#He's in a similar boat to Dante here

[characteroulette]

"Hey." Frank greeted, a bit more cautious than his usual cheeriness could cover up. "Working on your stuff?" Dante shrugged, too invested in memorising the spelling of 'effervescent'. Why did English have to be such an amalgamation of languages? At least the notorious Italian 'gli' hadn't made it in there. Frank continued looking at him expectantly, letting the pause stretch on to the point of being awkward. After at least a minute, Frank finally turned away and chuckled uneasily to himself. "Okay, so. Still doesn't talk when it's just me, huh?" He sighed, drumming his fingers against the table. Before Dante had a chance to reply, he launched into his next topic. "Listen, I'm really, really sorry about that time with the glitching and the bullet. I get that you're upset with me, but. The team needs both of us, so." Dante tilted his head to the side, taken aback by this sudden display of repentance. He went to correct Frank, but the other boy continued in too much of a rush. "We don't have to hang out anymore if you don't want to see me. I can always hang with Perci. Or Jonathan, or. Or." He paused, clearly stumped. Then he shrugged in an odd display of false confidence. "Well, I have plenty of friends besides you lot, so. Don't be concerned for me, especially if. If you can't stand being around me anymore." He shrunk into himself at the end, the bravado fading quickly. Able to finally break in, Dante said, "I'm not, uh. Upset with you, Ernest."

-Fire and Wolf, Chapter 18

[nyaagolor]

Howdy again, if it's the meta world VS "real world" thing in Umineko that's got you stumbling, don't worry. The assumption Ryukishi and co. seem to be going with is that the meta world IS real, and everyone's just chilling in a happy magic afterlife post-series (hence how episodes 7, 8, and 9 can even happen). The "07th Expansion All Characters Settings Collection" guidebook even has little epilogue blurbs for the cast, I can link you the translation hosted on the wiki if you want. It's still bleak in the sense that, yknow, everyone was dead from the start and the whole journey was more of a "coming to terms with what happened" kind of deal, but I think it works given stuff like the Divine Comedy references going on (if you read Battler as Dante and Beatrice as uh, Beatrice, a lot of Umineko'll start to make sense). The way I see the split is kind of an "as above, so below" type deal - while Tohya is down in the land of the living trying to write and solve things, Battler and friends really are up there fighting for their lives in purgatory, and the two reflect each other. Of course if that's not the problem you have, I'd love to hear what you're thinking!

hiii thank u for the ask!! (sorry this will be a Long One). I'll admit the meta world / real world stuff tripped me up at first, because looking at episodes 4 and 8 it really seemed to be implying that the metanarrative was the coping mechanism of Ange+Tohya and their way of pretending like their loved ones got the happy endings they didn't get in life rather than something we can actually assume happened. However extra content implies this is not the case, Ryukishi doesn't feel like the author who would do that especially after the thesis of Higurashi, and tbh even if he did there was enough plausible deniability that I would just imagine the Golden Land as real because You Gotta Cope Somehow. I love the "as above so below" vibes too, that's a fun new aspect to incorporate

My biggest hangup with the ending was basically in the idea that Sayo's narrative is fundamentally doomed. I was under the impression that the boat scene was implying that Sayo couldn't be happy even if she did escape due to the burden of the truth / her trauma. The positive framing of the catbox remaining at the bottom of the ocean initially struck me as a "her death is the happiest ending you can hope for because of how fucked up this all is" which is already a nihilistic narrative but downright unbearable when given to an intersex trans woman. I just don't vibe with hopeless trans narratives at all, and felt like I had misinterpreted smth bc Ryukishi isn't really a nihilistic guy. I'll admit I got a little soured to the narrative as a whole when I looked around online and saw people talking about how Sayo getting a happy ending was "missing the point".

After talking to @heartgold I realized that I had reversed the causality a bit. I was under the impression while playing that Ryukishi's insistence that "things had to happen this way" was him not just saying "oh everyone is already dead, the end result is already the same bc we're looking back at past events" but also "it doesn't matter what individual actions people took, it was always going to end in tragedy". I realize now it's more of a "this was totally preventable in so many ways but it already happened and now we have to grieve and cope in whatever way we can manage" kinda thing rather than a "this is fate and Sayo was screwed regardless", so I'm cool with that aspect. (Also I won't lie I prefer to imagine the boat scene as almost entirely metaphorical and more of a representation of the fragmentation of Battler's consciousness due to trauma in a similar way as what happened to Sayo, but that's neither here nor there)

The other part of it, and the thing I'm still really hung up on, is the question of whether or not the Golden Land is actually a happy ending and, if it is real, whether we're supposed to view it as a sorta perverse tragedy. On one hand, the alters are all implied to be separate people and they get their happy endings (yay), but on the other hand that doesn't really fix nor address Sayo feeling like she needs romantic love to be fulfilled (also The Incest(?) I'm genuinely unsure if the whole "alters becoming separate entities" negates the incest or not). The idea that Sayo was so far gone that even the fantasy created from her best memories does not allow her to truly be happy is just so insanely depressing to me, so I find myself stuck with that friction of wanting Sayo to have her prince and her white horse and her fantasy happy ending while also not wanting to downplay the truth. Having this little moral dilemma feels like the point of Episode 8 and really gets us into Tohya's head, which is awesome, but also gives me a lot of mixed feelings. Knowing that Sayo's truth literally has Beatrice married to Battler makes it even tougher bc I can't just use plausible deniability and say they're platonic bc they are uh. very much not as far as Ryukishi is concerned. I'm still working out my feelings on it, mostly because I desperately want Sayo to have everything she's ever wanted but also having to contend with the little part of me that's whispering "it can't and shouldn't happen and you know it". Alas. Umineko.

PS: thank you for telling me about the character booklet, that's SO cute!!! I love the little details about everyone and the cat-ear Bern is everything I've ever wanted

[yuri-is-online]

Popping in with another Tokyo Debunker theory, so sorry you have to deal with me but I literally have nowhere else to go with this ;;;

This theory really is more of a shot in the dark on vibes alone but I just saw the Janitor in ch3 and idk if it's same face syndrome but I felt he looked strangely similar to Dante? I don't know if it's just me, but anyways, for some reason I feel like he's the Ed that Rui keeps talking about (accidentally killing) and was wondering what if he's the one Alan killed and not Dante? Maybe Alan mistook him in the heat of the moment, could explain why he wasn't dead since Rui's dialogue implies they're able to bring him back to life somehow. There really isn't enough info on this but couldn't help but think about it.

Also how is Haru such a mom to the anomalous creatures and yet so shady at the same time (casually putting trackers on Ren? Picking locks? Hello??) and seeing that I have to agree I do think he might've transferred from Sinostra, it'd be a way to connect Jabberwock to the next arc possibly too

My dearest friend, I am not "putting up with you" I am receiving your lovely thoughts and adding some of my own. You can come here and chat, we can keep filling up the Tokyo Debunker tag together. I do apologize to my twsties though, I promise I am not abandoning you.

Rui seems fully convinced that his curse will kill anyone who touches him, especially MC but he is much more casual about how he talks about "Ed" to the point I am almost curious if he is talking about a person or a dog. I lean towards person because he complains about him leaving his socks everywhere and not him constantly stealing his, but him being the janitor is a good guess. Now as for Alan having mistaken him for Dante:

While they do look similar to me personally it is closer to the similarity between Hyde and Sho than it is them being identical:

Who are of course related, so it could just be that Dante and the Janitor are also related. It would add to the friendship between Dante and Hyde if they both have brothers enrolled in the school, Hyde really seems proud of Sho and clearly has bragged to Dante a lot. It would be funny if he does that because Dante is in the same boat. What I personally think is that, based off of the Janitor's hair color and cut, he is likely the dorm captain of Obscuary as pictured here in the loading screen:

The dorm leader has lighter tips to his hair just like the janitor and is familiar/comfortable enough to talk casually with Haru who is another dorm captain. If that's true then I do not think Alan, who would be very familiar with Ed, would have mistaken him for Dante. We also need to consider that Dante is in a wheelchair, I don't think someone who tries as hard to be respectful and accommodating as Alan would mix up someone who can walk and someone who is in a wheelchair, unless that is something new for Dante this year and he was able to function without it last year σ(￣、￣=)

When Haru declared lock picking as one of his special talents I almost died laughing he is SO SKETCHY. He is also trying to run a business, something that Sinostra also does and since Hyde is the advisor for both dorms I think transferring between them would be relatively easier than say, transferring from Hotarubi or Frostheim. Come to think of it both cases of transfers we have seen so far have been (potentially anyway, we don't have confirmation about Haru yet) between dorms who have the same advisor. Something that could explain why it seems easier in Tokyo Debunker than in Twisted Wonderland.

Oh back to Ed/the Janitor for a moment. Obscuary seems to be themed around death, and seems to run a bar that might be themed around vampires? Or just super goth in general. Either way I think his ability to come back to life might have something to do with his stigma and the way it interacts with Rui's curse, but we don't know enough about him to make a specific call just yet. I'll keep my eye out for more information and you are more than free to come here and talk about more of your theories, my anon friend.

[yourhighness6]

I Just Listened to the First Episode of Braving the Elements and I Know I'm Late to the Party but I Have Very Incoherent, Babbling Thoughts About It

(now that I heard Janet and Dante talking I needed to draw young Zuko and Korra. I think they'd be friends. Like, they'd get into fights [with Sokka, too] about who's muscles are more impressive and dumb jock stuff like that. Their respective girlfriends would be so tired.)

Anyway, I think the UGGs ad was a great way to start this out. Really set the tone. I'm also vibing to the theme music cuz I literally haven't listened to it since I rewatched the finale a couple of weeks ago.

[I had no idea Dante Basco was in a dance group as a child I'm laughing for no reason now. I shouldn't judge though I was a drama kid too lol]

I feel like they're doing the whole "the LIGHTS, the CAMERA, the CINEMATOGRAPHY" thing while they're talking about the opening scene. you know what, i'm fine with it.

Basically them:

"Kataang."

"...And I digress,"

The animal crossing segment is cute Appa finally getting the appreciation he deserves

"thINgS HapPEn SoMEtiMeS" has the same energy as Zuko telling Suki "oh, sorry about that" when she reminded him he burned down her village

"I love GranGran" do you Zuko? DO you??

(jk they get along after the war when he apologizes properly)

Aww they brought up Greta Thomburg. I forgot how old this podcast is, but that was a really great message about how the young are the ones saving us and stuff. As a Zoomer [do people still say that?] I can say confidently most of us have no idea what we're doing but we're opinionated and we're here and we're ready to fight for the environment and social justice and shit

HE SWORE

HE SWORE TWICE

HE SWORE THREE TIMES IN LESS THAN TWO MINUTES

Idk about ya'll but I don't think Nick should be letting Mr. Basco represent them I mean that was like three whole "damn"s that is some inappropriate behavior right there

"they're people of privilege" This hit me so hard for no reason. Like it's really obvious, especially in Book 2, that despite all of the abuse Zuko went through he was still in that whole royalty mindset where he basically expects things to be handed to him for most of his arc.

I mean, yeah, that speaks for itself, and there are other instances too. I think Zuko's arc largely corrects a lot of his entitlement, which is a great thing to see throughout the series, but IROH. For some insane reason, maybe because he's very wise and seems content with the little things in life and is basically trying to oppose books 1 and 2 Zuko in every way possible, I never really thought of him as privileged but now it's so obvious that he is. IDK I think that was an interesting thing to point out. It almost makes me value Iroh more because he obviously had to go through a similar journey to Zuko's unlearning all of the arrogance that came with his position and came out of it on the other side as a kind, wise individual who cares deeply for other people and puts the fate of the world before his own. Still interesting to think about on my next rewatch of B1 though, I'll have to start looking out for those behaviors in Iroh.

ANYWAY

Dante Basco, trying so hard to be impartial: "Kataang!"

Janet Varney, one with Zutara nation, apparently: "Meh"

OMG THEY TALKED ABOUT THE SPYGLASS!! I know that scene with Zuko standing on the boat was supposed to be all suspenseful and scary and everything

But I just laugh

I can imagine Aang being like "Aww Zuzu thanks for noticing"

OMG I love Katara finally getting some recognition!! Like there's this meme about the world being saved by "nagging" or whatever and it kind of annoys me. Like, she's calling Sokka out on all of his sexist behavior and that's "nagging"??

Let's be honest it's because she gets kind of "emotional".

Whatever. She deserves to be emotional. Let's be honest the Avatar world was saved by Katara deciding she was done putting up with her brother being a misogynistic ass. [END RANT]

Okay, honestly, I liked it. It was funny, it was cute, I can see it being good, I'll keep listening to it... But, I felt like we were only getting surface level thoughts? There were a few moments where I was like "GODDAMMIT JUST SAY WHAT YOU THINK" which is kind of annoying on a podcast that's supposed to be reviewing the episodes. Like, really? That heavy pause after Dante mentioned Kataang? Janet hesitating to say what she thought when it came up again? C'mon guys, I know you don't want to start anything but the ship wars are not stopping no matter what any of us do at this point because there will always be people on both sides of the war that are toxic and like to start drama. They're not saying everything they want to about the ships and that's a fact. We know it. They know it. Bryke knows it. Also, Dante having not read the series bible was funny but it's only going to be a good joke for so long. Know your shit if you're doing a podcast on it.

I might just be complaining because I need to complain, it's only the first episode, after all, so I want to be clear that I really did like it. 10/10 would recommend, I just hope they maybe get more into the fandom stuff as we go along instead of just looking at the episode. Dig a little deeper, discuss controversial stuff, have a little fun with it, READ THE SERIES BIBLE.

(btw I might make more Korra and young Zuko fanart. It was fun, and now I have ideas for them meeting in some weird spirit world thing)

[hajimehinata]

gone fishing

day 9 : wound ( from @adfaugust )

this isn’t the war they were promised, not even close. no safety in trenches, no bombs deployed from the air, far away from any damage. instead, they’re thick in the jungle, getting their heads blown off by traps, assailants nowhere to be seen. paul didn’t even want to be here, fought the draft to the last second, and now here he is, clutching a rifle and feeling sick to his stomach. wishes, not for the first time, that he’s just one of the ladies in the sick bay. sure, the injuries are horrible, but it’s better than being out here. 

he’s playing nurse right now, surprised by his own strength as he starts lugging bear to the bushes, rifle swung dangerously over his back, where he can’t take it out if someone attacked. he needs his arms, anyway; bear’s in no shape to walk. he’s losing blood fast, a bullet in the side. and when paul pulls up his shirt to check, there isn’t an exit wound. considers, stupidly, if he could just pluck it out with his fingers, but he knows that’ll be worse, that he’s gonna give bear an infection. which he’s sure the poor guy already has, or maybe he’s just delirious from the pain.

“paul,” bear coughs, and he shows his teeth in a smile that’s gnarly, but not in a good way. it still seizes paul like his hand’s got a heart in its vice grip, and the sight of him must do something for the guy, since that grin only gets wider. “at home, in the barn… we got this kayak.”

bear’s got a tone in his voice that tells paul he’s on some long-winded story. he debates telling bear to save his strength, but there’s a real chance he’ll die out here before paul can get him help, so he lets it go. “yeah? what … what kayak?”

“beautiful — ” and bear cuts himself off with a series of coughs, blood coming up on his shirt in a way that makes paul feel faint — “beautiful boat. some men like their fancy cars and impressing women with ‘em. like their… their speedboats. but there ain’t no better joy than being the engine to your own vehicle.” still smiling broadly, bear claps a hand over paul’s. “i’ll take you out one day. once the war’s over. once the fish come back.”

“you’ll get there,” paul promises, shirt off so he can use it as a bandage, ripped all the way around and then some so he can get it wrapped. bear’s always been a big guy, hence the nickname, but he’s stronger than anyone else paul’s ever known. a little rough around the edges, and dante never liked him, but paul’s never liked dante much either. at least, he don’t got a lot of faith in the guy. paul didn’t know much about bear before getting drafted, where bear was already on his last few years. seemed like, if all went well, paul’d get out of this place four months before bear’s time was up. he signed up, twice — but he’s still in the trenches like all the other draftees. makes paul wonder if there was ever much of a choice. but bear sticks up for the little guy, and he prays with whoever needs it. lotta guys here are turning to faith. hard not to when people’s legs and arms are getting blasted off, when they go flying. and bear always matches paul drink for drink, indulges him when they get too drunk to keep pretending there ain’t an issue with what they’re doing.

he remembers now, suddenly, how many times bear has clapped him on the shoulder and told him he’s a good man. asked him earnestly if he’d make sure sharon’s cared for if he don’t make it back. paul has to wonder if bear knows. if he knows what feelings paul’s had for his girl. what feelings he used to have about bear — jealous and envious and hateful and awed all at once. similar, he guesses, to how he feels about his cousin. 

bear squeezes paul’s hand. “we’ll get there.” paul’s always wondered why bear talks like he’s older than he is, like he’s on his deathbed. it makes it all the more chilling, knowing this is just a normal conversation, that bear could be anything, could be drinking or taking a swim or laughing by the fire, but instead, he’s dying and he talks the same.

paul flags down a tank and a couple of guys work to hoist bear up onto it, planning to take him out to where the copter can pick him up, take him to a hospital. can barely bring himself to let go of bear’s hand. “just take it easy, buddy. don’t you dare die on me.”

the guy only laughs, soft and self-loathing. “take care of sharon for me. take care of her.”

and when paul sees joyce with the bottle of alcohol, his lips twitch. gaze drifting to the woman bleeding out on the couch. and when he’s asked how she’s doing, he says, hard to say. i’ve seen it go a lot of different ways. cause it’s true. what’s also true is that a lot of those guys that made it still strung themselves up in the end, or took a bullet to their skull, or drowned themselves in drink. sure, the physical wound mended up, no infections, but what they suffered up there? in their minds? it ain’t as easy as getting an operation done.

see, paul and bear both made it out of vietnam. but they never went fishing on that kayak.

[reginleif-valkyrie]

The Twelve Plagues

“Have you given thought to what we will do if the people of Gallador want no part of us?”-Gladdic

“Why would they do that?” Dante said. “We’ve been allies for years now.”

“The Eiden Rane burned many lands on his way to yours. They might lack the food to share. And unless Ka’s warning was mere bluff, by the time we reach them, they might be suffering the punishments of the gods as well.”

“What are you actually asking me here? If I’d attack them and take their stores from them?”

“Just so.”

“What do you think?”

“That you will deny it now, but also that if Gallador attempts to turn us away, your answer will prove optimistic if not a lie.”

Dante was tempted to ask him what his point was, but decided to not care instead.

Pg. 25

*Gladdic, do you really think Blays would let his man do that?

Blays lunged forward and slapped the cup out of Dante’s hands, spilling wine across the dirt.

Dante glared at him. “What the hell did you do that for?”

“Didn’t you just say the strands are inside our food? And you’re about to drink that?”

“It’s not all food, you fool. Just the stuff we’ve been harvesting. I think.”

Pg. 51

“They’re going to have me hanged for this.” Halbank said. “I just know it.”

“Never been hanged before?” Blays stretched his arms above his head. “The first time is always the worst. But after the third or fourth time you get noosed, you get used to it.”

“Are you being quite serious?”

“Don’t listen to him.” Dante said. “He’s only been hanged once.”

“Are you being serious?”

Pg. 68

“Right.” Blays yelled. He stood on the raised prow of the remaining half of the wreckage. “Time to get harpooned!”

Pg. 72

*A sea monster is harassing the gang’s boat and once one of its tentacles attacks Dante, Blays decides it’s time for it to die.

The fog had only partway lifted by noon when they heard screams u land just ahead of them.

Dante and Blays looked at each other.

“All right.” Dante said. “But let’s make it quick.”

Pg. 75

*We’ll go save these people for you, babe.

“What do you say?” Blays had appeared without warning at all, though somehow Dante had known he was approaching. “Should we go out for a sail?”

Pg. 88

“Are you telling me that you’re about to spend a lot of time doing something boring while I stand around trying to remember the last time I saw my wife?”-Blays to Dante

Pg. 100

*You’re looking at your wife right now. Dante’s right there. LOL.

The sound of a man’s scream lifted from Ynding. He (Dante) broke into a run. The scream sounded again. He couldn’t tell if it was Blays. It didn’t take much more time than a minute to reach the outer ring of houses, yet it felt like ten times as long. He slowed, nicking the back of his arm and pulling the shadows to him. “Blays! Blays!”

Pg. 101

The group is taking shelter from a hailstorm that knocked Dante out. The rest of the group is at the opening while Blays is….

Dante sat up and gingerly rubbed his head, but it was pleasantly half numb. “Where in the world are we?”

“Halfway across it.” Blays was crouched beside him, watching the storm.

Pg. 259

*Babe’s hurt. Must hover.

Without warning-without even taking its eyes off Blays-it changed direction to gallop towards Dante.

Eyes bulging, Dante scrambled back. Blays dashed to put himself between them, but the creature was already tearing past him, he swung the spear like a sword, but its tip just missed the beast’s wizened hide.

Pg. 362

Blays decides he’s going to confront the red lightening. It doesn’t end well. Dante loses it because Blays gets hurt and also confronts the lightening with similar results.

Pg. 391-393

*Dante always seems to go stupid when Blays is in danger.

[thefamilyeldritchabomination]

Chapter Eleven: Procession Pt. 2

‘The skies were gray as doves as I set sail with a group of six men on the wine-dark lake towards the mysterious island that had appeared the previous night. We had a relatively light breakfast that morning when we gathered to plan out our exploration of the island. Our boat was a modest vassal of pine wood as it rocked gently on the water as we boarded. The ride was calm at first, the gentle bumps from the waves below were expected until we had drawn near the island itself. There was a sharp tug from underneath the boat as we got pulled through one of the tunnels of the island. The speed was sickening as the boat was pulled along the tunnel, the pictographs along the walls moving like they were alive, the ceiling above lit with unnatural colors that caused nausea if stared at too long. 

 Just as quickly as we had been pulled along the tunnels, we came to a complete stop, allowing our boat to float for a moment before sailing for the underground docks. Odd ships of metal flocked by the docks like silver fishes were the first thing we were greeted by. Even our finest sailing vessels would’ve been humbled by these ships of glistening metals as we drew close to port. Upon docking, we were greeted by a gathering of the inhabitants of the island, massive beings that shone like the lamina of a butterfly’s wings. The group had introduced themselves as the rulers of this mystifying island and were sent to retrieve us to bring to the capital. Not wanting to waste this valuable opportunity to study this culture, we accepted their offer and followed them out  from the underground docks.’

BANG

 Envy begrudgingly stopped reading the journal, barely getting through it when that rude banging on the door happened. The banging continued as Envy slowly got up, got on their library nerd disguise that disgusted Freddy for some reason and Dorian went to hide in the bedroom as per instructions. As Envy got on their best library nerd impersonation, Freddy grabbed Envy’s arm earning him an annoyed glare.

 “The hell do you want now, Face Fur?” Envy snapped in annoyance with Freddy, holding back the urge to kick him like a ball.

 “Why do you have to use your glamor to look like a nerd and not a hot person?” Freddy asked, Envy had to restrain themself from rightfully smacking Freddy. “You mean shapeshifting and because I don’t like you Face Fur, so you get the nerd disguise as a roommate.” Envy sneered as they forcibly removed Freddy’s hand from them.

 “Shapeshifting? It looks similar to Dolly’s glamor though but a bit broader..” Freddy said, a bit stunned as he never saw shapeshifting before.

 The loud banging interrupted Envy’s attempt to ask what Freddy had meant, turning their attention back to the door. Grumpily, Envy swung the door open with Sloth standing in front of their apartment door. Envy didn’t get a chance to slam the door in her face as Sloth just invited herself inside and sat on the chair as if Sloth owned the room. Snapping her fingers, Sloth glanced at Freddy as she motioned for him to come over as if he were a dog.

  “Brew me some tea Target.” Sloth ordered, Freddy looking at Sloth dumbfounded at the demand before deciding it was best not to irritate the robotic homunculus.

 “Aren’t you a bit bossy today, what do I owe for this intrusion this time?” Envy asked as they dropped the library nerd disguise.

 “Mrs. Bradley has given me paid holiday for the first time today since I first worked as Pride’s secretary. To cut to the chase, I want to enjoy my first paid holiday leave and not do the job Dante had ordered. If you want me to continue keeping quiet about this Dolly, you’ll do the job I was given.” Sloth explained as she watched Freddy attempt to brew tea on his own.

 “You have the impertinence to come in here and demand a job swapping with black mail added to it. Just know this Sloth, I’ll pay you back for this at a later date, not right now, but eventually. Now, what exactly was the job?” Envy looked ready to shift with some pale sparks erupting around their form.

 “It would seem that cramming ten years worth of training into two or less months has caused our newest Pride to run away. Dante wants me to locate and retrieve new Pride back to the Villa.” Sloth slowly explained as Freddy brought Sloth his first attempt at brewing tea.

 “There’s two major problems here Sloth, first of which I have to monitor Face Fur here in his studying and experiments. Second, I killed Hughes, so the new Pride is likely going to remember that darling little detail.” Envy said, strongly considering shifting in the apartment regardless of Freddy being in there.

 “Good news about that part, the new Pride doesn’t remember how he died, he only remembers Lust and I were involved though. It’s truly pathetic really, the new Pride has himself fully convinced he’s the actual Maes Hughes. Also, who taught you how to brew tea? You’ve scalded the leaves terribly in the brewing process.” Sloth held her tea cup up at Freddy to take back and remake her that tea.

 “Oh and I suppose you’re going to tutor Face Fur here?” Envy asked, holding back on telling Sloth some rather delicate details on the matter.

 “Precisely, though at any rate, I’m likely going to teach the Target how to properly brew tea, that was absolutely a terrible job.” Sloth said as she watched Freddy retry making a cup of tea for the horrifying lady.

 “Fine, I’ll locate the newcomer, but, if anything happens to Face Fur here, I will not hesitate on testing some creative new methods of execution on you. Congrats Face Fur, you got your wish of a pretty person teaching you shit.” Envy grumbled as they got the library nerd disguise back on and headed for the door.

 Out into the world Envy went before Freddy could protest about being tutored by Sloth. The Face Furred Alchemist was now Sloth’s problem to deal with and Envy decided to treat it like a nice break from it all. Besides, it was a simple enough task, find the new Pride and return him back to the villa. The sooner that newcomer was found, the sooner Envy could go right back to their own personal studying. Their thought was interrupted a bit as Envy walked past the Landlord’s office, piles of gifts being left at the doorstep. Ever since Envy had started posing as the Landlord and making the announcement of no longer needing rent, gifts like these had been appearing by the door regularly. It was a confusing but appreciated response that Envy hadn’t anticipated, they simply didn’t want to interact with more insects with the added burden named Freddy. Envy would have to collect these later and sort them out after getting the runaway Pride situation resolved. The fresh breeze of the outdoors was the first thing to greet Envy’s face as they exited the apartments and got into business mode. They had a job that needed to be done and that was exactly what Envy would do.

 As Envy went on their Pride hunt, Dolly had been wrapping up her trip to the fabric shop. Dolly had needed to resupply her sewing kit amongst other things as she left for the marketplace to get some groceries for the week. Into the headspace Dolly went as she mentally prepared a grocery list, having to figure things Freddy could easily learn how to cook on his own. It was exactly because of the mental listing when Dolly bumped into someone. Looking up to apologize, Dolly would recognize just who exactly she ran into, the man with the x shaped scar.

 “Pardon me…Oh hey, you’re the man that stayed in my apartment during the lockdown. I hope things have been well for you?”  Dolly asked, being weirdly calm about bumping into someone that had previously broken into the apartment.

 “Again, I really hope you’re not like this around strangers who commit break ins. I’ve been doing fine though, thank you for asking.” Scar replied, relaxed after the rather good month of listening in on the massive military trials that are going on.

 “Not normally, but you were the only decent one out of the three break-ins. I am glad though that you’re doing alright. My name is Dolly by the way, I’m sorry for not introducing myself beforehand.” Dolly said as she held a hand to shake, said handshake being ignored for rather good reasons.

 “My name died a long time ago.” Scar simply responded, his hands staying in his pockets as Dolly withdrew her hand to shake.

 “Would it be alright if I called you George instead?” Dolly asked, figuring Scar’s birth name was a source of trauma for him.

 “George?” Scar asked with a raised eyebrow.

 “It’s a nice and honest name, would you be alright if I called you by that one?” Dolly said with full earnesty.

 “Sure I guess? It's better than the nickname Scar that some people have been calling me by.” Scar shrugged a bit, but was somewhat relieved that someone wasn’t going to default to calling him after a traumatizing experience etched on his face.

 “That’s not a really nice nickname at all, yeah I’ll call you George for sure in that case.” Dolly couldn’t help but agree with the statement.

 “At least you agree that ‘Scar’ isn’t a nice nickname too.” Scar started to head off into the alley and disappeared into the background.

 Dolly stood there for a moment, confused by the sudden departure, but figured Scar likely had his own errands to run. There wasn’t much to do as Dolly went back to heading on her way to the marketplace. It was evident that the fates had different plans for Dolly when the familiar scent of old books started to become stronger. With a dread knowing that she’d likely have to do grocery shopping on another day, Dolly turned around to find Envy in their library nerd disguise. The only thing different from the usual encounters was that Envy for once wasn’t actively searching for Dolly. Instead, they were focused on something else as Envy’s head traced along the alley ways. This wouldn’t last long as Envy’s eyes caught Dolly closeby and started walking towards her.

[atozphantomsquadron]

Chapter Fifteen: Styx

Day 5

     Sleep doesn’t come for me, especially not after dealing with Ursus, so I urge Abaster to continue leading me.  Although he tries to insist on us stopping, he relents and motions in front of him, toward the next Circle.  No wall greets us, no guardian, nothing.  I’m surprised by this … every previous Circle has had a guardian, at least.

     I’m only aware we’re in a new circle when I feel the texture of the ground change beneath my feet.  It’s squishy again.  I’m dreading more of Circle 3’s excremental filth, but it smells less repulsive, although it’s no less dirty.

     Abaster motions for me to keep up with him.  “We are in Circle 5 now, Alanna.  This circle is reserved for the slothful and wrathful.”

     I scratch my head gently at this.  “Both in one Circle?  I would have expected the wrathful to be in their own place.”

     “Certain ones are, actually.  These you see around you, these are the minor wrathful souls.  They writhe in the mud, while their slothful counterparts perpetually drown in the muck.”

     I pull out the Inferno again, tossing forward pages.  “Did Dante see this?”

     Abaster nods.  “He did.  The slothful also bottle anger, which is why they are in this ring along with the openly raging.  We can’t stay here for very long, there’s another obstacle to cross ahead.”

     I jog slightly to catch up, although I can feel my energy level dropping.  I really don’t want to ingest any more of the holy water, especially since, if Dante’s correct, the worst is yet to come.  I try to keep pace with Abaster, and soon we’re at a tower, planted into the mud on an unseen foundation.

     Abaster slaps his one hand on the tower’s wall.  A light appears at the top, shining across the murky body of water we’ve reached.  It cuts through the darkness like a knife, and in its beam I can now see another boat approaching, paddled by another boatman.

    Great, more boats.

    “Where are we right now?”

     Abaster turns to face me.  “On the outer bank of the River Styx.  Our ride is approaching, we must cross this river.”

     Styx … Dad mentioned the Styx in his mutterings … he must have crossed here.

     Or is he here right now?

     I scan around quickly, hoping to find some sign of Dad, but seeing nothing.  The boat pulls up to the shore, and I take in the boatman, in a similar outfit to the one that took us through Circle 1.  His face is curled into an eternal scowl, and I can see that the lines in his face seem to have been literally cut into it, enough to draw blood.  I shudder at the thought.

     The boatman narrows his eyes, and his voice is a creak.  “You are mine, soul.  You belong to me.  I have much to show you about the ways of pain.”

     Abaster steps between me and the boatman.  “Phlegyas, no.  She’s not yours.  She’s on a holy errand from He Who Is Called I AM, you cannot have her.”  To emphasize the point, I simply flash the Sword’s hilt toward the boatman.

     He grumbles loudly.  “Damned living souls, why must you come ruin my fun?  What does a guy have to do to blow off a little steam?”  His grumbling escalates into a full-throated scream without words.

     “That’s your problem,” Abaster admonishes, “not ours.  Take us across.”

     Phlegyas glares at us, then sarcastically motions toward the two seats in the boat.  “Welcome aboard.  I’m your host, Captain Phlegyas I-Don’t-Give-A-Shit-About-Your-Quest.  I swear, you cross me and I’ll dump you overboard faster than you can say ‘Apollo can kiss my ass.’  Let’s go already!”

     Charming fellow, really.  It’s when we enter the boat that I notice a distinct difference between myself and Abaster.  When he sits down, the boat barely moves.  When I sit down, though, the boat reacts to the change in weight and displaces some of the Styx waters.  Phlegyas visibly struggles with pushing the boat away from the shore, but eventually we make our way into the further open waters of the river. 

     As we glide over the surface of the water, I become aware of faces, limbs, and bodies sunken beneath the surface of the river, glaring up at me, reaching up, all of them angry.  I try to keep myself away from the edges of the boat: the last thing I need is any of these souls grabbing my water supply, or the Sword.

     One soul’s head bobs out of the water and looks up at us.  “You are different … you are a living soul!”

     Damn.

     He floats over toward the boat, keeping pace with Phlegyas’s paddling.  He reaches a hand up toward me.  “Living soul, tell me if I’m remembered!”

     I grit my teeth and kick him in the face.  Unfortunately, he’s ready for that and the arm that was previously gripping the boat now has a firm hold on my leg, dragging me off the boat and into the water.  I barely hear Abaster cry out my name before I’m submerged, trapped within the writhing bodies of the wrathful souls doomed to swim this river like fish for eternity. My lungs choke for air.

     I see things.  Visions?  Hallucinations?  Whatever they are, they’re nightmarish.  Jennifer Regent standing on a mound of dead supernaturals, among them Trent and Teresa.  Mom and Dad, being shot execution-style by the SSA.  Fahaian becoming engulfed in the flames that he usually controls.

     William and Michi in a passionate clinch, turning their faces to laugh at me while they do it. The wendigo stuffing me down his throat.

     My heart skips.  I gasp, only to ingest a lungful of rancid River Styx water.  I’m drowning.  I’m dying … my last visage will be my friends dead or betraying me in the worst way possible …

     An arm plunges into the water and clutches to the scruff of my neck, yanking me out.  My lungs force out the water I’ve breathed in, leaving me a shuddering, coughing wreck.  I feel weakened, even more than I’ve been since I descended into this place.  My lungs continue to expel water, forcing it out of my mouth and nose.

     I’m barely aware of someone helping to pat my back as I cough up more water.  Trying to catch my breath, despite the swimming-pool sensation running through my entire head, I look over and find that it’s Abaster, a very concerned expression on his face.

     “Am I … going to die?”

     He smiles gently.  “Not this day, Alanna.  Not for lack of trying, though.  It’s okay, just get it out.”

      I cough loudly, which turns into a gurgle, and what feels like another three gallons of water spew from my mouth.  I’m really nauseous now, and I need to get my equilibrium back, so I simply sit back in the boat and try to steady my head with my eyes closed.  I can still feel Styx waters gurgling in my lungs as the sound of the boat’s hull scraping the opposite shore comes to us.

     “All right, get out of my boat!”  Phlegyas is nearly swatting us out of the vessel with his oar.  “I’ve got more assholes to pick up and too little time to do it.”

     We scramble out of the boat and onto the muddy shoreline.  Phlegyas seems a little too much in a hurry to get back across once more, as he’s fully pushed off and paddling away by the time we’re able to turn around to see him.  Abaster sighs deeply.  “Please forgive him, Alanna.  He’s raging from an ancient hurt.”

     “Maybe so, but he could be a little nicer.”

     “You must try to understand, he deals with all of the worst sinners on a daily basis.  He must be this brusque, because otherwise he would be rent limb from limb a million times a day.  Come, though, our time with him is finished.”  He grasps my shoulders and turns me around to face an infinitely tall wall, one of several we have confronted thus far on our journey, glowing red with fire and reeking of death.

     “Where are we?”

     Abaster nods at my question.  “Welcome to the City of Dis.  Come, we must pass through the gates, and the guardians dislike the living.”

     I don’t have to be told twice.  As we approach the gates, I’m aware of several pairs of eyes glaring down on me from high above.  When I look up, all I can see is gloom, though small, faint glints of red shine through it.  As I grasp the handle of the entry gate, I hear screams from above, followed by the black streaks of demonic shadows diving down upon us.

   “Living soul, halt!  Those mortals who pass into this city remain for eternity, our playthings.”  The demons land hard around us, circling us.  Each of them doesn’t look quite as demonic as I would think … many still have human forms despite their bat-like wings.  “Show us who you are.  You will be alone for eternity.”

     My hand tightens on the Sword’s hilt.  Without thinking, I start to draw it, despite Abaster’s cries.  “No, stop!  You, the fallen archangels, must recognize one sent by He Who Is Called I AM!”

     They growl.  None of them seem to care about what Abaster is telling them, so I guess it’s my turn.  I draw the Sword, the gauntlets clanking around my forearms.  I spread my wings and twist my face into a scowl. 

“I am the Guardsman, let me through!”

   “The Guardsman!”  The scoffing of the demon before me catches me off-guard.  “Yet another symbol of the regard placed on humans above God’s original chosen!  You have no power here, Guardsman, you have only despair and defeat to look forward to.”

     That tears it.  Despite the thick mud my feet are being sucked into, I charge, flapping my wings to add power to my strokes.  The Sword comes down through one of the demons, exploding him into a small dust storm.  One tries to grab at a wing, but is met by the Sword slicing through his torso horizontally.  I feel like I have infinite energy, but at the same time I fear for my level of power and my ability to continue on the journey if I continue at this pace.

     I’ve defeated all but one of this party of fallen angels.  The last one cowers before me, looking fearfully at the Sword’s blade.  “I will let you in!  Please don’t destroy me!”

     The Sword slides securely into its scabbard.  The cowardice shown by this demon is appalling.  “See that you remember who it is that bested you today.”  My voice is still a growl.  My energy level is nearly exhausted, and I’m running on pure adrenaline.  My hands are shaking violently as the demon slinks past us and throws the gates open.

     Abaster puts a hand on my shoulder.  “Are you all right, Alanna?”

     I nod, panting.  “I will be.”  I reach for a bottle and slug down four large swallows of holy water.  I’ve nearly emptied the first bottle, and that’s both shocking and frightening because of my limited supply.  Desperately trying to restore my energy level, I allow Abaster to lead me within the walls of Dis.

[typical-simplelove]

Part 14 - From very far away

Series Masterlist

Author's Note: This part also closely follows part 13. You don't have to read that part in order to understand this, but it'd a comical read to better understand this part. Enjoy!

Warnings: Tyson Jost makes another appearance, mentions of alcohol, boats

Word Count: 411

“So, you’re telling me that you told the person you love not to fall in love with me?” Tyson asks. He was sitting on the boat with Mat, Dante, and a few other friends. It was the group’s annual summer lake trip, and you were joining them. The previous night, you told Tyson about Mat’s drunken words, and no one let Mat live it down.

“Oh, can we stop?” Mat asks, embarrassed. He, unfortunately, has the memory of the conversation you both had. He remembers the laughter laced on your features as you tried to take him seriously. He also remembers how beautiful you looked as the traffic lights and street lights lit up your face.

“No, you’re never living this one down,” Tyson jokes. “Who knows, maybe I will get them to fall in love with me. As you said, I am an easy person to fall in love with.”

“I didn’t say that,” Mat argues. He did say something similar, but he knows that Tyson was just messing with him. As the boat nears the dock, the boys all help tie the boat to it.

“Oh hey, everyone’s up on the deck,” Tyson comments. “Maybe I should yell out and tell them how much I love the love of your life.” Tyson calls up to you and everyone sun tanning on the deck turns to face him. “I love y—,” Tyson is cut off as Mat covers Tyson’s mouth.

“I love you,” he yells up to you, and the warmth rises to your face. He was far from you, but you could make out the words he was saying. You also know that Tyson was messing with Mat, and that fact made you giggle.

“I love you, too!” you shout. When Mat smiles at your words, you decide to mess with him a little bit, too, and say, “Tyson!”

The girls sitting with you and the boys on the boat all laugh at your comment as Mat all but sprints up to you. You walk and meet him halfway.

“You promised me,” he pouts.

“And we’re all messing with you,” you giggled.

“Oh,” Mat says.

“I could never love anyone else,” you tell him and wrap your arms around his neck and pull him down for a kiss.

“Except for me,” Tyson jokes as he walks by holding the cooler. Mat pulls away and chases after Tyson. You’d never understand their silliness.

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[thehellcatcroons]

The Sun

This story takes us back to a time when Dante was known as Tony Redgrave. Following the events of Morris Island, Tony finds himself in a strange town that just so happens to be inhabited by one of his Father's former squires. After facing a short life full of hardship and trauma, Tony's luck may finally be looking up.

   Lord Modeus had been chasing ghosts for what seemed like his entire life, and as he shuffled down the dimly lit streets of Port Prince, he couldn't help but wonder if he was on a fool's errand. But the energy he had sensed had been so strong, he couldn't just ignore it; finding Sparda had been his whole reason for coming to this world, after all.  

   The legendary dark knight may have liberated the demon world from a tyrant, but he left it to collapse in chaos after refusing to take Mundus's place. Sparda turned his back on Hell and left everything behind, including his two squires.

   And after a few millenia of watching his brother Baul descend into madness, Modeus had found himself doing the same thing he'd cursed his mentor for, and left it all behind as well. Truth be told, he'd come to this world in search of Sparda, determined to drag him back to the underworld to restore order. But for all of his determination and hope, Modeus had always come up empty handed.

    He still believed that Sparda was out there somewhere, but he'd stopped searching when his wife died and left him to raise their daughter by himself. He'd all but given up on the legend of Sparda, but tonight he'd felt his energy nearby. It was unmistakable. Morris Island had just been attacked by demons the day before, could Sparda be back to defend humanity once more?

    Modeus looked around, taking in the darkness of the beach town around him. Victorian era buildings lined one side of the cobblestones streets that he was standing in, an old wooden boardwalk lining the other. He was surprised at how quickly he'd managed to walk all the way down here, he'd been trying his best to walk slowly and enjoy the peacefulness that fell upon the town after dark. It was almost unnaturally quiet, with the crashing ocean overtaking all the other small noises of the summer night. The dark haired demon could hear it all though, and it was a strange and beautiful symphony to him. Seagrass shook with the light breeze, rattling like maracas as bugs pinged off the street lights above.

    Why would Sparda's energy be here of all places? He thought to himself as he shuffled along the board walk and towards the beach. Is he leading me here for a reason? Is he trying to tell me something?

                                              Chapter One

     Why do death and destruction follow me wherever I go? Why am I always the one who makes it out alive? Why aren't I dead already, like mom and Verg?

     Thick black smoke rose to the sky as an adolescent boy stood at the edge of small motorboat, staring at the destruction that was slowly fading into the distance. They were far enough away now that the screams had faded, but not even the rough waters, nor the sound of the boat's engine could drown out the screams in his head. His hands clutched the railing of the boat, his knuckles turning white, he could feel the hot tears welling up behind his eyes. This was the second time in his life that he had been forced to run away from a place that he had called home. The first time was only four years ago, although to him, it had felt like a lifetime. He had gone by a different name then, his real name, a name he could only think about, a name he'd vowed to never speak again. He had to keep his promise to his mother, who gave her life to save his.

     And now someone else has sacrificed for me...He thought, although he wasn't entirely sure if Evelyn had survived the attack or not. They had gotten separated when the fires broke out. He was still trying to process what had happened.

     He remembered feeling strange on his walk home from school with Ernest, and soon after they had parted ways he started to hear screaming from all around the town. He remembered rushing home, only to see a mob of people surrounding the front of  home where he and Evelyn had been living.

     “This is all your fault!” One of the townsfolk had yelled. “You brought the devil here because you couldn't live without your own child! Now we will all suffer!”

     He'd slipped into the alley when he saw the mob, but he still heard their shouts, and remembered each and every one. He had managed to make it through the back door, where Evelyn had been waiting for him. He remembered her kneeling down to hug him and telling him that a demon was attacking the town, and that they needed to get to safety. She said that no matter what happened, he needed to run. If she fell behind for any reason, he needed to leave her behind and get off the island. It was a similar plea to the one his own mother had asked of him when she hid him away in the closet. Sure enough, as they were fleeing their home, the fires from the attack had started to spread, and the town had become a sea of chaos. People were running every which way, trying to flee Morris Island in desperation. But that didn't stop some from recognizing Evelyn and the boy known as Tony.

     They ended up getting separated when someone had grabbed him by the wrist and tried to pull him away from Evelyn. He hit the man square in the nose and they broke into a small scuffle. By the time he had broken free, he had lost Evelyn in the crowd.

     They attacked her because they think I'm the devil.... but why? He wondered as the smoke stacks grew smaller and smaller in the distance. I guess it doesn't matter now. If she made it off the island like I did, she's safe, and better off without me. Maybe she can live a peaceful life, and take in an orphan that isn't being hunted by demons.

     A sharp crackle of static interrupted the boy's thoughts.

     “We're going to be coming to shore in Port Prince in the next thirty minutes or so. If you've been separated from your family, you will be shuttled to the police station while we wait for all of the survivors to make it to shore. If you have not been separated from your family, we will have members of the coast guard shuttling groups to the local shelter where you will be able to stay until further arrangements can be made.” A mans voice boomed through a megaphone. “Any injured will be taken right to the hospital, and we will also have counselors available to talk about the incident should you need it.”

     Tony was thankful that he was wearing something with a hood. He had pulled it up after getting separated from Evelyn, and had not let it down since. It did well to hid his strange silvery hair. Maybe it would allow him to sneak away from everyone once they came ashore. He certainly was not going to burden these survivors with the possibility of being attacked again. He wasn't sure where he would go or what he would do, he just knew he needed to stay away from innocent people.

(Read the rest of the chapters I have so far [MORE TO COME SOON] on AO3!)

[mythicamagic]

Eve’s Inferno - Rukiyui oneshot

Dante's Inferno AU. Eve has searched almost every circle of Hell, leaving just one left. In order to find Adam, she must face the one responsible for their banishment from Eden. But the Devil is used to whispering sweet nothings, and Ruki has succeeded in getting under her skin once before. Rukiyui oneshot.

AN: Made for the Diabolik Lovers Zine @diabolikloverszine​ and published with permission since the sales have closed. I had this idea a long time ago, due to Ruki often being associated with Lucifer in the games. Hope you enjoy!

Rated T

3,000 words (also posted on Ao3)

Eve's Inferno

Disembarking from the small boat, a young woman kept her hand in the ferryman's as he assisted her down. He smiled gently with ashen lips and doleful eyes, nodding to a set of double doors awaiting her.

Thanking him, she offered coins for the ride but was met with a quiet decline. He soon pushed off the dead earth, slinking back up the dark, murky waters of the cavern's river.

The grey doors had vast, intricate carvings of desperate people rising out of it, frozen mid-air, arms outstretched and clawing as though trying to escape. She wondered if they were real human souls, trapped as such a mundane part of the underworld. Taking a breath, she set her shoulders and reached out. The doors opened easily under her hesitant touch.

The woman didn't know what to expect behind them. Perhaps fire and brimstone, the dead or dying, tortured continuously and screams ringing out. But the vast, open space looked empty. There were no cries of pain, blissfully silent. A large cave awaited her, walls dark and jagged with obsidian rock. At her feet lay a cool, frozen lake, solid enough for her to stand on as it took up the entirety of the floor, spreading wide. Curling, misty air didn't chill her bones or make breath visible, instead feeling a little heady.

She steeled herself, walking forwards. In all the domain only a single thing truly held her gaze, that of a lone white tree standing on a small island. The shock of white and green was impossible to ignore.

With careful steps, she crossed the lonely, silent space. Walking onto the island, fresh grass crunched beneath her feet- soon coming to a stop. Breath catching, wide eyes took in the sight of a man with familiar dark hair reclined against the tree. He held a book, pale fingers gripping its spine.

She could not place how she felt, standing there, watching him calmly read. Soft, blue-grey eyes looked as disarming as she remembered when they flicked up to her. But they could sharpen. That tempting mouth could praise and charm one moment and then damn her the next.

"Good to see you, Yui."

"Hello Ruki," she murmured, folding her hands before her skirts. Swallowing, she babbled; "I didn't pay the ferryman, I hope that's alright."

"Azusa can be overly generous, it hardly matters," he dismissed, shifting long legs. "What can I do for you?"

Yui's fingers twisted into her sleeve. The casualness of his question belied Ruki's penchant for manipulation. If she weren't careful, she'd make a mistake, just like their last meeting all those years ago in Eden.

So, raising her head, she set thin shoulders. "I'm here for Adam," her tone was firm and final.

No surprise flickered in his expression, attention returning to his book as though bored.

"I-if you can't give him to me, then I'd like to know where he is. I've been looking for him in the other eight circles for-"

"Centuries, I know."

Annoyance flared, "if you knew, why didn't you meet with me? The other princes weren't very..." she trailed off, curbing her tongue for the sake of diplomacy, "helpful."

A deceptively pleasant chuckle rang out. "Do you expect the ruler of a domain to heed every whim from their subjects? Especially subjects of hell?" Cruel lips curved as he shifted, setting the book down before standing. "Besides, most people when searching for someone will give a description."

Yui held her ground when he approached, heart thundering- drumming wildly in her ears. "You know what he looks like."

"But you don't."

The dark-haired young man, despite his handsome features, did not possess a presence that stood out or screamed malice. When compared with the other princes, his appearance wasn't as eye-catching, attitude not as loud or attention-grabbing. In a crowd, your gaze would likely pass over him. Despite this, when he stepped closer, Yui felt a pressure in the air. A type of sticky humidity that heralded storms. Those eyes, so calm and cold, implored her to confess her sins and sink to her knees. He'd treat her like a pet. A well-fed, maybe even cared for pet, but a pet nonetheless.

"P-please don't toy with me," she murmured. "You probably removed my memories of his face and voice, but I remember Eden. You won't keep us apart."

Ruki reached for her, brushing a shock of cold knuckles against her cheek. Yui congratulated herself for not flinching despite the rush of feeling that attacked her. Compared to the second circle of Lust, with prince Laito's thoughtless, grabby hands, this was nothing. And yet... such a small touch demanded her attention, skin pricking.

"Of course you'd assume I did that. Doesn't it occur to you that he put you here and dictated your punishment?" Hot breath fanned over her mouth, and something tightened in Yui's lower stomach. Lulled by the stroke of his fingers gliding from chin to ear, Yui rocked back on her heels to try to clear her head.

That touch changed- locking into blonde hair and grasping tight to prevent escape. Yui stilled with a gasp, gritting her teeth.

"You're afraid," he purred.

"N-no," she thought for a moment and admitted; "not of what you can do to me. Just of my memories fading."

She'd seen what that did to souls. Lost, wandering figures mourning their own condition. They couldn't even remember their own names.

That touch turned gentle and soothing again, but she didn't trust it not to turn into violence at a second's notice. "Why do you care so much about finding him?"

"B-because I love him?" Wasn't that a question with an obvious answer? She'd literally been created from a rib to be Adam's other half.

"You can't love someone you don't remember. Someone you don't know. You'd trust a stranger like that?" Devastatingly beautiful eyes shifted over her pale expression, his pupils slightly slit. Ruki leaned closer, lips ghosting over the delicate shell of her ear. This time she was unable to suppress a shiver. "You should give yourself over to your Master's hands instead... I wouldn't treat my Livestock poorly."

Something hot churned in her stomach. "You're not my Master and I'm not cattle."

A low chuckle resounded in her ear, firm fingers gliding down her spine. "I seem to remember us having a conversation similar to this a long time ago. Do you recall?"

Yui squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push back the memory. It flooded through the gaps between her fingers like water. She could suddenly smell thick, choking scents of roses, feel lush grass and flowers brushing at bare legs. Lashes reluctantly opened, and her breath hitched.

The lake and lone tree were nowhere in sight. Ruki had vanished. Instead, she found herself wandering through the achingly familiar gardens of Eden. Birds sang to each other in twisting trees, lions and other predators lazed around, heedless of her or other prey. Yui felt her skin prick from a faint chill in the air, glancing down to find herself naked.

It was all exactly as she remembered. She'd become Eve again, lost in those painful memories that had haunted her for centuries. Only... she still couldn't remember Adam.

---

Rounding a large flower bed, Eve lay eyes on a single tree, separated from all other greenery. It bore fruit, red apples catching the sun in such a way that salvia filled her mouth at the mere thought of tasting them.

"You can have one if you like."

Eve's gaze slid down the apple tree's truck to find a man leaning against it. No, not a man.

An angel.

She frowned, making no move to cover herself as she approached.

"But I was told not to."

The dark-haired angel smiled, and she felt no reason to be afraid. "Why do you obey blindly?"

"I don't know."

Some frustration marred his handsome face. He gestured to a small pond not too far away, "go look into the water."

The woman did so because she'd been told to, and it didn't cross her mind to resist. Kneeling at the water's edge, blonde hair slid forward and Eve's breath hitched at the sight of her own reflection. Her eyes struggled to take in the image, a stunned hand raising to touch her reddening cheek.

'That's me...'

Complicated thoughts blazed to life in her mind where none had been before. Wonder, perception, a briefly vain absorption in her own existence having palpable proof before her eyes. What a gentle and pretty face. She loved it simply because it was her own, something that only she owned. Eve was at once changed. No longer an extension of Adam, she felt like a person.

The angel knelt not too far away. "I'll ask again; why do you obey blindly?"

"Well because..." she trailed off, swallowing. "I suppose I was created after Adam so I should behave in order to show my gratitude?"

"You act like a Livestock that's been reared and bred in a shelter. That doesn't sound like honest loyalty to me."

"No, I- maybe it isn't, " her arms moved to hug herself, wondering why she felt a little cold. Maybe it was the strange, isolated feeling his question awakened in her. "What is... honest loyalty?"

His eyes sharpened, tone becoming firm. "It's when you can be certain the one you've put faith in can care for you. In turn, you support them, like they're a worthy Master."

Eve picked at soft green grass, mulling this over. "Sounds as though you have experience with it."

"Mn, though lately, I've been feeling dissatisfied."

She got the sense that he wouldn't be saying anything more. "I feel... different. Like I'm not the same Eve as a moment ago."

Her companion shifted to stand, some white feathers from exquisite wings falling to land on the water's surface. She watched them float and twirl slowly with fascination.

"If you're someone else, you could always give yourself a new name," he casually suggested.

"Give... myself?" Eve chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. A name came out of nowhere. No one suggested it, so at once, she felt slightly giddy and pleased with her hushed murmur of: "...Yui."

Blue-grey eyes shifted. A pale hand rested on his chest as he bowed slightly. "Yui. Well met."

"Well met," she blushed, glancing at the funny material wrapped around his body curiously. "What's your name?"

"I was given the name Lucifer."

Yui tilted her head, sending lush falls of blonde over one shoulder. "Oh, did you change yours too?"

"Yes. I chose the name Ruki instead."

Her hands curled in her hair, testing out the new name on her tongue. "Ru...ki."

Ruki stiffened slightly, attention weighed upon her like a heavy, palpable thing with substance and form. She felt her cheeks flush, remembering the reflection of herself in the water. For the first time, she wondered what he might be thinking. What an angel's own perception of her was like.

"Mn... there's no need to get caught up with trivial things," he cleared his throat, walking towards the tree again.

"I wanted to ask about those things draping over your body," Yui chirped, following.

"My clothes? More trivial talk," he sighed, not particularly annoyed, however. Ruki stopped by the truck and rested a hand upon it, "you can have clothes too if you desire."

"I can?" So many new things were being offered to her today! She felt as though discovery was perhaps the single most wonderful thing to experience. She hungered for more- like the reflection and her new name. "Yes. I'd like that!"

He made a gesture, twisting his wrist in the air- and at once those strange, wondrous threads were wrapped around her, covering her shoulders but clinging around her chest and then falling down to her feet like a waterfall. Yui touched the material, finding it soft. She giggled, looking at him. "Thank you," she said breathlessly.

Ruki nodded, face unreadable. He then gestured to the fruit hanging above them. "You can still take one of these if you wanted."

At this, she hesitated, stopping by his side. "I... I'm not sure..."

"Did we not establish that you don't have to give your loyalty to someone who hasn't earned it?" His pleasant voice remained patient. A cool hand, chilled to the touch, met the base of her spine. The woman stilled, feeling that palm drag up her back, before curling in her hair. He seemed at once too close and yet not near enough.

"Maybe if I... take a bite, I can explain that I was just discovering new things? I'll know what it's like and won't be tempted anymore," she murmured.

Strong fingers tightened, stroking the back of her neck. "What an interesting word to use. Yes, I suppose you won't be tempted. You'll have had experience, and no one should punish you for that."

She agreed and reached up of her own volition, grasping a red fruit and yanking to break it free. She then sank blunt teeth into the apple, making a noise as juices overflowed in her mouth. Ruki's slit gaze dilated.

"It tastes wonderful!" She smiled, offering him some. The angel refused, taking a few steps back.

"I'm happy for you, but I should really be going now."

"Oh," Yui wilted, not even noticing the darkening, angry clouds above. "A-alright, I'll see you later! I should go share this with Adam."

"Yes..."

---

Blinking, Yui shook herself. Like an after-image, Ruki and the gardens changed. They melted away, revealing the lonesome lake once more. Ruki stood without his wings, having lost them in the fall. She could remember hearing about his uprising, his sins. They were far worse and more numerous than her own, and yet there they stood, together in the last layer of Hell. Two traitors.

"You didn't need to show me that," Yui murmured. "I do still remember. Please, please just tell me where Adam is."

Ruki looked almost deceptively kind for a moment, features softening. "They forgave Adam. He has been accepted into Heaven and left you behind, Eve."

Her knees threatened to buckle, lungs constricting. No, no, she needed to calm down. Of course he'd lie. "The truth, please," she gritted out.

Strong hands caught her slim waist as she moved back, starting violently at his touch and proximity. "I am not lying, Livestock."

"How can you expect me to believe you?" tears pricked her eyes.

"I understand-" he hissed, gathering Yui's thin, shivering body closer and curling around her. "I'm the snake that tempted Eve. You don't trust me and see me as nothing but an unworthy Master- but there's a place for you, here Eve." The smoke of a smile lingered on his lips, unseen by her, but she could hear it, feel it in his voice. "Here, by my side. We're a lot alike, cast out for our sins. All we did was utilise our free will. I'm not like him..." Ruki quietly purrs. "I won't shut you out no matter how much you sin."

Tears leaked down her cheeks as Yui raised her head, finding his lips much closer than anticipated. "Just give me your loyalty."

Trembling, the sensation of his mouth pressing against hers stole her breath. Shame rose to mingle with the glow he elicited within her chest, feeling herself considering, wondering if perhaps- just maybe... he genuinely cared for her.

'What is...honest loyalty?'

Yui's fingers curled in his clothes.

'It's when you can be certain the one you've put faith in can care for you. In turn, you support them, like they're...a worthy Master.'

Two hands shot out, shoving against his chest. 

Ruki grunted, eyes flashing. "Yui-"

"No! I-if it is true, then I-I'm happy for him!" Yui yelled. "Adam deserves to be free, but I won't ever give you my loyalty. I won't be your Livestock," she turned, hurrying away.

"Yui!" Ruki snarled, something hard leaking into his voice.

She stepped off the island, landing upon the lake a second before his hand met a barrier. Yui blinked, noting that he couldn't seem to set foot off the island, unable to leave the tree where he'd helped her commit the first sin of man. It seemed someone up in Heaven had a sense of humour.

Her blonde hair bounced as she jogged away, having no idea where to go. Anywhere was better than with him.

"You can't leave," came his quiet voice. "We'll keep going over this. We'll keep doing it, as many times as it takes for you to say yes."

Yui ignored him, reaching out to touch the large grey doors- only to hear a quiet snap of fingers behind her.

---

Sitting up, she stifled a yawn.

"We're here, miss."

Disembarking from the small boat, the woman kept her hand in the ferryman's as he assisted her down. She tried to give him coins, but he declined, continuing on his way. Approaching some large, imposing grey doors, she noted they had vast, intricate carvings of people rising out of them. Taking a breath, she pushed them open, stepping into the quiet space.

Awaiting her, marooned on a single island within the lake, the Devil watched as Eve approached.

[synchronmurmurs]

VerCredo Thoughts™

Hello ;u; It's been months since I first messaged you I think sorry for the long wait

Ahem so here's some disorganized food:

Credo lives au with ponytail!Credo because I’m your friend. This is post-dmc5

When Credo meets Vergil they’re so awkward with each other that Nero can’t bear to be around them. Dante’s having the time of his life though

“Oh god you guys are more similar than Vergil and me”

Cue Double GlareTM

Because of NeroKiri though they have to be in each other’s vicinity often. The awkwardness slowly -slowly- melts; without the Order, Credo’s gradually learning to put his guard down and Vergil’s learning that he’s safe, with family. It’s a process for both but they’re kind of in the same boat here. This realization is… strangely comforting but neither would admit it

The silence between them isn’t that awkward after a while. One can find them in the same room quietly reading in different corners

Sometimes when one visits the kitchen for tea, he brings back two cups

Nero can’t be around them for a different reason now

Sometimes Vergil jabs at Dante and Credo chuckles

CHUCKLES

Nero hadn’t heard Credo chuckle in maybe 10 years

Kyrie tells him it’s good for them to be friends. Nero has a weird foreboding feeling

(I’M SORRY THIS IS TURNING INTO FLUFF THERE’S MORE)

Credo would die before admitting it but he’s actually been… intrigued by Dante’s brother since they met

The twins are nothing alike, for one. It’s reeling. Vergil has a grace to him that Dante doesn’t. He holds himself proudly, exuding power even when he’s not doing anything

Credo gets how that could scare people but honestly? Vergil is what he’d wanted to be like since his youth

Everything he’d tried and trained and honed himself to be for years, Vergil seemingly just is without even trying

He’s also kind of like how Credo had imagined Sparda to be

It’s fascinating. He may be thinking about Vergil a bit too often

The way Vergil walks. The way he handles things. The power and elegance not negating one another in the way he moves

The way he tries to connect with Nero. How polite he is with Kyrie. In contrast, how he interacts with Dante. How his brash brother can bring out a rather… human part of him

Credo watches and analyzes. Subtly

This is completely normal

Then one day, Vergil asks him to spar

“Nero tells me you are a great warrior. Would you indulge me?”

Oh. “... I’d be honored.”

Why is he nervous? Fighting is familiar, this should be more relaxing

Vergil fights the way he expected: Gracefully, precisely, fast. He’s not going easy on him which Credo takes as a sign of respect, and responds in kind

The challenge is exhilarating. He hadn’t had a fight like this in a while. Vergil has impeccable technique and keeps Credo on his toes

He feels the urge to shift into his angelo form but holds back; that could seem too aggressive, besides he doesn’t really want to admit needing it

“Show me,” Vergil says then

Can he feel the power under Credo’s skin, begging to be released? Yet Credo holds and lunges back at him- his sword meets Yamato in a sparkling clash. He’s using a lot of force but Vergil isn’t fazed, doesn’t even seem to be trying

“Let it go,” he says, “or are you accepting defeat?”

“Do not… underestimate me!”

He pushes Yamato aside and tries to go for the opening, but he’s getting sloppy and slow- Vergil throws him back with the hilt of Yamato

There’s an explosion of light and feathers before Credo can feel the ground

Vergil stares at the creature hovering above him with a sort of wonder. It’s his first time seeing it up close. He knows what the Order was inspired by in creating this… but the sight of Angelo Credo strangely doesn’t bother him all that much

He’s… beautiful

And he will submit, his devil whispers

Credo does, eventually. Vergil doesn’t even need his trigger against a man-made demon- so Credo falls to his knees, Angelo form disintegrating

He feels cold steel under his chin. Yamato’s tip tilts up Credo’s head, forcing him to meet Vergil’s eyes

Vergil is tall and looming, cold and strong- Credo is held in place by his gaze and not his sword. He has the sudden thought that if this man were to order him to grovel, he would, without question

He gulps and the movement catches Vergil’s eyes. The tip of Yamato follows, slowly sliding to the bob of Credo’s throat. It stays there

Credo’s ears burn as he feels a shift in his pants, yet he can’t look away from Vergil. He can’t move. He doesn’t understand the power this devil has over him

For his part, Vergil doesn’t know what he’s doing himself. It’s like he’s in trance as Yamato slides down, down below Credo’s neck, pulling at the neck of his shirt to touch his bare chest. Vergil has the sudden desire to rip the clothing to shreds, it wouldn’t take a second. Would Credo move then, or would he let Vergil drink him in?

It’s obscene. Vergil hasn’t felt this kind of thing for over 20 years, yet he can barely remember desiring as strongly as he does now…

And Credo knows, to his own confusion and humiliation, that he would let Vergil do anything in this moment

I gotta stop here I’m so sorry made you wait long enough

I was too chicken to write proper fic too. Maybe in the future if… there’s interest

------

Submitted by: @zzzett

HELLO YES I AM SCREAMING THIS IS WHAT I WANT THIS PAIRING WOULD BE SO GOOD AND NOT JUST BECAUSE IT WOULD BE PERFECT FOR ME TO SLIDE BETWEEN THEM AND TAKE BOTH THEIR DICKS.

Like. They are both equally calm, both have a dry sort of wit, both would absolutely revel in roasting the ever loving shit out of Dante. Like the second one of them hears the other talking shit to or about Dante, the other will magically show up. 🤣 And both have a common ground with Nero. My god I need this so bad BLESS YOU FOR THIS WHOLE POST I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW MUCH I'M CLENCHING MY JAW TO KEEP FROM SCREECHING AAAAAAAAA

EDIT: I got so caught up in yelling about the pairing I forgot to say there's no need to apologise at all omg. This was well worth the wait, I'm really happy someone out there thinks this dynamic is worth a gander too 😭😭

[queenmuzz]

Mors aurem vellens, 'Vivite,' ait, 'venio': Chapter Two

The Flame is Relit.

Read here, or on Ao3

In the past few months, you had traversed mountains that seemed to reach to the heavens, vomited over the sides of boats that bobbed helplessly through a storm, and yet this final ride, sitting on the back of a simple wooden cart as it travelled, was the worst by far.  The road, if it could be called that, was not kind to your behind as it bumped along, long grasses brushed along the sides, occasionally whipping you in the face.

Of course, you could have had it worse.  You could have been forced to walk along what was no more than a glorified goat path, but then this farmer, on his way home from the marketplace, offered you a ride.  It all seemed to be a fortuitous coincidence, an alarmingly suspicious one.  Just like the boat that just happened to be setting off from Fortuna, despite it being before sunrise, and just so happened to have a spot for one more single person.  And despite all the times you  bartered for passage, or purchased food and shelter, the coin purse never seemed to get lighter.  So you put aside your uncomfortable situation and sat back among the supplies as the final leg of your journey continued.  Already, among the overgrowth, you could see hints of red stone, remnants of graves, their inscriptions long worn away by the weather.  You were close, and even a large jolt couldn’t take your mind off what was to come.  The trepidation, the nervousness, the...excitement.  

“You alright back there, Miss?” The farmer yelled back, “Sorry, this cart ain’t built for passengers, just for supplies.  And only me and a couple other farmers take this road

“It’s quite alright, Master Elesion,” you cheerily replied, only wincing slightly as one wheel hit what felt like a boulder.  

The jovial man chuckled, “Now, now…. I ain’t some noble, just some humble farmer. Enrico will do just fine.”

“Well, thank you Enrico, I hadn’t expected the road to be so…” you attempted to find a diplomatic way of speaking about it “rustic.”

The man slapped his leg, and let out a hearty laugh, his dark brown hair escaping from under his hat,  “That’s one way of putting it, like I said, only me and a couple of the other farmers use this path, much quicker than the main road.  He adjusted the reins, clicking his tongue at the horses to pull harder as they attempted to get out of a small rut in the road.  “You won’t believe me, but back in my grandfather’s grandfather’s time, this was a gleaming road, filled to the brim with people comin’ and goin’,” his face fell, “Not much anymore… you’ll see why soon.”

The horses began to be a bit more antsy, and Enrico began muttering soothing encouragement.  “Hey girls, it’s okay...it’ll be okay.”  

The reason for their sudden skittishness was almost immediately, the long heavy grass abruptly gave away to...nothing.  In front of the horses was a cracked stone road, and on both sides, was bare, lifeless looking dirt, with nary a stalk of grass, nor a trunk.  The closest thing to living vegetation was the dead leaves that seemed to blow in from the surrounding area.  And the silence!  You hadn’t noticed it at the time, but behind,  you heard the creaking and buzzing of insects, the chirping of birds, in front of you....nothing.  It seemed that there was not a single living thing on this gently sloping hill, not even moss growing between the stones.

“There it is…” the farmer said, with just a touch of fear, “Vergil’s temple.  Nobody’s had the stones to spend any time, aside from the youngin’s daring each other.  Land’s been lifeless for generations…  People say Vergil cursed the land to wither around it, after one of his priests betrayed him.”  He steadied his horses once again, as they gave the impression that they wanted to bolt.  “Hell, my girls won’t probably get any closer to this place.” He glanced at you, “You sure about this Miss?  I wouldn’t blame you if you back out.  We have an extra bed in the farmhouse.” You slung your pack over your shoulder, and hefted your staff to get out. “I’ll be fine, but I appreciate the concern.”  You smiled a reassuring grin, and with a wave, you watched him head off, the way he kept glancing back at you indicated that he was less eager than his horses to leave you here.

The temple was magnificent...or would have been, several hundred years ago.  Pillars of marble held up a frieze showing engravings of weather worn figures.  You could make out an identical set of men, standing side by side, one of which had to be Dante, the other Vergil.  You saw a depiction of flames, and both of them men striking down a three eyed cyclops, with their signature blades.  Rebellion, a weapon that cleaved its way to victory, and Yamato, a blade so sharp it was said that Lord Vergil used it to cut the soul from the body at death.  Another relief caught your eye, of a young man, similar to the twins, but dressed in the raiments of a traditional poet.  Which was odd, because you were certain by the dress and the pose, that it was supposed to depict V, god of lyric poetry, but it looked nothing like him, instead of the lanky youth with the shoulder long hair, he had swept back hair, was older, and bulkier.  The inscription that should have shown his name had been frustratingly worn away...or chiseled out.

Your sandals echoed ominously as you went inside the building.  It was decrepit, with dead leaves and branches forming a layer of decay, blown into the corners.  You tentatively nudged a pile of leaves, expecting to hear the scurrying of insects and rodents fleeing at the disturbance, but there was nothing.  On a closer examination, you realized that there were absolutely no signs of living things, no tracks, no mouse droppings...not even a cobweb.

Well, there was one living thing, at least you thought there was.  Coiled around the inner  pillars were thorny ivy vines. Thick as your waist, they sprawled everywhere, almost blocking your path to the inner sanctum.  No...not ivy, as they had no leaves, and didn’t seem to go towards the sun.  They looked more like they were growing towards the ground, like...roots.  You remembered your father worried about some weeds found in the corner of one of your family’s wheat fields when you were a girl.  The flowers were pretty, but he explained that the plant was dangerous, poisoning the soil so that none, save it, could grow, and so the only way to stop it was to burn the plant and the surrounding foliage.  Perhaps that is what this strange plant did to the area.

You followed the roots, and realized they converged, not at the base of a tree, but at the sacred statue at the centre.  It towered over you, three times your height, a ferocious monstrous figure, draconic in nature, with wings spread out, nearly touching the walls, a tail that looked disturbingly similar to the roots coiled around the base.  So, this was a statue of Vergil, or specifically, his divine form.  If looking at the ‘human’ form of a god was a death sentence, looking at their divine form in the flesh would drive one mad, so it was said.  You felt small and insignificant against this massive stone statue, and for the first time, you wished that perhaps you had taken Enrico’s offer.

But no matter, you had a divine purpose, and Nico strike you down with Her hammer if you didn’t complete it.  So, after sweeping the debris away from the stone altar, you placed the firewood you carried.  (How you were going to get more to feed the sacred hearth.... Well, you’d find the way.) You poured a flask of consecrated oil, the type usually used to bless newly built buildings, over it, soaking the wood, and with a flint, you created a spark.

For what probably was the first time in ages, a warm glow painted the walls with flickering orange. Unsure of what to do now, you did the sensible thing to do in a temple and knelt to pray.  In your travels, you had tried to find information about the ancient rites for this fearsome god, travelled to repositories of scrolls, but there was nothing.  You had no idea how to serve as a priestess, and what would happen if you failed.  Perhaps he was a finick-

A sharp chill crept up your spine and you swore that the flame in front of you flickered, as if blown by an invisible wind…. 

You were not alone.

********

Slowly, and with a touch of confusion, Vergil awoke.  He usually slumbered, only awakening on the approach of intruders, or to make sure the Qliphoth was growing as planned.  Regarding the latter, it was healthy, and still growing, with the hint of a bud beginning to show.  Soon, it would flower, and then shortly after that, assuming there were no complications, it would bear fruit.  Only a couple more centuries…

His brother had called him ‘crazy’ when he had told him his plan, to plant the Qliphoth within his own soul, but Vergil ignored his protestations.   Dante had tens of thousands of worshippers, which made his power immeasurable. But for Vergil, no one worshipped the God of Death, no one prayed to him, aside from people on their deathbeds, making a last minute plea to him.  There was no way he could be powerful like his father, mother, or even his annoying little brother, especially after his betrayal by one he had trusted.  So he had gone to the Goddess of Space and Time, to find a way to obtain more power, and for once, she gave a rather straightforward answer.

Plant a Qliphoth Seed within your Heart, and only then, when it bears Fruit,  will you understand True Power.

So then, despite nearly every God in the Pantheon disagreeing with him, he chose the drastic act to be the soil in which the Qliphoth would sprout from.  They didn’t understand, they COULDN’T understand.  From Credo, God of Courage, to Trish, Goddess of the Storms, they all had something that brought people to Them, to serve Them.  To be a God was power, and without it, he was no better than a mere mortal.  Granted, even in his weakened state, he was much more powerful than any human could ever hope to be, but without worshipers, without people praying to him...he was nothing.

And so, for what seemed like countless years to the mortal eye, but was merely a long rest for him, he had slumbered as it grew, and fed off the surrounding countryside.  It consumed the vegetation, the wildlife, and occasionally interlopers, gorging on their precious power-infused blood.  Even then, the few people that came to visit nowadays were the local children, daring each other to go into what they thought was the ‘cursed’ temple.  For the most part, he had forbad the Qliphoth from feeding on them, not out of any moral sense.  A child’s blood was far too weak to be worth the risk of the locals burning down the temple in retaliation.  Besides, the terror and awe the young ones gave out as they approached as close as they dared to his decrepit shrine fed the Qliphoth quite well.  Not as well as blood, mind you, but it was the next best thing.

So, when he awoke to the sense of an intruder, he was confused.  There was fear, that could not be denied, but it was tempered with something else...determination?  That, and the warmth of his sacred hearth, lit for the first time in centuries, piqued his curiosity.

He didn’t manifest himself in a physical form, not because he was weak (of course not, that would be absurd) but because he wanted to observe his visitor undetected, and so he stalked the hall of his temple, the setting sun casting dark shadows over the debris on the floor, and entered the inner sanctum.

He had not been mistaken.  His sacred fire had indeed been relit.  And before it, knelt down in prayer, was a small figure, mouthing words silently.  He was perplexed at first, this woman, was she a pilgrim?  Was she lost and foolishly assumed this temple was a sanctuary?  

But her robes, a scarlet red, with gold tassels told him the truth.  This was a priestess.  And as a Priest could only claim one God as their ‘patron’, that meant she had chosen...to be his priestess.

Vergil was taken aback.  Ever since the Qliphoth had first sprouted, fertilized by the blood of his betrayer, there had been no worshippers, the few remaining priests fleeing in terror as the roots spread everywhere.  And just like that, the temple was abandoned, left to rot, but out of fear, never destroyed.  Slowly but surely, the roots began absorbing all life around it, leaving the hill his house of worship stood on a wasteland.

He told himself that it didn’t matter, that he could afford to wait, after all, it was just a matter of time before the fruit would ripen, and then he’d have no need for priests, pilgrims, or mortals at all.  He. Would. Need. No one.

So why was he so interested in this mortal?  Aside from seeing from what possessed her to come to this forsaken place.

She jerked up, and Vergil silently cursed.  She hadn’t been pretending to pray, she was a true believer, hence being able to sense him, even if he was invisible to her.  He couldn’t hide his presence from her.

“Who’s there?” She asked, wisps of fear flowing off of her, which the roots lapped up.  “Show yourself!”

He smiled, as he drew closer to her, to the point he was right behind her. He couldn’t help but play with this new toy he had been given.  

“Such hubris, for a mortal, demanding something from a God” he whispered in her ear, and she froze, and even in the orange glow, he could see the blood drain from her face.  She was smarter than he initially thought, as she instantly supplicated herself to the floor.

“Lord Vergil! I-I… a thousand mercies!  I thought…”  The terror was delicious, he could feel it in the roots, but he couldn’t let it overwhelm himself….or cause the woman to flee.

“Now now,” he said with faux politeness, “I will let it slide, for now, on the condition you answer my questions quickly, and honestly. Now stand.” his voice barked out the order, and he noticed the shakiness and effort it took her, not totally due to fear.

“Yes, my Lord”

“First question:  Why are you here?”  The answer was obvious, but he wanted to hear it from her lips.  

“To..to become your priestess.” the answer came quickly, even as she kept her eyes fixed on the tiles at her feet.

“A bit odd, as I have had none for many of your lifetimes,”  in truth, he was puzzled.  He might be out of touch with the outer world, he knew that his temple had been forgotten aside from local farmers who kept a safe distance.  And she, going by her scent, which reminded him of waves and distant soil, she was not from around here.  “What brought you here?”

“I was sent.” 

Her response was more firm, which was good.  While fear was good food for the plant, it would never come close to proper worship… or blood.  He couldn’t just have a servant forced to worship him out of terror.  But he still hadn’t had his question answered.

“By who?”

There was a slight hesitation, not because she was afraid he would punish her, but that he might punish the one who sent her.   She took a deep breath. 

“Lady Kyrie sent me.”

Vergil clicked his tongue in annoyance, causing the woman to flinch, most likely thinking he was about to strike her down.  

“Of course,” he muttered, mostly to himself, “she would put her nose where it doesn’t belong, trying to ‘fix’ things that do not need ‘fixing’.”  He sighed, and the priestess stood stock still, like a deer.   As annoyed as he was and the young idealistic goddess’s idea of ‘helping’, he wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak.  A priestess, with a lifetime of devotion and worship, could hasten the blooming of the Qliphoth by several decades...a lifetime...he drew closer to her, and she shuddered, no doubt feeling him right next to her as he analyzed something that had bothered him...there was something about her… a hint of decay… and it took the God of Death no time at all to figure out what it was.  

“You are not long for this world,” he stated flatly.

“No my Lord, I was given two years by the Oracle.”

He pinched his brow.  What was that daft girl thinking, sending him a priestess that would be dead in the blink of an eye.  Was this some sort of  ironic joke?  Kyrie wasn’t that sort of person, that would be more like his brother’s doing to pull a prank like this.  She had to have known about the woman’s fate.  He stared at her, trying to figure out what to do.  It would be kinder to just have the Qliphoth impale her, and absorb her blood, it had been far too long since it had tasted the powerful crimson liquid.

But…

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that brief as it was, a few years of service and devotion was better than nothing.  And besides, at the end, he could just absorb her blood when she passed.  He might even be able to do her a service, ending her final days before the suffering got unbearable. Making his decision, he pulled back and he could see her relax slightly.  

“Well,” he said with a touch of annoyance, “don’t just stand there, continue with your duties.” She startled, before hesitating.  “Pardon my inquiry my Lord, but...are there any duties that I should be doing?  I’ve never done this before and… I wasn’t able to find any information about rites to you.”

“So quickly are the old ways forgotten,” he sighed, disappointed.  Well, he shouldn’t fault the woman, it had been a long time since his priests had fled, and even if they had written down the sacred rites, paper was even more fragile than human memories.  And, he thought to himself, the woman had at least attempted to find out the long lost knowledge, he’d give her some credit for that.

“Well, it seems your training will start tomorrow, but for now, finish your prayers and do whatever you need to set up your living arrangements.  Night is falling soon, and I would be an ungracious host,” he couldn’t help but let a little sarcasm slip out with those last two words, “if I let my priestess collapse from exhaustion.”

She almost lifted her head, before remembering her place and staring down again.  “Thank you, my Lord.”  She remained in her subservient position for almost a minute after he had withdrawn, no doubt worried that she might accidentally look up and see him, before finally finishing her evening prayers, and setting another log for the hearth to burn throughout the night.

******

It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep, and Vergil supposed she had traveled a long way to get here.  Looking at her meagre possessions, it was rather easy to tell her travels.  Judging by the well worn pilgrims cloak that had once been brilliant white, but now smudged with dirt, she’d gone to Fortuna to plead with his mother for a cure.  But not even his mother could overrule the Weaver of Fate.  Somehow Kyrie had gotten her soft hands on the woman, and steered her to hm.  For what purpose, he had no idea.  For an instant he thought perhaps she had tricked her into thinking that if she served the God of Death, she’d be spared, but quickly threw it out.  As sweetly annoying as she could be, she would never deceive a mortal like that.  He looked at her other items, a traveling staff that showed heavy usage, and would most likely see much more use in the future.  A scroll with what seemed to be instructions on basic temple rites, and a disturbingly small amount of food, mostly stale bread and dried fruit.  It wouldn’t do at all for his priestess to collapse from malnutrition, so he stalked outside of his temple...the first time in at least a hundred years.  

The area of wasteland had gotten bigger, he noticed, as the Qliphoth did its slow but steady work, and with each step away from his temple, he could feel his power diminishing.  A shame, that he was more a prisoner,  than a God.  But again, he reminded himself, once the fruit ripened, he would never be shackled again, not by any God, nor mortal, nor even Himself.

Thankfully, just before his leash tightened, he reached the stark dividing line between life and death.  He closed his eyes for a minute, and reached with his diminished senses to feel what he sought.  There, a dozen paces away, two hares munched on shoots of grass, oblivious to the danger that stalked nearby.  

Silently, he pulled out Yamato, and with a silent slice, both lay still, eyes wide open.  He picked them up and paused.  Human blood was precious, but in a pinch, animal blood would suffice.  He could give one to the Priestess, and offer one to the roots...but something inside of him, some annoying little voice said that wouldn’t be worth it.  The longer he kept the Priestess alive and healthy enough to do her duties, the more power the Qliphoth could accumulate.  And wasn’t that, he thought to himself as he walked back towards the orange glow emanating from the ancient building, a sight he’d almost forgotten, the most important thing?

[dantesinfcrno]

                                 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

                                                (  @opalsmedia​​  )  

    ›   𝑰. ACE OF CUPS .

❝  divine love and compassion are pouring through you. you are a vessel for deep, spiritual love from the universe, and you can’t help but let that love flow through you and into the world. you are love  &  your heart overflows .  ❞

           𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐋𝐋  ––––––  the days grow darker than you’ve expected, and that harms the sweet thing you call a heart. the numerous fights, the copious amounts of tension, and the stress that pools in your stomach –– you’re certain you can’t handle it any longer. perhaps, you are too soft for this world in which anger  &  chaos reign. you try and shield yourself, but it’s never enough : your heart still beats so strongly, and you can’t stop giving  &  giving, until you’re alone with the remains of your chest. you weren’t expecting a ruthless emerald to open his arms to you, and yet–– in him, you discover at least one safe spot, tucked away from the world  &  all things evil. he reminds you of a book you loved as a child, and he has a nice way with words –– it makes dreaming easier, in such harsh times, and you can smile when he is around. he does not ask anything from you. you are grateful. 

          𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒  ╱  view here.

          𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆  ╱  braver soldier, russian red  +  i like me better, lauv  +  boats  &  birds, gregory and the hawk.

          𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒  ╱  laughter that fills our lungs ; smiling until our cheeks ache  &  our bellies are warm ; yellow and orange shades peppered across your skin ; the summer bringing out your freckles. we find secret gardens  &  have picnics, us and the fairies. childhood is still very reminiscent in the way we lay down and embrace one another. we speak of running away, but instead just end up with more polaroids on our desks. i prefer your sweater much more than my own. cozy blankets ; soft intimacy ; rose-colored glasses.

          𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒  ╱  ❝  on empathy : what it sounds like is a bird breaking small bones against glass .  ❞

   ›   𝑰𝑰. THE HIGH PRIESTESS .

❝  the guardian of the subconscious mind and the teacher of sacred knowledge and hidden mysteries. she ushers you through the thin veil of awareness, offering you a deep, intuitive understanding of the universe and a heightened awareness of secret or hidden information .  ❞

           𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐋𝐋  ––––––  you are a very distant cousin, maybe not even that. you grew up hearing tales of dante’s mother, and you are keenly aware of the distaste your family has for her, her husband, and her son. you’ve seen each other once or twice, but you know dante desai –– all the rumors, scandals, absurdities  &  controversies. he might not have given you a word, but your image of the emerald with a dazzling smile has darkened under the influence of gossip and ill-intentioned people. you are not sure why he’s in the society at all and, if you’re being candid, he doesn’t seem deserving of any of your respect –– but alas, business means business, so you try and play nice ( it fails, more often than not, as he seems to know every word uttered about himself in his absence ). he teases you, and pushes you to try harder, reach farther. it annoys you deeply, and you hold back from simply telling him to shut up. maybe you want to prove you’re so much better, maybe you want to make him aware of how much he’s missing. maybe you just want the approval of someone, anyone.

          𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒  ╱  view here.

          𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆  ╱  black sheep, gin wigmore  +  hit me with your best shot, adona  +  make me your queen, declan mckenna.

          𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒  ╱  misplaced competitiveness  &  rivalry ; wanting to prove yourself ; defiant words and poignant stares ; discovering the truth isn’t always hand-fed ; accepting the lies you were told when growing up  &  moving on from them ; familial resentment ; finding things in common with someone you hate ; learning you share many scars with the object of your disdain. biting remarks  &  vicious tongue ; clashing of titans. finding an equal match to the monster that crawls under your skin. enemies to friends.

          𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒  ╱  ❝  the monster. the dreamer, the eater. the eater monster. you the monster, i the monster. all of us the monster. the monster in us, the monster in you. the monster in all of us .  ❞ 

   ›   𝑽. THE HIEROPHANT, ꓤƎꓥƎꓤSƎꓷ .

❝  you are your own teacher. all the wisdom you seek comes from within – not from some external source or power. the hierophant reversed is also about challenging the status quo. you seek out opportunities to rebel and reclaim your personal power .  ❞

           𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐋𝐋  ––––––  you’ve always had your eyes on dante, it seems –– it’s not at all too hard for it to happen, considering the bright glitter  &  colorful clothes, but you perhaps admire him more than your peers. individuality attracts you, and you may or may not have one silly crush on this man –– however, once you came closer, an infatuation turned into a solid bond. you seem to share similar principles, and the need for freedom  &  change is rooted deeply in both of your cores. you can speak for hours on end about everything at all, open-mindedness not shared with many others you’ve met. everyone might be worried once the two of you are seen together, as you’re always up for some trouble –– but, maybe, that’s just how love works in this friendship. fire burns brighter as you come together as an unit, and it almost makes you giddy.

          𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒  ╱  view here.

          𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆  ╱  void, the neighbourhood  +  come as you are, nirvana  +  sober ii (melodrama), lorde.

          𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒  ╱  forbidden crushes ; midnight escapades ; i know your favorite wine  &  you know how many drinks it takes for me to get tipsy ; we know each other at our worsts. the act of loving  &  supporting each other in all one sets their mind to. may be guilty of arson  &  invasion of properties. the lack of hesitation to defend one another. uniqueness  &  playfulness ; deep conversations under the moonlight ; sharing the same fears we never uttered aloud ; feeling trapped under the same pretense of freedom ; watching clouds  &  constellations ; staying awake until seven am to see the sun rise.

          𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒  ╱  ❝  wings are freedom only if they are open in flight. on one’s back they are a heavy weight .  ❞ 

  ›   𝑽𝑰𝑰𝑰. JUSTICE .

❝  represents justice, fairness, truth and the law. you are being called to account for your actions and will be judged accordingly. as you explore your truth, you will discover that things are not as clear-cut as you had thought .  ❞ 

          𝐎𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘  ––––––  admitting to his past relationship with his own predecessor put a huge toll on dante’s shoulders, and you now observe him with more care, an attention you never truly bestowed upon the trickster of your circlet. his distress might tug at your heartstrings, it might make you wonder –– you might see him differently, now. your relationship might be strained. perhaps, you desire to reach out, offer the support he never asked for. perhaps, you do not know how. you are curious and worried, but the feelings of betrayal still linger on your bloodstream, whether you like it or not. should you ask for clarifications? step further into his personal space? should you step back, abstain from commenting anything? does he need your help? does he even care about what you think?

          𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒  ╱  view here.

          𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆  ╱  you don’t know me at all, son lux  +  stop crying your heart out, oasis  +  all for us, labrinth  &  zendaya.

          𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒  ╱  lingering stares across the room ; desiring to speak but now knowing how ; sending text messages but not wanting to read the replies ; sheepish smiles  &  shared silences ; holding back your tears, even while near loved ones ; solitary nights with clouds covering every star. i worry for you, dear one, but you make it so hard to take care of you. when it rains, we hold each other’s hands. you taste sour, i taste bittersweet, but we still love. i would do it all for you, why won’t you ask for it?

          𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒  ╱  ❝  sorry about the blood in your mouth. i wish it was mine .  ❞

   ›   𝑿𝑽. THE DEVIL, ꓤƎꓥƎꓤSƎꓷ .

❝  calls on you to confront your inner fears to free yourself from the chains that bind you to your limiting beliefs and unhealthy attachments. it can also appear when you are going into your deepest, darkest places. you seek to understand your innermost shadows so you can either release them or integrate them into your life in a more constructive way .  ❞

           𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐋𝐋  ––––––  you struggle, and you struggle hard. you would never admit you’re going through a heavy time, perhaps not even to yourself. you move lightly, with grace, and no one questions the tightness of your smile. it’s easy, like this –– except you’re tired, and your bones ache, and you can barely sleep at night. it surprises you, however, once you find the bright emerald drinking by himself in one of the shitty bars you go whenever life gets rough. you sit by his side, you both share a sigh  &  a shot. he finds out one of your many secrets, and you discover some of his scars, and the pills on his pocket. you hold his hand, and he takes you home safely, kisses your forehead while bidding you good night. you share many text messages, and you meet up often. you get better at recognizing the signs of sadness on each other’s faces. life is not any happier, but now, at least–– you have an emergency contact. you can sob on his shoulders until you fall into unconsciousness. he smiles at you in the morning and brings you coffee. no more words are needed.

          𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒  ╱  view here.

          𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆  ╱  shadows, warpaint  +  blinding, florence and the machine  +  haunt, banks.

          𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒  ╱  blue shades ; melancholy ; van gogh’s paintings ; scars that never fade away ; the dull ache of quiet piano strings echoing throughout an empty room at the darkest hour. inebriated confessions ; hushed conversations ; many bottles of whiskey, both cheap  &  incredibly expensive. not knowing much about each other, and yet discovering the hidden away pieces by yourself. becoming dependent on the emotion of being understood  &  seen. helping each other up and forward, even when there is no strength left. exhausted  &  broken smiles ; thunderstorms ; lending you my jacket and never getting it back, because you need as much comfort as you can get ; dancing in the rain  &  laughing about it hard and loud.

          𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒  ╱  ❝  i have no more room for grief for it is everywhere now .  ❞

   ›   𝑿𝑽𝑰𝑰. THE STAR, ꓤƎꓥƎꓤSƎꓷ .

❝  can mean that you’ve lost faith and hope. you may be desperately calling out to the universe to give you some reprieve but struggling to see how the divine is on your side. take a moment to ask yourself what the deeper life lesson is, and how this is a blessing, not a punishment. the reversed star is a test of faith .  ❞

          𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘  ––––––  the opal society, more than ever, seems like bullshit to you. you are angry, upset, distraught–– you can think of many words that echo your insatisfaction, and this initiation process no longer looks like something you want to be a part of. life is a burden heavy enough without a secret society wrapped in the mayhem of horny young adults tying you to statues. you definitely didn’t expect for dante, of all people, to become a guiding light –– the one that took his own initiation as a joke, broke the rules, and is known for frequently getting in trouble? how the fuck could that guy give you answers? truth be told, he doesn’t –– nothing is ever easy with him, it seems, and no surface-level impression seems to make him justice. the both of you now speak frequently, and he helps you stabilize your thoughts –– the guy can manage to give out some decent advice, at least, and you might even trust him, now. he likes pros  &  cons lists, and also vaguely pointing at the light at the end of the tunnel, just enough so it will fill you with hope. it is enough, for now.

          𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒  ╱  view here.

          𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆  ╱  i need some sleep, eels  +  i’ll die anyway, girl in red  +  i found, amber run.

          𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒  ╱  an unexpected discovery ; knowledge where you thought least possible to find. the trade of fears  &  unsure confessions ; gentle parental guidance into the shoes meant for you to fit. tender reassurances over the phone ; a pat on the back ; a small gift that means “ i am proud of you ”. rediscovering the love for one’s circlet through the eyes of another. silent promises ; candles  &  wishes you never shared before ; feeling as if you’ve known someone from your past lives  &  forever carrying them in your heart.

          𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒  ╱  ❝  you are in conflict with yourself. you are holding yourself in check. you are paralyzing yourself .  ❞ 

   ›   𝑿𝑰𝑿. THE SUN, ꓤƎꓥƎꓤSƎꓷ .

❝  is calling to your inner child to come out and play. see it as your permission slip to leave behind your responsibilities, even just for a moment, and play. you may have experienced setbacks that damaged your enthusiasm and optimism and perhaps led you to question whether you can achieve what you set out to do .  ❞

           𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐋𝐋  ––––––  dante is a disappointment to you. he let you down or hurt your feelings, and you can’t forgive him for that ( and you won’t even try, because he doesn’t deserve it ). there are plenty of good memories attached to his name, but it all has turned sour, and you want to watch it crash  &  burn. he might try and make amends, but you know he doesn’t even care for you, deep down –– he is trying for your sake, perhaps, but not because he nourishes an affection for you, and that stings. if it has to be like this, you want at least to let him know how irresponsible actions are not easily forgiven. a broken heart for another seems fair trade to you, and you no longer care for entertaining an endless discussion, as long as you’re on the winning side.

          𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒  ╱  view here.

          𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆  ╱  no one loves me  &  neither do i, them crooked vultures  +  motion sickness, phoebe bridgers  +  eyes, nose, lips, tablo.

          𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒  ╱  unanswered phone calls ; ghosting ; writing letters just to burn them. cold war  &  avoidance. knowing that you want what you can not have. marble statues ; an empty bed ; freezing fingers  &  no one to hold your hand. emptiness ; the feeling of being unworthy ; lighting a match once the power goes out  &  sitting alone at your couch, daydreaming. bittersweet intimacy. the fact that someone you now hate knows way too much about you. not letting go. 

          𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒  ╱  ❝  he fatally wounded me; that is, he gave me the wound that only love could repair .  ❞

[jackcinephile]

L'Inferno (1911) Movie Review!

As promised, we're gonna be celebrating this Spooky Season with a Devilman Crybaby headcanon! In order to fully express my HC, I will be reviewing icons of horror cinema and literature that helped contribute to many of the themes and ideas that are prevalent in Go Nagai's original manga. So, without further ado, let us descend into the Blind World. Put all fear and cowardice aside. I will be your guide through this eternal place, where you shall hear the shrieks and see the tormented spirits who all bewail the second death.

And how appropriate? Because our first film is the 1911 adaptation of The Inferno by Dante Alighieri. I suppose it's only right to begin this saga of horror films with one of the first horror films ever made. Okay, "first horror film" is actually debatable, so keep in mind that I said "ONE of the first." In any case, it remains one of the most important landmarks in horror cinema.

"Stopped, in the middle of what we call life,

I looked up and saw no sky, but rather a dense cage of leaf and tree and twig,

For I was lost."

The film opens as the iconic poem does. Dante Alighieri is a middle-aged man who finds himself lost in a dark, gloomy forest. This opening of the story always had a way of making me feel somewhat lonely and isolated. In my interpretation, I always saw this forest as being symbolic of how Dante felt after the death of Beatrice. Allow me to explain...

For those who don't know, Dante met a young girl named Beatrice when they were both nine years old. The young boy immediately fell in love with her, even though they hardly interacted. Despite their lives continuing in separate directions, Beatrice had always and forever held a special place in Dante's heart. When he received word that she had died, Dante was absolutely devastated. He felt that she deserved to be immortalized in what he intended to be his magnum opus; The Divine Comedy.

I believe that this opening to the Inferno is actually Dante going to a journey to find Beatrice so that he could say goodbye to her. Along the way, he got lost, both literally and spiritually. That, in my opinion, is what this forest symbolizes. In many ways, this opening kind of reminds of the opening to Silent Hill 2, just from how dismal it is.

Having said all that, I think the film does a very poor job of conveying those emotions. Sadly, I just don't feel any of the despair that was present in the original poem. He just wanders around for a few seconds, then steps out into a clearing. But don't worry! As soon as Dante steps into the clearing, the film IMMEDIATELY gets better. Upon entering this clearing, Dante finds himself at the base of, what I believe to be, Mount Purgatory. I can only assume that's where he is, because the gates of Hell are at its base, and Dante seems to suggest the gates of heaven are at its summit, just like Purgatory. Unfortunately, his path is blocked by three ravenous beasts: a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf, all representing different Earthly sins. He runs back the way he came, before being rescued by a strange apparition. It's here that the film begins to remind us all of why the original poem is regarded as a self-insert fanfic...

Upon introducing himself to the apparition, Dante learns that it is the actually the ghost of Virgil, author of the Aeneid. The significance of Virgil being in the story is that he was Dante's favorite poet of all time, and Dante always longed to meet and interact with him. It's literally a self-insert fanfic of Dante meeting and interacting with all of his inspirations. It's honestly a mystery to me why I love The Inferno so much, because it's everything I hate! It's a Catholic's fanfic about why he sees himself and his friends as morally superior and why everyone he ever disagreed with is going to Hell. Somehow, in spite of all that, I still love it.

So why did Virgil even decide to help Dante in the first place? Well, remember when I talked about Beatrice dying? It turns out, she descended from Heaven into Hell to ask him for help, because she knew how important he was to Dante. She tasked Virgil with being Dante's guide, after seeing that he has gone astray.

This is where the film's innovation starts to take shape. Beatrice has often been drawn as having a halo around her head. The problem is, how do you show that in a film made in 1911? The effect was strikingly realized with, what I assume to be, spinning rods covered in reflective material. I can only guess this is how it was done, but it appears right to me, because that's how a similar effect was created for the lightsabers in the original Star Wars. It looks like the rods were placed behind the actress, so that the rig couldn't be seen, making it appear as if the light was emanating from her head. This scene also displays an early appearance of wire work on film. In those days, that shit wasn't easy. It was even harder to hide the effect, which this film does fairly well.

So, Virgil explains to Dante that he must take him on a pilgrimage through the three different stages of the afterlife. To be perfectly honest, I never understood why. Maybe I'm just an idiot with little to no reading comprehension. It's also a factor that I haven't read parts II and III of the Divine Comedy, so maybe it's elaborated better in there. From what I gathered, since Dante is going on a journey to find the literal Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin intensifies) Virgil needs to take him to Hell and Purgatory, so he can face his sins and better appreciate Paradise. And thus, Virgil's pilgrimage to lead Dante through the Afterlife begins!

"Through me, the way to the City of Woe

Through me, the way to everlasting pain

Through me, the way among the people lost

Divine Power made me

Eternal I endure

Abandon Hope, all ye who enter here"

That is the inscription above the Gates of Hell. It is here, that Dante is already planning on turning back. Virgil literally tells him to stop being a pussy, and I was satisfied. Once they enter the gates, it becomes apparent to the viewer, if it hasn't already, that this isn't just an adaptation of Dante's work. This film is actually a cinematic translation of the ICONIC illustrations by Gustave Dore that were created in the middle of the 19th century. So much care and detail was put into recreating his AMAZING artwork, that many consider to be his magnum opus. This film was basically the Zack Snyder's Watchmen of its day!

Those familiar with the story will recognize this iconic scene that is being recreated onscreen. Dante and Virgil have come to the shores of Acharon, where the souls of the damned board Charon's vessel to be taken before Judge Minos, who lives in Limbo.

Speaking of Limbo, that is the first spiral of Hell Dante visits. This is where good people who weren't Christians come to face eternity. Their punishment is meant to be the denial of Paradise, but if you ask me, it doesn't seem so bad. Apparently Dante felt the same way, because this is where he meets his other great inspirations, such as Homer and Ovid! The poets all enjoy their visit together before Virgil must take Dante on his way. This is honestly the part that makes me cringe the most. Nothing reeks of self-insert fanfic more than meeting your idols and being greatly respected by all them. This is exactly why I abandoned my Silent Hill fanfic.

Anyway, Minos's throne lies at the lower boarder of Limbo. The king himself appears as a giant naked bearded man with a snake tail. The tail is used to determine the punishment of sinners by wrapping around Minos's own neck multiple times. However many times the tail coils determines which spiral the sinner is sent to.

And here we get to my favorite scene in the whole film: Lust! This spiral perfectly displays the true innovation of special effects. In this spiral, sinners are punished by being caught in a tumultuous whirlwind. The wind symbolizes the tumultuous feelings that arise between lustful lovers. It's one of Dore's best illustrations, and it blows my mind that the filmmakers were able to recreate it so well!

Our two pilgrims move onward to the Spiral of Gluttony, where we come across Cerberus. He guards this spiral, but Virgil subdues him by throwing a clump of dirt in his face (still more respectful than Lore Olympus). Honestly, Gluttony is nothing to write home about. It's just a raining landscape with people laying in the mud. Still, I have to give credit for the meticulous recreation of Dore's art!

Down in Greed, who else do we find guarding this spiral, other than Plutus?

SIDE NOTE: I've read a very strange "translation" of his dialogue. The original line reads, "Pape Satan, Pape Satan, allepe!" Strangely, no one seems to agree on what exactly this means, so most translations are different. Particularly, in the case of Douglas Neff, he translates "Pape" to "Papa," which is strange because "Pape" means "Pope" in Itialian. Then, he changes "allepe" to "you are my king." Let's also not forget that Plutus was also occasionally used as an epithet for Hades and/or Pluto. This means Douglas Neff literally wrote Hades to say, "Daddy Satan, I worship you" (still more respectful than Lore Olympus)!

In the Spiral of Greed, the sinners are forced push heavy sacks of gold around for eternity. Once again, this scene is nothing special, but still an admirable recreation of the illustrations that inspired it.

The next scene, however, shows off more of the innovative talent that makes this film so amazing! Virgil and Dante move on to the Spiral of Anger, where the sinners are punished by being submerged in the black sludge of the River Styx. The only way across is by boat. This is where Phlegyas comes in. The two poets stand by a giant tower which they use to signal for passage to the City of Dis. Along the way, the boat is stopped by Dante's political and intellectual rival, Philipo Argenti. It's here that one realizes just how petty Dante truly was. "Oh, I disagree with you politically. Therefore, you deserve to drown in sludge for all eternity!" He sounds like people I used to know. Hell, he sounds like me in high school!

All while this is going on, we see an amazing special effect of a double exposure of Dis in the background. It's an amazing miniature of the city's outer wall, optically printed to take up the entire top half of the screen.

Finally, they make it to the other side of the river, where we actually get a cameo by Hades' and Persephone's children! No, not Zagareus, Makaria, and Melinoe. None of those people were Hades' and Persephone's children. I'm actually referring to the Erinyes (also known as, the Furies). They block Dante's entrance to the city's gates, so Virgil calls upon the aid of an Archangel to rid them of the Furies. It is here that Dante asserts the superiority of Christianity over the Hellenistic faith (still more respectful than Lore Olympus).

Within the City of Dis, Hell begins to look more like how we always imagined, with fire and brimstone. In the Spiral of Heresy, sinners are stuffed into eternally burning ovens embedded in the ground.

Beyond that is the only omitted sequence from the poem. In the original Divine Comedy, the Spiral of Violence is originally guarded by the Minotaur! Beyond that are sinners, stewed in a boiling river of blood (The Phlegethon). On the banks, we see a heard of Centaurs practicing their archery on them. These are the individuals who were violent towards other people. In order to cross the river of blood, Dante and Virgil must ride on the back of one of the centaurs. You know, having heard of centaurs' notorious reputation for being horrible rapists, it makes me concerned for the sake of our Pilgrims. Maybe they didn't include this in the film because they couldn't figure out how to make a centaur?

On the other side of the Phlegethon, Violence continues into the suicide forest (*Logan Paul reference here*). Here is where sinners, who were violent against themselves, are punished. Once judged to this spiral, they grow into trees. The symbolism being that trees are a symbol of life, of which these sinners have deprived themselves. I'm surprised this scene isn't more controversial. After all, seeing as how seriously mental health has been taken recently, it's fucking awful to tell someone they're going to Hell for committing suicide! As a peice of horrific imagery, I love this scene, but knowing that Dante actually believed this makes me despise it.

In addition to being a horrifying concept, this scene also includes one of the first instances of bloodshed in a horror film. Virgil explains to Dante that he can speak with the sinners if he breaks one of their branches. When he does, blood sprays out of the tree like a drinking fountain!

After a brief conversation with the sinners, Dante moves on to the final section of violence, where people were violent against God. Here the sinners are punished in a desert that perpetually rains fire.

Now, not every special effect in this film is good. Because when Dante rides down to the eighth spiral on Geryon's back, it is such a stiff, unnatural, badly puppeteered marrianet that they couldn't even keep stable for the shot!

"There is a place in Hell called the Malebolge..."

Now, we get to my favorite part of the whole poem: The Spiral of Fraud. Here the deceivers are punished in a myriad of ways, depending on how they lied to others.

In the first Spiral of the Malebolge, those who pander towards others are mercilessly whipped for all eternity. This marks the first appearance of the classic image of the winged demons that we all know and love.

In the second spiral, the flattererers bathe in a stagnant pond of their own feces and vomit. This symbolizes the value of the words that they spew at other people. I think this might be where the expression, "You're full of shit," came from. Think about it; you say that to people whom you think are lying to you, and this is in the Spiral of Fraud.

Incidentally, this punishment was referenced in a Turkish horror film called Baskin -- a film about a small group of off-duty police officers who crash their car and wake up in Hell. In that film, the main characters realize they're in Hell when they find demon raping someone, while shoving her face in a bowl of her own face and vomit. Baskin is not a part of this HC, so I'll have to talk about it later. For now, I'll just say it's one of the best horror films I've ever seen!

In the third spiral, those who joined the Catholic Church for their own personal gain are buried head first, with their feet sticking out in the air.

In the fourth spiral, fortune tellers have their heads turned backwards. This prevents them from looking forward, symbolizing their attempts to see into the future.

In the fifth spiral, the sinners are repeatedly dipped in boiling tar. This scene is especially interesting because it shows that the demons we see aren't actually monsters. They're just creatures doing their jobs, punishing sinners. In fact one of the demons named Malecoda assigns a group of demons to help escort Dante and Virgil through the rest of the Malebolge. That, unfortunately, doesn't work out, however, because the demons are distracted by a sinner trying to escape, so Dante and Virgil move on alone. What's also unfortunate, is that other demons, who assume that Virgil and Dante are also sinners trying to escape, chase them into the next spiral. Luckily, each demon is confined to their own spiral, so they can't keep chasing them.

In the sixth spiral, the hypocrites are forced to wear robes made of solid gold. They also find Caiaphas nailed to the ground. As someone who has Jesus Christ Superstar on his top three list of favorite albums, I was happy to see Caiaphas get referenced.

In the seventh spiral, the thieves are bound by snakes, whose venom causes them to burn to ashes. One thief in particular gets attacked by a giant lizard that makes him into a lizardman (someone tell Alex Jones).

In the eighth spiral, the false advisors are eternally engulfed in flames.

In the ninth spiral, the sowers of discord are viciously mutilated. My favorite part about this scene is that it's one of the first instances of gore in a horror movie. The prophet Muhammad has been cloven from his belly to his throat with his guts spilling out all over the place. That's right! Muhammad is depicted in the Inferno. Not only that, but Gustave Dore drew him. Damn. Dante has no chill. Hey, the founder of the most homophobic religion in the world rots in eternal Hell? I'm not complaining! This kinda makes up for the portrayal of suicide victims.

In the tenth spiral, the falsifiers are punished with enternal leprosy.

At last, we make it to the Spiral of Treachery, at the center of the earth. Here, the traitors are frozen within the Lake Cocytus.

"Lo! Dis Himself!

Emperor of the Kingdom of Woe"

Finally, at the climax of this horrific epic, we see Satan, and it's not what you're expecting! He is in the very center of the lake, frozen up to his waist in ice, and forced to eat the three greatest traitors of all. His body is covered in course fur, and he has three heads and six wings. Satan's appearance in this story is disarming and almost pathetic in a way. You'd imagine Satan to be this fearsome king, but he's just shown to be suffering like everyone else. It's kind of sad, really.

The film ends with Dante and Virgil climbing down Satan's leg fur and ending up at the base of Mount Purgatory.

L'Inferno is one of the first true masterpieces of horror! It's hard to believe that this movie is almost 110 years old! Just think of how it would have been to see it in theaters for the first time when it was new. We owe it to this film for proving the language of Cinema could be used to tell the most epic stories possibly conceived.

You can watch the film for yourself here:https://youtu.be/cMUPbPOGPdM

Now, you're probably thinking, "What the Sam Fuck does any of this have to do with Devilman Crybaby?" Well, for starters, in Go Nagai's original manga, the character Asuka Ryo implies that Dante's Divine Comedy might have been based on a true story. This is futher validated when the demon Xenon appears and bears a strong resemblance to Dante's description of Satan. But beyond the surface-level details, let's discuss some of the deeper implications of what Hell actually is. Within this headcanon, the Afterlife is an entirely separate dimension, occupying the same space as our Earth, but invisible to our eyes. There is a way, however, to see and explore this separate dimension. You see, when different dimensions intersect at certain angles, they sometimes leave gaps through which we can come through and cross over to the other dimension. It was through one of these gaps that Virgil was able to find Dante. These angles and gaps between dimensions will be further explored in a later film.

[celticat21]

3, 5, 16, 33, 51 and 53 for any or all of your apprentices! (Sorry I love them all so much I can’t choose)

@leechobsessed Thank you! I will try to answer for all of them. :) I love when you guys ask questions because I have just so much lore to share!

3. Any familiar?

Alessa: A baby dragon named Bernie! He’s small and blue but struggled to breathe fire since being abandoned by his thunder. 

Tabitha: An old sea turtle yet to be named! (Maybe you guys can offer suggestions?)

Freya: A seal named Ingrid. It’s hard for Ingrid to live in a warmer climate like Vesuvia, since in her climate she’s used to a very cold climate.

Winona: A snake named Dante, looks similar to Faust but with a thinner head and green and yellow pattern. 

Zira: A little octopus-like creature native to her home dimension. Her name is Vivian.

Katarina: An Eagle named Pietro. You would be surprised, as heavy as he can be she can still lift him no problem.

5. Best strength in magic? (My favorite!)

Alessa: Anything having to do with heat and light, but mostly fire.

Tabitha: Plant magic! She loves to make plants grow, and can communicate with them. Though, it does earn her some strange stares.

Freya: Anything to do with air and transformation. Think, sort of air bender, but also able to transform not only herself, but other things as well. She also has a semi-magical ability to know if someone is lying/being sincere or not.

Winona: Lights! Anything to do with light and color; its their favorite thing ever! When they get really excited, splotches of color appear on their skin, or bursts of color just appear around them, similar to a picture I posted once.

Zira: Ice magic; she’s a regular old Elsa over here! Though, Masha likes to learn shadow magic if only because it sounds creepy. 

Katarina: Telekinesis, communicating with ghosts, and recently learned to put people in a suggestive state and sort of “mind control” them. Though, she only did that once and doesn’t like to do it unless necessary.

16. What are their fears? (For most of these, its answered in their character bio, but not all of them have it yet so I’ll repeat it!)  

Alessa: The ocean, whales, having people destroy something she worked hard on, financial dependence, losing control of her life, being alone.

Tabitha: Being in a storm on a boat, big cats like tigers, complete darkness.

Freya: Being completely alone, being taken advantage of, walking on ice, having no control of her life. 

Winona: Dogs, fire, complete darkness. 

Zira: Losing Masha. She really doesn’t fear much else.

Katarina: Being unfulfilled in life, spiders, needles, doctors, pure darkness, being alone at night.

(I just realized a lot of my apprentices are afraid of the dark and I feel like that should say something about me, but I’m not?)

33. Favorite time of the day?

Alessa: Afternoon. Something about the afternoon time, where its been enough time for her to fully wake up, but not yet night time where she feels like she’s running out of time. It’s nice.

Tabitha: Night time. She loves to watch the sunset then lays down and stares up at the stars.

Freya: Evening once she shop closes. She likes having the time to herself to do things.

Winona: Any time of day honestly, but they really are a morning person! They’re just so excited to start another day, since its a blessing they made it through the night!

Zira: They don’t favor any time of day really. Her circadian rhythm is different from a humans, so all the times of the day blur together. She takes frequent naps to try and be on the same schedule as humans.

Katarina: Late morning, probably. Its quiet enough at the shop to day dream, and on days off it gives her time to get breakfast before getting to work in her studio.

51. What is their worst negative quality? (Ooh, deep.)

Alessa: She can be very stubborn and short tempered. She doesn’t WANT to forgive people because she’s too busy being upset. 

Tabitha: She can be a too cocky at times. She often thinks she knows best, or is better at something than the other person, when thats not really the case.

Freya: She often can assume she has more knowledge of things than other people, and often assumes people don’t have good intentions rather than giving them the benefit of the doubt. This is where her power of telling sincerity comes in handy.

Winona: They can be too trusting, and too excitable to the point they’re not self aware. They could cause a big scene and not even know it. 

Zira: She is very protective over Masha and can flip on a dime from polite to wanting to kill you. She attacks first and asks questions later. 

Katarina: While she has been working on this, she often finds herself being too hard on herself, and sometimes stuck in a “woe as me” rut. Lately, though, she’s trying to see things from other peoples perspectives. Especially since she doesn’t like when Asra leaves her alone. She used to get really upset until she started thinking about it from Asra’s perspective.

53. What is their position to fall asleep? (I should try to draw these!)

Alessa: Oh, she is so restless and constantly changes positions. She can take up the whole bed if given the chance!

Tabitha: If with Volta, she will hold onto her, but if alone she’s a stomach sleeper. 

Freya: A side sleeper, like the “yearner” position.

Winona: Always hugging something. Whether its Asra, a pillow, or stuffed animal, they must be hugging something to be comfortable.

Zira: On her back, but with her legs facing sideways, if that makes sense? Like I said, I will try to draw these lol.

Katarina: Corpse position with her hands under her legs.

Edit: I literally just realized I wrote “Celtica” instead of “Alessa”. Oof, I fixed it but wtf lol.