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ryin-silverfish · 7 months ago

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A Guide to the Chinese Underworld (and what it isn't)

As many FSYY and fox posts as there were on my blog, I am actually a huge fan of the Chinese Underworld mythos. Mostly because I was once a morbid little kid that loved reading about the excavations of ancient tombs, and found the statues depicting hellish torture in the Haw Par Villa "super cool".

Apart from the aesthetics, the history of its evolution is also fascinating. Most of us, Chinese or not, only know the most popular version of the Underworld——the "Ten Kings" system, yet that isn't always the case. So today, I'll start off with a short summary of that.

In pre-Qin era, there was already this generic idea of a "Realm of the Dead" called the Yellow Spring, Youdu, or Youming, but we know very little about it.

Then, in the Han dynasty, two ideas start to emerge: 1) the Underworld is a bureaucracy, 2) the God of Mt. Tai ruled over the dead.

This early bureaucracy might not function as an agent of punishment; the main focus was on keeping the dead segregated from the living so they wouldn't bring diseases and misfortune to the latter, as well as using those ghosts to enforce collective punishments upon people for their lineage's wrongdoings while they were still alive.

Post-Han, after Buddhism entered China and took root, its idea of karmic punishments and reincarnation and the figure of King Yama was merged with folk and Daoist ideas of the Underworld bureaucracy, and, came Tang dynasty, resulted in the "Ten Kings" system that first appeared in Dunhuang manuscripts.

It was very rudimentary and far from well-established, as seen in Tang legends, with some adopting the Ten Kings system, some sticking to the Lord of Mt. Tai and some favoring King Yama, and overall little agreements on who's in charge of the Underworld.

But the "Ten Kings" system would become the mainstream version from then onwards, used in Ming vernacular novels and made even more popular by folk religion scrolls like the Jade Records (Yuli Baochao).

As such, most points in the following sections will be based on the fully matured "Ten Kings" system of the Underworld, as seen in the Jade Records and JTTW.

What happens when you die?

(This is a fictionalized walkthrough of the posthumous fate of souls under the "Ten Kings" system. I try to stick to the very broad progression outlined in the Jade Records, but many creative liberties are taken on the details.)

Let's say there's a guy named Xiao Ming, and he had just died of a heart attack. Bummers. What now?

Well, the first thing he saw would be the ghost cops.

There isn't really an unanimous agreement on who these ghost cops are: they may be a pair of ghosts in white and black robes, wearing tall hats (Heibai Wuchang), they may have the heads of farm animals (Ox-Head and Horse-Face), or they can just be generic ghost bureaucrats. For convenience's sake, let's say it was the first scenario.

"Who are you guys and where are you taking me?"

"Glad you asked!" The taller ghost cop, being the cheerful one of the pair, replied. It wasn't very reassuring, considering that his tongue was dangling out of his mouth way further than it should. "I'm the White Impermanence, my sour-looking colleague here is the Black Impermanence, and we are taking you to the City God's office."

This City God, a.k.a. Chenghuang, is just like how it sounds: the divine guardian of a city, who also pulls double duty as the head of the local Dead People Customs Office. They are usually virtuous officials deified posthumously, and in JTTW, they fall under the category of "Ghostly immortals", together with the Earth Gods a.k.a. Tudi.

So Xiao Ming went with the two ghost cops——not like he had much of a choice, made his way through the long queue at the City God's office, and was now standing in front of a gruff old magistrate in traditional robes.

"Name?"

"Wang Xiao Ming."

"Age and birth dates?"

"21, April 16 2003…"

After he was done asking questions, the City God flipped through his ledger, then picked up a brush, ticked off Xiao Ming's name, and told him to go get his pass in the next room. More waiting in a queue. Wonderful.

"I never heard anything about needing a pass to get to the Underworld," the girl in front of Xiao Ming asked the ghost cops, who were standing guard nearby. "Is this a new policy or something?"

"Yeah. In the old days, we'd just drag y'all straight to the Ghost Gate." The ghost cop in black said, then muttered to himself, "Fuckin' paperworks and overpopulation, man…"

(This "Dead People Passport" thing was popularized in the middle-to-late Ming dynasty, as shown by the discovery of such documents inside tombs in southern China. )

(It might have evolved from similar passes to the Western Pure Land in lay Buddhism that recorded their acts of merits. Which, in turn, might be traced back to the "Dead People Belongings List" of Han dynasty, to be shown to Underworld bureaucrats so that no one would take away the dead's private property down there or something.)

Anyways, after he received his pass, Xiao Ming departed together with the rest of the bunch, to be led to the Ghost Gate. It was like the world's most depressing tourist group, where instead of tour guides, you got two ghost cops in funny hats, and the only scenery in sight was the desolation of the Yellow Spring Road.

They weren't the only travellers on the road, though. Xiao Ming noticed other groups moving in the far distance, behind the fog and the flickering ghostfire, led by similar figures in black and white.

It made a lot of sense; realistically, there was no way two ghost cops could fetch hundreds of thousands of dead people all by themselves.

(SEA Tang-ki mediums believed there were multiple Tua Di Ya Peks——Hokkien name for the Black and White Impermanences, working for different Underworld Courts.)

At last, the Ghost Gate stood in front of Xiao Ming, guarded by two towering figures. Normally, they'd be Ox-Head and Horse-Face, like what you see at Haw Par Villa's Underworld entrance.

However, older Han dynasty works like Wang Chong's 论衡·订鬼 also mentioned two gods, Shenshu and Yulei, as guardians of the Ghost Gate, who would use reed ropes to capture malicious ghosts and feed them to tigers, making them possibly the earliest incarnation of "Gate Gods".

So here, they were what Xiao Ming sees, standing side by side like proper doormen, silently watching herds of ghosts being funneled through the entrance.

The place was more crowded than a train station during the CNY Spring Rush; the ghost cops had already said their quick goodbye and left to fetch the next group of dead people, leaving the resident officials of the Underworld proper to maintain order and quell any would-be riots.

Now you started seeing the Ox-Head and Horse-Face guys, poking at unruly ghosts with their pitchforks and dragging away the violent ones in chains. Among their ranks were other monstrous beings, blue-faced yakshas and imps, but also regular dead humans who look 100% done with their jobs, like the lady who stamped Xiao Ming's pass when it was finally his turn.

After this point, Xiao Ming had entered the Underworld proper, and his next destination would be the First Court, led by King Qin'guang. Here, his fate should be decided by what is revealed in the King's magical mirror.

If Xiao Ming was a good guy, or someone who had done an equal amount of good and bad things in life, he'd be sent straight to the Tenth Court for reincarnation. However, if the mirror, while replaying his life events, had displayed more evil deeds than good ones, he'd be sent to one of the 2nd-9th Courts for judgment and then punished inside the Eighteen Hells.

Each of the Ten Kings was also assisted by ghostly judges. Many of them were righteous and just officials in life who had been recruited into the Ten Courts posthumously——Cui Jue from JTTW is one such example, while others were living people working part-time for the Underworld, like how Wei Zheng, Taizong's minister, works part-time for the Celestial Bureaucracy in JTTW.

We decide to be nice to Xiao Ming, so, after reliving some embarrassing childhood incidents and cringy teenage phases in front of a bunch of dead bureaucrats, he was found innocent and sent to the Tenth Court.

The queue here was almost as long as the First Court's, stretching on and on alongside of the banks of the Nai River. King of the Turning Wheel made his judgment without even lifting his head when it was Xiao Ming's turn:

"Path of Humans, male, healthy in body and mind, ordinary family. Next!"

Exiting the Tenth Court building, Xiao Ming saw the Terrace of Forgetfulness, standing tall before six bridges, made of gold, silver, jade, stone, wood, and…some unidentified material. Before he could get a good look at them and the little dots moving across those bridges, he was hurried into the Terrace by the ghostly officials.

Now, both JTTW and the Jade Records mention multiple bridges across the Nai River. In the former, there is 3, and the latter, 6. The bridges made of precious materials are for people who will reincarnate into better lives, as the wealthy, the fortunate, and the divine, while the Naihe Bridge is either the common option or the terribad shitty option.

However, the Naihe Bridge proved to be so iconic, it became THE bridge you walk across to reincarnate in popular legends.

Anyways, back to Xiao Ming. He found himself standing in a giant soup kitchen of sorts, with an old lady at the counter, scooping soup out of her steaming pot and into one cup after another.

This is Mengpo, the amnesia soup granny; according to the Jade Records, she was born in the Western Han era, and a pious cultivator who thought of neither the past nor the future, only knowing that her surname was Meng.

Made into an Underworld god by the Jade Emperor, she cooks a soup of five flavors that will wipe the memory of the dead, making sure they do not remember any of their past lives once they reincarnate.

It tastes awful. Like what you get after pouring corn syrup, coffee, chilli sauce, lemon juice and seawater into the same cup.

Such was Xiao Ming's last thought, as he gulped down the soup, and then he knew no more.

Things you should know about the Chinese Underworld:

1. It's not the Christian Hell.

Rather, the Chinese Underworld functions somewhat like the Purgatory, in that there are a lot of torment, but the torment's not eternal, however long the duration may be. Once you finish your sentence, you get reincarnated as something else, though that "something else" is not a guaranteed good birth.

Other people can also speed up the process via transferring of merits: hiring a priest/monk to chant sutras and perform rituals, for example, or performing good deeds in life in dedication to the dead, or they can pray to a Daoist/Buddhist deity to save their loved ones from a dreadful fate.

Interestingly enough, a thesis paper I read mentions that, whereas Buddhist salvation from the Hells was based on transference of merits——you give monks offerings and pay them to chant sutras, so they can cancel out the sinners' bad karma with good ones, Daoist ideas of salvation tend to involve the priest going down there, sorting it out with the Underworld officials, and taking the dead out of the Hells themselves.

(The paper also stops at the Northern-Southern and Tang dynasties, so the above is likely period-specific.)

2. Nor is it run by evil demons.

Underworld officials are not nice guys and look pretty monstrous and torture the sinful dead, but they are not the embodiment of evil. Rather, the faction as a whole is what I'd call Lawful Neutral, who function on this "An Eye for An Eye" logic, where every harm the sinner caused in life must be returned to them, in order for their karmic debts to be cleansed and move on to their next life.

They can absolutely be corrupt and incompetent and take bribes——Tang dynasty Zhiguai tales and Qing folklore compendiums featured plenty of such cases, but that's a very mundane and human kind of evil, not a cosmic/innate one.

This is just my personal opinion, but if you want to do an "evil" Chinese Underworld? It should be a very bureaucratic evil, whose leaders are bootlickers to the higher-ups, slavedrivers to their rank-and-file workers, and bullies who abuse their power over regular dead people.

Not, y'know, Satan and his infernal legions or conspiring Cthulu cultists.

3. The Ten Kings are not Hades.

Make no mistake, they still have a lot of power over your average dead mortal. But in the grand scheme of things? They are the backwater department of the pantheon, who only show up in JTTW to get pushed around and revive the occasional dead people.

When Taizong made his trip to the Underworld, the Ten Kings greeted him as equals——kings of ghosts to the king of the living. If they see themselves as equal in status to a mortal emperor, then, like any mortal emperors, they are subordinate to the Celestial Host, and the balance of power is not even remotely equal or in their favor.

Also, it isn't said outright, but under the Zhong-Lv classification of immortals JTTW is using, Underworld officials will likely be considered Ghostly immortals, the lowest and weakest of the five types, much like Tudis and Chenghuangs.

Essentially: they are ghosts that are powerful enough to not reincarnate and linger on and on, spirits of pure Yin as opposed to true immortals, who are beings of pure Yang.

It's pretty much the shittiest form of immortality, the result you get when you try to speedrun cultivation (the Zhong-Lv text also made a dig at Buddhist meditation here), and if they don't reincarnate or regain a physical body, there is no chance of progressing any further.

Oh, and fun fact? In the Song dynasty, commoners and literati elites alike believed that virtuous officials in life would get appointed as ghostly officials in death.

However, the latter viewed it as a punishment. Which was strange, considering how they still held the same position and the same amount of authority, just over dead people instead of living ones, so there should be no big losses, right?

Well...it was precisely the "dead people" part that made it a punishment. See, a lot of the power and prestige they had as officials came from the benefits they could bring to their families and kins and native places, as well as the potential wealth and reputation bonuses for themselves.

A job in the Dead People Supreme Court would give them the same workload, but with none of those benefits. Since all the dead people had to reincarnate eventually, they couldn't have a fixed group as their power base, or keep their old familial ties and connections. At most, they could help out an occasional dead relative or two.

Like, working for the Underworld Courts was the kind of deadend (no pun intended) job not even living officials wanted for themselves in the afterlife. That's how hilariously sad and pathetic they are.

4. In JTTW at least, they aren't even the highest authorities of the Underworld.

That would be Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, who is technically their boss, though he seems to be more of a spiritual leader than someone who is actually involved in running the bureaucracy.

Which makes sense, since he has sworn an oath to not attain Buddhahood until all Hells are empty, and his role is to offer relief and salvation to the suffering souls, not judging and punishing them.

Now, historically...even though Ksitigarbha in early Tang legends was still the savior of the dead, he seemed to be unable to interfere with the judicial process of the Underworld, merely showing up to take people away before they were judged by King Yama.

However, in the mid-Tang apocryphal "Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha" (地藏菩萨经), he had evolved into the equal of King Yama, with the power of supervision over his judgements. By the time the Scripture on the Ten Kings came out, in artistic depictions, the Ten Kings had become fully subservient to him.

5. Diyu usually refers to the prison-torture chamber part, not the courthouse, nor is it the entirety of the Underworld.

And for the majority of souls that haven't committed crimes, they'll only see the courthouse part before they are sent to reincarnation. That's why I personally don't like, or use the name Diyu for the Chinese Underworld: I prefer the term Difu ("Earth Mansions"), which encompasses the whole realm better.

Also: even though historical sources like the Scripture on the Ten Kings and Jade Records seem to suggest that the dead were just funneled through this Courthouse-Prison-Reincarnation pipeline with no breaks in between, in practice, that isn't the case.

According to popular folk beliefs, after the dead were done with their trials/sentences, they stayed in the Underworld for a period of time and led regular lives, while functioning as ancestor spirits and receiving offerings.

Which would imply that the Underworld had a civilian district of sorts, populated by regular ghosts, making the whole realm even less of a direct Hell/Purgatory equivalent.

6. It is located in a different realm, but still part of the Six Paths and doesn't exist outside of reality.

In Buddhist cosmology, like the Celestial Realm, the Underworld is part of the Realm of Desires and thus subject to all the woes of samsara.

The pain and misery of the Path of Hell may be the worst and most obvious, but becoming a celestial being isn't the goal of serious Buddhists either: despite all the pleasures and near-infinite lifespan they enjoy, they are not free from samsara and will eventually have to reincarnate.

So if, say, the world is being destroyed at the end of a kalpa, all beings of the Six Paths will perish alongside it, leaving behind a clean slate for the cycle to start anew. The dead won't all end up in the Underworld and face eternal damnation.

7. The Black and White Impermanences would not appear in the Underworld pantheon formally until the Qing dynasty.

The concept that when you die, you get fetched to the Underworld by petty ghost bureaucrats is already well-established in Tang legends, but these were just generic ghost bureaucrats in all sorts of colorful official robes, with yellow being the most common color.

The idea of there being two specific psychopomps in black and white would only become popular in the Qing dynasty. Mengpo is kinda similar: although she existed before the Ming-Qing era as a goddess of wind, venerated by boatmen, her "amnesia soup granny" incarnation came from the Jade Records.

#chinese mythology #chinese folklore #chinese underworld #diyu #chinese religion #cw: death #hell #underworld #journey to the west #I'm lazy so if you want a “work cited” list #just dm me

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patronsaint-ofthedenial · 2 years ago

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If reincarnation is real I must have done something atrocious in my past life and now I'm suffering the consequences in this one

#though when i think about it all that comes to mind is the life of a humble lumberjack living in a small cabin in the woods near a village #somewhere far away from here living day to day cutting wood and not having much contact with anyone else #and dying of an unexpected illness sometime in my mid 30s #that's how i came up with the theory that i'm as antisocial as i am because i'm not used to living in a city #due to the fact that i lived in such an isolated area in my past life. so being born in a city in my current life was jarring #but maybe before that life i did something unforgivable so every life since then i've had to try and make it right #as i keep bearing the burdens of what i no longer recall #until i finally do something to make it all right and then my debt is paid and i can ascend to nirvana #that actually sounds like a really cool idea for a story. guy does bad thing dies and every reincarnation has to repent

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rebeltigera · 21 days ago

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I see, I see.

Yeah, as far as I know, Erlang and Wukong only have history because they fought a common enemy in jjtw. Because the first time they see each other they're fighting against each other, lol.

I find interesting that V!Wukong actually takes time to think what to do with Nezha, I really like how some media depicts their relationship so I'm quite happy knowing that little fact.

(Have you watched the movie "New Gods: Nezha Reborn"? It has Nezha's reincarnation as the main protagonist, but it also includes a Wukong that has given up his Buddhist learnings. He's so cool and funny. He hides himself by making others believe he's the Six Eared Macaque 👁️👁️)

Does V!Wukong also have beef with other demons? Since he didn't fight/trap DBK in his world. I suppose they didn't have bad blood between each other, or maybe they did, considering that Niu marries and has a child with a celestial. Wait, was V!Wukong's Macaque close to PIF or not?

I don't know if you have already answered this, sorry if I'm asking you repeated stuff, haha, just answer whatever you want!

—🐵🐵

IIIIIIIII have no idea what you are talking about He got beef with whole brotherhood . And no, his Mac didn't have any too close relationships with PIF in that AU . She's a friend but only to Mac .

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emil1863 · 10 months ago

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More for the au!

The basics, Gods, Demigods, Devil Fruits, all exist.

World Gov + Marines try and keep the whole concept of gods and demigods under wraps. Because I'm working with "D's" carry divinity. And having a good chunk of them outright despise the government isn't a great look.

Luffy is a god while Garp and Dragon are demigods. Luffy can shift between physical and 'divine' form whereas demigods don't have that ability.

Luffy is the successor/inheritor of his predecessor's will and own divinity. But not through reincarnation necessarily. One in the same but they are very much so different. His devil fruit and promise to Shanks cemented his place as the successor to the sun and freedom. When gods and demigods start out, there isn't a wholly set future for what will they will have, or the ideals they will embody. Luffy has always had his cloudy/intangible form.

Imagine Garp's surprise when his grandson, who was supposed to join him in the marines, is set to embody freedom and the sun. He was pissed for a solid week about that. Garp also had to deal with questioning where Dragon had even gotten Luffy from, he still doesn't know.

Ace and Sabo were very adamant that Luffy not show off his divine form to everyone, especially if he wanted to become a pirate. He can't be a pirate if the government tracks him down and hides him away at the ripe age of like, 8. Also because having a full god is pretty uncommon, Sabo has heard horror story after horror story of what nobles and those in higher society would do to a god. Sabo is the most vocal about Luffy being careful about that.

Luffy meets Koby, and does an absolutely terrible job at keeping his form hidden. It's harder to control which form he's in when he's excited. Koby was a human with no divinity and big dreams that Luffy adored. So, already excited with a new friend, and the two on their way to Shells town, Luffy sneezed and immediately sold himself out. Koby is a terrible liar and so just elects to never speak on this topic ever. If anyone asks why he has so much knowledge on gods, specifically sun gods, he just doesn't answer. Helmeppo thinks it's funny and immediately pieced together why, because Koby cannot keep anything from him. And Garp has to respect how hard that kid is trying to not completely sell out his grandson, even if the brat kind of deserves it for being a pirate.

Luffy is going to be the Pirate King, divine or not. His crew quickly find out about his side quirk/form in varying ways. Zoro woke up one day with a cloudy demon from hell cutting off his airways. Nami was trying to explain clouds to Luffy and that 'no, they cannot just spawn on your person, that's stupid,' and so Luffy shows her that he is in fact, correct.

Usopp got jumpscared early in the morning, before the sun had risen, when Luffy just appeared behind him and asked if he wanted to watch the sunrise. Sanji was cooking dinner and Luffy got so excited he phased out of his physical body.

Chopper found out while asking Luffy if he had any medical conditions he should know about, he thought it was kinda cool that Luffy can change forms. And is only a little jealous that Luffy has a fully human form. Luffy always makes sure to tell Chopper he's exactly who he needs to be.

Robin found out after talking about 'Nika,' who is thought to be long dead, but is not. And is the captain of the crew she is now apart of. Luffy knows the name is important and it has a certain weight when it's said. He physically feels when someone says his name around him. Robin thinks this is very fascinating. (Also can add some context into poneglyphs, that there is a lot to it, even if Robin doesn't yet know and Luffy wasn't alive/doesn't have that knowledge)

Franky was showing off cool shit he could do with his robotic body, and Luffy was like 'me too!!!'

Brook found out when Luffy fell asleep listening to him play a song, and Luffy slipped back into his resting form of cloudiness.

While both forms have their uses and limitations, Luffy is most comfortable in his intangible form, even if his physical one is the default. He cannot access his divine form after a certain point of exhaustion hits.

Im going to end that there before I have an entire novel in this. But that's the general thought throw up I'm smacking down right now.

Sorry if this is incoherent and not easy to understand lol. I will flesh it out more later and when I have actually thought more about it. Might change things later too. Then I'll probably make a good post about it with actual wellish made context and lore.

#one piece #monkey d. luffy #one piece luffy #op koby #cobylu #kobylu #my art #god au #I HAD THIS WHOLE THING WRITTEN OUT AND DONE AND I DELETED IT LMAO??? I WANNA CRY #ENJOY MY INCOHERENT SCREAMING YALL #LOVE YALL LOTS HOPE YOUR HAVING A GOOD DAY

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razzle-n-dazzle · 9 months ago

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- hi ! 💌,,

ISTG you’re writing is so well done and creative I had to contain myself from like spam!!

I hope you’re still taking request and if you’re not that’s totally cool, I’ll wait ‘till next round.

Adam reincarnates in hell and oh, would you look at that? the s/o is the only one trying to help and not making him feel worse that he already is. (i just need wholesome content, exam week is killing me rn).

AGAIN, love you’re writing thx for reading so far!

ᯓ★ Let's Give This Another Shot (and not fuck it up this time) Sinner! Adam / Sinner! Reader | Drabble

‗ content / trigger warning: fluff, swearing, Adam being Adam, not proof read (we die like Adam) ‗ author's note: this is for everyone who's dealing with exam weeks, it sucks but I believe in all of you any you're going to kill those exams! (don't let them kill you!). Also thank you so much for the compliments Anon <3, I write for the people and myself, so I'm glad everyone is enjoying the crazy shit I've posted here!

ᯓ When you fall from grace, it's not a pleasant feeling; That Adam knew - or at least he thought he knew - well enough from hearing about Lucifer falling, hearing the horrific things the others whispered about it, mentioning it in passing before the thought disappeared and dispelled into the air as though Lucifer had never held a place in Heaven. As though he was nothing that what he was now, demonic figure that wore a crown made out of skeletons and bones fashioned to mimic horns. Adam never cared about the stories that were whispered, about the horrors he sometimes heard through passing, about Sera recalling how she heard Lucifer scream on the way down, about how Michael watched with horror as Lucifer tried to shield Lilith and himself, about how Gabriel heard his pleads and couldn't do anything; No one could save him from the fate that had been weighed on his shoulders as soon as he had fed the apple to Eve. And partly it was because Adam blamed Lucifer for ruining his paradise, for infecting the mind of both his (ex) wives and causing him grief and pain. Dying alone is almost just as unpleasant as falling from grace; almost.

ᯓ You see, while Adam had died alone on Earth, at least his soul went to somewhere pleasant and he was able to continue living; To make a name for himself and, he guessed, make some friends and live a rather worriless and carefree life in the clouds. He was able to have fun, rock out, and be known as the first human soul ever being able to reach Heaven - that was something not even Eve managed to do, and he took it with pride! It was his title. It was partly who he was. Maybe it was all he was. That much became more clear to him when he found himself waking up in Hell again, the stabbing pain of a dagger striking his back still their along with the weight of his wings. At first, he had thought he managed to survive the assassination attempt, that Lute had just left him in Hell on accident or because she thought he was dead. It caused some sort of pride to well in his chest, a flame that sparked his need to go boost and scream at the top of his lungs - he had survived an angelic weapon! He was immune! He was the strongest angel there was, because Sera would totally fall and die in a sad crumble after being stabbed with angelic metal! He was . . .

ᯓ And that's when Adam happened to pass by a mirror, or well more of a reflective glass on the street of Hell (as he walked, not questioning the odd ball looks he got), and that's when he saw it; What looked like a stranger to be staring back at him, engulfing and taking over his reflection like they owned it, like it was there own. That wasn't him! Well, it looked like him, he could admit that, but it wasn't as sexy or as handsome as him! The reflection would copy his movement, snarling as he did and grinning all the same. With his same fluffed up hair and piercing eyes, the reflection wore no mask yet still held the horns of his all the same; Even the way they slowly curled back before dipping down, forming and L for the gold spikes to rest at the end. The reflection wore his exterminator uniform, yet it was the darker version with the yellow having somehow been dulled and deepened and faded out all at once. His wings were still golden, still tucking at his sides from under his arms all the same, though there was no halo to accompany them this time. And Adam almost wanted to laugh, maybe it was hysteria or maybe it was disbelief, yet he watched to cry and laugh and break the glass all at once; Denying that this was his fate, being unable to stomach that he, First Man Adam, was not only double dead yet in hell. Hell! The first man cannot be in hell, he had created everyone on Earth; All of them came from his nuts and in turn all of them should be praising the fucking land he walked on because if it wasn't for him he wouldn't be here!

ᯓ And yet the Reflection looked back all the same, teasing him with a distorted grin; Like it could feel his distress in the way he curled his fist, pulling back before he slammed it against the glass. It gave a crack, a small one at first, before completely shattering. Adam could care less what shop or business had that glass, he could care less how he effected them or how he was going to be painted in Hell, because this was some crazy mistake! He was not supposed to be down here and he was not going to stand for some stupid mistake that happened because some small crazy bitch decided to back-stab him! Literally! And yet, if Adam wanted any of the answers he so desperately craved, he would have to suck in some of his pride and trudge along to the damn Hotel and talk to the residence who had taken his life. It would take him a while before he accepted such a fate, taking the chance between deciding and doing to walk along the Pride Ring before stumbling into the wrong town and being chased out by crazy demons who wanted to bite him! Maybe even eat him . . . What crazy place is this?!

ᯓ When Adam had begrudging and reluctantly knocked on the new Hotel door, which he would never admit to stopping and marveling at for a second, he would feel that ever irritating dread weigh in his stomach. Who wouldn't feel such a feeling after coming to the front door of a group of people you had tried to exterminate only, Adam didn't know how long, prior! Maybe, silently, somewhere inside Adam knew if he were in their shoes, having faced what they had, he wouldn't accept him either; He would throw him to the curb. Yet, he didn't exactly like that thought, and it wasn't very on brand, so he shoved it down and away and deep until all the could think about is: How in the hell would they not accept me? I'm Adam, I'm the first man! And yet when the door opened, allowing Adam to come face to face with none other than Vaggie, he felt that dread creep in a little. But, not enough to stop him from greeting Vaggie in a less that desirable way, "What's up Vagasaurus?" The sneering comment left his mouth, "I love what you did with the place. You know, it looks slightly less like a destroyed pile of Sh-" Yet the door would only slam in his face before Adam could finish his thoughts or his words; Leaving him standing outside, a tad awkwardly, waiting for the doors to open again. He, also, would never admit giving a glance behind him, making sure no one was standing there to watch him standing in front of the doors.

ᯓ "Vaggie, who was that?" Charlie would call to her girlfriend as she walked away from the door, coming towards where Charlie sat on the floor organizing new activities that everyone could do. All while Nifty rushed around nearby, cleaning Sir Pentious' and Dazzle's memorials in the new Hazbin Hotel. She muttered to herself quietly, not bothering Angel and Husk, who sat at the bar. "No one important." Vaggie would mumble, not being able to catch her tone before it could reveal that it was someone less than desirable. Possibly another sinner choosing a path of redemption after the last extermination! Which the thought caused Charlie to gain a burst of energy, barreling onto her feet so quickly that she knocked around the carefully organized slits of paper on the floor. Vaggie tried to protest, saying it was truly no one at the door and Charlie should just leave it alone! But she was never a really good lair, "Oh calm down Vaggie, I'm sure it's no one bad!" Charlie would grin with a wave, her hand touching the crisp and cool metal of the door handle before swinging the door back open. "Hi, welcome to the Hazbin Hotel! How can I-" And yet her words fell flat as soon as her eyes were locked onto Adam's - who quickly spun around, pretending like he hadn't just been looking behind him - and was also welcomed by his light groan of annoyance. "Oh fuck me." ". . . help you." Charlie's voice flattened, dropping as her eyes widened. You know, she's never felt this shocked to see someone at the steps of the Hotel before since Alastor had came along without warning.

ᯓ "Adam?!"

ᯓ "BITCH CAN YOU NOT SHOUT MY NAME?!" Was the next words that were exclaimed out of the ex-angel, the now outcast, as he seemed rather eager to push Charlie inside of her own Hotel and walk in after; Quickly shutting the door as though there was someone outside waiting and stalking him, watching him with all their attention. "Hey no, you cannot just let yourself in here this isn't Heaven!" Vaggie was swift to march her way over to the two, seeing as Charlie wasn't doing anything to discard of Adam she might as well do it herself! No way was she going to let some two-timing exorcist angel not only push her girlfriend around yet also push his way into the hotel. Who did he think he is? And yet Charlie waved out a hand, stopping Vaggie in her tracks. There was confusion, and the two at the bar would turn their heads, before scowling seeing the fallen angel. Adam was sure he could hear Angel's accented voice loud and clear shouting out, 'oh what the fuck is this bullshit!' before Charlie began to talk to him again in a rushed fashion; One he remembered quite well during the meeting that Lucifer subbed her in for instead of coming to it himself, and he was still annoyed by her voice. "What are you doing down here? I thought you-! You know . . . " Charlie rushed out, trying to make it quick as though the others at the hotel would jump and kill Adam again with no remorse, finishing the job that clearly didn't stay permeant the first time; And, honestly, Adam wouldn't put it above anyone here to do that. Adam, who had been picking at his teeth with his pinkie finger, would turn away from Charlie and shrug his shoulders, "Yeah, well, I fuckin' did and ended up down here for some fucking reason, probably a mistake and mix up of souls. I'm sure you have plenty of those down here, pft!- I mean who else would want to stay in this charity case!-" "We're not entertaining you Adam!" Vaggie would cut off the ex-angel, causing his interest to peak over at her. Though he relaxed quickly enough, maybe too quickly seeing as Vaggie had drown out her own weapon and that . . . nasty little creature stood beside her with the dagger made out of angelic metal; Now that little one-eyed demon could give Adam the creeps, maybe even a little (lot) fright, but not Vaggie. "You know, I thought were all trying to redeem souls in this junk box of yours." Adam scoffed, quickly crossing his arms with a tilt of his head. "Are you fucking discriminating against me wanting to return to where I rightfully belong just because I was an angel before this? Wow, that's a low blow, especially for someone light you." Adam's voice dripped with sarcasm mixed with malice, maybe even still a little pride. "You literally tried killing up like- 2 weeks ago!" Vaggie would gesture to the side, as though trying to compare time to the length of her arm. "Oh shit it's been too weeks?" Adam paused, thinking about it yet drawing a blank and shrugging in result, "Shit, didn't know, pft! That shit must still be fresh for you then, huh? Well, let me remind you all that you weren't the ones who DIED!-"

ᯓ "Adam?" Your voice would slip out into the common space of the lobby of the hotel, honey sweat to Adam's ears; Filling them with a melody that could match the songs of Heaven, running down his spine with the comfort he didn't know he needed until now. But even then, you knew he wouldn't break his 'tough man' exterior until you managed to snag him along, away from the prying eyes of everyone else. "Holy shit, hey Babe!" Adam was quick, rushing past and slightly pushing Charlie out of his way to make his way over to you, over to his love. "What the fuck are you doing in a dumb like this? I thought you said you had your own fucking spot near Cannibal Town!" - It had been the only reason why he had tried traveling to that cursed town, even while knowing its residents might try and take a bite out of him or his wings. He craved for the familiarity of someone in this new world, as he had never felt this vulnerable since his first days on Eden; Earth. God's Earth. "Babe?" A chorus of confused, slightly concerned, and baffled voices followed as Adam came to your side, swinging an arm around your waist and instantly drawing you closer. You swore he was fighting off the urge to flick off the others, a casual fuck you for trying to push him off and out. You could feel their eyes as you leaned up to pepper a kiss into Adam's shoulder, to which he squeezed your waist slightly tighter, adorning a snicker upon his face. "Wait, wait!-" Vaggie started, taking a staggering step forward as her arms laid limp besides her. One of her eyebrows were cocked up, her eyes narrow, "What do you mean Babe?" Your name left her lips, "Don't tell me you're dating that fucker!" She would soon exclaim, tossing her hands out as they finally regained the life they had lost. To which you would turn towards her confused, and then remember oh yeah . . . the battle. The one you hadn't been present for though heard about through Channel 666 News; In all honesty it's why you had came here, to the Hotel, to see if you could try and get to Heaven and find Adam again - praying he didn't actually die but was taken back to Heaven to heal or was revived in some way. "Uh, yeah. Adam's my boyfriend-" You would start with a wavering smile, nerves tugging at the edge of your lips. "Oh, this couldn't have gotten worse." Angel would groan, slamming his head down onto the bar countertop, acting like a disappointed parent; Silently telling you that you could have done better. To which you placed a hand on your hip, about to tell Angel off, only to be cut off by Husk tsking and shaking his head, "I would not put you as an Angel and sexist fucker, but whatever rows your boat." His tone came off dry, uninterested, and a little hostile. And with Charlie's silence, you couldn't help but feel the weight of everyone's words a little heavier.

ᯓ And Adam noticed that, with one glance down at you and your face, his wings would flare defensively and his glare was snapped back at the other demons. He couldn't care less that they had been talking shit about him, he couldn't care less on how they saw him or the reasons they thought you could do better than him; They shouldn't care about whether or not someone was out of their friend's league if they were clearly happy with the person! That, Adam knew - or maybe he believed it more. "Hey, what your fucking mouths!-" He would start, trying to draw you away from the others. Sure, he was no longer an Angel, but he was sure as hell he could take any of them in a fight anyways! And yet, his anger was snuffed like a candle as soon as you placed your hand on his chest, gently pushing in and pushing him back. The breath of ire was caught in his throat, not even being able to reach his lungs, as he glanced down at you, noticing the spark that you had seemingly stolen right out of his chest and placed in your eyes. He knew your reservations of fighting with friends, or with anyone in general, so he couldn't help but feel pride swell up in his chest watching you stand up for yourself, for you and him: "I will not let you speak about me, nor Adam that way!" You defended, shooting a star through your eyelashes that the group; Who seemed just as taken aback as Adam had been before the warmth spread from his chest. Vaggie would scrunch her face, much more concerned that irritated or disappointed, but also all of that at the same time. Your name slipped from her lips, "You can't be serious! He's . . ." She stumbled for a moment, trying to grasp her words, "He's led genocides on Sinners all over Hell! He's like really gross and he doesn't respect people. He's a douche and a dick!-" "Dick master," Adam would correct Vaggie just to piss her off, earning a slight jag in the gut from you and a snarl from Vaggie. Vaggie, who, tossed out her hands once more, yet pointed at Adam this time, "See what I mean?!"

ᯓ "And tell me how you felt when you first lost your divinity?"

ᯓ The question lingered in the room, drifting and sticking in the air, as Vaggie stared at you with disbelief; Her mouth slightly open, her eyes wide, and her stance rigid. You noticed how Charlie grew nervous behind her, how she seemed rather uncomfortable in the atmosphere that been created in the room since Adam had arrived than you. She would place a hand on Vaggie's shoulders, attempting to comfort her, yet failed to pick out any words to say in response. "It's hard enough to leave somewhere you've called home," You would continue, frowning, "To be tossed out like you had meant nothing, like one mistake had deemed you unworthy despite everything great you have done in your life. Vaggie! . . . out of everyone, I would have thought at least you would understand something like that." Seeing as she had gone through the same process herself, yet had always had Charlie there by her side to walk through everything with. Was she implying that Adam didn't deserve the same because of what he had done? Sure it was crude and cruel, but everyone deserved another chance to mistake their wrongs and that was what this hotel was about; And you voiced such concerns to not just Vaggie but to Charlie as well. What makes Adam so much different from Lucifer, or say another Fallen Angel that managed to wind up down here? What makes him less worthy to be redeemed? What made him less of a human soul as say Angel or Alastor? Everyone fucks up in their life and as long as they're trying to better themselves, understanding what they did wrong and why it was wrong, they should be given a chance!

ᯓ It wasn't long before Charlie said that everyone should take a break, and as such you would lead Adam away from the crowd of people and up to your own room in the Hotel. You could feel Vaggie's eyes linger, you felt like she wanted to say something yet let her words fall short before they were ever given a chance. But, even if they had, you were too pent up to even discuss anything logically with her at the moment. And you think she could feel or at least tell and that's why her words fell short, yet you would never know - you're not Vaggie nor would you ever think like she does.

ᯓ You and Adam found yourselves in your bed after settling some matters, such as a change of clothing for him and whether or not you wanted to try and make the trip back to your apartment today; Luckily you had some of Adam's old T-shirts and joggers you had stolen from him from one of the few trips where Adam had snuck you into Heaven - and yet on the same note, either of you felt like going downstairs to face anyone to leave to your apartment. So, with not much to do, you set the TV on as background noise and brain fuzz as you snuggled up to Adam's side. You felt as his claws, at first, scratched gently at his side, pairing with a kiss on the forehead, and then they began to tap the flesh there; Like you were some little drum that made no noise, yet Adam continued until he switched to rubbing his thumb against your hip. "What's wrong, Adam?" Concern dripped from your lips, forcing Adam to draw his eyes away from the mindless television and down to meet you, and your eyes. He had known your attention had been up at him for a while, at first admiring his face (as you didn't get to see it much) yet it had shifted to concern the more he played with the plush flesh of your waist. He wondered if you could tell he was nervous from the start. Adam's eyes would falter and glance off to TV again, his words causing a lump in his throat as he tried to play through them; Trying to find the best combination to spew out instead of talking without thinking - vomiting whatever first came to mind and not thinking about it later. And maybe you could tell the trepidations that filled his head too; Seeing as you shifted your position from his side, pushing yourself up, and instead onto his lap, effectively blocking his vision of the television. Your hands rested on his chest, something so natural at this point yet something that still caused Adam's lungs to halt for a minute and for his stomach to flutter. Even so, he would give you a curious glance up and down, trancing the curves of your body with his eyes as he has done countless times before - yet every time, you managed to take his breath away. "If you wanted to fuck, babe, you could have just said so!" The snarky remark left his lips, meeting your amused yet disapproving face. He knew that's not what you wanted, yet he couldn't help but entertain yourself when you were basically straddling his waist; As such, his fingers would drag along the calf of your leg before his hands would trail up your thighs before tailing back down and up once more. He saw the flutter in your breath, yet you tried to keep your composure. Even if Adam was making it ever so hard.

ᯓ "Adam," You would start, your tone causing Adam to stop caressing your thighs. It stuck his eyes to yours, and he couldn't look away no matter how much his nerves pulled at him to. "I want you to know, no matter what happens . . . I'm here for you, okay? We're in this together. You're not a solo act anymore, we're a duet . . . or, well, more a duo act." Your words sunk down into Adam's skin, they infected through his lungs and ran to his heart before infecting all his blood and his veins. His hands, which had ran up to hold your waist, gave a gentle squeeze as he swallowed down the saliva that built up in his suddenly dry mouth. A duo act? Sure, he knew you two were dating, that you had been for a while, yet even then he had a silent thought in the back of his head that you would leave him, much like the others; So he never considered himself no more than what he had: A soloist. First Man Adam! . . . but now he was able to add being 'Yours' to his list with some sort of fire-like confidence; Burning and bright. It made his heart catch fire, even more so when you would stretch out lightly and lean down to lay down on his chest; Your warmth infecting all of him you touched, allowing his arms to wrap around your back and for his wings to fluff out and wrap around your frame. It was like he wanted to shield you from the world, shield you from Heaven, shield you from everyone and anything that wanted to hurt you. Sure he had the urge before, but now? . . . "You heard that big man?" Your voice broke through his thoughts, your teasing smirk had him fighting for a breath. You would playfully nudge his shoulder, "You're stuck with me, I'm stuck with you're, we're stuck together so you better be getting used to it! I'll fight for you, you fight for me, and we'll get back to that stupid place that outcasted you in the first place!" But he would like to stay here, with you, forever. "And we'll show Charlie and Vaggie that it can be done and that even if you fucked up you have a good heart in you! . . . Because I know you do under all the gunk." And your laughter had never sounded so sweet, and you touch has never felt so soft and loving.

ᯓ A duo act, huh? With you? Adam could get used to and stand behind that thought; Perhaps, even after all this time, he wanted nothing more than to hear those words, or well the meaning of those words, from your mouth since the start.

ᯓ But even then, with the emotions that swelled Adam's heart with nothing but pure love, he couldn't help but nuzzle his head into the crook of your neck. Your scent filled his nose with a warmth he missed, the soft skin of your neck flushed against his smirking lips, a feeling he longed for and couldn't forget. You were perfect, you always had been! "Fuck, Babe, when you say pretty shit like that, it's hard not to fuck you right here and now." Adam would groan before a loud cackle left his lips as soon as you smacked his back. All too used to his ways, you couldn't do much yet shake your head against Adam's shoulder, like a parent scolding their child for saying something offensive. "You ruined the mood Adam!" The huff escaped your lips, it hit Adam's neck and made goosebumps spring up his arms. "Again!" And yet, you didn't protest as Adam tossed you both into your sides with a fever, still cackling as though this was the funniest joke in the world - and you couldn't deny, you loved the sound of his laughter so much. Even as his stubble would tickle your neck as he did so, causing you to start laughing soon after and trying to push his head away from your neck. "Adam! Oh my god, Adam stop that tickles!" You gasped between breaths, struggling to push your boyfriend away as he found joy in your lighthearted misery. Though he would only curl around your frame, not answering your desperate calls of a truce and a stop, and trap you in his arms and wings with no remorse. "You're stuck with me Babe, you said it yourself! Now come here, let me kiss that pretty fucking face of yours until you can't breath!"

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getsuuna · 3 months ago

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I can't stress enough how this Fandom can be fxcking stupid so I'll take advantage of it to make a brief analysis

TikTok is back at it with being extremely gullible

people seriously believe this is Koyoharu Gotōge's official account. a quick glance would debunk it immediately, but if we wanna look into details there are mainly 3 things that are really obvious and they all piss me off SO bad:

1) they posted fanart. literal fanart, without consent, of course, and without any credits, badly cropped and filtered too. I couldn't see signatures in most of them, but I recognized some art styles and overall it's easy to spot non-official art when you also follow Ufotable's official account. from which, by the way, this fake account takes all of the content they post, then they write a silly and pseudo-cool caption and that's literally it. what's the point? one of the captions said something that quite fucking literally made me want to scream, joking about Shinobu possibly being Tengen's 4th wife because there was a pic in which their VAs were standing close....what. Gotōge would never say that???

2) they reply to fans, which isn't bad per se but let's be SO fr...and it's not even the worst part.

3) said replies include misinformation. saw them saying Masachika would be reincarnated as Sanemi's son or stepson (what the fuck) AND that Sanemi and Kanae would've been canon if Kanae didn't die, which, I'm sorry, is the fakest fucking thing I've ever read despite being a common misbelief.

I don't want to digress too much into this but imagine you're an author, you have the power over your characters and you decide to add a couple that will be doomed inevitably...you would make it canon, if it was supposed to be. you would AT LEAST make said crush remotely relevant in AT LEAST one of the two characters' arc...which it isn't. in ANY of the canon universes. the Academy is right there, the Timeskip is right there, both had Kanae alive and both don't make SaneKana canon, not even remotely. HEAVY ON THE TIMESKIP in which ObaMitsu are married, but they're canon in all the verses...Mitsuri had an actual impact on Obanai's character and even when there's silly trivia about him in databooks or even in the manga it always somehow involves Mitsuri, something that we did NOT see with Sanemi and Kanae.

now, as much as I would talk *endlessly* about this, I don't want to sound hateful to shippers, but it pisses me off that a Gotōge-wannabe is reinforcing the toxic shippers' delusions.

I would've lost my shit even if they said the same thing about my fav fanon ships, because it's FAKE.

if the author wanted them canon, they would be. there's no "if" nor "but", there was no excuse.

they clearly and luckily wanted to leave it to open interpretation

as an OC creator if I want a couple canon I simply write them in a way in which would make them canon in at least one AU 😭🙏🏻 tf

this being said please don't fall for such weird ass stuff 💔

#kny #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #kny analysis #kny ships #鬼滅の刃 #fake accounts #kny misinformation #koyoharu gotouge #i hate tiktok #kny fandom #sanemi #sanemi shinazugawa #kny sanemi

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autismprotocol · 7 months ago

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TMAG Theory Board Update (EP 11-12)

Hi guys sorry about the late posting I've just started a new quarter of college and its been pretty hectic. also got into my school design BFA program so pretty stoked about that! Anyways lets get into the Episode Breakdowns because even though not a lot of lore related things happened I still have a lot to talk about

For the breakdown I'll separate each by episode in sequential order

What Happened in Episode 11: Marked

Celias Rude Awakening- we jump right into the weirdness straight away with Celia waking up on the side of the interstate. she indicates that this is not a weird occurrence and ends the scene by telling someone named Jack that she's "on her way." If you remember episode 8 after Celia and Sam talk to Gerry and Gertrude, she mentions stuff about wanting help with her own mystery. When Sam asks about it she says she's looking into Time travel, other dimentions and teleportation. Many people have theorized that maybe Celia is just a super heavy sleepwalker, but I think the she teleports random places out of nowhere. This could be a side effect of her reality hopping if this Celia is originally from The archives universe.

As for the identity of Jack I'm not quite sure about that yet. I cross referenced the name Jack with past episodes of TMA. The only thing that came up was Jack Barnabas from the statement about dating Agnes Montague (aka an avatar of the desolation and Jesus-like figure for the cult of the lightless flame) So Unless Celia is secretly Agnes of Agnes reincarnated , I can't find any way to link Barnabas to Celia. (if anyone has a theory feel free to send it my way.)

Sam Lore- this one is pretty minor story-wise but I thought it was interesting. Before the statement for the episode is presented we get some classic Sam and Alice Banter ™ most of it is pretty lighthearted but I noticed Sam mention something that could indicate he might be an amputee.

These could not mean anything and I find it weird that it hasn't been mentioned until now but thought it was kind of cool and I will probably be drawing sam with a prothetic leg in the future cause I really like this head-canon. It also begs to question if he is missing a leg. it might have anything to do with his past as a Magnus institute test subject but then again could just be a fun character detail added by Jonny and/or Alex .

The Statement- Getting into the statement we get another Ink5oul appearance. Also possible Ink5oul identifying as she/they. (and lets be honest being a fear avatar is pretty non binary core). I found this Episode gave me a feeling of a hybrid between the Vast, Buried and the Flesh some people are theorizing that is might be a new entity called the Deep but I think that the fear of the ocean could easily apply to the vast or buried. Not much to say about this story though pretty standard Magnus horror that also gave us a hint to what Ink5oul's goal could be/which entity they serve.

Post Bonzo- Gwen has a debrief with Lena after her first Externals Liason assignment and her meeting with Mr. Bonzo. Undoubtedly Gwen is still pretty shaken from her encounter, even arriving late to work due to sleeplessness. Gwen is able to ask Lena a few questions mainly she wanted to know who's name was written on the letter given to Bonzo

Lena is largely unhelpful but tells Gwen she should have worked it out by now and if not to pay close attention to the case load for the next couple of days. before the latest episode my guess was Klaus because that is the only person mentioned so far that the OIAR intends to kill. but more on that later

Marked- Now were getting to my favorite thing about this episode. This episode title can have two meanings. The first is the more literal interpretation. Tattoos are marking of the body and the case this episode was all about tattoos so easily a good name would be marked. But I believe this is a red herring meant to misguide listeners who have not consumed all 200 episodes of TMA because if you know the world of Magnus Archives the term Marked takes on a entirely different meaning.

In TMA the term marked is used to indicate that somebody has been influenced by one or more or the fears and are one their way to becoming an Avatar. I think this could be a coded way to tell the audience someone in the OIAR has been marked. I have two potential candidates

Alice Dyer- Alice has been having dreams about the Institute after her and Sam's adventure into the ruins. also she mentions feeling like someone's watching her (common to people influenced or fed upon by the Ceaseless Watcher/The Eye) My guess if she is marked it would be by the Eye.

Gwendolyn Bouchard: Probably the most likely culprit. The main way an entitly tends to mark people is through encounters with other avatars. Gwen has just had an encounter with Mr Bonzo last episode who I strongly believe must be an avatar of some sort.

What Happened in Episode 12: Getting Off

Aww Sam!!- Sam asked Celia out and it was adorably awkward. not much to say I just loved this interaction and I'm longing for a new Magnus brand office romance hopefully is wont be an agonizing slowburn that ends tragically like a certain pair of morons from Archives (I love you Jon and Martin but Jesus christ)

It's Bonzo time bitches!!- Probably one of the most gruesome Magnus statement I've ever listened to (good work Alex) Mr Bonzo completely annihilated some poor dude at his bachelor party. Based on the date of the Incident the I can confidently say that whoever Baz (the groom) was he was our mystery person the OIAR sent Mr Bonzo to get rid of. Along with some of the bloodiest imagery we learned a few things about Bonzo. The most interesting detail is that Bonzo has to be summoned by playing his theme song I think the CD of his theme song acts somewhat like the tapes did in TMA by materialising out of nowhere. Also fun fact you know that torn seam that is right down Bonzo's middle? that is actually is his mouth lined with rows sharp teeth so I guess I know that now (so fun) Moral of the story dont f*ck with Mr. Bonzo

Alice knows something: Theres been this recurring audio glitch throughout TMAGP thatnks to a few extremly observent fans we have started to relize that these glitches are not at all random and are actually letting the audience know when a character is lying (i actually reposted somones deepdive into all the istances of this glitch so far if you guys are intrested in knowing more) why i bring this up now is becuase since we know when any charater is lying we also know when they are being truthful if there is no glitch when they say somthing and at the end of this episode this interaction occurs

Alice goes ahead and makes a joke about this to annoy Gwen but the fact theres no audio glitch when she says "I know" means she does actually know who is behind the OIAR and is activly refusing to share it with Gwen or the others. What do you know Alice!?

and that's about it im already loving these next batch of episodes and am so excited to learn more (ERROR has to show up somtime )

thanks to everyone who resonded the poll on the last update I will continue to include drawings into the breakdown even if it takes me a little bit of time to post. anyways I wrote this all in one sitting and I'm about ready to pass out so thanks again and the ask box and comments are always open for discussion and theory crafting.

-Echo

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minnaci · 1 year ago

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contents: established dan heng x gn!reader. reader is a member of the astral express crew, but is not the hsr mc. hurt/comfort, post-1.2 spoilers

a/n: a little bit of a longer one today! thanks to @itoshisoup, @/petrichorium, n @/kitsunefreak for answering my questions abt dh's reincarnation (ask here)! if u see this i hope u know it took everything in me not to call him daniel heng

you and dan heng have never needed words. why say "i love you" when you could just cut him a plate of fruit? why say "i need you" when you could press little, fluttering kisses to his spine, and watch the shiver of goosebumps spread over his skin?

your language has always been one of quiet actions, quiet loves, which is perhaps why he looks so surprised when you take one look and him and say, quite loudly, "what the fuck?"

because the dan heng standing before you isn't the dan heng you could recognize by touch alone. he's.... taller, somehow. broader. he carries himself with an ease that he hadn't before. and most importantly—

"are those horns?"

"yes," he says, with no further explanation.

"dan heng used to be a cool dragon warrior guy in his past life!" march 7th interjects, seemingly oblivious to your increasing upset. "he was super powerful and super important, too!"

you'd known about the whole... reincarnation thing. he'd explained it to you before, but from your understanding, his past lives weren't important. he'd told you that this life with you was the only one that mattered to him. so why hadn't he told you...?

"that's quite enough, march 7th," himeko takes one glance at your expression and cuts in as march 7th begins rambling about dan heng's... boyfriends? husbands? from his past lives and how handsome and cool and strong they all were, and how their story was so romantic—

dan heng says nothing.

"well," you say abruptly, forcing a smile, "i'm suddenly feeling a bit tired. i'm going to turn in. dan heng, you can sleep outside tonight."

you stand up and swiftly make your way to the passenger car. behind you, you hear march 7th ask, "did i say something wrong?"

you let it all fade into silence as you step into the archive room— you and dan heng's room. at least, it would be silence, if it wasn't for the faint footsteps behind you.

"you're upset with me." dan heng crosses the room to you in a few long strides. gently, carefully, he pulls you into his arms. you let him. despite all of the visual changes, he still smells the same. it's more comforting than you thought it would be. you take a few deep breaths, letting his familiar scent calm you down.

"i'm not angry," you say, voice a bit muffled as you bury your face in his chest.

"you're not," he agrees. "but you are upset."

silence falls upon you. you curl further into dan heng's embrace, and he welcomes you easily, drawing wide circles over your back. he's generous with his touch, his affection. it helps you begin to sort through the mess of feelings in your heart.

"you always told me that your past lives weren't important," you say. the words spill from you, a waterfall of hurt and insecurity. "but then you come back from the luofu looking like some— some celestial war dragon, and then i hear about your banishment for high treason and your two beautiful lovers who recognized you across lifetimes, and how it's so romantic because they're probably your soulmates—"

"i know you don't like when i interrupt," dan heng interrupts. "but i... i want to explain before you get more upset, as there are nuances to this situation that i do not think march 7th handled with enough care. you know how she can be when she's excited."

you nod. you do know. you take another deep breath— in through your nose, out slowly through your mouth. "okay, then. explain. please."

"i do not consider myself the same person as the version of me who lived in the past," dan heng says. "i am dan heng. the person that march 7th spoke of was called dan feng. his deeds and his lovers are not mine. i claim no ownership of nor association with them. thus, they are not important to me. dan feng is not important to me. does that make sense?"

"not really," you say. "you're literally him."

"i am not him," dan heng says. "we may share a soul, but i am not him. i do not remember his life, nor do i want to. i have everything i could ever want here and now, as dan heng."

"really?"

"yes," he says. there's a warm brush of lips against the crown of your head. "the astral express crew makes me happy. you make me happy. we may have our troubles, but there's nobody i would rather face them with than you."

warmth flushes through your body, and you hide your face again. it's rare that dan heng voices his emotions so clearly. his candor strips you raw, scraping at the inside of your chest. he's the one being vulnerable, so why are you the one feeling so seen?

"i mean it," dan heng says, taking your silence as disbelief. "i love you. nothing about my past reincarnation's life will change that."

"you're so ridiculous," you sniffle, willing your tears away. "i love you, too."

silence settles around your shoulders once more, comforting like a feather-filled duvet. dan heng rocks you gently— back and forth, back and forth. new clothes and new horns aside, he still smells the same. he speaks the same way. and when you press your ear to his chest, his heart beats the same, steady beat.

"were your— dan feng's— past lovers really that hot?" you break the silence, and dan heng lets out a rare laugh.

"of course you're curious about that," he says, with no small amount of fondness. "here— i'll let you form your own opinions."

he taps on his communicator a few times, pulling up a picture.

"no way," you do a double take, hands flying to your mouth, and you pull back to look at him, wide-eyed. "dan heng. no way."

"yes way," he says, and you can hear the little smug smirk in his voice. he loves you, you know he does, but you can't blame him for the bit of pride that shines through his tone. if you'd managed to pull not one, but two men that magnificent in your past life, your head would get so big that you'd explode.

"and you don't care about them at all?" you have to ask. dan feng was one lucky guy. it's hard not to feel insecure, just a little—

"why would i? they're strangers to me," dan heng blazes through your train of thought, tilting your chin to look you in the eyes. he sobers. something in his voice reaches into the soft, small animal of your heart, holding it steady as it flutters. "besides, i already have the most beautiful person in the universe in my arms."

extra:

"so does this mean i can sleep in the room again?"

"mrgh," you mumble. if your eyelids were any less heavy, you'd open your eyes to shoot him an incredulous look. your limbs are intwined with his like an octopus, and it's bedtime. surely, he's capable of extrapolating. as it is, you mouth sleepily at his collarbone, and hope he understands it as permission.

"okay. just checking. goodnight, dear."

#writemin!#hsr x reader #honkai star rail x reader #dan heng x reader #hsr hurt/comfort #honkai star rail hurt/comfort #dan heng hurt/comfort #hsr spoilers #(just in case)#+dan heng

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jesncin · 5 days ago

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Spirit World, Ride the Cyclone and Death. A weird comparative analysis

Gonna combine my musical nerd and cape comics fixation together for a rambling meta thought. I've been reflecting on how taboo the topic of death is in media after getting into Ride The Cyclone (highly recommend watching the slime tutorial and Waiting in the Wings' documentary on it) but also contrasting that musical with how Spirit World handled similar topics.

Both stories cover characters whose lives were cut short from a tragic circumstance, but while Cyclone directly talks frankly about how each character uniquely grieves over their lost life (and eventually accepts death)- Spirit World uses death as largely an aesthetic to a generic fantasy superhero adventure.

[spoilers for Ride the Cyclone and Spirit World]

Spirit World is about non-binary, half dead half living Envoy Xanthe Zhou, as they go into the Spirit World with John Constantine to rescue Cassandra Cain Batgirl. They eventually go toe to toe with the spirit of a bitter dead poet.

Ride the Cyclone is about 6 choir teenagers who die in a roller coaster accident in their small town. In the afterlife, they are given the chance to vote which one of them they believe should be resurrected.

For Spirit World, do we even know how Xanthe feels about being "half dead"? What does that even mean? They died as (what looks like) a 3 year old, and have clearly aged 15 more years since then. So they can age? Do they need to eat or drink (they're seen with a drink in a Pride comic)? Xanthe keeps mentioning they're half dead and half living, but the comic doesn't seem to want to discuss what that means. How would Xanthe feel that they were essentially given a job as an Envoy the minute they died as a very young child? Was this even a choice?

We've already covered the numerous plot holes in Xanthe Zhou's poorly thought out backstory so I won't go over that again. But honestly apart from the thematically loose "the dead shouldn't be forgotten" moral, a lot of how death is presented in Spirit World feels so superficial. When Xanthe is formally introduced as this cool character with a giant sword hanging around a gravesite, fighting all these hopping vampire creatures... this scene would play out the same if you swapped the setting with a forest and zombies as bad guys.

The Spirit World is less an afterlife for the spirits to move onto and more an MMORPG setting for our superheroes to travel across and fight generic evil beings and encounter eviler, bigger, boss battles at the end. Then there's the poet clout villain whose problems are just easily solved by Xanthe promising to remember her. I've already covered what a lost opportunity thematically this character was in my last Xanthe essay, but this time I want to contrast her with Ride the Cyclone's Jane Doe. I also want to compare Xanthe with Noel Gruber afterwards.

Ride the Cyclone's musical numbers follow each character performing a song reflecting their wishes, and musings on life (this sounds depressing but the musical handles all this with comedy and wit), hoping to prove themselves as worthy of a second chance at life. Of the characters, Jane Doe is the mysterious odd one out. The accident decapitated her, leaving her to enter the after life with no memories and the people of the living unable to identify her.

You might see where I'm going with this. So in Spirit World, Wan Yujing was this famous poet mourned by an entire empire. She only goes monster mode when a handwave-y "time erodes all" happens in the Spirit World and she is eventually forgotten- so she becomes desperate to demand to be reincarnated by the Jade Court. Because her clout ran out. Again, I already made the critique in my previous essay that this villain would better link to our protagonist if she was a queer poet whose poetry was being purposefully straight washed as an act of queer historical erasure. But I want to bring up how truly unsympathetic this villain is. She gets Shakespeare levels of clout but still demands more because she isn't getting reincarnated fast enough. Xanthe promises that as an immortal "half dead half living" person that they will remember Wan Yujing, so she too can be immortal in some way.

I think about all the Jane Doe-s in the Spirit World who don't get to be famous poets that have Empires remembering who they were. People who died anonymously without a past. In Cyclone, the main character chooses Jane Doe as the person who should be brought back to life. Our cast of teens come to terms with the fact that while it's tragic that their lives ended shortly, they conclude "to say that if one dies young, they die needlessly... that is to discount the years we had. We had a life, she didn't. That's my vote." Since Jane Doe has no memory of who she is, it's only fair that she is given that second chance.

I get that Spirit World is choosing these "larger than life" characters as villains, but it's at the expense of their own supposed themes. Of all the people to die and face off our hero as the villain, a character who's essentially an influencer but somehow has an entire empire forget about her anyway feels thematically hollow.

Modern Superhero comics are suffering from a specific problem right now; they're not really about anything. Characters don't feel like people with interior lives informed by the context of who they are. Class, race and bigotry are only touched upon as lightly as possible. Queer characters are now Pride ads with no personhood or flaws. They punch gentrified crime and fight for no one in particular. Even recent adapted media such as My Adventures with Superman and Caped Crusader follow this. Superman fights white-washed xenophobia, while Batman fights gentrified, white-washed classicism. It's why comics like Superman Smashes the Klan, Catwoman Lonely City and Alan Scott Green Lantern stand out so much. It's been a while since these characters talked about anything that matters. Don't get me wrong, slop that's about nothing exists in every industry. But when these characters and worlds historically used to have more bite- it's especially obvious.

If I could be playfully conspiracy theory-like for a second; I believe Xanthe Zhou was pitched so that DC Comics can buff out their Pride Anthology or AAPI anthology with a new younger character. The company will give this character one limited series, but that's it. Xanthe will appear in the larger DC universe whenever big magic plots happen, but that's it. Maybe they'll get a YA graphic novel. I would love to be proven wrong, but the problems with Xanthe are baked in the dough.

Because they don't feel like a person, Xanthe feels more like an industry planted Pride ad. They're designed to be the most palatable and marketable image of Asian androgyny. They literally have no flaws to grow out of, and their backstory makes no sense. They weren't built to be a sustainable solo character.

So I want to contrast Xanthe Zhou against Noel Gruber from Ride the Cyclone. Because they're both queer characters whose lives were cut short at a young age.

In a dramatic lament, Noel Gruber expresses how if he had a chance to live, he'd want to live the horrible cinematic messy life of a French sex worker woman in post-war France. He struggled as the only gay boy in a small town and never got to kiss a boy before he died. It's a look into a queer life that could've been lived, one with all the messy texture and self destruction Noel couldn't have but desires. We get to see how death and queerness intersect into rich, unflattering, gender-messy themes. "I want to be that fucked up girl." Noel sings.

But what's Xanthe's deal? They died as a 3 year old, got brought back, avoided their family at all costs for 15 years, and then had a transphobic confrontation with their family when they're invited to dinner way later. If Xanthe grew up in a transphobic household, how did they ever figure out they were non-binary when they were 3? Could they even verbalize it? Or did they instead figure out their queerness after they died? But how is that possible when they already held a level of familiar resentment towards their family's transphobia as if they've had several fights about it? It's hard to picture a 3 year old having multiple heated debates about gender with their parents for this level of resentment to make any sense.

Details aside, how does Xanthe's queerness intersect with themes of death and grief? Well, it just doesn't. This scene ends with Xanthe's sister telling them that she bothered remembering them even though their parents moved on from their death (which makes no sense since the parents wanted to have dinner with a random 18 year old they correctly assumed was their long dead "daughter" but whatever). Honestly, the only reason queerness exists in this family drama is so that Xanthe has a tense relationship with their family. The story would be exactly the same if Xanthe was a troublemaker that brought shame to their family. Who they are isn't specific to whatever grief exists in the comic.

When people give the critique that modern Superhero comics aren't about anything anymore, we usually think of these comics as "lacking political bite and commentary". We don't often think of something like Death to be political. And even though it is in many ways, it's also a social taboo to talk about. Death is an uncomfortable thing to confront, even in the safety of fiction. It's what made Ride the Cyclone such a difficult stage musical to market.

So how does a modern mainstream comic like Spirit World fit into that? It just sits there in this non-committal way. Yes, this is a story about a trans teenager who died, but only in a cool Superhero Origin Way, not in any way that would make readers uncomfortable. Bury Your Gays is a stereotype after all, so we can't talk about how queer people feel about death. We don't get to know how Xanthe feels about death as a non-binary Asian American. Especially if it's messy. It's the reason why Wan Yujing's character can never commentate on themes of historical queer erasure. God forbid superhero comics be about something.

I think about how, in the original Hellblazer run from the 80s, John Constantine had an elderly gay friend who was diagnosed with AIDS but was killed by a homophobic hate group. The comic openly talks about the sheer amount of gay people dying of the epidemic, a looming threat that informs John's queer life. It's such a culture shock, to contrast these early comics with how John Constantine is written in Spirit World. A character stripped of his own queer history and is at the mercy of incessant slutty bi jokes. Where is the desire to talk about how death informs a queer person's life? The mourning of a lost generation to the AIDS crisis? Something John lived through?

How about how any of this intersects with being an Asian American queer person? Queer people of color are often erased or purposefully excluded from queer history and communities. As a Queer Asian American, what does it mean to have identities that are often perceived to be in conflict with each other? Would your queer Asian ancestors even be remembered? Cultural differences with how you'd mourn your communities? But answering any of these questions means an uncomfortable conversation for Spirit World. For Xanthe. It threatens to be about something.

Which makes it all the more silly that, of the two stories, a musical about teenagers dying from a rollercoaster malfunction is more willing to have that uncomfortable conversation. You should ride the Cyclone.

#ramblings #jesncin dc meta #ride the cyclone #xanthe zhou #sorry I'm picking on Spirit World again but it's my right as the supposed target audience for the representation #anyway watch/listen to Ride the Cyclone! i adore it. so simple yet so profound

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kyokutsu-sama · 16 days ago

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"I'll meet you in another life, my love"

🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍

Sanemi x f!reader| angst/fluff

Plot- The scary and fearful wind hashira ends up meeting a new hashira (the reader) and from the first day he saw her, he fell in love with her and she with him. This love was so strong and so reciprocal that the memories still prevailed in the reincarnated souls.

A/n: I don't know where this idea came from but to be honest I think I ended up being inspired by the scene between Mitsuri and Obanai in the final fight and because of that my eyes are now dry from crying so much😭🥹 Don't worry I'll be writing something happier for him soon😅

Tw: There is a nsfw scene but not fully detailed, suggestive, mentions of violence and death, character death and some little manga spoilers.

🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️🤍🔸️

You were the newly arrived Hashira, the one your comrades were ready to welcome and the one that Master Ubuyashiki would also be happy to welcome and accept into the hashiras meeting.

You were a little nervous because that was your first day as a Hashira and you didn't know exactly how the others there would react. But apparently it was better than you expected.

"It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to the new Hashira who will be joining you from today onwards." The master spoke in his usual calm and formal voice."Y/n, please come and introduce yourself to the others."

You then crossed the wide porch of the house, bowing to the master and the others who were in the garden looking at you.

"My children, this is Y/n. I hope you can collaborate and work together so we can defeat the demons. It's always a pleasure to welcome another person to this place." He smiled at you and you smiled back

"Thank you, master. I am very proud to be here too." You bowed again

Each hashira carried an idea about you and everyone seemed to share good thoughts about you.

Shinobu-"She seems really pleasant. Maybe I can have a chance to talk to her later."

Rengoku-"Her posture is serious and her smile is very kind. It's a pleasure to welcome you, young Y/n."

Tengen-"A flashy and cheerful appearance. And she has nice hips by the way."

Tokito-"She's cool but I'll probably end up forgetting about her soon."

Gyomei-"She has a gentle voice and even without seeing her I can tell that we're going to get along well. I'm going to say a prayer for her."

Tomioka-"Humble and calm. I hope we get along well."

Mitsuri-"Another girl too? She's look so pretty and so cute. I want to be her friend!"

Obanai-"She also seems to be strong. She also has a confident air."

Of all the Hashiras' opinions, Sanemi was the one who didn't want to say a word. After all, he didn't have any. He was speechless.

He thought that feeling was just some idiocy on his part, but with time and the interaction between you two, he realized that it wasn't. And that same feeling only grew bigger and stronger when his eyes met yours by chance during meetings or when you called him to train.

You always approached him without fear, which also caught his attention since everyone was afraid of him. Your kind but very silly attitude, the jokes and provocations where he pretended to be angry with you when deep down he was loving it all.

There was even a day when Obanai caught him looking at you so much that he was even forgetting to blink, and his friend quickly realized what was happening and decided to tease him a little about the subject.

"Is she that pretty?"

"What?" Sanemi turned to him, "coming back to reality"

"You're completely focused on Y/n that you were almost drooling. You like her?" Obanai said, and Sanemi immediately changed his expression to his usual threatening one

"What are talking about? Don't bring Y/n up, and besides, stop seeing things that doesn't exist." Sanemi said, turning his back on his friend

"Oh really? Because I'm sure that you're feeling something for her."

"Oh shut up, why don't you go after Mitsuri? You like her too, don't you?"

"Don't bring her up either, Shinazugawa." Obanai's expression also changed when his beloved was mentioned in the conversation

And so things started like this. Obanai was the first to suspect and later Gyomei himself, who even without seeing, knew about all the tea between you and the wind hashira and he mentioned it to Mitsuri, who went to tell Shinobu and who later also told Tomioka and Rengoku, who also happened to tell his best friend, Tengen. And so everyone started to raise suspicions about a possible relationship between the two of you. But no one dared to confront you or Sanemi about it, limiting themselves to just waiting for something to prove it and then applauding the good news (which everyone already knew but didn't say).

That night, Sanemi decided to go to your house to "check on you." Everything seemed like a normal, casual encounter, but for a few months now, things have been getting tense between the wind hashira and you. Tense in the sense that both eyes were already speaking louder than mouths and the hearts were screaming louder than both minds.

Sanemi was a tough nut to crack. Who would have thought that he would be head over heels in love with you since the first day he saw you? He wanted to have you, he wanted your whole form and essence. Not just physically but to have your whole heart, to love you completely.

And there he was, going to your house knowing that now he would have you once again. Just as he had always wanted. And so had you.

You were getting out of the shower wrapped in a towel when you heard someone knock on the door. You went there with a smile on your face, already knowing who you would find on the other side. You opened the door to see the wind hashira right in front of you.

"Did I come at a bad time?" He looked at you up and down, holding your waist

"You could have at least let me get dressed." You smiled before kiss him, turning around and going to the bedroom to get dress

"You're talking as if I didn't already know what you look like under that towel." He entered the house and closed the door

You heard his words from the bedroom and couldn't help the immediate blush on your face and a certain shiver as you remembered the scenes that had happened inside that room. And in other corners of the house too...

"Where have you gone?" He asked, looking for you

"I'm in the bedroom, just give me five minutes and--" You stopped talking when the bedroom door closed and you realized that you were now both in the same room and that he was now right next to you

You looked up to meet his big eyes that looked scary when he was out of his mind. Of course he tried to make an effort not to seem so scary around you. He liked you and he didn't want to push you away, he wanted to keep you close. Forever.

"Are you going to stay there, cowered in shame?You always seemed so bold when we were alone. What's wrong, princess?" He bent down in front of you, grabbing your face with one hand, squeezing it lightly, and you held onto his wrist

"That's what I ask, my dear. Did you miss me, Shinazugawa?" You gave him a teasing smile

"I've been thinking about doing a lot of things with you since I saw you enter the meeting room, and believe me, you don't want to hear even half of it." He said, his eyes unable to focus on anything other than your eyes and lips

"Your mind is quite creative, I see." You pulled his hand away and brought your lips closer to his, almost touching. "Why don't you do it then? That's why you came here, right?"

Sanemi pulled you into his arms in a sudden movement and kissed you hard, leaving you breathless. Everything about him was breathtaking, by the way.

It didn't take long for his strong hands to rip the towel off your body and throw it aside while his lips devoured yours. Your trembling hands still managed to remove his haori and uniform together and throw them aside with the towel.

The need and hunger to be fed by that love and by his touch was growing inside your chest.

Both of you were now in each other's arms, his hands running over his favorite curves and yours running over the scars of someone who had been through a lot. Each one of them had a story and you knew each one of them.

When you touched them or kissed the scarred skin, he felt loved and this also led him to tell you a little about their origin. Most of them had been the result of his fights against demons. And even the more personal ones that had been left by his mother when she also became one of those creatures, he had told you.

He trusted to tell you everything because he loved you and this was a way for both of you to maintain intimacy. It wasn't just about the nights when you had more than just conversation, it was about the way everything that was done there was done with reciprocal and true feeling.

"Sanemi..." You moan in his ear, arms hugging his body closer and grabbing his hair as his strong hands gripped your hips as you rode him faster

"You really miss me too, don't you? My hands running you, the way I fill you...All of that?" He asked with his hungry lips kissing down your neck and shoulder

"Yeah... I did." You whimpered, pulling his head away from your neck to find his lips again and kiss him roughly

He was not a man of words but of actions and if he had to say that he loved you through actions, he would probably hold you in his arms until he died. He would never abandon you, never run away from you. He would always protect you from the dangers of that world full of nocturnal and deadly enemies. He would train whatever it took to become strong and to keep you safe.

He was rough, stubborn and complicated but his heart was good and he never lied when it came to feelings. He was very honest and direct. Even though he was embarrassed to say many things because he had shyness in his heart that was hidden by his rough and tough personality.

He wasn't ashamed to tell you he loved you, or to grab you by the waist in the hallway of the mansion and take you to your room to take a "short break" from training.

The times when you would sneak out during the day and no one would know your whereabouts, the times when he would look at you suggestively during meetings. Or sometimes when of his hands "accidentally" slip under your skirt when no one was looking and you would blush and hold his hand so he wouldn't do anything stupid in the middle of the meeting. But of course that was only when you weren't in the presence of the master, then he would just exchange looks. Looks where your love was written and your souls met.

But deep down you knew, you knew that playing that game was a risk. A love story like yours could not be lived in that world, not when both of you could die on any mission you were subjected to. There was hope but there was also fear.

You rested your head against his chest as you caught your breath, his fingers tracing imaginary paths on your back, caressing the sweaty skin. He kissed the top of your head and rested his chin there for a moment.

He wanted it to be like this forever and you would also undoubtedly choose him over and over again without thinking. His strong arms were your shield, the place you went to feel safe and warm.

"Nemi?" You called in a low voice

"What?" His eyes went down to where you were

"Don't you want to lie down for a bit?"

"Yes."

The wind hashira lay down on the futon with you on top of him, hugging you tightly. The fingers of one of his hands played with your hair as you looked into his eyes holding one of his hands, caressing it. It was that touch he needed to feel, the gentleness that contrasted with his nature.

"Are you going to keep looking at me like that because you think I'm pretty or is this your way of inviting me to the second round?" He teased and you laughed softly, leaving a kiss on his lips

"You really are an idiot, aren't you, Nemi? No, I was just admiring you, is there a problem with that?"

"None."

"Good." You smiled, kissing him

The long make-out sessions always made him even more eager to have you. He was slowly going crazy with the sweet and soft texture of your lips.

You, on the other hand, had a something to ask him for a few days but hadn't had the chance to do it yet, and before he put you on the futon and got ready for the second round, you reluctantly pulled away from his lips and decided to ask him.

"Can I ask you something?" You whispered

"You're really annoying, you know that, brat?"

"Aren't you going to call me princess now?" You smiled, patting his chest

"Not if you don't shut up."

"Please Nemi, I really need to ask you this."

"Are you going to ask me if I wanna go again? Let's do it then, dear."He raised his eyebrow and you rolled your eyes

"No, it's not about that."

"What is it then ?"

"Nemi, what would be the first thing you would do after we defeat Muzan?" You asked, looking into his eyes, which seemed to have changed expression at that moment

He wanted to answer a lot of things, one of them was to ask you to marry him, run away from there, live with you forever in any place, have children and make you the happiest woman in the world.

He wanted to say so much, but the words wouldn't come out, he couldn't. He was afraid that none of it would come true.

Being a Hashira wasn't for everyone and the worst thing that could happen was to love someone, to get attached to someone, but love is a feeling that no one can control and that's a fact.

Sanemi couldn't help but fall in love with you, he couldn't help but look at you when you when you passed by him and he saw how beautiful you were getting every day, how much he wanted to run away with you. He couldn't help the intensity of his emotions. And as much as you wanted to have him too, to have a future with him, the fear of losing him was always there. Fear of being alone if he died in the battle against Muzan or the upper moons. You would probably never have a day of rest again and you would probably never fall in love again in your life like you fall in love with him.

You also wanted to know more about his feelings towards you, even though he was evasive about the subject.

You had been dating for months but sometimes it seemed like there was still so much to discover about each other. You wanted to know everything about him, you didn't want to lose him without knowing every single thing about him.

"So? You're not going to answer me?" You combed the white strands of hair that were still stuck to his forehead because of the sweat

"I..." Sanemi got a little confused between his words and his thoughts. "I'd probably dance on that idiot's grave, does that sound good to you?"

His joke definitely served to break the tension and get a laugh out of you. He then smiled, seeing you laugh like that but felt bad for having run away from his heart once again.

"Did you really just say that?" You said, still laughing. "You're unbelievable, Sanemi."

"What? Are you going to tell me that you don't want to get together too, after everything he's done? And keeps doing?"

"Well, he destroyed thousands of lives and is still causing a lot of problems, so yeah. I would join you in this dance."

"What about you?" He ran a hand over your face, looking into your eyes. "What would be the first thing you would do after we defeat that son of a bitch?" You felt your heart race when he asked you the same question

The urge to tell him...

The urge to tell him that you wanted him as your husband and as your man until you die.

But the fear was there once again, preventing your feelings from coming out.

"I honestly don't know. I have so many things on my mind that I can't decide."

"Besides being an idiot and annoying, you're also indecisive. What a great wife I got." Sanemi felt his heart race with anxiety after realizing what he had said just now

"Wait a minute, what did you say?" You paused for a moment, processing to see if you had heard correctly

"What?"

"Just now, what did you say? A great what?"

"I didn't say anything." He looked away, trying to change the subject even though he was already burning with blush

"Yes, you did. I heard. Come on, what did you said?"You slapped his chest, insisting

"I said a great girlfriend." He lied

"That's not what I heard."

"Go to sleep." He said, adjusting himself and closing his eyes, and you looked at him, waiting for him to repeat it

"Nemi... Say it again, please." You shook his body, but he was determined to stay silent. "Look, I'm going to sleep in the living room, you hear?And you're going to sleep alone tonight." You threatened, trying to get off of him, but his arm pulled you close and kept you quiet

"Listen here! Just shut up and go to sleep or I'll shut you up some other way, understand?" He put his hand on your lips, and you rolled your eyes, taking off his hand

"What a beautiful husband I got." You murmured, laying on his chest

"What did you say?" He lifted your face looking at you

"Nothing, go to sleep." You repeated his words, and he let out a sigh

You were mad at him for not repeating those words, but deep down you knew that it wasn't by chance, it was his feelings speaking louder and he couldn't control them. You felt a wave of emotions, but deep down you cried with joy, knowing that he also wanted to live the same life. That both of them walked side by side with the same love even if the ways of showing it were different.

*One day before the Hashiras entered the Infinite Castle*

"Sanemi, where are you?" You called out to him in the middle of the tall trees in that forest. "Nemi!" You shouted and suddenly the wind blew stronger, indicating that he was closer.

You then continued walking until you reached a large weeping tree near a river that crossed the forest. There was also a small bridge that led to the other side where there was a ruined gazebo next the large tree.

You crossed the bridge and found your boyfriend sitting on the stones of the small wall of the gazebo and looking at you as you approached. You climbed the small stairs and then he stood up to face you and you smiled at him.

He approached you and pulled you by the waist to kiss you hard as usual. You wrapped your arms around his neck and gave in to that passion. It was just the two of you there.

Crazy in love and far from the world out there...

"Where have you been? I've been calling for you this whole time and I haven't gotten an answer." You said, pulling away from his lips for a moment

"You're too annoying that's why I didn't answer." He bit out before kissing you again, silencing any answer you were going to give

"Nemi." You called him in the middle of the kiss and he pulled away, biting your lower lip

"What?"

"How did you find this place? It's so beautiful."

"I didn't think I'd find this, but I kept walking and I ended up here by chance." He said, looking around."It's a really nice spot."

"It's quiet and very pleasant. I'd give anything to live in a place like this." You hugged him and he hugged you back. "If we make it out of this battlefield alive, I'll definitely live in a place like this. A modest home and a happy marriage..."

Sanemi looked at you and thought about everything you had said. He would definitely give you all of that. The house, the wedding, everything.

"Everything..."

"My dear wife and also, the mother of my children."He thought." My everything."

*Moments after Muzan was killed*

Sanemi was so exhausted and injured that he almost died at that moment. But as soon as he looked around and didn't see you, the anxiety and the need to look for you increased.

"Where is she? Where is Y/n?" He asked himself as he ran in circles, looking for you.

"Y/N!!!" He shouted trying to find your whereabouts

He then found your body, lying on the floor, covered in blood. Deep punctures, open cuts and scratches, tearful eyes, sobs, moans of pain and sadness. You didn't want that to be the end, not without at least seeing Sanemi one last time.

"Y/n!!" He ran to you, kneeling down and taking you in his arms, hugging you and crying like you had never seen him cry before

The crying of a desperate and passionate man. He didn't even have words to describe what he was feeling at that moment he saw you there on the floor, on the verge of death.

"Nemi! You came!" You smiled almost weakly and he pulled you away for a moment to look into your eyes

"Of course I would come, my love. I will always come for you." He spoke nervosly, with words you never thought you would hear. "I'm going to call the paramedics." "No, you don't have to, Sanemi." You grabbed the collar of his uniform and he looked at you. "I've already lost a lot of blood and I can't barely feel my body. I'll just...l'll just use my last bit of strength to tell you something and you'll have to listen to me. Please, just you and me." You begged, feeling the tears running down your face

He felt tied hand and foot, knowing that this was where everything would end and that he couldn't do anything.

"Sanemi, from the first day I saw you, I fell in love. I fell in love even though I knew that this life wouldn't give us a chance to be happy, I never wanted to give up on you I tried hard and fought for your love even though I knew that this could happen. I'm so grateful to have a man like you in my life. You loved me like no other man could love a woman. I love you so, so much." You said whimpering and sobbing and he cried along with you in his arms

"I love you so much too I just wanted to see you happy and protect you. You know, that night I really meant it, I really called you wife that time because I love you and I want you forever, I want to be your man, your husband and make you happy. I want to take you to a calm place like you told me before and live with you. I want you to live, so please..." He took one of your hands and squeezed it, sobbing."don't close your eyes. Don't do this to me."

"So... You really wanted me as your wife... That's good to know." You smiled, bringing your hand to his face to meet his eyes."Your wounds will open if you push yourself too hard." You warned him, watching his blood run down his abdomen

"No, don't worry about me, my dear, it doesn't hurt, it's nothing."He comforted you by hugging you and kissing you several times on your forehead and head."Your husband is strong."

"I know...That's why I love you" You said proudly

Sanemi felt his heart tighten with anxiety more and more when he saw his hands completely covered in your blood due to the deep wounds. No one there could heal you from those wounds, too much blood had already been spilled, many of your bones had been broken, your uniform was torn, covered in blood and dust.

Sanemi looked at you and saw that that image contrasted completely with the beautiful girl with a bright smile he saw on the first day, next to the master. He blamed himself so much for not being able to protect you and now having to watch you die slowly in his arms.

"Love?"

"What?" He looked at you

"Can I ask you one last thing?" You murmured, feeling your last strength

"You can ask me whatever you want, but it won't be the last. You'll live much longer." He said optimistically, with a little hope in his heart

"Nemi...Kiss me one more time. With all your heart." You said, slowly approaching his face, and he nodded

He held your face and kissed you deeply. The tears on your faces mingled, both hearts beating fast, and the eyes closed, which were the windows of the soulmates there, hugging each other.

His lips always carried passion and roughness when he kissed you, but on your deathbed, everything seemed more gentle and pure.

When you pulled away, you caressed his cheeks and sniffed, opening your eyes to find those that did not leave your face for a moment.

"If I reincarnate and meet you in a next life, I will be your wife and I'll carry your children." You promised, holding his hand

"And I promise that I will come to you wherever you are. I will find you in the next life, my love. I will make you mine again, no matter how long it takes to find you." He promised, kissing you once more because he would never get tired of kissing you

You stayed in his lap, your arms hugging him and he hugged your body tightly. All those pain you felt earlier now seemed to be falling asleep after the heat of his body surrounded you.

He cried and cried the whole time he was there with you. That would be the last moment by your side and you yourself admitted that you did not want anyone else there so that you could stay in a quiet place with him. No one could interrupt you two there.

The wind hashira was also feeling weak at that moment, even though he didn't care, the open wounds and bleeding were taking away his strength.

Knowing that he would still have a few more years without you by his side would be painful. His mark would be his death at 25 and he was still 21. he would still have four painful years without you. He wouldn't face his own death in a sad way but rather happy, knowing that he would have to meet you. Looking for his princess in another life.

"Are you still there, princess?"He called out to you

"Forever..."An almost inaudible whisper left your lips to say your last words

"You're going home with me now, okay? I'll take you home safely and you'll live." The tears wouldn't stop flowing as he pretended that everything would be fine again

He put his hand on your chest and felt your stop completely. The wind hashira shook his head in denial, not accepting the death of his beloved.

"No...No...NO." He screamed in frustration and suffering."NOT YOU, PLEASE!!! I've already lost my family, I can't lose you too."Sanemi cried in despair, begging and sobbing

It didn't take long for the kakushis to arrive and come across the scene of him with your dead body in his arms.

Everyone there didn't dare get close to him, some even cried because they also knew you and mourned your death. Sanemi felt his heart being torn into pieces. There was no one left. He had put so much faith that today he would get back together with you to finally asked you in marriage.

The truth is that he ended up doing it, but it wasn't the way he had thought. In his dreams, you lived together. His hand caressed your hair and went down your face, closing the eyelids of your still open eyes.

When one of the members of the Demon Slayer Corps finally decided to get close to separate both of you, he immediately grabbed his wrist and pushed him back.

"Don't touch her." Sanemi threatened and the other immediately moved away. "I'm the one who will take her back. Don't you dare get close to her." Sanemi then stood up with you in his arms

*4 years later*

He remembers the place where you were together for the last time. He decided to bury you in the ground of the weeping tree. He knew you loved that place and so he decided to let your soul rest there after that fateful day. A calm and peaceful place. The same place you wanted to live after that mission was over. He never left you alone, he always visited you every day, he brought you fresh flowers when the others were drying, he brought you incense and he even ate all his meals there so he could be with you.

Sanemi was turning 25. That would be his last day alive and he decided to sit one last time in front of your tent, crying as he looked at the stone

"Today is the day. I'll be looking for you, my brat." He smiled even as he felt the tears flow. "I'll look for you and my brothers. We'll be a family again. There will be no more demons to separate us. And..." He took a small box from his pocket and opened it, revealing the silver ring. "We're going to get married. I was supposed to give it to you on our last night but I didn't have the courage."

He left the ring next to the flowers and lay down on the ground, slowly closing his eyes and feeling his body slowly die. His life ended there, by your side.

*Current life*

You were leaving home that day to go for a walk since it was your day off and you wanted to have some fun. You got ready and left the house.

There was a large garden in front of your house, with a large weeping willow tree in the middle that was really beautiful and many people liked to spend time there. You also liked to spend your time there, reading some book or just to get some air.

You entered the garden but were so distracted that you ended up bumping into another man who was coming from the opposite direction. He ended up grabbing you on impulse so you wouldn't fall to the ground and you clung to him, almost hugging each other.

You looked at him in the eyes and he looked at you, a strange feeling ran through your body. It was as if you had seen him somewhere else.

In another life...

A hazy memory of having kissed a man just like him appeared in your head, but when he spoke to you, you quickly came back to reality, leaving these memories aside.

"Hey! Are you okay?" He asked, looking at you, who was still a little shaken

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." You said, slowly moving away from him

"You seem a little scared, are you really sure?"

"Yes, thank you for holding me and for worrying." You smiled. "What's your name by the way?" You asked

"Sanemi, and you?"

Another memory appeared in your head of being in the arms of a man where he said,

"I'll meet you in the next life, my love."

"What's happening to me? What are these memories?" You thought, increasingly confused

"Nice to meet you! My name is Y/n." You extended your hand and he shook it

At that moment, the man had a memory where he was hugging a woman just like you and where she said, "If I reincarnate and meet you in the next life, I'll be your wife and I'll carry your children."

Both you and he froze for a split second that seemed like it would never end. A connection so strong that it had once been cut off by an unfair outcome.

But here you two were, meeting as you both had promised in past, although now you could only remember the past as vague memories and strange sensations that you never imagined you would feel.

"Be careful not to bump into anyone else out there." He said and you gave an embarrassed smile

"I'll pay more attention next time. Have a good day." You bowed slightly and left

He looked at you as you walked away, his expression one of confusion and curiosity at the same time.

"Who is that brat? I feel like I've seen her before but I can't remember where." He then went back on the path, still with that idea mulling over in his head

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anonymous-dentist · 8 months ago

Text

Or: Once upon a time, a man turned himself into a demon for the sake of his husband's soul. It's been a long time since then.

Demons don't really need to sleep, but Roier likes to do it, anyway. It's relaxing, and it reminds him of better times back when he was human and his husband wasn't... well.

Well.

Jaiden doesn't get it, but that's because she's never known what dreams are. Because demons don't sleep and, unlike Roier, she was born a demon. Her and Bobby both were, leaving Roier as the odd one out.

...That's fine! Their loss! Because sleep? Great. Dreams? Even better.

Because, in Roier's dreams, he sees him.

(They're in bed, because that was Roier's favorite place to be. He's on his back with his husband laying next to him tracing patterns into his shirt with one finger. Rain patters on the ceiling, and some leaks through into the kitchen and lands in a pot placed conspicuously in the middle of the floor. Their blankets are warm, and so are their hearts.)

Roier has been married for almost 500 years. His husband has been dead for 499 of those years, give or take a few months.

They were never legally married; that just wasn't something you did back then. Didn't matter, though, because they wouldn't have been able to afford a wedding even if they could get married.

They were farmers- well, Roier was a farmer. His husband just liked sitting and watching Roier work shirtless in the fields. He'd sit with a pitcher of water waiting by his side should Roier need it, and he'd watch shamelessly for hours at a time, and he was horrible.

And now he's dead.

But, see, the first thing Roier asked when arriving in Hell was whether or not the Devil was cool with gay marriage.

"Uh," said Jaiden- and this was their first real conversation post-demoning, okay? So she obviously wasn't as cool as she is now. "Maybe? I don't know. I'd have to ask?"

"Could you?" Roier had asked, freshly deceased and still bleeding from the temples where his horns had just finished growing in. "I'm expecting my husband."

"Right," Jaiden tensely replied. "Your husband."

"Yeah," Roier said, and he tried saying his husband's name, but it just. Wouldn't... what was it again?

But that's fine, being a demon is a pretty sweet gig. All Roier has to do is go up to the Mortal Realm and do a few jobs for a few witches, corrupt a few souls. In return, he gets badass magical abilities and immortality.

More importantly, he gets his husband's soul. As soon as he reincarnates back in the Mortal Realm, and as soon as he dies again, he goes to Hell with all of the memories from his previous life with Roier intact, and they finally get their happily ever after.

It's what he would've wanted. Hell might sound terrible, but it's no worse than the Mortal Realm, and its public transportation is actually better, somehow. The busses all run on time, and the subway is free.

More importantly, Roier's husband was the one collecting all those books on summoning demons and making deals with demons and communing with the Devil. Roier just... completed his work for him.

It's the least he could've done, and it was his last chance at seeing him again.

Fuck, but what was his name?

(They're in the fields, because that was Roier's husband's favorite place to be. Roier is shirtless and bent over a row of seeds that are going to grow up to be corn in a few months, and his husband is on the ground under the apple tree watching him shamelessly. It's sunny out, and there's the smell of smoke in the air.)

It's been 500 years since Roier's husband died, and Roier has spent that time trying to remember the name of his husband's killer.

Because, once upon a time, there was a farmer, and there was a witch. Ah, but witches were illegal, you see. They communed with the Devil, and they brought chaos into a world of order.

All Roier remembers is that the person who tied his husband to that pole was in all-white. Not a priest, just someone boring.

That same person was the one who lit the straw at Roier's husband's feet on fire. And they smiled doing so even as Roier dove towards the flames as if he could put them out with his bare hands.

It didn't work. Big surprise there.

"So the Devil's fine with you two getting married," Jaiden said after a few days of dealing with demonic bureaucracy, "but I have some bad news for you."

Roier, for the first time since Jaiden slit his throat and converted him, felt fear.

"What is it?" he asked.

She let out a breath, slow, and said, eventually, "Your husband's soul isn't here. He isn't in Heaven, either. Or in any of the other gods' realms."

Roier blinked. "What."

It was not a question.

She threw up her hands. "I don't know! It's like he just... disappeared!"

"Is that why I can't remember his name?" Roier asked. "His soul is fucking gone?"

His hands shook. Jaiden reached out and took them.

"We'll find him," she promised, kind despite her whole 'Is A Demon' thing. "Even if it takes five hundred years."

"Yeah, well, it won't," he scoffed. "I'm going to find him. He promised me a wedding."

Souls don't just die. They go to someplace that Roier has only ever heard of: Purgatory.

Once in Purgatory, souls get judged by the Eye of Justice. He asks them questions about their life, and they have to answer truthfully, or he'll feed them to his children.

There are a few options for what comes next.

One: they pass the Eye of Justice's judgement and are allowed to move on to whatever afterlife they believe in.

Two: they pass the Eye of Justice's judgement and are allowed to reincarnate into another life.

Three: they fail the Eye of Justice's judgement and are forcibly sent to reincarnate into the life of a bug or a blade of grass or something else boring and tortuous.

Roier got to skip out on Purgatory entirely because he took the direct line to Hell. But maybe, just maybe, if he had died regularly, he could have seen his husband in Purgatory, and they could have reincarnated together.

...Ugh. Hindsight is a bitch.

(Roier is visiting his grandfather when the church bells ring.

"A witch!" he hears a woman scream, and his stomach fell right into his shoes.)

It's been 500 years, and Roier has gotten a bit of a reputation among modern witches for being one of the easier demons to work with. He'll help with their problems in exchange for information on a certain lost soul: if they hear from his husband's soul, they summon Roier. Or he'll help in exchange for some book recommendations for his son; Hell has many things, but it does not have a public library.

He isn't a particularly strong demon despite what his only angel friend, Etoiles, might say. Etoiles is just a silly little guy, don't listen to him!

(He never even got to say goodbye. They locked eyes as the flames rose, and Roier screamed his name one last time, and he hasn't been able to feel anything since.)

Jaiden was the first demon that Roier had ever met.

He was on the floor surrounded by the ashes that used to be his home. His husband's books were in charred tatters around him, but one managed to survive the fire. It was almost supernatural, but, like, yeah. Demon book, of course it was fireproof.

He was bleeding. He had offered his blood, and his soul, to the demon in exchange for his husband's life back.

She sat on the floor with him.

"I can't do that," she gently told him. "Demons can do a lot of things, but we can't perform miracles."

Roier's throat burned: smoke inhalation and grief.

"Oh," he said, small-sounding.

"But I can get his soul to Hell," she offered. "In exchange... you have to go to Hell."

His answer was immediate: "Yes."

She blinked. "I wasn't finished?"

"The answer is still 'Yes'. As long as I'm with him again, I don't care what happens to me."

"You'll have to turn your life over to Satan. You can't just go to Hell. That isn't how it works."

Roier shrugged. "That's fine."

Jaiden gawked for a moment before nodding and standing and extending her hand.

He took it.

And then he died.

But it's been 500 fucking years, and now Roier is being summoned by another witch for another deal. He'll probably have to help supply additional magic for some big important spell, that's basically all he's used for these days. He's more than a battery, thanks! He's a demon, he should be out, like, stealing souls and shit.

He goes, anyway, because he has to. If he doesn't, his contract is void, and he won't get to see his husband because he himself will be sent to Purgatory to be judged and, really, he does not want to deal with that. (The Eye of Judgement is fucking creepy, okay?)

There's the familiar pull at Roier's core, and the familiar blinding burst of light as he's yanked into the Mortal Realm, and the familiar smell of brimstone and evil that follows him wherever he goes outside of Hell.

The room is filled with blood red smoke as he appears- his trademark.

(The most important thing to a demon these days isn't evil, it's marketability.)

The witch in front of him, nothing more than a shadow hidden behind the smoke, coughs and wheezes and fans their hand in front of their face.

They're kneeled on the ground in front of a pentagram drawn in... what the fuck is this, strawberry jam?

Roier crouches and sticks a finger into one of the circle's markings. Careful not to break the circle, he pulls his finger out and licks the red stuff on it.

Shocked, he looks at the witch, and he asks, "Dude, what the fuck? Is this blood?"

What happened to chalk!?

The witch coughs at him indignantly. "I needed to make sure I got someone powerful."

Roier rolls his eyes and plops fully onto the ground, criss-cross applesauce. He wipes his blood-covered fingertip on his jeans. Newbies...

"Well, you got me," he says, humble to the core. (He may be a super evil demon now, but he isn't a dick.) "So... what's up? What do you need?"

The smoke in the room slowly starts dissipating, revealing the witch to be a man in what have to be the previous day's clothes. His head is still ducked, and his face is still hidden in his elbow as he coughs, but Roier could almost call him objectively handsome. Shame Roier's married, this guy would be fun to mess around with.

"I need to- fuck-"

The witch coughs one last time before finally managing to get a lungful of clean air. He raises his head, and Roier finally gets a look at his face, and-

"I need your help," the witch says, voice rough and rugged and absolutely heartbreaking. "I need to kill someone, and I need your help to do it."

"Okay," Roier agrees. He doesn't have a choice, being a summoned demon and all, but he doesn't think he could turn this witch down at all, because...

("Cellbit!" Roier screams.

He can see his face in his husband's glassy eyes, and then he sees nothing but the flames as they rise over Cellbit's head and drown him whole.)

The man with his husband's face frowns, suspicious.

"What," he asks, "just like that?"

Roier grins, fangs and all. "Just like that."

After all, he doesn't think he'll need any payment for this one.

He's finally found what he's been looking for.

#a.d.'s fics i suppose #a.d.'s fics i suppose.#spiderbit #guapoduo #bit of a weird format going on here but it felt like it worked okay?#real sporadic but so are this dude's thoughts

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nephalem-da · 1 month ago

Note

Hello, I'm the anon who asked for reincarnation!reader, I wanted to say that I saw your post with a long request, and I decided to make corrections, because initially my request was long, but I decided to shorten it, because I thought that you would not do it, but seeing your post, I still decided to correct my request, otherwise my request does not change, except for a few things, hope you don't mind this

Bill x f!reader, in a previous life, reader was the same race as Bill, she was his romantic partner until he … well, you know, then Bill found out that reader is reincarnating, and Bill decided to look for her, and wait a trillion years for her to appear

Fast forward, reader is born into the Pines family, she is a young girl, reader is Dipper and Mabel's cousin, she decided to come to Gravity Falls for summer, because she loves taking pictures of nature and the stars, anyway, after Bill is called to Gravity Falls, he finds out that his parther has already reincarnated, now Bill obsessively haunts reader in her dreams, but so far he hasn't talked about their past, about reader, and reader doesn't know what creature is haunting her dreams now, but she feels a strange sense of familiarity, and a craving for him, also the reader doesn't know what he did to her cousins, so she gets closer to him

When Bill started Weirdmageddon, later he caught reader, he decides to return reader's memories of her second life, Bill for a trillion years imagined how they would reunite, and that they would be together again, but when reader remembers everything, she … rejects him, because he decided to destroy her world for the second time, and kill her family, reader is not angry that Bill destroyed their world, and their kind, she knows that this is not what he wanted, but she is angry that Bill turned into a monster, and now he wants to destroy her world and family again, but this time on purpose, reader gives Bill a chance to stop, and choose, her or chaos, but unfortunately, Bill is greedy, he wants her, and to create chaos, so Bill puts reader in a cage to deal with Pines, after that there is a battle, like in canon, except for reader's help in defeating Bill

Everything ends, Bill is defeated, but some kind of sediment remains, in general it's a bittersweet ending as reader still loves Bill despite all his atrocities but she tries to move on … Also thanks in advance if you write this

Eternal Echoes

(Bill Cipher x F!Reader)

Genre: Angst, Supernatural, Romance

Warnings: Mild manipulation, obsessive behavior, emotional turmoil, mentions of destruction and death.

Summary: Bill Cipher's long-lost lover reincarnates as a human, and he obsessively haunts her dreams to rekindle their past love. But when she remembers his destructive nature, she's forced to choose between her family and the chaotic being she once cherished.

The stars shimmered in the night sky over Gravity Falls, a sight that never failed to captivate you. The stillness of the forest, the cool breeze against your skin as you snapped another photograph, brought peace to your restless mind. You were here for a reason: nature, the stars, the beauty of the unknown. But there was something else—a pull deep within your soul, a feeling of familiarity you couldn't quite place. Something in the air had always felt off, but you had never understood why.

You were staying with your cousins, Dipper and Mabel, for the summer, escaping the mundanity of everyday life. As you explored the oddities of Gravity Falls, your camera in hand, you couldn't shake the sense of being watched. Not in a terrifying way, but in a way that sent shivers down your spine. A presence lingered in your dreams—vivid, otherworldly dreams where a strange golden light flickered and laughter echoed in your ears.

But none of that compared to the figure you saw in the shadows of your sleep. He never revealed himself fully, always on the edge of your awareness. His form was an enigma, but his voice... his voice was haunting. Smooth, playful, and oddly familiar. You didn't know why, but you craved his presence. It made no sense. You should have been scared, yet the sense of comfort he gave you was undeniable. As the summer progressed, you found yourself longing for his return each night, aching for answers you didn't know you needed.

Little did you know, your longing was not without reason.

Bill Cipher had waited eons for this moment.

A trillion years—a time so vast it was beyond mortal comprehension. A trillion years of searching the endless universes, all for you. His partner. His equal. His everything.

Before the fall of their kind, before the destruction of their dimension, there was you. You, who had always tempered his madness, who had been the spark to his flame, the balance to his chaos. Bill had been...different then, but when his mind fractured, when his hunger for chaos consumed him, you were lost in the wreckage. Destroyed along with everything else he had once loved.

But Bill wasn't a fool. He knew energy never truly died, and your essence—her essence—would find its way back into existence. You had to. So, he waited. Watched. Hunted.

And now, after countless lifetimes, here you were—reincarnated as a human girl, cousin to those pesky Pines twins. He had stumbled upon you during his plans for Weirdmageddon, a chaotic reunion he hadn’t expected so soon. He could have destroyed you then, taken you by force, but no. Bill Cipher was patient. You didn’t know who you were yet, but soon, you would.

The dreams were only the beginning. He haunted your subconscious, easing into your mind little by little, reigniting the spark between you that had once burned so brightly. He hadn’t yet revealed the truth, hadn’t yet told you of your past life as one of his kind—his partner in crime, in chaos, in love. That would come later. For now, he was content with toying with your mind, making you crave him, making you feel the connection that had spanned eons.

But patience had its limits, and Bill’s obsession with you only grew stronger.

You felt him again that night.

The dream began as it always did, with a golden shimmer flickering on the edges of your vision. This time, however, the figure stepped closer. You could feel the energy shift, and for the first time, the shadowy figure in your dreams was crystal clear. A single yellow eye stared at you, sharp and all-seeing. A triangular form floated above you, his presence towering yet familiar.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this, toots,” the voice purred, sending a wave of recognition through you.

“Who... who are you?” you asked, your voice echoing in the dreamscape, trembling with uncertainty yet laced with curiosity.

The figure chuckled darkly, his eye narrowing in amusement. “You’ll find out soon enough, sweetcheeks. You and I? We go way back.”

There it was again—that familiarity that tugged at your very soul. But you didn’t have time to process it before the dream ended, leaving you awake and gasping for breath, his voice still echoing in your ears.

Bill knew he couldn't delay any longer. As Weirdmageddon began, the chaos around Gravity Falls grew, and he finally made his move. In a calculated moment, he cornered you, capturing you in his chaotic storm. But instead of fear, your eyes reflected something else: trust. Trust that had been built unknowingly through all those dreams, all those moments you thought you were alone but weren't.

With a snap of his fingers, everything came rushing back to you—memories of a life long past. You saw yourself as you once were: one of Bill’s kind, a powerful entity, intertwined with him. You saw the world you once knew fall apart, your kind eradicated. And worst of all, you saw Bill—mad with power, craving destruction, leaving you behind in the ashes.

You blinked, reality crashing down around you. Bill stood before you, his eye filled with expectation, with yearning. His voice was calm, coaxing. “Now you remember, don’t you? We can be together again, just like before. Forget this world, forget the humans—none of it matters. It’s just you and me, kid. We’re unstoppable.”

For a moment, you wanted to believe him. The love you’d once shared still lingered, burning deep inside. But as you looked around at the chaos, at what he’d become, at what he was trying to do again—destroy the world you now called home—you couldn’t.

You stepped back, your heart breaking. “Bill, I remember... I remember everything. But I can’t do this. You’re... you’re not the same. You’ve become a monster.”

His eye widened in shock, his voice stuttering. “What? Me, a monster? Come on, dollface, it’s just a little fun! The world’s our playground!”

“No, Bill. You’re destroying everything—again! I can’t stand by and let you do this. Not to my family. Not to this world. You have to stop, or...” You hesitated, your voice trembling. “Or I’ll stop you.”

Bill’s form flickered, the weight of your rejection crashing down on him. His obsession warred with his greed. He wanted you, craved you, but chaos was his nature. He couldn't let go of either. "You’re giving me an ultimatum? Choose between you and chaos?" His laugh was bitter, but there was a vulnerability behind it, a desperation. “I can have both. I will have both!”

With a snap of his fingers, you were trapped in a cage of glowing energy, hovering helplessly as he turned to face the Pines family. His voice dropped low. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right back after I finish this little game.”

When the final battle came, you fought. Despite your heartbreak, despite everything, you aided your family in stopping Bill. The battle raged on, but in the end, Bill Cipher was defeated.

As the dust settled, you stood on the edge of the chaos, your heart heavy. Despite everything he had done, despite the chaos, the destruction, the manipulation, you couldn’t help but still love him. But it was a bittersweet love now, one tainted by the reality of who he had become.

You turned away, trying to move on, knowing it would never truly leave you.

In the distance, you could almost hear the echo of his voice—soft, lingering, as if even in defeat, he was still with you.

#bill cipher x reader #gravity falls #the book of bill #bill cipher #angst #reincarnation #past love #toxic behavior #toxic relationship #manipulation

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