Numbers

0 Day Attack On Earth

0D Beat Drop

3D Ultra Minigolf

A

A Kingdom For Keflings

A World Of Keflings

AFL Live

Alan Wake

Alice: Madness Returns

Alien Hominid HD

Alien Spidy

Alien: Isolation

Aliens Vs Predator

Aliens: Colonial Marines

Anarchy Reigns

Ancients Of Ooga

Arcana Heart 3

Arcania

Arkanoid Live!

Armored Core V (Has Compatibility Pack)

Armored Core: Verdict Day (Has Compatibility Pack)

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

Assassin's Creed II

Assassin's Creed Revelations

Assassin's Creed III

Assassin's Creed Rogue

Assassin’s Creed IV

Assault On Dark Athena

Asura's Wrath

B

Band Of Bugs

Banjo Kazooie: N N B

Bastion

Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman: The Telltale Series

Battle Vs Chess

Battlefield 3

Battlefield 4

Battlefield Hardline

Battlestations Pacific

Battlestations: Midway

Beautiful Katamari

Bellator: MMA Onslaught

Binary Domain

Bioshock

Bioshock 2

Bioshock Infinite

Birds Of Steel

Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend

Blazblue Continuum Shift (Has Compatibility Pack)

Blood Bowl

Blue Dragon

Bomberman Battlefest

Bomberman Live

Borderlands

Borderlands 2

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Brink

Brütal Legend

Bubble Bobble Neo!

Bulletstorm

Bulletwitch

The Bureau

Burnout Revenge

C

Command & Conquer 3

Command & Conquer Red Alert 3

Command & Conquer Kane's Wrath

Caladrius

Call Of Duty 2

Call Of Duty 3

Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Call Of Duty: Black Ops

Call Of Duty: Black Ops II

Call Of Duty: Black Ops III

Call Of Duty: Ghosts

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare2

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare3

Call Of Duty World At War

Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood

Capcom Arcade Cabinet

Carcassonne

Carnival Games: In Action (Subtitled: Monkey See, Monkey Do In North America)

Cars 2: The Video Game

Castle Crashers

Castlestorm

Castlevania HD

Castlevania: Lord Of Shadows

Castlevania: Lord Of Shadows 2

Champion Jockey

Child Of Light

Choplifter HD

Civilization Revolution (Three DLCs are not available for purchase on Xbox One)

Conflict: Denied Ops

Costume Quest

Crackdown (Game And DLC Is Free To Download)

Crackdown 2 (Game And DLC Is Free To Download)

Crazy Machines Elements

Crimson Alliance

Crossboard 7

Crystal Quest

D

Dance Central

Dance Central 2

Dance Central 3

Dance Evolution

Dante's Inferno (Trials DLC Delisted)

Dark

Dark Souls

Dark Souls II (Has Compatibility Pack)

Dark Void

The Darkness

Darksiders II

Darkstalkers Resurrection

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast

Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3

Dead Island

Dead Island Riptide

Dead Or Alive 5

Dead Or Alive 5 Last Round

Dead Rising

Dead Rising 2

Dead Rising 2 Off The Record

Dead Space

Dead Space 2

Dead Space 3

Dead To Rights Retribution (DLC is free, but only in North America, delisted in Europe)

Deadfall Adventures

Deadliest Warrior

Deadliest Warrior: Legends

Deathspank: Thongs Of Virtue (Achievement DLC)

Defense Grid

Destiny

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Diablo III: Reaper Of Souls

Dirt 2

Dirt 3 (All bar Online Pass delisted, needed for online play and only sold in Xbox 360 Store)

Dirt Showdown

Dishonored

Disney Infinity 3.0

Disney Universe

DmC

Dark Messiah Might & Magic: Elements

Dogfight 1942

Dollar Dash

Domino Master

Doritos Crash Course

Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age 2

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

Duke Nukem Forever

Dungeon Defenders

Dungeon Siege III

Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires (All Free)

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 (All Free)

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3

Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce

Dynasty Warriors 7

Dynasty Warriors 8

E

Earth Defense Force 2025

Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon (DLC not sold in Xbox One store)

Enemy Front

Enslaved

Escape Dead Island (All Free DLC)

Exit (All Free DLC)

Exit 2

F

F.E.A.R. 2

Fable Anniversary

Fable II

Fable III

Fable: The Journey

Fallout 3

Fallout: New Vegas

Fantastic Pets

Far Cry 2

Far Cry 3

Far Cry 4

Fight Night Champion

Final Fantasy XIII-2

Fist Of The North Star: Ken’s Rage

Fist Of The North Star: Ken’s Rage 2

Front Mission Evolved

Frontlines: Fuel Of War

Frozen Free Fall: Snowball Fight (Free Game With £40+ Worth Of DLC)

Fruit Ninja Kinect

Full House Poker

Funtown Mahjong

G

Guilty Gear Xx Accent Core Plus (Free DLC Upgrades Game To R Revision)

Game Of Thrones

Gears Of War

Gears Of War 2 (All Free)

Gears Of War 3

Gears Of War Judgement

Get Fit With Mel B

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

Ghostbusters: Sanctum Of Slime

Gin Rummy

Goat Simulator

Golf: Tee It Up!

Gotham City Impostors

Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto V

Grid Autosport

Gripshift

Gyromancer

H

Halo 3

Halo 4

Halo Wars

Halo Reach

Hard Corps: Uprising

Hell Yeah! Wrath Of The Dead Rabbit

Hitman: Absolution

How To Survive

Hydro Thunder

I

IL-2: Birds Of Prey

Ilomilo

Infinite Undiscovery (All Free)

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

Iron Brigade

J

Joe Danger Special Edition

Joe Danger 2: The Movie

Just Cause 2

Just Dance 2014

Just Dance 2015

Just Dance 3

K

Kameo

Kane & Lynch 2

Kane And Lynch: Dead Men

Killer Is Dead (One DLC Smooth Operator Pack not sold on Xbox One)

Kinect Fun Labs (Air Band, Avatar Kinect, Battle Stuff, I Am Super!, Junk Fu, Kinect Rush: Snapshot, Musical Feet,

Mutation Station) (All Free) (Some Expansion Delisted)

Kinect Party - Base Game

Kinect Sports

Kinect Sports: Season Two

Kinectimals

Kinect Joy Ride (All Free)

King’s Quest – Ch. 1

King's Quest

King Of Fighters XII, The

King Of Fighters XIII, The

Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends

L

L.A. Noire (Complete retail edition features all DLC and the PS3 exclusive case not sold on Xbox 360. It also restores the DLC quest back to their intended place in the story making for a far better version of the game, than the base one)

Lara Croft And The Guardian Of Light

Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead 2

Lego Batman 2

Lego Batman 3 Beyond Gotham

Lego Marvel

Lego Movie Videogame

Lego Rock Band

Lego Star Wars II

Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7

Lego Jurassic World

Lego Marvel's Avengers

Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Life Is Strange Episode 1

Lightning Returns Final Fantasy Xiii

Lma Manager 2007

Lococycle (Free DLC Is Required To Play Game, So Download It)

Lode Runner

Lost Odyssey

Lost Planet 2 (One Pack Not Sold In Xbox One Store, Map Pack 1)

Lost Planet 3

Lumines Live! (Two free DLCs are only up for download on Xbox One)

M

Madballs Babo: Invasion

Mafia II

Magic 2015 (Free DLC Magic 2015—Garruk’s Revenge Must Search For As Game Is Delisted DLC isn't)

Marathon: Durandal

Mark Of The Ninja

Marvel Puzzle Quest

Mass Effect (Pinnacle Station DLC Only On Xbox 360)

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 3

Max Payne 3 (All Free Compatibility Packs Needed For Online)

Medal Of Honor

Medal Of Honor Warfighter

Mega Man 9

Mega Man 10

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Metal Slug XX

Meteos Wars

Metro 2033

Metro: Last Light

Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor

Might & Magic Clash Of Heroes (Achievements)

Mighty No. 9

Mindjack

Mirror's Edge

Monday Night Combat

Monopoly Plus

Moon Diver

Mortal Kombat [9] (Most DLC Is Delisted Only Compatibility Packs Remain Up, Must Use Search To Find)

Motionsports: Adrenaline

Motogp13

Mud

MX VS ATV Reflex

N

N+ (Still Up, DLC Is Only Up On 360 To Buy, One Is Free)

Naruto Storm R

Nat Geo Quiz! Wild Life

Naughty Bear Panic In Paradise

Need For Speed Most Wanted

Need For Speed Carbon

Need For Speed Rivals

Need For Speed Undercover

Nier

Ninety-Nine Nights II (3 DLC's The Map Pack Said It Is Delisted In The Uk When You Try To Buy It And Errors. Use Search To Find)

Ninja Blade (Free DLC, Use Search To Find)

Ninja Gaiden II

Ninja Gaiden 3

Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor's Edge

Novadrome

O

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Wizard's Tower DLC Errors When You Try To Buy On Xbox One)

Omerta - City Of Gangsters

Onechanbara

Orcs Must Die!

Outpost Kaloki X

P

PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX+

Painkiller Hell & Damnation

Payday 2

Peggle

Perfect Dark Zero

Photo Party (Free Game / App For Xbox Vision / Camera)

Pinball FX2

Plants VS Zombies Garden Warfare

Port Royale 3

Portal 2

Prey (All Free DLC)

Prince Of Persia (2008 Retail Title)

Prison Architect: Xbox 360 Edition

Project Sylpheed (Free DLC, New Missions)

Prototype 2

Puzzle Arcade

Puzzle Bobble Live!

Puzzle Quest

Q

Qix++

Quantum Conundrum

R

Rabbids Invasion: The Interactive TV Show (Warning Do Not Buy Ubisoft Season Pass As It Doesn't Work)

Race Pro

Rage

Raskulls

Red Dead Redemption

Red Faction: Armageddon

Red Faction: Battlegrounds

Red Faction: Guerrilla

Remember Me

Renegade Ops

Resident Evil 0

Resident Evil 5

Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City

Residen Evil Revelations

Residen Evil Revelations 2 (Digital Edition)

Ride To Hell: Retribution

Ridge Racer Unbounded

Rise Of The Tomb Raider

Risen 2: Dark Waters

Risen 3 Titan Lords

Rock Band

Rock Band 2

Rock Band 3

Rock Band Blitz

Rocksmith 2014 Edition

Rugby League Live 2 (Has Compatibility Pack)

Rumble Roses XX

S

Sacred 2 Fallen Angel

Sacred 3

Sacred Citadel

Saints Row

Saints Row 2

Saints Row IV

Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell

Saints Row: The Third

Samurai Warriors 2 (Xtreme Legends Upgrade, Expensive DLC)

Sanctum 2

Scarygirl

Scene It? Box Office Smash! (DLC Is Called Award Winners)

Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster

Skate 3

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Sleeping Dogs

Small Arms

Sniper Elite 3 (Has Compatibility Pack)

Sniper Elite V2 (Has Compatibility Pack)

Sniper Ghost Warrior

Sniper Ghost Warrior 2 (Has Compatibility Pack)

Soltrio Solitaire

Sonic & All-Stars Racing

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

Sonic Adventure

Sonic Adventure 2

Sonic Generations

Sonic The Hedgehog (2006)

Sonic Unleashed

South Park The Stick Of Truth

Space Invaders Extreme

Space Invaders: Infinity Gene

Spelunky (Game Delisted DLC Still Up To Buy Two Items)

Spider-Man 3

Split/Second

Splosion Man

SSX

Stacking

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

State Of Decay

Steel Battalion Heavy Armor

Stranglehold

Strania

Street Fighter III: Online Edition

Street Fighter IV

Street Fighter X Tekken

Stuntman: Ignition

Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition

Supreme Commander 2

T

Tom Clancy's Endwar

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent

Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Test Drive Unlimited 2

Texas Hold'em

The Crew (Bonkers I Know As The Game Has Had It's Servers Turned Off, But You Can Buy The DLC For This Dead Game!)

The Evil Within

The First Templar

The Gunstringer (one Is Free Two Are Paid For)

The Last Remnant

The Maw

The Outfit (All Free Map Packs)

The Raven Episode 1

The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 1

The Walking Dead: Season Two

The Wolf Among Us

Thief

Things On Wheels

Thrillville: Off The Rails

Ticket To Ride

Timeshift

TNT Racers

Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider Underworld

Tomb Raider Anniversary

Tomb Raider Legend

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5

Too Human (Game And DLC Is Free To Download)

Trials Fusion

Trials HD

Tropico 4

Tropico 5

Two Worlds II (One Of The DLCS Is Not In Game Of The Year Edition And Has To Be Bought "Defense")

U

Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon

V

Vampire Rain

Vanquish

Vigilante 8 Arcade

Virtua Fighter 5

Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown

Viva Piñata

W

The Walking Dead

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

Warriors Orochi 3

Watch Dogs

Way Of The Samurai 3

Worms

Worms 2: Armageddon

Worms: Ultimate Mayhem

Wreckateer

Wrecked Revenge Revisited

X

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Y

Yosumin! Live

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Decade Duels Plus

Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium Duels

Z

Zombie Driver HD

# - Symbols

虫姫さまふたり / Mushihimesama-Hutari-Black-Lavel (Japanese Game, DLC Listed For UK Owner Who Had The Game)

Delisted Games With DLC

Ace Combat 6

Ace Combat: Assault Horizons

Airmech Arena

Angry Birds Trilogy

Army Of Two

Army Of Two The Devil’s Cartel

Army of Two: The 40th Day

Batman: Arkham Origins

Battlefield: Bad Company

Battlefield Bad Company 2

Chromehounds

Crysis 3

Eets: Chowdown

Fantasia: Music Evolved

Final Fantasy XI: Seekers Of Adoulin (Online Only)

Forza Horizon

Forza Horizon 2

Forza Motorsport 3

Forza Motorsport 4

Grid 2

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition

Hellboy: The Science Of Evil (DLC Was Never Released, But Achievements For It Were Added)

Hunted Demon’s Forge (Pre-order DLC Only Never Sold)

Just Dance (Need To Research Which Others Had DLC Likely Most)

Kinect Nat Geo TV

Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning

Kinect Sparkler (Delisted Still In Store Won't Let You Buy It)

Kinect Star Wars (C-3P0 Background Dancing DLC Only Sold With R2d2 Xbox 360 Units.)

Kingdom Under Fire: Circle Of Doom

Kung Fu Strike

Lego Dimensions (Delisted, May Need The Lego Models To Obtain Some Of The DLC)

Lollipop Chainsaw (Pre-order DLC Only Never Sold)

Lord Of The Rings: Conquest

Magnacarta 2

Mercenaries 2

Minecraft: Story Mode

Minecraft: Story Mode - Season Two

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition

Naruto Rise Of A Ninja

Need For Speed Shift

Need For Speed Shift 2

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (Had Compatibility Pack)

Project Gotham Racing 3

Project Gotham Racing 4

Phantom Breaker:Battle Grounds

Pinball FX

Race Driver: Grid

Section 8

Skate 2

Skullgirls

Skydrift

Snoopy Flying Ace

Soulcalibur IV

Soulcalibur V

Syndicate (Limited Edition Version Had Gold Weapons And Scanner Never Sold)

Tales Of Vesperia

Tales From The Borderlands

Tekken 6 (Pre-order Only Content)

Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X

Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X 2

Test Drive Unlimited

The Darkness II (Limited Edition DLC, never sold)

The Lord Of The Rings: War In The North (Weapon Included With Collector's Edition)

The Saboteur

Toy Soldiers

Toy Soldiers: Cold War

Trials Evolved

Undertow

World Of Tanks

Worms Revolution

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[worldismyne]

Soul Eater Lore brainrot

No secret I'm working on another long fic, but I acciedentally glanced at a part of the wiki that's attached to Fire Force and... yeah. I don't see it working (still reading it, but it's... yeah)

So uh, below the cut is my prewriting for fixing the lore. Because I wrote my first fic in the middle of SE's manga updating, and it added some extra constrictions I had to work with.

First, some canon things to work off of

Shinigami-sama is the god of order, not the god of death. He is a underworld/death god, but his powers are all about maintaining balance in the world of the living by killing people.

Shinigami-sama describes witches as destructive (examples of magic use in canon are: creating new life (weapons), creating black blood, creating magical tools, creating familiars (medusa's snakes), creating ice, creating an entire other realm, moving from one body to the next, moving things in space and time) Conclusion, magic may be destructive to order, but it does not seem destructive by nature.

Old Ones include: Lord Death (God of Order), Asura (God of Madness/Fear?), Eibon (God of Knowledge), Great Old One of Power (black blood looking thing, coincidence?, let's call them Khonsu), Excalibur (light/holy motif, instills metatextual chaos and cringe in characters). Presented as Eldrich like beings that each have a wavelength that produces some form of madness in humans. Eibon, Khonsu, Asura, Excalibur are sealed away from humanity for one reason or another at the start of the series, Lord Death is rooted to Death City. The world seems the most stable when they're not literally running around.

There can only be one true god for any given concept (order, knowledge, etc), if a new one fully awakens, the previous one dies. Kid was created intentionally knowing this.

Greek mythology is heavily referenced, but not always accurate. Ex. Hades was the god of wealth and ruler of the under world. Lord Death is the god of order and ruler of the over world. But general themes seem to line up. (Like the fact Death is trapped in one spot, guarding god-eating entities, deals with souls, etc.) All seems based on vibes.

Not counting Fire Force canon. We're sticking with the SE manga only. (I haven't finished FF, it's been a process > - >)

Head canons from my previous work...

Pandora, mother of witches, cursed the gods with mortality after releasing Khonsu from his prison. Similar to Asura's release, there was chaos as the world tried to regain order.

Lord Death is a fragment of Hades (God of wealth and the underworld)

Humans serve Lord Death (order, reaping souls, right and wrong), witches served a god of life (chaos, creation). They've been at war forever over the Hades v Pandora fiasco. Lord Death and Eibon partnering on the magical tools was supposed to bring balance, but it just made things worse for both sides bringing us to present day SE.

Chrona was an artificial recreation of the god of life, Ragnarok was used to hide the birth of a new god from Shinigami-sama by literally overpowering Chrona's wavelength their whole childhood/teens.

Basically, one side cannot be stronger than the other. Things have been a mess because Lord Death was trying to call all the shots instead of letting things be delegated. The literal universe has been trying to get back to normal with LD trying to force it to do what he wants it to. When you're only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

New stuff I'm work shopping to expand the lore.

Alright, so the first thing I did was like, a cursory glance at Greek mythology and the Fates/Morai are the ones in charge of who lives and dies (including gods) not Hades. So, since we're big on the number 8 in Soul Eater we're going to use the 3 fates to fill in those empty god slots.

So we'll have a god of birth/magic associated with the sun. (Inspired by the spinner Clotho)

A god of life/present/destiny associated with the moon (to replace the previous one god of life the witches valued the most, inspired by the allotter Lachesis)

And a god of demise/future associated with the stars. (Inspired by the inevitable Atropos)

They can be the 3 Asura ate, because they were the only ones who could have theoretically had the power to kill him. They knew this would happen (because, y'know, fate) and were the first to fragment into demi-gods before getting killed by Asura. Easy, breezy, beautiful; cover girl. 

So, then you can have a scenario where the witches' side and LD's side have been trying to compensate for the loss of these 3 major deities by taking over their duties. Which could theoretically maintain order, but it's all kinds of dysfunctional, and significantly less magical.

Bonus points for whenever one of them awakens without the other two, shit gets really chaotic.

SE begins when the new Allotter fragment tries to awaken, and the Inevitable is still missing/dormant.

[thekingofwinterblog]

Did Mrs Albarn Kill herself? - A Soul Eater Theory

So one of the oldest fan theories for Soul Eater was that Mrs Albarn was actually dead, and it was her husband who had been sending the postcards.

This theory had some degree of logic behind it, and if true, would explain Maka's complete and total inability to confront her Mother leaving her, and the incredible viciousness she has for her father.

However, while a nice fan theory, it didnt ultimately pan out, and frankly speaking, doesnt really fit in with the themes of the series.

However, there is another idea that i have been thinking about, that makes arguably more sense, would fit in with everything we are shown, and would make Maka's relationship with her mother's postcard even more poignant.

The theory is simple.

After sending the final postcard, lady Albarn took her own life.

Now there isn't actually any smoking guns, but when i began dissecting it, and the specific episode where Maka gets the postcard, i began considering things in a new light.

In this episode we learn that there has been a long time since Maka's mother sent her a postcard, only for her to suddenly send her one after madness began to infest the world in force.

Now while Maka focuses on how happy getting it feels, this new development leads to a few questions.

Number 1, why did mrs Albarn suddenly, and with no warning stop sending any of the postcards that was her only real line back to Maka?

She broke them off at some point, and only sent another one because of development in the world she could not ignore.

2. Why did she not come directly back home, given just how dire the world was at this point?

3. What was her actual meaning with the world Courage?

Well, to cover this in full, and to explain the meat of the theory, lets dissect her actions.

Maka's mother left Death city completely after winning custody of Maka, only to in turn abandon her own child.

She then begins traveling the world, while only sending postcarda back to Maka to show where she traveled. Not letters mind you, just postcards usually withouth writing on them.

At some point, likely after Asura was released, she stopped sending cards alltogether... Only to finally send one, this with the words courage written on it, directly after Arachne released Asura's full madness upon the world.

We never hear anything from her after this.

Maka and Spirit both assume that she is fine, as her soul would surely be strong enough to not fall to maddness... But is that actuqlly backed up by anything?

Justin Law was similarily assessed as being above Madness, but the moment he came into contact with a clown, he folded like tissue... Because he had long ago left behind actual human bonds that could have strengthened his soul.

Mrs Albarn is even worse in this regard.

After a messy, painfull marriage, and a divorce, she deliberately left behind everyone and everything she had, abandoning her own child in the process.

This is not the actions of someone in good mental shape.

This is the actions of someone who couldn't handle her life anymore, so she left to try and pretend her problems weren't there.

Honestly, while Maka drew strength from them, it's hard to not read her method of communication with her own child as a thing fueled by guilt.

She knew that she had to keep in contact with Maka, but was too scared and/or guilty to actually talk or communicate with her.

So she sent postcards. Safe, unchallenging postcards where she didnt have to risk open her heart again.

Then for some reason, when mental illnesses begins to get worse, she stops sending even the postcards.

Her mental state probably deteriorated at this point... But she was still alive, even if for some reason she stayed away even as things got at their worst... Then we get the final letter.

She sends her child a letter from Iran, with the word Courage written on it in the local dialect... And thats the last we ever hear of Mrs Albarn.

One final message, a simply postcard telling Maka to focus on courage, the one thing her mother abandoned as she left her home behind, and total madness, fear and depression begins to seep in for real into the entire worls in strength.

It's not exactly outside of the realm of possibility, that at this pount, alone, probably hating herself for abandoning her child, regret and sadness over her broken homelife, and realising that she was too much of a coward to go home and help... As this would involve seeing Maka and Spirit again, Maka's mother might have given in completely to Asura's madness, and simply ended it all, alone, eith no friends or comrades at her side.

[infinitelycomplexpuzzles]

// I think the reason I don't write more gods is because I am eternally disappointed by the scope that people give them in fiction

like, the various pantheons are major figures in every major comic company, and yet somehow they are reduced to essentially being aliens. That's also kinda my beef with things like American Gods or even the Hellboy universe

Like Odin, Ve, and Vili literally killed Ymir and literally crafted the universe from his body, right? Like they literally killed the frost giants by drowning everything in Ymir's blood.

Ra literally brought forth the universe from divine chaos by masturbating and making land, and then literally began the process of crafting all of creation, and only gave up the job because he became senile. Also, Seth literally fights the entire underworld every night on Ra's journey through it.

Zeus and company literally defeated the forces of nature, including Kronos, the Titan who rules over time itself, and then defeated Typhon, a literal volcanic explosion made flesh who throws mountains.

And I've not even gotten to Hindu mythology, where you're dealing with beings who inhabit multiple states of reality all at once, and regularly rearrange the cosmos itself on a fucking whim.

My point is, Gods are not meant to be like, humans+1 the way you might get a +1 longsword in an RPG. These are beings that in some cases, literally control the fabric of reality itself.

I think the only media that I know of that depicted this sorta conflict how I imagine it is Asura's Wrath, where you have shit like a guy who simply presses his finger down upon the world to try and crush a guy, because his finger is literally the size of a city.

And don't talk to me about how 'oh it wouldn't be balanced if in the Marvel universe Thor was that powerful' because A. half the avengers have at one point or another been turned into gods, and B. the reason Thor was on the team originally was that it wasn't literally Thor, it was a man who turned into Thor because Stan Lee loved the idea of things becoming other things, and that's why literally everyone on the team becomes something or has something added so they become something.

The second they were like no actually he's literally the god everything fell apart, but I could also blame Kirby's awful fourth world idea, and I could rant about that for days.

Anyway. That's why I don't write gods more. Because it's really hard to write divinities at that level without other people getting mad, even though I like the idea of mythological level interactions where the gods are not so much characters as they are plot devices, the way a flood is a plot device.

[soul-dwelling]

Its weird how at first it seemed that somebody becomming a kishin was a real risk if the consuming of souls wasnt stopped in time but then it just turned out "Nah only Asura, and oh he is actually a Gods son and a great old one and thats why he actually is a kishin", like even Crona only absorved Asura and only became a "true" kishin once they activated brew (even if that agains complicates things, like why introduce a weird metaphysic when the effects are the same (madness wavelength))

(Soul Eater ending spoilers and Fire Force ending spoilers below.)

I get your points, how the big bad Kishin is already super-powerful and, on top of that, Lord Death’s son. 

But as I’ll say below, just because Asura was already powerful doesn’t mean that he would stop at just “powerful” when “Kishin powerful” is an option. 

I mean, Chapter 6 established that the not-yet-named Asura became a Kishin, and Ragnarok was on his way to becoming one, and Spirit worrying that could happen to Soul, too. 

Initially we were led to believe that anyone could be a Kishin. 

And it’s not as if even Lord Death’s own son Asura couldn’t be afraid of dying, as Spirit said to Maka that this Kishin was afraid of dying.

Ohkubo tries to write around this by suggesting of course Asura was afraid of dying--he was the embodiment of Lord Death’s fear. Even if he was a god himself or a Great Old One, just because he was powerful doesn’t mean he wouldn’t want more power. There could be a lesson there, but that feels like something we have to read into, to work to find, more than the story itself hitting you over the head with it. 

I think one problem could be that a Kishin wasn’t really a clearly defined power level. I mean, strictly speaking, you don’t have to get into power levels: this isn’t Dragon Ball, and even Dragon Ball is not consistent. Power levels only help when a writer works backwards: “I want Character X to win, so I have to set up the situation where, even if the power levels seem too different for Character X to win, circumstances will ensure their victory.” It makes being a “Kishin” an empty category: Asura has to be a Kishin to be a threat to Lord Death (and I’ll get to that other problem in a moment), Crona has to be a Kishin to be a potential threat that can be even bigger than Asura, Soul has to be at risk of Madness and hence becoming a Kishin to set up conflict with Maka. It’s a plot device--and I mean that as innocuously as I can, as just the role it serves, a phrase meaning “powerful character,” nothing more. 

I brought up how Asura has to be a Kishin to be a threat to Lord Death--but then that doesn’t even work. Asura didn’t win because he’s the Kishin; he won because he managed to get away from Death City while Lord Death, seemingly the world’s most powerful character, is tethered to Death City and can’t leave it. Sure, Maka and others could have chased after Asura--but if Lord Death was still getting ripped apart by Asura, and if Maka and others were knocked out by this fight, there was almost zero chance to chase after Asura and win. 

You bring up the Madness Wavelength. And then we introduce other forms of Madness: the Great Old One of Power, Lord Death himself, Excalibur. It makes Madness less special. Maybe it would have been better if the manga took the anime’s approach, where Madness is treated like a potential illness, that the DWMA hands out (placebo) medicines to diminish the effects. It was Asura’s Madness that risked making Stein into a threat, that risked overwhelming Soul and Kid and Black Star and Maka--why not just make the Kishin a threat, not because of raw physical power or spiritual power but because it warps the minds of anyone nearby? 

And this all leads to two more complications, both of them in Fire Force. (Yes, we are back to spoiling Fire Force: it’s a prequel to Soul Eater, let’s move on.) 

First, we show the Evangelist’s “true form” is like the Kishin, that distinctive three-eye set, even Haumea under the Evangelist’s control having Asura’s third eye. 

What sense does that make? Did Asura always have that third eye? Did he always have the eye motif? Do all Kishins model themselves after Asura? Well, if the Evangelist came first, and if she inspired those Madness landscapes that Burns, Joker, and Shinra saw in Adolla, does that mean the Evangelist was the first Kishin and a Great Old One, and Haumea was a Kishin? 

You see the problem? 

Why did Asura happen to have the same eye motif as the Evangelist and Haumea if chronologically the Evangelist and Haumea had them first? Or did Asura only adopt that eye motif when he started feeding good souls to Vajra? (But that would mean no one, including Lord Death, who was there to witness Haumea and the Evangelist, should have connected the dots earlier…unless he did know and just did nothing, because LOL wacky trickster Lord Death, doing the same thing he did, not recognizing Blair was a cat before sending Maka after her.)

And second, we have the gas fumes coming out of the Chinese Peninsula, and it happens to make unmasked Shinra and others…kind of crazy, doesn’t it? (Lesson learned: mask up, people, it helps protect you from COVID and bouts of madness.) That gas--was it just geothermal gas that made the firefighters loopy? Or, seeing as this is near the Tear in Space, that altered physics in this world and gave rise to the Madness of the Soul Eater world and its cartoony physics, was that gas the Madness leaking out of Adolla and yet another precursor to the potential for Kishin creation? 

In other words, these two points show how Fire Force further complicates the Kishin idea. Why should we fear how powerful Asura is if the Evangelist already existed? Or should we be impressed because it just took positive thinking and Shinra’s kick to disperse the Evangelist, and Asura was just a perfected model? Does that mean the real credit goes to Medusa for perfecting what the Evangelist started, first with Asura, then with Crona? 

I can’t say these questions I’m posing make this story bad--it does inspire discussion. (Too bad I hate how Fire Force screwed up Soul Eater, but that’s on me.) But it is risking the problem of most action comics, where the power levels get so much bigger that it’s hard to follow who is doing what and why Character X can’t beat Character Y when the power difference should obviously be in Character X’s favor. (See also how messy My Hero Academia has been in this final arc, with All For One getting clowned on by weaker characters before then arbitrarily just overpowering characters because the plot says so.) 

[toastinthegrass]

I`ll do better.

[grasping-earth]

A lot of the festivals originate in GW1, which is how so many of them end up human. Wintersday is originally a human religious festival, Mad King's Day (which they gave up and just called Halloween) is a Lion's Arch tradition tied to their history, Lunar New Year is derived from the Dragon Festival in GW1 Cantha - predictably those are also the ones tied to real world holiday seasons. Though I think inventing an asura as the face of modern, secular Wintersday was a good move for diversity.

Of the ones invented in the course of GW2, the Festival of the Four Winds is at least pretty diverse, as are the modern Zephyrites, but it's also not so much a cultural festival for anyone. Dragon Bash started as a Lion's Arch thing (again tied to their history) but I agree it makes sense for the norn to inherit it - it fits their spirit, even if things like holograms and fireworks don't and have been carried over from LA in canon. SAB is in Rata Sum and fully asura in origin, but it's also not really a cultural festival. Admittedly, it is pretty asura for it to all just be the product of one inventor and his krewe taking over the city, heh.

Anyway, history survey aside I agree that it would be nice to have cultural festivals. The obvious starting point for the sylvari to me would be Trahearne's birthday - the first awakening of the first sylvari! They can count their entire people's existence in double digits, why not celebrate each year they've been around a year longer and learned another year worth of experiences about the world?

The norn could have kept the Great Hunt, honestly, it would be easy to make gameplay for it. SAB works ok for the asura and a lot of their history lends itself to more sombre commemoration, but maybe some kind of epic golem battle derby event... and @bluebudgie's suggestion of kind of charr Woodstock on the model of Metal Legion is pretty great. A rally of the legions for friendly competition and showing off their strengths seems very in character, I mean, Bangar did it for a reason and that reason was patriotism (which IS a charr thing, for better and for worse!).

I kinda wish the Sylvari got to have a festival. The four winds is Zephyrite, therefore human (with the Queen’s Jubilee being obviously human and taking place in DR). Halloween is more or less human originated too (mad king Thorn and now Joko, also who used to be human). Wintersday takes place in DR, tho I forgot what was up with the snowmen, but it’s in the main human settlement (with Asura as a secondary bc of the infinarium with Tixx playing a huge part and capitalizing on it lmao). Dragon bash seems to be the most neutral one, but I’m glad the Norn got to inherit this one by having it be in Hoelbrak (would be cool if they got their own unique festival, but I’ll give this half points at least. I’m not sure if the holograms are their doing or maybe collaboration with the Asura?). Lunar new year is in, again, DR, but this one is very understandable at least. And SAB is the the quintessential Asura holiday.

Kinda sad we don’t even get to really host anything either. I know they’re a young race, but it still makes me sad. If I misremembered anything don’t be afraid to remind me >>’ believe me, I want to be wrong about this haha.

So many of these take place in Divinity’s reach o|-<

THE CHARR NEED ONE TOO

[maguro13-2]

Miku.EXE : The Resurrection Pt.5 (1/2)

[Nevada - USA (Real World)]

Shinigami/Death : Now the Gorgon Sisters knew that I was holding these lies from my father, codename the "Devil" himself, I wish to vow that if the author of our mangas would share the same universe after my father created the world he intended and including me. In that case, I should reconsider those lies to make sure that the author of Soul World would be using influences of this universe. But now, both this city my father founded is now stuck in the real world after the Time Eater destroyed the sun and Moon Ohkubo designed. And that is why Death the Kid, my second son, will be replacement for my other son.

Miku.EXE : Oh, is that so? Where did you get all the lies from, son of the "devil"? You were the one responsible for making these humans for trying to eradicate all witch factions to expand global religion and the monopolization of political power. Or perhaps it's a matter of time that you wanted to destroy the Kusakabe Legacy. Now I get it, I know who you are, you're the son of Shinra Kusakabe, Shinigami is it?

Shinigami/Death : How did you know, I was Shinra's "son"? Are the you seekers of truth that I killed? I killed those people who tried to seek the truth from Maka Albarn's Mother who spreaded it across the globe!

Miku.EXE : By killing the innocence and put the blame on all the witches for this mess you and your other "son" caused? That's a lie.

[TV BUZZING]

Shinigami/Death (as heard) : No! What are you doing!? Wh-What's happening?!

[TV BUZZING]

"YOUR SON IS DEAD BY YOUR HAND."

Shinigami/Death : (realizing) What the?! (Looks down and sees something holding a dead body in his hands. It is. revealed to be Death the Kid who was killed by her) My son! What's that burning? (Gasped in horror revealing that Death City and his school is set on fire) My school! My city! My everything!

Miku.EXE : See what I told you? This is what happens when you expected those lies from the Devil himself, which is truly your father Shinra Kusakabe! You should've faced the truth from the eyes of real God! And for your "other" son, Asura was it? He was never really a Kishin, but a Kusakabe after the remains of his "great aunt, who proclaims to be an evil entity known as the Evangelist! You should never messed with the family tree and you led everyone astray from their own lives! Look no further...

*Heart Pumping*

Shinigami : It can't be that's... That's heart of my other son, Asura! (Sees her Holding the three-eyed heart shape entity)

Miku.EXE : This were the forces of evil in the Ohkubo Verse came from, this particular one hearts that has been spreading deadly forces throughout the universe. Now that the so-called "Madness" no longer exist as a force, Everything will be gone and you will die right here in this land called America.

Shinigami : My father will make you pay for this tragedy you cause! . And I will make you die for this!

Miku.EXE : You first, you twit! And now you share the same fate as your two sons.

Shinigami/Death: (with Michael's voice) No...No...(scene goes static) NOOOOOOOOO...(fades)

[TV BUZZING]

Raven's Voice : "The Heroes of Ohkubo...are dead."

[EXE LAUGH+TV BUZZING]

~ Those who seek truth from the eyes of God ~

[inquest-intern]

Subject name: Neljje // System ID: RE 276 //

⟝

General Data

⋗ Race: Asura ⋗ Pronouns: He/Him ⋗ Year of Birth: 1302 AE ⋗ Height: 97 cm | 3'2" ⋗ College: Synergetics ⋗ In-Game Profession: "Leymancer" Necromancer | Reaper ⋗ Occupation: Inquest researcher specialized in ley energy ⋗ Main Residence: Tangled Depths | Rata Novus

⟝

Character Profile

// unpredictable / irrational / sincere / open-minded / unstable //

Friendly and affectionate in one moment, cruel and selfish in the next – intensive exposure to ley energy has driven Neljje mad, to say the least. His capricious nature can make him extremely difficult to be around, disregarding the fact that he spends most of his time exclusively in the company of chak anyway.

Neljje's research of ley energy taught him to control the leftover energy within the organs of dead chak bodies, enabling him to command hordes of undead chak to aid him in battle.

While his large blue eyes have always been naturally prone to dark circles, frequent sleepless nights of obsessive research may have worsened this condition in the past years.

⟝

Background

An eager to learn and sometimes overly inquisitive Asura, Neljje realized at a fairly young age that in order to get answers to the countless questions life poses he would have to join the Inquest – after all that's where actual results come from when no other krewe dares. Neljje managed to be recruited already during his years of study at the College of Synergetics, and following his graduation he immediately started working as a researcher within Metrica Province's Thaumanova Reactor.

Barely a year had passed when the Inquest's experiments led to what would later be known as the Thaumanova Reactor disaster, and Neljje found himself caught in the center of the explosion. Petrified, awestruck... admiring of the sight and intensity of this unfamiliar energy unfolding and tearing apart everything right before his eyes.

Miraculously, he survived.

In the following months Neljje started obsessively researching everything and all that could possibly have any ties to the ley lines and ley energy. Unsatisfied with the lack of suitable research material available within the newly built Infinite Coil Reactor that most survivors had relocated to, Neljje urged his partner Tvekks to join him in a small Dry Top based Inquest group conducting further studies on the ley lines across Tyria.

As time went on, the effect the severe ley energy exposure had on Neljje's psyche became more and more apparent. The ever growing obsession to not only understand but also to control this energy was slowly but surely driving him mad. Once so upbeat and supportive of his peers, Neljje had become prone to sudden mood swings and random acts of selfish cruelty, if only they furthered his ambitions in any way.

With Central Tyria's forces advancing into the Heart of Maguuma, the promising discovery of a large ley line hub not far from an abandoned asuran city lured Neljje deep into the jungle as well. Completely and utterly captivated by this hostile place and its local fauna brimming over with ley energy, Neljje made the jungle's most tangled depths his new home.

Even though his single-minded obsession – or passion as he prefers to call it himself – has given him the reputation of a "somewhat insane eccentric" among other Inquest members, valuable insights gained due to his research have nonetheless earned him a fair amount of respect.

While he takes occasional trips to potentially interesting sites outside of the jungle, Neljje has so far always returned to his little base near Rata Novus as though possessed by the very place itself.

⟝

Supplementary Material

⋗ More about how the Thaumanova disaster affected him

[wangmiao]

Jung Woo Sung as Han Do Kyung and Ju Ji Hoon as a very dead Moon Sun Mo in Asura: The City of Madness (2016)