#but here we arw

[barnabybrainrot]

an update: i finished both wings (aside from the backstitching but that comes last)

69.5%, 83.5 hours

[scatterpatter]

Continuing my mech phase by honoring how 11 y/o me randomly brainrotted over one of the most minor character in the mega man franchise

[kurjakani]

Had to turn gale down properly bc i dont know whats flirting in this game and whats not and VOM idk how ppl do this irl thank god im ugly and weird i wouldbt have survived a winter

[sparklestheunicorn]

AHAHAAAAAAA THE LUCK. THE CHANCES. AAAAHHHHH

[walking-circles]

i need to get home i need to draw

[corknaut]

got a bad haircut yesterdayand my mom was gleefully talking on the phone today about how she and everyone else at her choir practice lied and reassured me a lot that it looked good andbcute when i came back from the salon. and the worst part is i fell for it. im a dog

[harryforvogue]

why is it that whenever i have an issue with a customer at work, they’re either muslim or south asian like homie we are on the same fucking team can you chill out

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

👀 :3

doodle i am holding your shoulders. i am staring directly into your eyes. run away now i am going to talk about danny phantom at you.

i have. ELEVEN. YEARS. worth of danny phantom headcanons built up in my brain. canon is nothing to me i have written and rewritten the show like 4 times over. but also i love canon so it gets to stay. im just improving upon it. i allow myself to be pretentious about ONE (1) piece of media ever and it is danny phantom . so im the only person in the world who is correct about this. ok. shaking you.

do u want to know the backstory of nearly every ghost . what they were like when they were alive/how they died and how it relates to their role in the afterlife. I GOT YOU. do you want a full rundown of dannys powers and how they work. I GOT YOU AGAIN. DO YOU WANT. an ESSAY on the MYTHOLOGY of the ghost zone. do you want me to talk about the way the ghost zone royalty system works. because my god. ive got you.

trips and falls and like a bazillion sticky notes and pictures and papers spill out of my coat and scatter in the wind. oops sorry that was just my in depth analysis on Danny's relationship with nearly every character in the show. teehee <3

NOT TO MENTION popular fanon aus that live in my brain forever and i have my own versions of. i love you ghost king danny. i love you ghost hunger. hey can we talk about ghost hunger? i think the fact that i discovered ghost hunger the same year fall out boy released the young volcanoes music video did something irreparable to my brain. did you know i also like hannibal. these facts are completely unrelated.

FUCK torture fics FUCK dissection fics. fuck anyone who says the fentons are not good parents. the fentons are EXTREMLY good parents and i WILL die on this hill. every time someone in the modern dp fandom writes about how horrible the fentons are i lose like 3 years off of my life. how can you be so wrong. they are not evil they are not horrible they would not dissect their own son . i will die on this hill. im in the fucking trenches out here. someone recently posted a fic series (series!!!!) of oneshots specifically about jack fenton discovering dannys secret by accident and also being a good father and i swear to you i almost started crying on the spot. i havent even read the fic yet.

hmmmmm. what else is there. theres so much. i could go on about danny phantom.for so many hours. i havent actually read a glitch in time yet its been burning a hole on my nightstand because i KNOW as soon as i finish it we are going to be in 24/7 danny phantom lockdown for like a month and i want to do that when i have energy to make art. now that i have my new laptop this time may be sooner than you think. beware!

[vanniadump]

umm got distracted and sucked back into kpop, teehee (please do not reupload or repost to any other site, thanks :) )

[g0dr0t]

for the record bc apparently i havwnt talked abt it on here enough i literally dont carw about “excl*sionist” discourse literally none od this matters in real life and i guarantee you the people who want what ecl*s consider “real” lgbtq+ people dead also want the “fake” ones dead. None of this matters go outside smoke a cigarette buy someone dinner go see a house show and stop dedicating all your mental energy to hating teenagers who are figuring themselves out on the goddamned internet

[dinsbeskar]

I NEED A THERAPIST TOO, I AM UNWELL

sorry I am actually feral for this, he is so unhinged, I need him

"sludge in a cave" absolutely sent me, like I'm currently editing my fic where he is all goo, and frankly nothing I have written compares to "sludge in a cave", you've won that 😂

He couldn't lie to you. Not truly. Not without regret. The lies he spoke to you were like needles coming from his throat and spilling from his tongue, gashing and cutting him before spilling past his lips. He could not lie to you.

Ooooof oh my god the great deceiver realising he can't lie to her, ohhhhhhhh i am in pain, it is too good???

He could never be sated.

Me neither!!! Christ I could read this forever

The feel of your skin would be an invisible tattoo etched into his hands until the stars rained from the skies.

Fucks sake this is just gorgeous, what a bloody beautiful metaphor, I couldn't come up anything to rival it if I sat like those hypothetical monkeys at the endless typewriters who spontaneously write Hamlet (weird metaphor but it is true!!)

One day, he would carve his name into your flesh, and he would lap at the blood that flowed from the wound.

Is that a threat or a promise???? Jesus I need to lie down

“That's it, that's my girl,” he mumbled softly, his fingers never ceasing. “C'mon sweet girl. Fuck, look at you. Look at that pretty fucking face.”

I feel like him calling me his girl might just cure me of all my ills, or make them 10 times worse, but uhhh we need it, there's something so endearing yet possessive about it that's perfect for his character

You were his. His alone. No one could have you. No one could dare. He'd burn the world to the ground and everyone with it. He'd drown the world in blood. No sin was too dark for him to commit, not if he ended back here. Deep inside you.

Holy mother of God, this is insane, unhinged, deranged, I love it so much, he needs to be stopped!!! Fuck!!!

Something about how you looked at him in that moment, he realized you owned him. He was yours. No one else's. No elf. No Maiar. There was only you. You were his religion, and this was his worship. He was yours. You owned him. He was ruined for anyone else. Perhaps you were not made for him, but he for you.

Okay????? Holy shit????? Oh god it's the "this was his worship" for me, I am broken, I need to touch grass

And I have such a soft spot for him wanting to be called Mairon, christ I need it to happen?? The angst when she finds out he's Sauron though, oh goddd

Flawless, 10/10, absolutely filthy, as we knew it would be

And Comes Dawn pt 10.2

Pairing: Sauron/Halbrand x Reader

Words: 2.6k

Summary: The wall breaks.

Tags: manipulation, mentions of blood, smut, cream pie, fingering, sauron needs a therapist he is unwell, wall sex, obsession, sauron pov,

Notes: you sluts convinced me. I'm very proud of this one, especially the first part. As always I love your feedback.

He splashed the water over his face, mind reeling back to hours earlier. He hoped his ruse with the blacksmith worked. Yes, he wanted a job and a fresh start. At least part of him did, the part that didn't seek to take over the world and force every race under the sun to their knees. But he also knew where you'd be. Of course he did. He could sense you anywhere. You'd never be able to hide from him. The sight of you with the boy made his blood boil, but it all served a purpose. To make you doubt. To make you think. To convince you, he felt nothing real for the elf. Nothing like he felt for you.

That wasn't a deception. He didn't feel the same for her that he felt for you. She was a powerful ally and the best pawn he could have at his disposal. She intrigued him, but in a different way than you did. She had such darkness in her, but she didn't acknowledge it. She was beautiful, of course. But you were different in ways that he dare not think too much of. The wall he has built in his mind was too strong to allow his mind to wander to what his feelings for you meant, where the deception ended, and his truth began.

The knock drew him from his thoughts, and he made quick work of dressing himself. He couldn't help but smirk. It was you, of course it was, and it meant that his plan had worked. In a moment, his face changed as he opened the door.

“When did you get back?”

The sound of your voice started a chorus inside his soul. The miniscule part of him that could feel love and affection and joy and hope came alive. Morgoth convinced him it was the weak part of him. Morgoth had worked endlessly to destroy that. Sauron could almost believe it was gone until he looked into your eyes, and it ravaged him, shaking his being and willpower and fighting against everything he knew and believed.

“Early this morning, before sunrise.” He spoke softly. Your silence was thick in the air. Perhaps he needed to do more.

“Sweet one, I am sorry for what happened before. I ..-”

“Do you love me?”

What?

No.

He didn't.

He couldn't.

He wasn't capable of it.

Inside his mind, the carefully constructed wall began to crack.

Do you love me?

The words rang in his ears, getting louder and louder until it was all he could think. His mind could not break free. There was no manipulating or deceiving his way out of this. His consciousness would no longer let him deny it.

He couldn't lie to you. Not truly. Not without regret. The lies he spoke to you were like needles coming from his throat and spilling from his tongue, gashing and cutting him before spilling past his lips. He could not lie to you.

Why?

He could not look you in the eyes and think of bringing you harm. He had tried. How many times on that raft had he thought of drowning you in the sea. Or stabbing you. He could imagine his body acting the movements. He could see it in his mind's eyes, but he could never do it. He could never harm you. He couldn't even make something else bring you harm.

Why?

You made him think of home. Of song and light and love. Of a time before time when everything was peaceful and quiet. Your touch brought him a warmth he had not felt in time unimaginable.

Why?

Why did he have to protect you? Why did he seek you out every moment of every day? Why did 3 days apart from you feel longer than the thousands of years he spent as sludge in a cave?

Why did you make him wonder? Wonder about the future, about his morality, about his redemption. About the mystery of if Maia and mortals could ever have children. Why did you make him think of a family?

Why was your mere presence so utterly groundbreaking to who he had become that it felt like an apocalypse had come over his very soul?

“Halbrand, do you love me?”

Your voice tore him from these thoughts, and looking at you, he knew. He knew.

And in that knowing he feared. He feared what he could do to you. He feared what others could do to you. He feared his old master long dead.

He feared because it was true.

He feared because he loved you, and he could no longer keep it hidden from himself.

“I do.”

He was not prepared for when you sprung on him, and he couldn't gather the willpower to hesitate. He had felt lust before, for others of his kind and for a select few elves, but what he felt for you transcended the physical. You tasted sweet, of course you did, and he couldn't help the groan that rumbled in his throat. His fingers dug into the plump flesh of your cheeks as if afraid you'd move away.

He had longed for this moment, it seemed for an eternity, but he knew that was not the case. He broke the kiss, holding your chin in his grasp as he kept your face away from him. He could not just take you. He had to know if you wanted him too. He craved it. And if you didn't want him, he would wait until you did.

“Sweet one,” his voice was deep and rough, looking down at you. You looked so pure and so innocent. “Tell me this is what you want.”

“I want this. I want you.”

You spoke with no hesitation. There was not even a moment. What he thought about in the quiet of the night with his cock grasped in his hand, the lewd sounds he'd only imagined you making, it was all about to become a reality.

“Fuck,” he groaned and made quick work of pulling you into his room. He pushed you against the door, knee between your legs and lips bruising yours. He could feel your arousal on the cloth of his pants, his tongue slipping inside of your mouth. You tasted so sweet. So pure. So good. He could never be sated.

Your skin felt soft in his hands. He squeezed and kneaded all of you. Your stomach. Your thighs. Your ass. Your breasts. The feel of your skin would be an invisible tattoo etched into his hands until the stars rained from the skies.

It was him who whined when you pulled away. He was desperate for more. His forehead rested against yours as he watched you. Your lips swollen and red, he could taste your spit on his tongue, and he needed more of you.

But only if you wanted him too. Only if you needed him to. The devastation of his love for you had been immense. He could not imagine the havoc your rejection would cause. One hand gently rested at the base of your neck to direct your eyes to him, his thumb softly caressing your skin.

“Tell me to stop, sweet one, and I will.”

You looked up at him, and his breath caught in his throat. How could anyone compare to you?

“I am yours.”

Oh, sweet one.

You did not know what you spoke. You did not know who you were saying this. He had selfishly claimed you, but in this moment, he felt almost broken because you did not deserve him.

“Do not say words when you do not know the weight of them, sweet one.”

“I am yours.” And suddenly you were leading his hand under your dress and to your soaked underwear. He had to grit his teeth to stop his eyes from rolling back. He doesn't dream, but he had dreamed of this. It was slick and wet and hot. And you smiled at him.

Fuck.

He did not care about his deception in this moment. He would fill you with his corruption, his darkness until it flowed from you like a fountain. Until it dripped in pools at your feet.

He moved his fingers against your clit, softly and slowly, “Has anyone touched you like this?” His voice was thick with desire.

You shook your head, but that was not good enough for him. He gently squeezed your throat, and he felt the blood that surged under his touch. One day, he would carve his name into your flesh, and he would lap at the blood that flowed from the wound.

“Use your words,” he mumbled softly.

“No, only you.”

Only him.

He slid his finger inside of you, relishing the sound it made. The wetness and slick on his fingers made him want to taste you, but he couldn't, not tonight. He knew he would spend forever in between your thighs, and he did not have the time for that.

“Fuck, do you hear that?” His finger moved faster, the wet sound of your arousal filling the room. “My sweet one,” he cooed, “fucking soaked at the thought of my cock, huh?”

He breathed heavily, his cock was achingly hard. He was addicted to the feel of your cunt and the sounds it made as he fucked it. The way you backed against his palm, the blissed out look in your eyes, he watched it all intently. He added a second finger and as your lips parted, he hungrily tasted your mouth once more. It was sloppy and wet, his teeth tugging at your lips. He couldn't get enough. Grunts and groans and growls ripped through him as he fucked you with his fingers harder and deeper. His lips trailed to your neck, licking your salty skin and sucking until your skin turned red.

You belonged to him.

You whimpered and gasped, and he needed more of it. He gently rubbed your peaked nipple and that was enough. You were a squirming mess as you came, soaking his hand.

“That's it, that's my girl,” he mumbled softly, his fingers never ceasing. “C'mon sweet girl. Fuck, look at you. Look at that pretty fucking face.”

He watched you intently as your body relaxed and your head hit the door. “That was incredible,” your voice was soft and spent.

He chuckled, his thumb coaxing you to look at him. “Pretty girl, look at me.” You did as he told you, his hands cupping your face. You were so pretty. So beautiful. Especially now, exhausted from how hard you came.

“That's my girl,” he squeezed your cheeks in his hand. “My pretty fucking girl. I need you to look at me, okay, and I need you to be honest. There is nothing more I want right now than your cunt squeezing around my cock but I need to know you want that too.”

“Yes, Halbrand, please.”

And that was all it took.

It was a blur as he moved clothes to the side but the moment his cock slid inside you, any moral dilemma or internal conflict disappeared. Only you mattered. Only how perfect your cunt wrapped around him was important. He held your face so he could watch how you reacted to him and he could tell from your lidded eyes and flush face you felt it all too.

"Fuck,” his breath hitched.“Fuck. Does my cock feel good, sweet one?”

You nodded, but again, that wasn't enough. He needed to hear your voice say it, “No, no, no. Use your words. Let me hear it.”

“Your cock feels good,” you breathed out.

Hearing you say that made his cock twitch inside of you. “Such foul words from such a pretty mouth.” His thumb traced your bottom lip. “I'm going to move now.”

You nodded before catching yourself, “please.”

One day, he'd have to make you beg for him.

He looked down to where your bodies connected and moved, watching his cock fuck your cunt for a moment before his attention turned to you. Your eyes rolled back and lips parted like a cock drunk slut already. His cock drunk slut. The slick sounds filling the room pulled his attention back to where you two met. The way you stretched around him was intoxicating to watch.

“You're taking my cock so well, sweet one.” He kept moving, pressing a kiss to your shoulder.

Your hips moved to match his thrusts and the fingernails in his skin. You had broken so easily. Given into him so easily. He knew he could take you wherever, knew by the look on your face that you'd be his to fuck whenever he pleased.

“You're mine,” he whispered. “This my fucking cunt, isn't it?”

“My cunt is yours,” you whined.

Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.

He thrusted deep and hard, watching your face. You were his. His alone. No one could have you. No one could dare. He'd burn the world to the ground and everyone with it. He'd drown the world in blood. No sin was too dark for him to commit, not if he ended back here. Deep inside you.

Your eyes fluttered closed, and he couldn't have that. He roughly squeezed your cheeks until your eyes opened.

“Eyes on me. Focus on the feeling. I want to see how good I make you feel. Look at those pretty eyes. Those. Pretty. Fucking. Eyes.” He gasped, his grip on your face tight. You whimpered and arched into him.

Something about how you looked at him in that moment, he realized you owned him. He was yours. No one else's. No elf. No Maiar. There was only you. You were his religion, and this was his worship. He was yours. You owned him. He was ruined for anyone else. Perhaps you were not made for him, but he for you.

“You feel that cock, huh? It's yours, only yours. This is your cock, sweet one. I am yours.”

He could tell you were close, and he was too. How he wished it was his true name falling from your lips. He fucked into you harder and harder.

“Tell me you love me,” he whispered, “tell me you love me, and I will come undone.”

He needed it. He needed the release. He was desperate.

“I love you.”

It was music to his ears. Moments later, when your cunt clenched around him and cries ripped through your body, he was soon to follow. His head buried in your neck as his warmth coated you. Your name passed through his lips. He would never be sated. He would always need this.

And later that night, long after you fell asleep, as he caressed your face, he knew he could never go back across the sea. He would stay here with you and prove his redemption to the valar. That he would start a family with you. That he would make you happy. The only thing that mattered more was keeping you safe.

Nothing mattered more than that.

[dunmeshi-darlings]

I know the race bios say ages of maturity but is that actually when they arw adults or is that just when they can do things on there own?

that is a valid question, and one im happy to answer. MAJOR DUNGEON MESHI SPOILERS AHEAD! PLEASE DO NOT LOOK IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS Lets use half-foots for example

Here we see that the half foot age of maturity is 14 years old, Now like you said this could just be when they can start being responsible like adults. However i am going to point towards this scene in the daydream hour which takes place after the end of the manga

Here we see Chilchucks daughters wanting to preparefor the dinner party marcille invites them too once laios has become king. Here his daughter Flertom says "but won't it embarass you, dad? To have Three adult daughters who are unmarried?"

She specifically uses the word adult when referencing her and her sisters. The sisters ages are as follow from left to right

Puckpatti is the youngest at 14 Flertom is the middle child at 16 And finally meijack who is also 16, however she must be older than flertom as she is refered to as "big sis". Even at there youngest we see puckpatti, who is 14, is called an adult. Because thats what the age of maturity is in the bios, this is when they are considered adults for there race. If a half foot at 14 is an adult who can pursue romantic and sexual relationships (unless your chilchuck in which case its 13), than it stands to reason the same goes for all the races? We also see them planning to try and romance laios, showing that they are able and willing to pursue romantic and sexual relationship with other races (specifically laios who is 26 and possibly older at this time) . Because they are adults, at 14 half foots are fully grown adults. Just like how at 14 Orcs are fully grown adults for their race. its sad seeing people attack each other because they cant understand that because a character is 14 doesnt mean they are a child, because in the story that is fully grown adult for their kind. But people just arnt realizing it, its why i answer asks like these and make posts like these because people dont seem to understand that there ages arnt the same as us because they arnt humans in the real world. Ive also seen People argue that the tallmen are humans so their aging goes the same way as ours in the real world, and while i do understand that mindset it just isnt right. If we look in the average lifespan slot of the races we see (human, and either short-lived race or long-lived race)

Because human is a classification of the races that arnt demihuman, even the ogre's fall under the "human" umbrella. If the tallmen race was meant to represent humans like me and you, they would just be called humans. Its not like kui wouldnt call them humans if they are the same as you and me. Also if tallmen are just humans than the other non demihuman races wouldnt be in the "human" category with how large the differences are.

So yes, Age of maturity in dungeon meshi is when an individual of the race is considered a full grown adult and no, tallmen arnt just "human but fantasy", they are distinct and different than a regular human.

[calmariah]

Using Canto VII to Predict Dante's Identity (Continued)

I love a good sequel.

This post is the second half of a whole! Please view the first half of my theory here!

Even before the release of Part 3, my mind has been racing with evidence and possibilities I didn't list in my first post on this topic.

I'm excited to say that Part 3 has not deconfirmed any part of my theory-- and in fact has only strengthened it!

Hark, for my resolve is truer than any theorist before me! Adventure with me, if thou darest...

(Full story spoilers for Canto VII Part 3 below the cut.)

(EXTREMELY long post ahead.)

(You have been warned.)

SECTION 0: HERE WE GO AGAIN

The following post will assume you have both read my original theory and have played or otherwise experienced Canto VII's story content to its completion. If you haven't, you will be lost-- and worse, horrifically spoiled!

The Dream Ending is a brilliant canto that deserves your undivided, unspoiled attention.

That said, we're actually going to put Part 3 out of mind for a moment.

There's some aspects of the previous post I'd like to expand on first, as there are things I missed within Part 1 and 2 itself.

It's good to establish a solid base of information before we dive into the tasty new stuff Part 3 has shown us. If you need to refresh yourself on my thoughts regarding Part 1 and 2, this would be a good time to do so.

SECTION 1: WHAT DID I MISS?

You're finally awake! That Neutral clash looked pretty rough.

Huh?

Sancho boss fight? Binah Sapling of Light ability!? What are you talking about?

It's the 17th of October! Come on, Part 2 just released. Let's go fight Dulcinea!

SECTION 1.1: PRONOUNS

In my original post, I stated-- with no small amount of unearned authority-- that Bari was only ever referred to with they/them pronouns. This was incorrect, as I edited my post to add later.

At the time, it was fairly easy to miss... The 7-35 cutscene changed in the October 24th update. Before then, the only mention of Bari's gender in 7-35 was in this brief bit of dialogue by Sancho.

SANCHO: Will she be coming today? Again?

SANCHO: It is high time you put an end to this rivalry, isn't it? Or, hm. I fear that time is already long past.

...I must've replayed that cutscene no less than eight times while writing that post. I cannot BELIEVE this slipped through the cracks.

Well! I hope that doesn't strain my credulity going forward too much.

I do not believe this disproves that Bari could be Dante, though it does kneecap what I perceived as a shared trait of obscured gender identity.

Onwards and out, though.

Here's some things I simply didn't think to mention.

SECTION 1.2: RED, WHITE, BLACK, PALE

This is a weak bit of 'evidence,' but something I felt the need to point out regardless.

My assertion that Bari was seeking the river of human consciousness was pretty much just conjecture when I made my previous post. There admittedly wasn't very much linking her to the Seed of Light project that I could see.

For your consideration, though...

In Part 2's paper fight, we've given the opportunity to observe Bari's fighting style and capabilities though in a stylized medium.

We can see many of her Skills and their names, such as Dragon of the Spring, Lotus in Autumn, and Faint Trace.

What really interests me however, are these two.

Red Arwe and Blak Arwe.

The only place we have ever seen Red and Black damage in use are in Lobotomy Corporation.

Note I don't say the game, though. Black damage has appeared in Limbus Company, through the Fourth Walpurgisnacht's combat event. Let me show you.

The Violet Ordeal foes encountered past Mephistopheles' Backdoor also use Envy skills that inflict Mental Fracture.

During this event, the Sinners are somehow someway inside of Lobotomy Corporation HQ. So, it counts.

In Lobotomy Corporation-- the game this time-- Violet Ordeal related entities were one of many sources of Black damage, and it was in fact the only damage type Violet Dawn entities were capable of directly inflicting.

It's safe to say, yes, Blak Arwe is supposed to remind us of Black damage. Thus, Red Arwe is also Red damage.

According to Faust in this same Walpurgisnacht event, Red White Black and Pale damage are terms invented by Lobotomy Corporation itself.

Bari's skills including the terminology is, forgive the term, an abnormality.

I'm not necessarily suggesting that... her bow is somehow extracted E.G.O equipment, or something. It looks more like a fancy workshop weapon. I truthfully don't know how or why she can deal Red and Black damage, but it constructs a solid thematic link between Bari and the Seed of Light project-- and thus the river of human consciousness.

I just felt that particular assertion needed a bit more solid evidence.

Red, White, Black and Pale damage were actually intended to be in Library of Ruina, but this was scrapped. Presumably, guests from outside the Library would also be able to inflict RWBP damage, thus nullifying it as a concept solely associated with Lobotomy Corporation.

...But, you know. It was scrapped, so I don't need to care?

SECTION 1.3: LIBRARY OF RUINA BETA IMAGES

Hey, speaking of things that got scrapped from Library of Ruina! Didn't I just say cut content wasn't going to be considered?

I did, to be fair. But this is more of a meta comment on Bari's role in the Project Moon universe.

I'm not very comfortable showing too many images from the Library of Ruina artbook, because it is a paid product-- and a very good one at that.

The thought of maybe being right on the internet is about to override my moral code for a moment though, so check it out.

Originally, Library of Ruina was going to have a much different combat system. It involved little paper doll looking characters running at each other simultaneously to clash blades.

In motion, it might've looked quite similar to Limbus Company's unfocused encounters, actually.

The artstyle was a lot more simple back in the day, too. Check out these early combat sprites.

We have Myo and Kali, two important characters who were in Lobotomy Corporation. Makes perfect sense their sprites would get made first.

But bizarrely, we also have Bari.

(And... Esther from the Index for some reason? Don't worry about him)

Bari's final presence in Library of Ruina is fairly miniscule. She only appears for a brief cutscene during the optional Librarian of Death ending. And yet, Project Moon had plans for her so far in advance that, seemingly, her sprites for this battle system were made before ROLAND'S.

In other early screenshots, we can see that her sprite saw use as a placeholder asset for certain UI elements. I can't read Korean, so I don't know what this menu is saying, but I imagine she might've been a default Assistant Librarian.

Not an honour to be taken lightly, I assure you. The original dummy sprite, predating even the legendary Zwei fixer herself...

(And you'll get that joke if you buy the artbook!)

I'm not suggesting that there's some kind of deeplore with Bari and the Library by the way. I mean, beyond the existing deeplore with Bari and the Library. I'm not THAT far off the deep end this early into the post.

What I am suggesting is that Bari has heavy significance to the developers. The kind of significance the protagonist of their third game might share. I just don't think it's 'punching above her weight' so to speak to say she could be Dante.

Or, you know, perhaps plans changed. But no matter what, Bari was asserted as a very important character in this canto. It's good to track her development history when considering theories like this.

SECTION 1.4: SOMETHING OF A BIGWIG

We've talked about Lobotomy Corporation and Library of Ruina so far. I GUESS we can talk about Limbus Company now. If you twist my arm.

We know very little about Dante's pre-clock life, but not nothing.

During 0-2, Introductions, Rodion says this after introducing herself to Dante.

RODION: I think there's a... well, good reason you became our manager.

RODION: I'm sure. You used to be a big deal back in the Nest, right? When your old habits start coming back, we'll be that much closer to rolling in the dough...

During 3-7, Siegfried, Vergilius says this while Siegfried is massacring the Sinners.

VERGILIUS: About time they learned what happens if they kick up a ruckus in a Nest thinking they can get away with it.

VERGILIUS: ...Dante, you may not remember it at the moment, but at one point you used to be something of a bigwig... so to speak.

DANTE: I... I was?

DANTE (NARRATION): I just couldn't picture it.

To be honest, it's difficult to imagine Bari being some kind of money-making high roller. She seems like a more self-effacing person than that.

But then, the Sinners don't know a lot about Dante's past either. It's possible Rodion heard that her new manager used to be a high grade Fixer in some nebulous Nest and got her hopes up.

Bari seemed to have incredibly impressive equipment, so she would've needed money to procure and maintain it somehow. If a requirement for being a Dante candidate is "being rich" I think Bari clears the bar.

I'm not yet comfortable saying she could've been a Colour, but from what we've seen she certainly could've been a Grade 2 or 1 Fixer. That's bigwig material.

SECTION 1.5: FAMILY

If you asked me to identify a singular theme that unites the Sinners, I would tell you one word.

Family.

Almost all of them have family related troubles in their past.

Don Quixote's familial strife with the Bloodfiends of La Manchaland.

Ryōshū's constant grumbling whenever someone so much as says the word family in earshot.

Meursault's mother, who according to his character promo he murdered.

Hong Lu, just like, as a concept.

Heathcliff, abandoned by his birth parents and hated by his adoptive family in Wuthering Heights.

Sinclair, whose family was butchered by Kromer.

Outis, presumably trying to get home to a Penelope and/or Telemachus left behind.

And Gregor's mother is the closest thing we currently have to a primary antagonist.

The only four Sinners who I cannot find this theme of family within are Yi Sang, Faust, Ishmael, and Rodion.

But even three of those I can explain readily enough.

Yi Sang's League of Nine was much like a family. As was Sonya's Yurodiviye and Ahab's Pequod crew, dysfunctional as they all ended up being.

Every Sinner has some kind of unit-- usually familial, but not always-- that they were either violently removed from, or left intentionally.

...Faust remains the exception, but then, that is much like her. Even then, her literary counterpart's strife with Gretchen's brother and the death of Faust and Gretchen's child may qualify her in the future.

I don't see why it would stop at just twelve of the thirteen Sinners. I assert that, to continue this theme, familial issues are required in a pre-amnesia Dante candidate.

Lucky for me, Bari fits that mould perfectly.

Nothing in Canto 7 outwardly suggests that Bari has any strife with her family, but her mythological counterpart absolutely does.

Princess Bari's exile from her family and her commitment to saving them regardless is the crux of her story. Her abandonment is so important to her character that she's named for it. Bari-degi. Abandoned child.

As of recently, the Sinners of LCB have felt a lot more comfortable travelling alongside each other.

When entering the Haunted: Bloody Mary attraction in La Manchaland, they make the family comparison for me.

SINCLAIR: It's been so long since I visited one of these haunted mansions...

SINCLAIR: The last time I was at a place like this, I thought when the next time came I'd be here with my family again. Not... all on my own like this.

RODION: All on your own? C'mon, kiddo. You're here with your coworkers~

HEATHCLIFF: Ahm. Coworkers who are... kinda like family, innit?

RYŌSHŪ: ...

Even Vergilius is starting to feel the love.

And speaking of Vergilius, he and Charon also have a busload of familial problems to contribute to the theme.

Anyone who's read Leviathan knows about the Tomerry incident. Lapis was a child in the care of Vergilius' old orphanage.

I can't prove logically why Bari would be Dante.

But I think what I can do is suggest that Bari being Dante would be narratively and emotionally fulfilling. And this is one of the ways it would be. It would continue the theme of lost family on Mephistopheles, which makes the growing found family among them all the sweeter.

SECTION 2: OCTOBER 24TH

Oh hey, Part 3 just released. From now on, we're knee-deep in spoiler territory. Last call.

So, my absolute most primeval fear going into Part 3 was that Bari was going to physically appear in person. Because if anything was going to obliterate my theory in one fell blow, it would be her having a conversation with Dante.

Good news for me, though. Bari only appeared in flashbacks, and never in the present moment.

But it honestly, truly begs the question, why NOT? Part 3 has only hammered down harder how much Bari has written herself into Sancho's soul. (Just look at her attack animations, seriously.)

The scene after Sancho's boss fight where we find out Sancho post-Lethe has been unknowingly swapping letters with Bari proves that their bond was mutual.

So, why is it that when La Manchaland screams open in P Corp, Bari doesn't investigate at all?

(And, no, this isn't her. Bari is not mentioned to be physically present after this. This is just a vision of Bari made through Sancho, since Dante and co. just proved a second ago that they're able to manipulate Quixote's Fathoms of Ego.)

Bari is alive. Bari didn't show up for La Manchaland. Even if you don't think she's Dante, that's weird! She must be somehow predisposed or unaware that La Manchaland had opened.

And if you don't think she's Dante, I'm glad that you're still entertaining my thoughts. Come with me just a little further. Now that we're in Part 3, we're going to address one last glaring omission from my first post.

SECTION 3: TEAM DEMIAN

"I'll now wait for the sun to set into the gloaming before nightfall."

We're dealing with a character clad completely in blue with mysterious sparkly blue powers.

...It's a miracle this is the first time I've mentioned Demian's name.

Indeed, even in Parts 1 and 2 there was evidence that Demian and Bari had some kind of association.

Sansón's dialogue icon has this bisexual gradient background that thus far had only been used for Demian and Rim.

Combine that with his blue colour scheme, immense power and general freakery, and yeah we're dealing with a member of Demian's weird little tea party.

Thus forth, I'll be referring to Demian's group as "Team Demian."

Sansón says this when giving Sinclair Bari's role in his stageplay.

SANSÓN: Well, then. We have another actor present here to play this character. A little green, a little incomplete, but still with the sign of great potential.

SANSÓN: I give this role of the Knight of the White Moon to you.

SINCLAIR: ...?

SINCLAIR: M-me?

DANTE (NARRATION): Sinclair held his forehead for a moment, then looked at his changed appearance in confusion.

Suggesting that the Sign made Sinclair a good fit for the Knight of the White Moon's role strongly implies that it was an attribute they shared.

That Sansón knew this-- and otherwise knew Bari well enough to write her into his stageplay-- indicates a connection between Bari and Sansón, and thus Bari and Team Demian.

Regarding Bari and the Sign...

(I had to fight Sancho five separate times in the making of this post. Project Moon, PLEASE make mid-battle cutscenes viewable in the Theater.)

Part 3 confirmed she had it.

It's my understanding that to see the Sign on others, you need to be a bearer of it yourself.

That Dante has seen Sinclair's Sign now and in the past, as well as Demian's, it means that they themself must be a Signbearer.

This is nothing new. But combined with the confirmation that Bari too was a Signbearer, it's yet another attribute they share.

In 2-19...

SONYA: Rodya, this will probably elude you, but you don't have the mark.

SONYA: I came here hoping you'd possess it, but I'm seeing it on some of your friends instead.

Being a Signbearer is apparently common enough that Sinners other than Sinclair and Dante also have it (assuming Sonya's definition of 'some' is more than two), but it's absolutely something to consider.

I had originally assumed that Demian appearing before Dante so often was solely because they both had the Sign. But then, why single out Dante?

There are other Sinners in LCB who have the Sign. But Demian has taken such a firm interest in Dante specifically.

In the Canto IV post-credits scene...

DEMIAN: Countless stars are in the sky. But they aren't all the same. If someone else saw them, they might have been nothing more than dim lumps of light.

DEMIAN: But someone who found the twinkle staggeringly charming took one of the stars...

DEMIAN: And hung it on a high enough place for everyone to see, expelling the dark.

DEMIAN: All the people would rejoice.

DEMIAN: Now, here's a question.

DEMIAN: What will become of me who has been robbed by me, and the star that's now forced to illuminate the dark forevermore?

DANTE: I...

DEMIAN: The mirror your friends use isn't any different. That is such a cruel piece of technology.

DEMIAN: Take your time with the answer. Just draw me a sheep later.

DEMIAN: You may not remember it right now... but you promised to.

Overall, it's actually extremely possible that Bari used to be a member of Team Demian.

She has the Sign, Sansón knew her, she's dressed in all blue, and she has some kind of mysterious blue gate power.

I would be shocked if she didn't have at least something to do with Demian. It might explain why Demian can understand what Dante says, if they have a past like this.

I'll admit upfront that she doesn't have the bisexual gradient background, though. Maybe in all the instances we see her talk, she hadn't yet joined Team Demian?

Or maybe the background just isn't as important as I've been thinking it is.

That kind of flippant speculation is going to serve us well going forward!! Because it's time for...

SECTION 4: THE LIGHTNING ROUND

What!? We've barely gotten started!

Don't worry, and don't go anywhere! The lightning round is NOT the end this time!

I've saving my juiciest evidence for last! For now, let's take a quick jog around the minor stuff Part 3 has yielded us!

It's my hope that these little pieces of evidence, while alone uncompelling, will paint a strong picture of the ties between Dante and Bari yada yada I've said this before let's go play Canto VI!

SECTION 4.1: FLOWERS

That's not a typo, I did mean VI. In the post-credits scene of Canto VI, Demian appears yet again. Because we're not done with that little weirdo.

(I'm not including this in the Demian section above because the purpose of that was to establish a logical connection between Dante, Bari and Demian. The lightning round's about tiny little themes!)

DEMIAN: Do you like flowers too, Dante?

DANTE: Um...

DANTE: I think I've come to like them.

DEMIAN: Imagine that there was a single rose you've cared for a long time.

DEMIAN: Your room was always brimming from the sweet aroma of that flower.

DEMIAN: But one day, you leave the rose behind to go on a long, long journey.

DEMIAN: In your journey, you come across a large garden... and there, you see thousands of the very same rose you once you [sic] cared for. That sight... brings you to tears, and you drop to your knees.

DEMIAN: ...Why do you suppose that is?

DANTE: ......

DANTE (NARRATION): Demian... he's appeared before me in the past. He would always leave me with these cryptic riddles.

DANTE (NARRATION): But I'm starting to understand what his riddles are supposed to represent.

DANTE: Because I've finally come to understand.

DANTE: That the one I truly loved was the rose I'd left behind.

DEMIAN: Correct.

Demian's cryptic icebreaker about Dante going on a journey that ends in finding a garden full of flowers reminds me of Bari quite a lot.

He isn't talking about Bari's journey specifically-- much more likely this, like the stars before, refers to an individual and all of their Mirror World Identities.

Still, Bari is a self-described flower hunter. I feel it'd be reckless to not at least note this down. That's what the lightning round is for!

SECTION 4.2 JIA XICHUN WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN PLEASE COME BACK AND EXPLAIN

Honestly just read this exactly as it happened

OUTIS: Don Quixote... Executive Manager... Amnesia has certainly made things difficult for many of us, hasn't it?

HONG LU: There are so many ways to erase people's memories in the City, after all.

JIA XICHUN: ...Yeah. There are plenty of ways to remove people's memories, and that's just counting what's public.

JIA XICHUN: The most common method is moving someone's memory into a different object, or a person. Some parts of the City even sell them as local products.

JIA XICHUN: Another is to completely destroy the memories. It's cheap, but because it comes with the risk of affecting other memories, only desperate Backstreets dwellers use this method.

JIA XICHUN: And... now we know the final method, which has so far been unknown, and remains inaccessible even now.

JIA XICHUN: The River of Oblivion... also known as Lethe.

JIA XICHUN: Drinking the waters of this River allows one to bury their memories beyond the veil of their consciousness, to the point where they become uncertain, hazy and dim like the memories of a dream.

HONG LU: So that's what you've been looking for... Xichun.

JIA XICHUN: Not exactly. It's a different stream, somewhere near the River of Oblivion.

JIA XICHUN: I suspect that the River I'm searching for has something to do with the immortality of the mind that our elders have been seeking so desperately.

HONG LU: Ah. To be free from aging and death, right?

(If you've been wondering why I'm speaking of a 200+ year old woman as though she could be alive today, there's your answer.)

JIA XICHUN: Yeah, that old, tiresome thing.

DANTE (NARRATION): Maybe... that's how my memories were removed.

DANTE (NARRATION): I don't even have a dreamy recollection of my memories; it's like they were uprooted straight from my head.

DANTE (NARRATION): So it's either been transferred to a different person or object...

DANTE (NARRATION): ...or it's been totally destroyed, forever unsalvageable.

DANTE (NARRATION): Still, I have no clue as to who, how or why anyone would do such a thing.

JIA XICHUN: ......

DANTE (NARRATION): Jia Xichun briefly glanced at me as my clock ticked on before turning her attention back to Hong Lu.

JIA XICHUN: That's why these scant traces of this 'Bari' are so important to me.

JIA XICHUN: I can't tell you in any greater detail, but I see them. I can see her ancient traces here.

,

HUH

Jia Xichun what does that MEAN. She goes on a long monologue about how extremely possible it is to erase someone's memories, takes a sideways glance at the Most Important Amnesiac and says "I can see the ancient traces of Bari here."

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

WHAT DO YOU KNOW

DO YOU ALSO THINK DANTE IS BARI???

DO YOU ALSO HAVE A TWO PART EXTREMELY LONG TUMBLR POST???

PLEASE COME BACK HERE

I NEED TO KNOW

DO NOT LEAVE ME IN THIS VOID

WHERE I CANNOT FIND YOU

SECTION 4.3: JUST KIND OF THE WAY THEY ARE THEMSELVES

Pwfaaah. Sorry, that was unprofessional.

Let's pull ourselves together here. I'm getting slightly lost in the theory sauce.

I need to fall back on something objective before I further lose my mind. This update gave us a talk sprite for Bari finally, so obviously the very first thing I did was put it next to Dante's.

(Thank you Lunartique07 for the ripped assets! The Project Moon Google Drive has been an incredible boon.)

Plus some other Sinners for scale.

I chose Yi Sang and Heathcliff because they actually both just so happen to be standing in the exact same pose as Dante and Bari respectively.

Don Quixote isn't very helpful in that regard, but she heard some of the other Sinners were taking a group photo and really really wanted to be included.

Please understand.

The very tip of everyone's closest shoe is touching the green pixel at the exact same point, so this is even as I can get them.

I'm sure you've noticed that Bari and Dante don't appear to be the same height, but please consider the difference in posing. Dante and Yi Sang's shoes are mostly level, while Bari and Heathcliff both have their right foot a decent bit above their left.

They're at an angle, like so. Very slightly standing on the air.

This is going to skew perspective a little.

Even with that in mind however, Bari and Dante are extremely similar in both height and width. Bari is wearing a much thicker coat than Dante is. I'm willing to bet that if they both took their coats off, they would have pretty identical frames.

Thankfully, technology hasn't advanced far enough for us to see for ourselves.

The fact that there's a discrepancy in height at all means this little factoid got lightning round'ed. I can't really in good conscious consider this hard and fast evidence. Pretty Cool Though!

SECTION 4.5: MOST UNFAIR

I'm sure you remember this scene from the very beginning of Canto VII.

[Complete darkness. Yellow text appears in the middle of the void.]

The night approacheth with great haste;

Yet thou shalt hew open a path, cleaving the shadows in twain,

With the blessings and approval of they family of which there is no equal,

Challenge and vanquish all things perilous,

And at last--reach true happiness;

Thus how indubitable,

The magnificence with which mine ingenious adventures of to-day shall shine.

Which is... our adventure, as well.

You remember the words, right? A Fixer must maintain a head clear of corruption, speech free of deceit, and conduct guided by clemency.

Show courage in adventure, and bear pain in suffering.

And pray, forget not the mercy for the downtrodden...

...and last but not least...

...Pursue your dream, even if it means wagering your life in the chase.

Should you ever fail to stand by even one of these tenets...

I'll smack you guys upside the head myself.

Steel yourself and always, always keesp moving forward.

Is that not...

...a threat most unfair?

[We fade back into the P Corp WARP train platform. Present moment.]

DON QUIXOTE: Manager Esquire... how unfair of thee...!

DANTE: ......

DON QUIXOTE: Most unfair, I say...!!!

DANTE: What is it this time...?

Something I need to note is that the white text above is delivered through the narration box in a manner identical to Dante's internal monologue.

This is far from the only time this happens in the game. Even later this canto, Sancho borrows Dante's narration box for a while. Just keep that in mind, still.

In a lovely bit of circular narrative storytelling, during the Don Quixote boss fight, we see this cutscene again.

Only this time, we can see who is talking.

The scene plays out like before. We see that the yellow voice was Don Quixote, and the white voice in the narration box was Bari all along.

It's not exactly the same scene, but it's undeniably Bari both times. It's the same voice actor.

So what would this suggest, I ask you?

When Bari, in the style of Dante's inner monologue, says she'll 'smack you guys upside the head'?

When Don Quixote says that's a threat most unfair?

And when we fade back in, Don Quixote is telling Dante that they've been most unfair?

...This proves nothing. Listen, I want to make one thing crystal clear.

I'm not stupid. I know that this is an incredibly simple narrative convention. It does NOT prove that Dante is Bari.

Just because the two scenes spliced together-- just because Bari was called unfair one moment and Dante the next, it doesn't mean ANYTHING.

Because it could just be a fun little moment of storytelling. One character being called unfair in one scene and another in the next does not necessarily mean they're the same person.

But the fact that it is Bari and Dante feels intentional, doesn't it?

When put next to every other bit of evidence we have so far, are you able to say in full honesty that I'm seeing things? Jumping at shadows where there aren't any? Tilting at windmills?

If you still think that, then I'm glad you've stayed with me anyway.

So please stay with me a little longer,

and allow me to cut through your reservations once and for all.

SECTION 5: FOUNDING LCB AND THE PROMISE:

"Dear the most valorous Fixer of the Zwei, How farest thee? 'Tis my hundred-and-thirty-first letter. Prithee, excuse my persistence. 'Tis merely that my passion cannot well be doused. I am soon to be a Fixer myself. And with thy teachings, I shall become a Fixer most just as persistent who doth not know surrender."

VERGILIUS: I believe I've afforded you sufficient restraint.

A red hot gladius rends the seal on her cradle in two.

...

VERGILIUS: My old... friend has told me that you are a Second Kindred.

...

VERGILIUS: The Fixers on these posters... They're all from at least several decades ago. It is as my fellow has told me. So much of her slumbers... even her instinctive craving for blood.

...

VERGILIUS: I am the guide who will bring you all to the right path.

VERGILIUS: You must come with me, for this journey demands your company. In return...

VERGILIUS: ...when the time is right, the promised timepiece shall come to be by your side.

SANCHO: Promised...?

VERGILIUS: Yes. You are bound to a promise, just as I am.

VERGILIUS: So...

SANCHO: Gasp...

VERGILIUS: Remember these eyes.

VERGILIUS: Remind yourself time and again every time you look into these eyes that hold the blood of a generation higher than your own.

SANCHO: I... have nary a clue as to whatever it is that--

VERGILIUS: I speak of the promise that will one day return to you when the time is right.

VERGILIUS: Remember it, so that the unforgettable promise will one day return to you, so that you may keep it when the time comes. Even as it eludes you now.

This scene is seen at the beginning of Part 3, as LCB enter the Fathoms of Ego.

Isn't it weird?

The conversation doesn't flow naturally. Vergilius talks about his eyes, and then cuts Sancho off and continues talking about the promise out of nowhere.

A long, long time later, following Sancho's boss fight, we see this scene again.

But something has changed.

Something that was intentionally omitted from Sansón's telling of this scene.

VERGILIUS: You must come with me, for this journey demands your company. In return...

VERGILUS: ...when the time is right, the promised timepiece you once heard shall come to be by your side.

(Note the addition. "timepiece you once heard' was not in Sansón's telling.)

VERGILIUS: Even when you feel like giving up on yourself.

VERGILIUS: So I promise you this.

VERGILIUS: That one day, you will return to the beginning of all things...

VERGILIUS: ...and tell them all about the adventures you've had.

This was the moment I knew I had it.

This was the moment I chambered my silver bullet.

When the time is right, the timepiece will come to be by your side. And you can tell them all about the adventures you've had.

Could he have been talking about both Bari and Don Quixote?

Sure, maybe. Sancho does tell Don Quixote about her adventures as he lays dying.

But that's only one way to read this sentence.

I think 'them' refers to the promised timepiece. To Dante.

This part of his speech was important enough to be omitted from the first version of the scene we saw.

Important enough to save for the very end of the canto.

In P Corp's backstreets, Vergilius said something to Dante that confused them.

VERGILIUS: ...Your hands have stopped trembling. I'll take that as a sign that we have an understanding.

VERGILIUS: Should you ever find yourself growing anxious in La Manchaland, when things start to go awry...

VERGILIUS: Remember these words.

VERGILIUS: Henceforth, whatever happens...

[Vergilius smiles.]

VERGILIUS: ...Don Quixote will remember the promise, Dante.

DANTE (NARRATION): The promise.

DANTE (NARRATION): I have no idea how that word is supposed to assuage any of my fears.

DANTE (NARRATION): Vergilius isn't the type to waffle on meaninglessly, so...

DANTE (NARRATION): ...I suppose there isn't anything else I can gather from him at the moment.

Dante is right. Vergilius is a man of few words-- he says what he needs to say, and that's it.

But Vergilius is also a deeply sentimental person.

If he gave advice to Dante that meant nothing to them, it must've meant something to HIM.

I assert that the promise Vergilius is referring to is this one.

BARI: Remember? We promised to meet again once each of our adventures are complete...

SANCHO: ...and tell one another all about our adventures.

Dante's number one fear throughout the La Manchaland mission was that the reveal of Sancho's true nature would irreparably tear the Sinners' bond apart.

That is what Vergilius is reassuring them against.

That Sancho promised to always be their friend. To meet with them when all was said and done.

She'll remember that promise. She won't drift away from you.

This would require Vergilius to not only be aware of Bari, but familiar enough with her to understand the promise she made with Sancho and Don Quixote.

And I can prove that he was.

VERGILIUS: The build of this place is quite durable, my lady.

VERGILIUS: It should be able to withstand assaults from any pursuing Bloodfiends... no, even Bloodfiend Hunters.

VERGILIUS: It is an entirely different question if they can make it this far down to this Ruin, of course.

VERGILIUS: My old... friend has told me that you are a Second Kindred.

...

VERGILIUS: The Fixers on these posters... They're all from at least several decades ago. It is as my fellow has told me. So much of her slumbers... even her instinctive craving for blood.

...

VERGILIUS: Your adventures with them are unimportant. And you won't have to listen to these Fixers anymore. Because...

VERGILIUS: ...doesn't an adventure guided by me, a Fixer bestowed with the title of a Colour... sound much better than any of that?

In Sansón's stageplay...

BARI (SINCLAIR): "Once we find the river..."

BARI (SINCLAIR): "I will guide you to the place that will be your residence henceforth."

BARI (SINCLAIR): "An abandoned lighthouse where no one visits."

BARI (SINCLAIR): "Please, make that place your home."

Only Bari should've known where Sancho's cradle was.

Only Bari could've told Vergilius where to find her, that she was a Second Kindred who erased her own past, that her craving for blood was suppressed by Rocinante, and exactly how to get her to join LCB.

Because Vergilius pulls rank as a Colour Fixer, and it immediately entices Sancho.

This gives us three things simultaneously.

One. Vergilius and Bari were 'old friends.'

Two. Vergilius could've known about the promise Sancho and Bari made.

And, three, it gives us reason to believe that Bari was willingly contributing to the formation of LCB.

Because she told Vergilius where to find Sancho. Because Vergilius knew what to say to recruit her.

We know for a fact that pre-amnesia Dante was cooperating with Limbus Company, because they were already wearing the uniform when they lost their memories in the dark forest.

We're so close. We have so much.

Katabasis.

Resurrection.

Visions of the past and visions of the future.

Stories of future cantos.

Association with literature.

Pre-amnesia power.

The river of human consciousness.

Family.

Similarities in sprites.

The Sign.

Team Demian.

Cooperation with the formation of LCB.

The promise.

I have just one more thing to share. One last section.

One last narrative commonality between Bari and Dante before I bid you goodbye.

SECTION 6: ANTICIPATION

DON QUIXOTE: Tomorrow is a promise that does not hinge on your blessing.

BARI: No, no. That's not the tomorrow I'm talking about. I'm talking about the 'tomorrow' you seek.

BARI: You've been living out your days mired in meaninglessness, quietly wasting away inside.

BARI: Drinking human blood, compelled not by your own will but by your sickness. In your countless years of existence...

BARI: ...you've never had any reason to exist, have you?

BARI: But your illness... and this applies to all of your kind... is loneliness.

BARI: It's the kind of suffering you can't weather through by huddling together with your Family in the dark.

BARI: So I offer you this.

BARI: Anticipation for what tomorrow holds.

BARI: In other words... a dream.

BARI: I can make you dream.

SANCHO: The adventure... has ended.

SANCHO: And thus, so did my dream.

SINCLAIR: It's not over yet.

SINCLAIR: We're pretty major characters in your adventures too, you know?

SINCLAIR: You can't just... end this story without even asking its cast.

SANCHO: So stupid...

DANTE (NARRATION): Her words of denial are tinged with something new, something we hadn't heard in what felt like forever.

DANTE (NARRATION): Anticipation.

Twice over, they reach for a Bloodfiend who has no reason to be.

Gifting them the anticipation to see what comes tomorrow. To adventure, and to dream.

It isn't just Dante, the second time. All of the Sinners come together to find that anticipation for Sancho.

But who is it that drives it home?

Who is it that lights her way?

Who is it that thinks to inspire Sancho by telling her a story?

DANTE (NARRATION): I know what to do. The flow I must find, the flow I must hitch myself to.

DANTE: However...

DANTE: Don Quixote, who despaired that this moment was to be the end of her tale...

DANTE: Still refused to give up.

[Faust smiles.]

FAUST: ......

History repeats and Bari's role is reprised, and by Dante. By the rest of the Sinners too, but especially by Dante.

Because at the end of the long battle against him, Don Quixote says this. Completely unaware of the dramatic irony in his words.

DON QUIXOTE: Alas, it appears that we are not availed the benevolent, mediating force of Bari to quell our quarrels. Then I suppose we are at an impasse, want of a better mediation...

DON QUIXOTE: ...than one wrought by force.

I assert that he is wrong.

I assert that the narrative completed itself. A perfect circular structure, like so many aspects of this canto.

Atop La Manchaland, all but two Sinners are dead. Only three were alive to witness what happened next.

Exactly as it began.

Only Sancho, her father Don Quixote, and the White Moon beside them.

It's the same scene.

Bari and Don Quixote called out their names, and clashed in a brilliant shining light.

Sancho and Don Quixote called out their names, and clashed in a brilliant shining light.

It was Bari that made him dream.

And it was Dante that made her dream.

Anticipation. The final, ultimate theme that they share.

And after all was said and done, after La Manchaland was reduced to a pouring torrent of blood, the Sinners boarded Mephistopheles once again.

Ready to gallop onto the next canto of their story.

But first, Don Quixote said something to Dante.

DON QUIXOTE: Prithee, regard me not with such an expression.

DANTE: I... don't have an expression, let alone a face.

DON QUIXOTE: All of existence, from the swaying flowers in the meadows to the rolling pebbles in a stream... has emotions.

DANTE (NARRATION): What expression did she read from me, I wonder.

DON QUIXOTE: I beseech thee, smile.

DON QUIXOTE: For all of this is but a merry dream.

DANTE (NARRATION): No one thinks about what awaits them at the end of the journey when embarking on an adventure.

DANTE (NARRATION): But that unknown future, twinkling so tantalizingly...

DANTE (NARRATION): ...is what inevitably draws us to venture toward them.

DANTE (NARRATION): So...

DANTE (NARRATION): ...I guess I'll smile, like Don Quixote asked me to.

DANTE (NARRATION): Smile with anticipation for what tomorrow holds.

I hope I've given you a lot to think about.

No matter what, I think Dante and Bari are both immensely interesting characters, and I believe whatever Project Moon does with both of them will be more satisfying than whatever little old me can think of.

I cannot prove that Bari is Dante. But I can maybe convey that, if she turned out to be, It would be a well foreshadowed and thematically consistent reveal, more so than any other existing candidate.

This is a long pair of posts. And you read all of it. If you have any feedback to add to my theory, please include it in a reply!

I would love nothing more than to hear from you.

[hhie]

I love you im sorry

13. a lil tipsy

[6.30pm]

walking towards the familiar car that you’ve sat in yesterday, you saw donghyuck leaning against it.

“ready to go?” he asked while opening the car door for you. “yea thanks” is all you said before entering the car. hoping that this dinner date would be okay

[8.45PM]

donghyuck forgot that you were a lightweight drinker … and currently you both were on your first bottle of alcohol.

he was fine as he only took two glasses and he was moderate drinker. while you on the other hand who probably only drank three cups of beer and you were already tipsy .

you felt like the world was spinning. donghyuck stopped you before you could drink even more as he grabbed the glass out of your hand “ enough y/n, you’re going to get drunk again.” you point your finger at him as you giggle “ hmm , what arw you sayin hyuckiee im totally fine see!”

you strike a few poses as he stares at your bubbly state. happy that you are acting like this but also regretting letting you drink this much. “okay i think we’re done here y/n lets go home” he goes to your side, holding you up making sure you don’t wobble and fall.

admist donghyuck trying to help you, your tipsy state wasn’t helping at all . as you poke his cheeks , tracing all of his moles. “ i miss your face, i miss your moles heh. Are we going home together hmm!!” he stood there, flustered by your actions . but reality hits him as he remembered that you were just tipsy .

previous | masterlist | next

taglistOPEN! - @junviadinho @injunnie-lemon @sunghoonsgfreal @nessaassen02 @dudekiss3r @munstvrs @sthwaaberry @nmlee @chenlesfeetpic @jaeminnanaaa17

#from인 not y/n being tipsy/drunk AGAIN LMAOO but things are gonna get juicy 😉 also i love how her friends are trying their best to help her HAHAAH

[casiavium]

ONE TRY WHILE DRUNK. YOU GUYS ARE JUST COWARDS

Me trying to open a silent realm while drunk

Did you know. You can kill the butterflies. I did not

[imraespace]

HOW TO WIN HER HEART!

MAKI X FEM!READER

BIRTHDAY SPECIAL!

──────────────

Here are some special steps you took to Maki Zenin's heart!

You, a normal human being who suddenly discovered you had a big fat crush on a certain girl named Maki Zenin.

So you decided to make it you main goal to win her heart!

But how?

.

.

"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME SOONER BECAUSE..??"

-> 8:30 PM, FRIDAY.

You told your bestest friend ever, Nobara!

And currently she's gripping on your shoulders, shaking the life out of you.

"I only figured it out like this morning.." You told your friend, removing her hands off your shoulders.

You lied, kinda. You always knew you had a thing for her but you only found out today that it's indeed a crush. Like this morning when she walked in the room and you began your daily staring, not like a creep, but you always looked at her when she enters the room but that morning your heart flipped!

So here you are, in Nobara's room gossiping about your new found feelings.

"Obviously you have to confess soon."

"What. Why?"

"BECAUSE?? IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT."

She pulled you in closer then said:

"Starting tomorrow we're planning your confession."

And that's how operation: "WIN HER HEART" began.

──────────────

-> 10:01 AM, SATURDAY.

"WINNING HER HEART"

nobara: hi everyone!

megumi: what is this.

nobara: WE'RE HELPING Y/N

megumi: why

nobara: bc she's my favorite duh

yuji: what abt me ☹️

nobara: anyways WE ARW HELPING Y/N TO CONFESS TO MAKI!!

megumi: no

yuji: YES

megumi: fuck.

nobara added y/n

y/n: ooh you was fr

nobara: OFC I WAS.

──────────────

-> 01:20 PM, SATURDAY.

Still in Nobara's room, she left the room to get some snacks.

Apparently she said she's bringing over some friends because she's taking this a bit too serious but to be honest you really don't mind, you just haven't seen someone do all of this for a crush. Atleast your friend cares!

Suddenly you heard more than one footsteps walking up towards the door, it opened and you was greeted with not only her normal friends but Maki friends?

"I brought more help!" She exclaimed.

Time flew but one thing stayed still, a solid plan for winning her heart starting on Monday.

──────────────

-> 8:30AM, MONDAY.

────────

STEP 1- INUMAKI'S PLAN:

His plan is simple. He's gonna ask Maki about you and hint to her! Seems okay enough.

──────────────

Inumaki, along with Yuuta, shares the same class with Maki.

Sadly he sits right next to her. Isn't that great!?

Normally she knows he's always up to know good but this time it's reeking off him and she noticed ever since he entered the room.

"Did you bathe today?" She asked the boy.

Obviously, he was offended, even sniffed himself but noticed he smelled normal, not even close to bad.

"OF COURSE I DID.. Anyways I have a question." He said, sliding himself on her desk.

She looked up at him with an unimpressed look on her face yet nodded her head, signing him to continue talking.

"There's this girl right..." He started.

She rolled her eyes after that sentence.

"If you have a crush, go gossip to your boyfriend."

"WHAT?"

Yuuta saw it all and laughed at the situation.

"AND GET OFF MY TABLE!"

"I DIDN'T ASK YOU MY QUESTION AS YET!"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR CRUSH."

──────────────

-> 11:29AM, MONDAY.

"WINNING HER HEART"

inumaki: bye I failed💀

nobara: HOW TF DO YOU FAIL BY ASKING HER ABT Y/N??

yuuta: she thought he had a crush

megumi: LMAO

inumaki: ITS NOT EVEN FUNNY?

inumaki: LITERALLY TRIED MY BEST.

────────

FAILED

──────────────

STEP 1- INUMAKI'S PLAN

STEP 2- NOBARA'S PLAN:

Simple! Trying the old fashioned way! Write a note and place it in her locker, surely she will meet up with you.

────────

-> 12:00PM, MONDAY.

Everyone gathered around your table, here you are, stupidly writing some cringe love letter yet blushing as you write every words, pouring your heart into it and finally ending it.

You folded it, looked up at the others and finally getting the green sign to go, but something kinds felt off about this...

Nevertheless! You all sprinted to her locker, "trying" to sneak but looked like a bunch of idiots, so you shrugged your shoulders, walked up, then placed it in.. Then ran away with the others.

A little while after, you all stood by the corner, peaking your heads out to see what she will do.

First she got whatever she needed, then noticed the very obvious note.

She looked around at first, looking back at the note then finally opening it up.

She read it and a million emotions was on her face, confusion, a hint of blush but actually mostly confusion.

Then you remembered:

"I forgot to tell her where to meet me at.."

You mumbled.

At the end of the note you had

"Hope to see you there!"

But no location..

"WHAT IF I EAT YOUR HEAD OFF Y/N"─

────────

FAILED(?)

──────────────

STEP 1- INUMAKI'S PLAN

STEP 2- NOBARA'S PLAN

STEP 3- YUJI'S PLAN:

Let's try giving her a gift! Maybe a snack. It shouldn't go so bad.

──────────────

-> 12:16 PM, MONDAY.

────────

You made your way towards the vending machine, slightly losing hope in this "operation" but got the snacks.

You got your favorite snacks actually.

Along with some drinks, and placed it in a bag, tied it and made your way towards her classroom to place it on her desk.

As you entered, luckily, she wasn't at her desk but a few students were still in here.

You ignored them.. But they didn't ignore you.

You placed her snacks on her desk, left a sticky note and left the classroom!

But where is Maki?

Roaming the school. With the note in her hand.

"What did they mean by, hope to see you there.." She mumbled as she's walking around the school, looking for atleast some hope.

RING! RING!

"Stupid ass bell.."

────────

SUCCESS!

──────────────

-> 1:09PM, MONDAY.

Maki made it back to class a while back but still she continued to stare at the bag of snacks someone left for her on her desk.

First a note now gifts?

Her eyes made it back to the note, then to the sticky note and noticed something.

The handwriting matches!

Her eyes lit up when she noticed that the same person she was looking for, was in her classroom.

Then if they entered the classroom.. atleast someone here saw them.

.

.

The teacher haven't arrived just as yet, so Maki took it as her chance to speak up.

"Did anyone saw who placed this on my desk?" She asked.

Mostly everyone shrugged their shoulders, looking around for answers but someone spoke up.

"I did! It was a girl!"

Once Maki's ears heard it, she turned to Inumaki.

"What were you telling me about this girl."

──────────────

-> 3:00PM, MONDAY.

STATUS:

INUMAKI'S PLAN- FAILED SUCESS.

NOBARA'S PLAN- FAILED(?) SUCESS.

YUJI'S PLAN- SUCESS.

────────

You, a normal human being with totally normal friends, normal feelings, suddenly felt a wave of nerves when you saw your crush speed walking behind you.

You didn't know if you should stop or speed up.

You had no choice either way when she shouted your name.

So you stopped.

And she did.

"Y/N did you do all of this..?" She asked.

You turned around, facing your fears!

Shyly, you nodded at her question then looked up at her.

She was closer this time, handing you a snacks from the snack bag you gave her.

"So, do you want to go on a date? Take this snack if yes."

You.. took the snack.

.

.

HOW TO WIN HER HEART!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MAKI!