#but from the other i didn't have enough time to inclined may rin or more easter themes

[i-n-e-a]

Happy easter to those who celebrate

[fyeahbachisagi]

On Bachira’s Rankings

Warning: This post will contain a lot of manga spoilers!

Season 1 of the anime just finished. I reread a few chapters of the manga starting from where it ended, and I noticed something strange…

How on earth did Bachira rank #7 after the Third Selection?

Like, I know he’s amazing, but considering how the ranking was determined…

... Bachira's rank may be less of an indication of how amazing he is and more of a deliberate narrative choice by the author.

The panel above is of Ego answering Yukki’s question about the difference between him and #1. Essentially, the standard used to determine the Top 6. Let’s extend that standard to the lower ranks.

The ranks are determined by:

Goals scored since First Selection

World Five's personal judgment

Ego's judgment

Just on that first factor, you really have to wonder how Bachira ranks higher than Barou, one of the top scorers in their First Selection wing. Throughout the entire First Selection, Bachira scored only one goal, and that was in the match against Team V.

In the Second Selection, Bachira only participated in two matches: the 3v3 with Isagi and Nagi against the Top 3, and the 4v4 when Isagi came to steal him back.

In the Second Selection, Bachira also only scored one goal, and that was even with Rin manipulating him:

Bachira had an awesome awakening arc, but he didn't score a goal then because of Isagi blocking it, so it doesn't count.

In the Third Selection, only Rin scored in their team

So, the First, Second, and Third Selections combined, Bachira only scored two goals.

Not really indicative of a striker, don't you think?

Bachira’s #7 rank could only be largely because of those second and third factors. Considering the importance Ego places on scoring your own goals, I’m inclined to think that it’s more of the former: the World Five’s assessment of him.

Specifically, Pablo Cavasoz’s assessment of Bachira.

Pablo’s first words to Bachira were of praise:

Bachira even got past him on his first try. Granted, Pablo was still underestimating them here; he just got caught off guard.

Then, his second words were of criticism:

The scene above was not included in the anime, by the way.

This seems to be the only time in the match where a World Five player criticizes a bluelocker without being condescending about it.

It may be that Pablo is just nice, but compare it to the criticism that Isagi and Rin received:

It’s not so obvious with Loki, but I personally find being asked if my move is okay to be mildly insulting.

And unlike Loki’s criticism of Isagi and Luna’s criticism of Rin, Pablo’s criticism of Bachira is actually constructive. He first points out what Bachira is doing right (“Your rhythm is dynamic”) before pointing out what he’s doing wrong (“but you don’t have enough patterns”).

Overall, Pablo seems to have a good impression of Bachira, and he must’ve said a lot of good things about him to Ego.

As for Ego’s judgment of Bachira… I’m not really sure what he thinks. As I said, Bachira had scored only two goals. Most of the time, he played more like a midfielder than a striker. If there’s one thing that could make Ego think highly of Bachira, then it’s probably Bachira’s ability to go through the enemy’s entire defense all by himself. He exhibited this in the Team V match as well as in the 4v4 match.

Now, with the post-Third-Selection ranking out of the way, let’s talk about how Bachira is ranked in other times…

Bachira’s rank has always been “high, but not too high”

At the beginning, Bachira is ranked #290, the highest in Team Z, second only to Kira, who was then eliminated.

At chapter 24 of the manga, Bachira’s rank was #270.

This was before the match against Team V, and Bachira hasn’t scored a goal yet, so of course he is ranked lower than those who have scored more goals. Rankings then were determined solely on number of goals. At this point in the story, Bachira was also still just playing with the monster and hasn’t awakened his own ego yet.

After the Second Selection’s First Stage, Bachira was ranked #16, placed right after Isagi.

Now, this is sus. How could Bachira finish faster than Chigiri?

If you remember, after Isagi entered the First Stage, the rest of Team Z decided the order through rock, paper, scissors.

Chigiri went in first, followed by Bachira. And you’re telling me that Chigiri, known for his speed and who was definitely more egoistic than Bachira at this time, actually finished later than Bachira despite having the early-start advantage?

It could only be because the author is deliberately choosing their ranks for the narrative and not basing it on their actual skills.

I mean, at chapter 58, Chigiri is shown to be ranked #44.

And in the Neo Egoist League arc, we are shown the significance of this number 44 to Chigiri.

Now, in the NEL arc, we have two ranks for Bachira so far. In chapter 170, he was ranked second, placed right after Rin. Not everyone has played in a match yet, but I still think this rank is quite impressive. He ranked higher than Shidou, the former #2.

Then in Chapter 204, he was ranked #3. If I remember correctly, Rin’s team hadn’t played a second match yet, so the rankings aren’t that accurate, but I still think it’s impressive. Bachira scored a goal in Ubers, a team known for their defense. If it weren’t for Nagi’s “miracle” goal, he could’ve maintained second place.

Conclusion

Apart from the rank #270 in the First Selection and the #16 in the Second Selection, Bachira has always ranked higher than Isagi. In both aforementioned cases, Bachira’s state was still that of being satisfied in just getting to play with Isagi. His ego hadn’t awakened yet, so it’s only natural that his performance suffers.

However, after his awakening, he has consistently ranked higher than Isagi. Somehow, I don’t see anyone talking about this. Bachira is often overlooked by the readers and also by the characters in-universe.

Even Isagi, the person who believes in Bachira the most, doesn’t really think of him as a threat:

He honestly thought that he and Bachira were about the same level.

And he was so surprised of Bachira’s level-up in Chapter 160:

“You just keep going past my expectations.” So to say, Isagi’s expectations of Bachira were actually lower. (I know Isagi doesn’t actually look down on Bachira, but just looking at it objectively, he really does not think of Bachira as a threat.)

And it’s not just Isagi who’s like this, but other characters as well.

Raichi couldn’t believe it:

And so did Igaguri:

Both Raichi and Igaguri are a terrible judge of skill, though. Raichi thinks Kaiser’s success was just because of Bastard Munchen’s system. And Igaguri didn’t even know Shidou was so amazing despite being on the same team with him during the Second Selection. So, whether their opinions count or not is up to you.

There’s also this line by Chigiri in the 4v4 match:

Chigiri thinks everyone else is slow, though, so again, not much weight in those words.

But it’s interesting to note that Isagi, Chigiri, Raichi, and Igaguri were in the same team as Bachira during the First Selection, yet they all don’t take Bachira that seriously.

It probably won’t be that long before they, especially Isagi, actually start seeing him as a threat.

Above is a panel of Isagi’s reaction to Bachira’s offer in the NEL arc in c204.

And remember what I said about their rankings being a deliberate narrative choice instead of an actual indication of their skill? What do you think the author is trying to say with Bachira’s rankings?

Before, I thought it was to set up Bachira as Isagi’s final boss, the last player Isagi has to devour before he can truly be the #1 striker. But now I think it could also be to set up Bachira as Isagi’s right-hand man. Not as a servant like how Ness is to Kaiser and how Reo is to Nagi, but as a partner who can fight side-by-side with Isagi.

Thoughts?

[vaya-writes]

The get to know your character ask game with Slates cousin, the one who got Adalyn the book. ( I forgot her name.🫣 It started with an "r" I think?)

I might take this opportunity to answer all 10 questions since you didn't specify and i love to talk. So, here's a post getting to know Rin (or Rinley).

What's her go to drink order?

I haven't thought much about drinks in this setting to be honest. I don't know if cocktails have been invented and are widespread. You've obviously got things like wine and mead and beer. And because I'm not much of a drinker I can't share much based on Rin's preference for taste. But she does like expensive things, even if she's more than capable of 'slumming it'. I think she'd be inclined to order older wines if she's drinking with family and putting on appearances, but happy to drink mead when she's out among the populace.

2. What is her grooming routine?

When she's alone and in her own hoard/nest is the only time she truly gets to hit all the beats. She'll spend time in her largest form, mostly just stretching and exercising, ensuring her wings and muscles don't atrophy from lack of use. She doesn't get so spend much time in her first and second form due to (REDACTED). Hence why these aspects of care are only managed while she's home alone. She'll clean and scrub and buff her scales, test the membranes of her wings, shine, buff, and sharpen her horns, and clean her teeth. Her hair, skin, nails, and human teeth get plenty of attention when she's traveling. Her polymorphed form is so small and compact that it's easy enough to take care of. She enjoys learning new styles with which to use on her hair; she feels like it's one of the only aspects of her she's allowed to display proudly.

3. What are her most expensive purchases and where does her disposable income go?

She's a bit like Slate in that her hoard isn't specialised. She likes collecting generalised goods and luxuries. She does a lot of travel, more so than most dracanids, almost never feeling comfortable in her own home, pretty much only using her nest in the winter. So most of her money goes towards extravagant foods and lodging, as she likes feeling comfortable and trying out the local experiences wherever she goes. She will spend on clothing, beauty items and books especially. I imagine her most expensive purchases may have gone towards her nest. Think stained class windows, exquisite brickwork and carvings, gargoyles, whatever. I haven't put a lot of thought into her nest, TBH, as none of the story takes place there.

4. Any tattoos or scars?

Her human form has vitiligo, the bright red sort. She has a couple of scars on her other forms, and uses glamours to hide the scars on her human form. They're most noticeable on her largest form. These are from family infighting. It's implied that her father was physically abusive. While I haven't considered the details, I can tell you she comes from a violent and bloodthirsty family, and it's damn near miraculous that Rin's countenance doesn't reflect this. Her family definitely has a reputation and it's no wonder why she sticks to her human form.

5. The last time she cried.

She might have teared up during her mother's passing, or her mother's wedding. But the last ugly cry would have been when her mother took her away from her family. It was a traumatic experience. Her father did not take kindly to her mother attempting (and eventually managing) to flee their clan.

6. Are they an oldest, middle, or youngest child.

Rin had a handful of half siblings from the Red Clan. Three I think. I haven't put a lot of thought into it. I think she was the youngest, it makes sense that her mother would try to remove the youngest from the family. But Rin doesn't like to think back about her older siblings. When she hears passing news of them, it's never good, though some buried part of her still has hope that they'll be okay, that they'll change, that they might break the cycle.

Rin considers Slate to be a better sibling than her original ones, even if he's technically just her cousin in law. She enjoys lording her age over him and acting like a wise older sibling, even if she learns so many new things from just being in Slate's presence (things like patience, peace, forgiveness, kindness, compassion - all traits she was modeled should be shunned as she grew up).

7. Shoes.

God you're going to make me think about clothing and world building :'( I think Rin would go barefoot if she were allowed. She's long lived and desensitised to pain, I think she'd enjoy walking on stone and grass, and feeling things. It'd be a nice sensory experience for her. But during the times when she's expected to attend the Matron's court, she dresses up fancy. Sometimes heels and slippers. Things that are new to human and monster fashion, and pretty. She's pretty flexible with her fashion taste, looking to humans, and new trends, even if her timing is usually off and she doesn't understand what we tend to mix and match. She's fond of boots, heels, and sandals, due to their different looks. She's not often wearing something practical for her traveling though >:/

8. The place where they sleep.

We're going to look at Rin's nest for Winter. Because damn I'm committed to finishing this post. Even if I haven't thought about her home at all >;(

I think that as much as Rin hoards things, she doesn't actually decorate her bedroom much. Or rather, it's a bit understated. Her blankets are soft and pretty colours, as are the pillows and the rest of the bedding. But the walls are plain. The lighting is dim. She loves hoarding books and knowledge, but hardly ever reads in her room.

She has a large space dedicated to sleeping in her true form. Because if she's home alone, she might as well take advantage of the chance to stretch her wings. In her human form she likes soft fabrics and cushions and a downy mattress. In her largest form she's happy with a roof over her head, a fortified position, and a bit of a dug out area to sleep in. Softer stone is a bonus (talking sand, or gravel) for feeling, but Rin doesn't like cleaning it out of the rest of her quarters, so she usually goes without.

9. What is her favourite holiday.

I haven't thought much about holidays in the Drakon Empire. I think she enjoys attending small and local festivals, looking at the culture around her. Especially human culture. She likes seeing how humans have grown and lived past the Empire's original founders. She's not big on Imperial holidays, but practically nobody celebrates those anymore (old timey dragons do). She's filled with trepidation towards the celebrations the Grey Clan hold. It's nice to see her father in law, and her cousin. But she doesn't enjoy spending time with the rest of the family. Though it is a relief that their holidays (celebrating the Matron, or marriages, or coming of age ceremonies) are much more homely than the ones the Red Clan held dear.

10. What objects do they carry around with them.

Little known fact about Rin, is that she has a greater grasp of magic than the rest of Slate's family. She can get along fairly easily by her own wits. Still, when she's traveling for the purpose of looking at human culture, she'll often pack clothes specific to that area, and money. Or just money. Or jewellery, to sell if she's in a pinch. It DOES make her a greater target for robbery, but most people who try to rob Rin tend not to get very far in that. Anyway, she packs light.

-

Now I've gotta remember to add these details to her character notebook.

Thank you so much for the ask <3 Hope I didn't melt your brain with all this information. Thank you for the prompt! Some of these things I had to think hard about.

(I can't wait until people figure out the redacted details of this story)

[jafndaegur]

Noise of Rain | Chapter Five

These are Two Different Worlds, She Walks the Borderline—

Sesskag

a/n: we're coming to the close of the first half! Yay! I think this will probably have about five or so more chapters. Thanks for reading this guilty indulgence of mine~

...

Sesshomaru had taken Rin to a village about a day's worth of travel from the Burial Mounds. They had happened to be in the area, and while his ward went to shop for her supplies, he thought about their next step of travel. Particularly because a bothersome idea had crept into his mind ever since they arrived.

He wanted to go visit the miko in the mountains.

Since the last time he had checked-in on her, he'd noticed they were still struggling to put together their little crop fields. Humans, so fragile and needy that if they could not somehow pertain the correct soil for their crops, they would die. Hah.

So he'd provided lotus pods out of his magnanimous generosity… he was starting to sound too much like Jaken. 

Maybe he should leave the little imp behind for a while, refresh his mind and ears from the presence of the squawky toad.

Going to the miko's would generate that reprieve—

Before he indulged the thought any further, he squashed it with the sharp pinprick of his claws against his palm. 

Since her sudden change, something drew Sesshomaru to her. Curiosity is what he would like to name it, a strange girl with the power to suddenly obliterate the most dangerous hanyou this world had seen; obviously despite his anger that he wasn't the one to kill Naraku, her actions had caught his eye. Perhaps it was the sheer brutality of her powers, a miko easily and without pause tearing apart a living creature. While he enjoyed the sight with a great deal of satisfaction, that was uncharacteristic for the young miko. The daiyoukai huffed, if he didn't know any better, the resentful energy that the miko claimed to use was drastically changing her temperament.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. The girl should feel so lucky that he graced her with the constant barrage of thought. Under normal circumstances he would have never cared. Which ultimately brought him full circle again to the main question at hand.

Why did he care, now?

"Lord Sesshomaru!"

Rin's voice cut through the air as if she were standing right next to him. She knew better than to call him when in a town unless it was something important. He sped through the street, chasing the child's delicate scent like a marked path. Damn the humans staring at him, he didn't care. If someone had dared to cause a single scratch upon Rin's flesh. Well.

It'd been a long while since he'd razed a village to cinders.

Sesshomaru halted immediately though. 

Rin walked ahead with a skip, her arms full of gauze, salve, and food. She didn’t look for him however, she looked to the side—where a figure accompanied her. Not just any figure, the miko. 

He took in the sight of her, his eyes narrowing. Her hair was shaggy and unkempt. Her clothes too big and overly wrinkled, they hung off her body with an almost scandalous air to them and he wondered if she knew how to actually properly tie her yukata. It was her eyes though, that dawned the answer to his question.

Because a small smile worked its way on her face as she talked with Rin before eyeing her attention to him. And it was those blue wonders that had been so alive and vibrant before that were now dull and tired, hollowed by sleep circles and darkened bags.

The miko who'd had twice as much liveliness as Rin, the miko who stared everything down with joy and easy-going laughter, was now a husk of a human. And that bothered him.

Because there was no explanation for her change.

"Sesshomaru!" She waved with the hand holding her fife, and he had the sudden urge to grab it and chuck it into the heavens.

"Lord Sesshomaru! You came!" Rin pranced up to him with a proud grin. "Lady Kagome mentioned how nice it would be to see you."

"Rin." He narrowed his glance. "This one is not here for your beck and call."

"I know!" She chirped eagerly.

"I wasn't sure when the next time I could see you would be. It's already been quite some time." Kagome admitted with a sheepish look. "And Rin assured me you were nearby."

Sesshomaru hummed.

"Would you like something to eat?" She continued hurriedly, squeezing Rin's hand gently before pulling away from the child. "My treat."

He wondered if she should really be making such an offer. Still the youkai inclined his head.

His ward cheered and the miko seemed to relax. They wandered down a small path in the town that led to a patio restaurant. Fried fish and pork could be seen on the grills, and the smell of rice and soup filled the air. It was homely.

"Tea, sweet soup for the girl, and two spicy plates!" Kagome ordered before ushering them to a table at the corner. 

It was obvious the other diners were wary of the little group. The rumored Edo Matriarch and a daiyoukai certainly did not make for pleasant clientele. And yet Kagome seemed to brush aside the tense atmosphere for chatter. This was the first time in a long time that Sesshomaru had heard her so carefree and well...like her old self. He indulged her.

Their food was brought out quickly, a small bowl of soup and sweet smelling fruit was handed to Rin. Two bowls of rice topped with red-sauced beef were placed in front of him and the miko. She looked ecstatic.

"Things are slow going in the Burial Mounds but what can I say. That place is pretty inhospitable. It's taken a lot of energy to set up our living there, but it's coming along."

The demon lazily ran his fingers through his hair before giving his tea a delicate sip. "This one has noticed depleted demonic presences in this area. Would that be your doing, miko?"

She hid her giggle behind the back of her hand. "I have created a new tool to draw in and horde resentful energy. Without any malicious or evil just floating around willy-nilly, there's no place for lesser youkai to feed on that negative aura."

He felt a nerve twitch. Could she really do such feats without corruption? There were reasons why meager demons fed on prevalent evil atmospheres.

"Don’t look so concerned," Kagome's smile thinned and she went to absentmindedly twirl her fife. "I've got it under control."

He wondered.

She picked up her chopsticks, laughing when Rin eagerly thanked her for the soup, and started to eat the food with gusto. Sesshomaru felt a small twinge in his chest. Maybe he pondered ceaselessly over nothing. 

He would have thought that if it weren't for the sharp blast of yellow light that flashed from the folds of the miko's robes.

She hissed and withdrew one of her yellow talismans. The red writing glittered before the paper combusted. a curse flew past her lips and she stood immediately from the table.

"Sorry Sesshomaru, this is an emergency." She bolted then, haori fluttering as she fled from the patio. 

The daiyoukai pinched the bridge of his nose, gaze sliding to Rin. "Do you have any money left over?"

"Rin saved a few silver pieces," her little mouth twisted with concern. "Is everything okay my lord?"

He rose as well. "Pay for the meal, find Jaken. I will return later."

She nodded. "Be safe Lord Sesshomaru."

The wind seemed to bend around him as he sped after Kagome, ignoring her startled yelp as he wrapped his arm around her waist and sent them flying for the Burial Mounds. Her hair whipped around like tendrils of ink.

"Miroku is waiting outside of the cave at the center." She urged him. "You'll have to wait there if you want to stick around. There's going to be a massive lash of resentful energy and I cannot handle you transforming into your true form."

"Doubt in my self control is not a good look for you," he growled.

"Nonetheless," she muttered. "Two out of control powerhouses may be beyond my reach if that were to happen."

He wanted to ask what she meant. But the monk came into view and they touched down before he had the chance. Miroku rushed to them. Roaring could be heard from the cave along with the frantic shouting of the demon slayer.

Kagome shot a panicked look to the man before running inside the cave. Sesshomaru followed her without question or care to the monk's protest.

She had been right.

The amount of evil aura permeated the small space like a fog, and it weighed heavily on his baser instincts. He clutched Tenseiga, allowing the serene energy to calm his raging inner-self.

Kohaku fought his sister in a fit of rabid rage. His eyes completely rolled back and white, and hair strewn from his usual ponytail. Unlike pass times as Naraku's puppet, he had an unnatural and unrestrained power about him that thrummed like a barrier. Sesshomaru snarled.

Kagome's music filtered through the air and the dark energy flooded towards her, which she accepted with open meridians. Kohaku's fury diverted to her and he rushed her without mercy. Sesshomaru’s temper snapped and he'd enough. He lunged forward, claws intent on putting the whelp in its place.

The music stopped. "Don't hurt him Sesshomaru, he doesn't kno—"

That hesitation. One moment. And the mindless boy rushed past the dog demon and attack Kagome front on.

To her credit, she defended well. Her fife parried his first punch, body whipping around as she stoutly kicked him in the chest. He recovered quickly and barreled straight into her, head and shoulder pushing into her torso. Slamming her straight into the wall. The miko gasped out, blood flying from her mouth as she fell to the ground with a stagger. Sesshomaru yanked the boy back and sent him spiraling across the cave. He helped the miko up, eyes widening as the light in the cave flickered.

Her eyes bled red and her balance wobbled. The resentful energy seaped into her body in torrents and in that instant Sesshomaru realized that there was nothing he could do to stop the stream.

Kagome reached into her robe and drew forth a dark grey amulet in the shape of a phoenix. The energies spiraled into it. Her eyes flashed bright crimson, and the daiyoukai loathed to admit that his control waivered. But Kohaku fell to the ground, immobile and screaming. Kagome threw the amulet into the air and caught it with a chant. The dark energy stopped its movement and it became stagnant again. Sango ran to her brother's side, cradling him close while sobbing his name.

Kagome sagged.

"I thought," Sesshomaru grit his teeth. "You said everything was taken care of."

The miko looked at him with a bloodied and tired smile. "I've lied to you before, haven't I?"

"You will stop immediately." He growled. 

She hid the phoenix amulet back in her robes, and leaned against his side. He had the strongest urge to push her off and storm away. And yet even now, he found himself gravitating to her side.

[bella-gunn]

More Blue Exorcist conspiracy theories!

I apologize, first thing for this "Wall-O-Text"(tm), anyone who knows me reasonably well knows I have a lot of thoughts that turn into mountains of words.

Unfortunately I still haven't found a way to toggle from rich text to html on my phone app (if such a thing is even possible). I do pretty much everything with my phone, so I'm sorry, no pretty text cut here.

Without further ado...

yuri-egin-123 asked some fantastic questions and this is my humble attempt to answer them, theoretically.

"...going back to Yuri's past, when Rin first saw satan, did Satan feel it? because it has already been proven that Rin can feel powerful demons nearby and Satan also in chapter 107. Now, does Satan know that Rin has been in the past?"

Rin is powerful, true, but I don't think Satan would have noticed Rin for two really good reasons and one kind of theoretical reason.

Good reason #1:

Satan is incredibly arrogant. He can sense all demons, weak and powerful, but frankly he doesn't care because he knows he far out classes anyone else. So it doesn't make sense for him to take special notice of Rin in all the mess of demonic activity around him.

Good reason #2:

Rin is powerful, but he isn't more powerful than Lucifer, Mephisto, Egyn, Iblis and Asteroth, who are also in close proximity to Satan. Mephisto has been acting as Rin's personal tour guide, even Lucifer has ignored Rin in Mephisto's presence and they were in the same room practically face to face.

Theoretical reason:

Satan may not be able to tell the difference between Rin and his own power. The other demons respond to Rin's power just like it's Satan's, until Rin asserts control over his flames there is even some concern that they are actually Satan's flames. So I think it's unlikely that Satan would notice Rin because he would feel familiar and "same".

What. An. Ass.

"...and in question the shiemi, at first I thought she was a clone of Shemihaza but nevertheless in chapter 99.5 they said "your mother awaits". I do not think Shemihaza is the mother of Shiemi, maybe Shiemi is Shemihaza herself, do not you think?"

I agree with you 100%; I do not think Shemihaza is Shiemi's mother in the traditional sense. It's clear there is a connection between Shiemi's birth and Shemihaza but I think it is less direct than Shiemi being a Shemihaza clone.

As far as Shiemi being Shemihaza let's examine what we already know from the story so far.

There are two upper demon ranks, the Baal and the Sol, Satan is above all.

The Baal are the 8 demon kings, the Sol are the emperors of nothingness and creation, Armumahel and Shemihaza respectively.

The most recent chapter has given us suprising information; Armumahel is the source for holy water. Armumahel's influence "hollows out" humans, eventually making them "soul less", his influence on demons seems to cut their spiritual connection to Assaiah, sending them back to Gehenna.

This is wild, the whole thing from holy water to the experimental Illuminati weapons had me thinking:

If this is the power of nothingness made manifest in the material realm of Assiah, then what would the power of creation do!?

I have been turning this over in my mind since the Grigori representative called Shemihaza interacted with Lucifer in section 13.

Lucifer acknowledges the Grigori representative as Shemihaza but also appeals to their humanity. It is apparent the the Grigori representative was at one time human, but has put aside their humanity to take on the role of actually being Shemihaza in reality. This is no mere playacting, all signs point the the Grigori representative of Shemihaza as being a manifestation of Shemihaza.

Certainly there is some limitation, Shemihaza the Grigori isn't all powerful, but she is certainly well respected by Lucifer, who only respects power greater than his own.

Then there is the matter of Shemihaza the Grigori's seemingly unaging enterouge of obviously related people. They are all different shapes and sizes but they have very strong common traits, traits that are shared with the Lucifer clones.

Which brings me back to the question of Shemihaza's power in Assiah.

Creation much like Nothingness are broad concepts, without indulging in much philosophical navel gazing, I think the most obvious power of Shemihaza in Assiah would be making something exist spiritually that didn't exist before, perfectly opposed to and balanced with Armumahel's power to erase something spiritually from material reality.

As we learned from Reiji Shiratori and numerous other reminders, demons possess things that are spiritually aligned to themselves. It's somewhat problematic for the higher ranking demons, especially the kings, there is difficulty finding someone who is compatible, then they have the issue of their power destroying their host body.

So the section 13 researchers had two problems to solve:

1. Make the body resilient to demonic power.

2. Make the spirit compatible with the demon who will take possession.

The first problem was solved by taking tissue samples from Lucifer, Samael and Azazel, the three most powerful of the Baal.

It is obvious by the massive scale of the project, the images of the rows of birthing tables and cribs, that they tried surrogacy initially. It doesn't seem like that approach was entirely effective as they had begun using cloning vats/cylinders (Lucifer still uses that method currently so that indicates that it was a later and more successful method).

Out of the hundreds of clones there were only two successful clones (as in they suppoted posession): Ambrosius, a clone of Samael who was spontaneously possessed by Amaimon. There is some subtle indication Mephisto meddled, Amaimon certainly seems to owe him for something.

The other was Goro, the Azazel clone who was eventually possessed by Satan. Goro was not a perfect clone, he was damaged (if we go by Shiro's reactions) and was ultimately put in a semi vegetative state in a cloning vat because of his regenerative abilities.

There is something about that which is off putting to me. I kept getting hung up on the idea that this clone, Goro, who was essentially fully developed was placed in a vat and he didn't decay, didn't degrade. Bodies don't work that way, they begin to adapt to their environment on a cellular level, his skin at least would have been extremely damaged from years of submersion and any liquid medium he could have been placed in that would arrest that process is not conducive to keeping him alive.

With the revelation of where holy water came from it smacked me in the face; the liquid in the cloning vats is derived from Shemihaza.

This "water" derived from Shemihaza may be the base of the "elixer" and a sort of fountain of life but I wouldn't be in a hurry to fill up a cup! At best it is very unpredictable and difficult to control such a broadly active substance, after all you would want to grow new cells at a controlled pace, otherwise you end up with something cancerous like and truly monstrous. Michael Gedouin and all those poor people he experimented on are a cautionary tale.

Also, it seems that long term exposure to Shiemihaza's "water" may have the opposite effect of Armumahel's "water" and make things in Assiah more susceptible to possession.

Of course this is conjecture, there is nothing in the book that says I'm right, but it makes sense and explains why Shemihaza, the Grigori, is so involved in something as reprehensible as section 13.

Granted, the entire Grigori would have needed to approve and be involved with the project to some extent but we never see the other two, only Shemihaza.

Shemihaza is also deeply invested in Lucifer's decision and the outcome of the project in a way that indicates personal interest, which makes sense if you consider the spiritual and emotional connection of being the source of life for all those poor clones as well being, well, the Emperor of Creation. Even the misshapen more demonic clones that Lighting and Sugaro encountered would have been her progeny.

Going back to Shiemi, she shares certain characteristics with the Lucifer clones, namely blond hair, green eyes, a mysterious past and amnesia. Shemihaza's entourage identifies as her family so there is s very real possibility that Shiemi is a successful clone, not necessarily for Lucifer, but to be the next Shemihaza.

I think Mephisto was hiding her in plain sight, as it were, to keep her out of Lucifer's hands until the time was right for her to be brought to Shemihaza. She seems to have some disordered memories from her early childhood that relate to the garden she is taken to so it is very likely she was never in section 13. It is possible Shiemi was created directly by Shemihaza in the garden, which would explain the mother comment and her inclination towards growing things.

So I posit that Shiemi was created by Shemihaza, possibly from the Lucifer clone lineage, to be the replacement for Shemihaza the Grigori.

She is already most of the way to being able to channel Shemihaza, which she demonstrates by manifesting a forest to contain Rin just after his immolation. Obviously Mephisto knows something about it (poor Amaimon doesn't figure it out until it's too late for him to make a real marriage proposal, lol) and Shiemi's mom knows something because she told Sheimi enough for her to be prepared when the Grigori representatives came for her (very creepy people by the way, just a shade too perfect to be entirely human).

It will be interesting to see where things go but what really has me twisted up right now was Lucifer's casual demonstration that he has perfected the cloning method.

Up to this point we have operated under the assumption that the elixer was the only thing sustaining him and all of his efforts were going towards the creation of viable clones.

Now we know that not only does he have perfect clones for himself (which implies he appeared before Mephisto in a compromised body as strategy to keep Mephisto from knowing how effective his cloning process is) but he also has been collecting demons with regeneration abilities and is planning on cloning a body for Satan.

I have so many questions about this.

Satan seems to think his perfect body is running around, inconveniently occupied by his demon son, and would like to take it. But he is hanging around with his wimpy human son for some reason. Yukio is immune to the flames, all flames, has a temptaint so bad it's a wonder he wasn't posessed by a demon years ago except that he can't be possesed...

What do they want with Yukio?

Even better, why the hell did Lucifer give Yukio the Armumahel guns?

I think the answer is twofold.

They, Mephisto and Lucifer, are setting Rin and Yukio up for a showdown, a sort of battle by proxy.

Mephisto and Lucifer are playing chess to determine the fate of the world because they cannot fight each other directly.

So Rin and Yukio are pawns that are poised to become queens on the board.

My magic 8 ball says "as I see it, yes":

*Yukio will confront Rin, because Rin can't let Yukio go.

*When that happens Yukio will use the Armumahel guns and damage or partially remove Rin's soul; in that moment of weakness Satan will have his opportunity to possess Rin.

*Yukio will immediately realize he has fucked up and will try to fix his mistake by killing Satan, or at least removing him from Rin as much as possible.

*More Armumahel gun action......

If everything goes Mephisto's way Satan wil be reduced to a shade of his original power and banished back to Gehenna (serves him right for being such a prick and dropping a helicopter on Mephisto's head), Lucifer will have to concede defeat and back down as per their wager.

If everything goes exceptionally well Rin's soul may even be restored to his body (I have a feeling Shiemi would have something to do with that).

But either way the balance would be restored and Assiah would be preserved.

If Lucifer gets his way Rin's soul is forfeit, Yukio is a way more fucked up Abel than the original bible story, Satan gets his groove on, Samael has to step back, allowing Satan and Lucifer remake reality unopposed.

I think the reason why Lucifer needs Satan is because Lucifer has the power to collapse everything back to the moment of creation but that's the best he can do on his own.

Essentially that is suicide.

He threatened it before, when he was trapped in a decaying shell, unwilling to allow himself to return to Gehenna. But now that he has a viable means of sustaining himself, and Satan has entered the picture, his plans haven't changed so much as they have shifted.

He still wants to end suffering but now he wants to remake the world, not destroy it, and to do so he needs Satan's power.

To Mephisto, destroy to create anew or destroy permanently, is all the same. Everything that makes him demon king of Space and Time, everything that makes him himself will cease to exist. He *has* to oppose Lucifer's plans, to do otherwise is to negate his own existence, which is something Mephisto is not capable of.

@yuri-egin-123 , thanks again!

Which is cool by me, otherwise this story would have been over before it began!