#hihopelessromantics writes a drabble

[hihopelessromantics]

making an nnt "god" a concrete thing with lore / biology. substance if you will. because committing to the bit is fun and nakaba missed out

inspired that the idea that not only should Meliodas and Elizabeth have a less human form but Tristan too! I love the different takes on their designs.

chapters cause this is long! and control f is our friend

canon adjacent lore

children of the gods

awakened god designs

the gods' chosen helpers

extra pet theory because I love y'all and I love elizabeth angst

@kalopsiakey @7-ratsinatrenchcoat thank you for helping out with the brainstorming for the tristan and melizabeth 'eldritch forms'! Hope you like the finished product!!

- - - - canon adjacent lore anyone ? - - - - -

In my aus, I usually go with the interpretation that the SD and DK are the latest two in a line of governing deities, with the others dying to various means. And the SD and DK blotted them out from public memory to establish the maximum amount of control for themselves.

In order to govern their realms, I propose it was a long-standing practice that gods would retain only a percentage of their power, and lend out the rest to trusted ones who help them ensure the safety and health of their realm. There might be other groups that the Archangels and Ten Commandments are in charge of!

Theoretically, this would also allow them to retain a form suitable to walk among their people. None of this taller than a castle shtick. Perhaps the DK and SD are physically magnified with their power. Part of their appearance is morphed by their will - the DK's armor, and the veil across the Supreme Diety's face seem to be symbols of their power. They can also be representative of how the DK was seen as an invincible opponent, and how now one knew the SD's true intentions but thought she's "too holy to look upon and find fault in."

To a god, sacrificing and dividing up your power (especially) in a time of peace is symbolic of trust and humility. In war, it could be neccessary to maintain one's prestige and honor as a monarch., Could mean that you value the ability to live as one of your people as one of them rather than as someone they worship.

- - - - children of the gods - - - -

What's the difference between something like the Supreme Diety and her daughter? Biologically, nothing, I'd assume. In nnt, "god" seems to be a state of being, asserted not simply by having power but by coming into your own and claiming it as you.

I propose that the gods are a conduit for that portion of their realm's magic that would otherwise roam freely, and that the other life in that realm has already absorbed, at birth, the limit each individual can handle. Biologically, that is.

For a goddess or demon to maintain that state in Britannia without cracking holes in the fabric of reality, there'd need to be some way to both reign in that power and dilute it down to a level that's manageable for that individual. And there probably are ways. Let's see what happened to Mel. His 'original powers,' when he accepted them, were raw and undivided; additionally, he had no clue how to manage a power influx of that extent and his mind was NOT in a good place to try and manage an extra extreme stressor. And uh. He has priors with letting his demon powers run amock in a destructive manner. If there's also a psychological component to how your godly powers act, that's the first uh-oh. Second uh - oh: he'd maintained complete certainty that unlocking them would have that kind of disastrous consequences for 3,000 years. self-fulfilling prophecies are a thing. especially if you believe that a demon's powers, specifically, their darkness, is deeply involved with their subconscious. Being 'a god' doesn't seem to logically coincide with being helpless. I think the real reason the DK and SD were trapped in their "bubbles" in their respective realms is their refusal to set aside that power, and walk as a simple demon or goddess even temporarily. A lack of will (in the gods' place) or a lack of control (Mel), rather than a lack of possibility. It makes it more interesting, I think!

In that case, the natural disasters we saw after Mel stepped into that power would be a result of the vast amount of demon realm magic accompanying him running completely amock in the wrong realm, interfering with the other magics present and the balance.

- - - - For "awakened god" designs! - - - -

I think Meliodas would want to keep his appearance mostly the same . . . just with more pizazz. Same with Zeldris, he seems to have it down pretty well already judging by his dramatic entrance in 4kota. If they're able to channel their powers well enough for this, I think they'd leave most 'monstrous' features toggled off while using this form except for their aura, and other associated demonic features such as wings, horns, and claws. They'd use the extra power boost to help their darkness roam with more versatility. Perhaps it'd form a tail behind them and coil about their horns and nearby loved ones like decorative, protective wreaths. It might lend a dragonlike flair to Meliodas, with several sets of horns about his face and dragonlike spines; and likewise, for Zeldris, some regal feathers and a simple, elegant floating crown - irremovable but loved - floating like a halo above his head.

I think Elizabeth would gain another pair of wings (if not more), and a dress of light in the same theme as Meliodas's assault mode outfit. She would have a magnificent crown of light, and she would hate it, she would complain that she didn't even wear a crown at her wedding, why does her magic think she'd want one? and she'd tear it off. every time. Maybe one day she'll accept it. Her brother-in-law tells her it's a symbol of how she'd given her heart, blood and breath to her realm, and to protecting the peace in Britannia, and that it's something she earned. But all she can see is this form is more grandiose than her mother's ever was, regardless of how much more like herself it looks than like some plain, no-faced worship-demanding statue. (That's how Meli describes her mother). Maybe one day! In the meantime, she released most of her original magic back to the Celestial Realm to assist in its revival. And covers up the crown with ribbons her husband sewed for her whenever she's prepping for a serious battle.

The special feature I came up with for what I'm calling Tristan's "awakened god form" is based on a biblical angel's wheels of eyes. That, except Twinkle stars, bright as a goddess's magic but as maneuverable as darkness, and they point in whichever direction he's focused on.

Wings would be feather-based, with darkness that weaves around them like the tounges of flames.

I think even the most high-level demons and goddesses would have less humanlike teeth in the back of their mouths accompanying their molars. Maybe just a little sharper, and much more durable. Maybe a second or third row of teeth that gets less prominent or even more retractable as it nears the lips. sharks come to mind. I'm jealous of their teeth. Why are ours so flimsy. Anyway. 7 rats proposed a demon / goddess child's noticably inhuman teeth might be like that of an anglerfish. Interesting idea.

Like. Uh- puts on a poetic narrator voice Like a wide smile, almost uncannily wide but almost like the way you walk with your feet pointed outward and not an emotion. And when he moves his mouth to speak or frown you can see little gleaming edges along his jaw like a set of jewels in a necklace. You're not sure what they are. Like spikes or horns but… from within. That ought to be decorative, you think, but you've thought the same about the demons’ sets of horns and their fangs and now that you think about it, the shapes surrounding the powered-up goddesses'… is they really magic or something supernatural beyond your mind’s comprehension. . . ?

As for the eyes - dark, demon-colored with swirling golden triskeles in the center. Since in normal form he already has the duality - and it makes sense considering how goddess and demon powers present themselves in their eyes - I think hiding the heterochromia in his eldritch form would make it more horrifying. Like, now we are stepping away from physics into what a “god” is in this universe. The darkness spills out of his eyes like the whisps of dry ice ofc!

- - - the gods' chosen helpers: examinating the the SD's blessings and the DK's curses - - - -

3/4 Archangels' Graces channel a certain element of nature: wind (Tornado), water (Ocean), light (Sunshine), with Ludociel's Flash being the odd one out. I propose this is because Ludociel has such a tainted mindset the only Grace that would take him is the one representing swift, determined action (because hehe). The Ten Commandments, unlike the Graces, have a further element of control - their double-edged nature - suggesting the DK isn't as thorough of a manipulatior (deadbeat hehe) as the SD and cannot rely on his command alone to gain 100% of the TC's focus. There's been clear tampering with the power it gives them, and less trust; they're artificial compared to the Graces, one of which was said to have chosen Escanor of its own free will. As for what they can do - they represent values that are considered virtues. Except for purity. what the hell does Derieri's purity do again? Not that she NEEDS that extra power, for the love of god the brute force trauma of this woman's second blow would probably cause permanent damage. Anyway, love forces those with hatred in their hearts to stand down from a fight (objectively not a bad thing), truth does the truth thing, etc.

These are not neccessarily combat-focused powers, though they are used and intended as such. It's not a stretch to say they could be utlized in a different manner in times of peace. The Demon Realm has probably countless small villages and intellegent species for the King to oversee and keep the peace between. It makes sense for him to have more vassals from that standpoint. Meanwile, the Celestial Realm from what we can tell has fallen into disrepair without the routine care of its people. I'm gonna go ahead and headcanon that the natural phenomenon here is at least as 'extreme' in human terms as the demon realm's, and that effectively managing a system of islands in the sky with probably dozens of intellegent migratory creatures like sky fish, etc. does take some supernatural effort. And that most of the goddess population here is centralized in one main area. Pretty much all nakaba has given us is an implied lack of diversity in the celestial realm (why everyone look like that except for Tarmiel) (it's fine we can make the creatures ourselves). Anyway. A not-double-edged-sword version of the Commandments and the current Graces could be repurposed to aid in civil relations (people), and enviornmental mangement (nature) respectively.

-- - - - - extra! pet theory as to why Elizabeth is an only child - - - -

I have a pet theory for my holy war au that Elizabeth wasn't made like a human child and is, rather, a genetic clone the SD shaped of herself (think shaping a living being out of clay) as well as just one in a succession of rebellious (and very dead) attempts at the perfect daughter. This is why there's only one of her, while Meliodas has a sibling, and why she's older than Meliodas. Until Elizabeth, there was no proof that what the SD and DK wanted could be managed without serious consequences. The SD learned that just having the one is important for the amount of control she wants over her daughter. She only has so much patience, and the sisters tended to back each other over her. Thank - well, herself - that they were so young. . . all those times. This is why the DK insisted on totally eliminating his children's emotions; he thinks so long as they don't care for one another, and don't even think to, he can manage as many as he wishes. Otherwise, he thinks the SD is a loon who failed like four times in succession, and refuses to acknowledge that he specifically waited for her to succeed, "learning" from her mistakes, before having his own children.

[hihopelessromantics]

The Boar Hat patrons enjoy not only the unusual assortment of alcohol but their odd bartender as well. He's jovial and charismatic and kind, and that sparkle of sadness in his eyes just makes them feel more at ease around him, since, regardless of just how young this man (kid) may be, he's a man who knows things, has seen things, and sometimes, just that. . . just not being alone to nurse their favorite drink of choice . . . is enough to make the night a little better.

That's why, the first time he collapses, halfway through his regulars (from this part of the region, the ones who can always find him and his strange bar somehow) elaborate mess of a drinking contest, filling the air with the slow-motion onset of shock and horror and shattering glass, no one wastes a second before lunging toward him, trying to catch him before -

oh no.

goddammit.

They don't know what just happened, but poor Mel just suddenly fell, slipped off a stool, slamming his head onto the bar counter as he went, and now there's blood, blood everywhere.

They're not sure if he's dead or merely unconscious but they wrap the wound up with care and he's in a bed with a doctor peering over him before any of them could really discuss it.

"His heartbeat's. . . regular," the doctor spoke oddly.

There's a collective sigh of relief and no one notices how strangely the doctor feels about this man's heartbeat. Heartbeats. The confusion and shock is still on his face and he looks from patron to patron but they're too drunk or too scared to notice the hapless, helpless doctor as she murmurs, "He should be dead. This blood volume, he should be dead. God, what's all this?"

The patrons broke into Mel's own room in the bar, not thinking twice about how the man would feel if they invaded his privacy, only remembering that he disliked the kind of makeshift field nursing facility that was the closest thing to a hospital around these parts ("Spent too much time in there already") and knowing one's own bed is a comfort in itself.

"So he's gonna be alright?"

"Not unless we can figure out what caused the fall. It'll happen again, as these things do."

The regulars looked worried.

"We gotta keep him here somehow until we figure it out huh?"

". . . Known the guy for five years, he's not the type to tell you if something's off . . . even when those pipes burst in the back and his broke his hand fixing them . . . "

Overall, they were unsure how to go about it. The doctor left hastily, asking them to notify her when Mel woke up. It wasn't long. He sat RIGHT up, poor kid, he was so startled. The concerned patrons of the Boar Hat pushed him right back down, told him it had only been two hours since his injury and he ought to rest, no, no worries about the bar, no worries about the mess, they'll take care of it. The bartender is the owner and sole employee of this place after all, and now they're more certain than ever that was an odd and risky idea. No matter. They'll take care of it.

They're shocked to hear footsteps, to turn and see him hobbling down the stairs not fifteen minutes after they've all filed out of his room to do as they promised.

"I guess if you think you're that well," one said, "You're well enough to tell us what happened."

Mel, as it turns out, was not. He fidgeted and he dodged like an expert and he even faked just losing his footing, but they'd seen how he slumped over before he fell like he had lost consciousness right there and then, before he even hit his head. And they wanted to make sure next time - god, that there wasn't a next time! All this kid had was his bar and his pig, he had his whole life ahead of him and he didn't deserve to end up a bloody stain on his own bar floor. They'd take him to a doctor. They'd take him to a mage. They threatened to, since he was so adamant on not telling them what was wrong that they became suspicious he was secretly on death's doorstep and simply couldn't give a shit about whether he lived or died.

"Please," begged the bartender, and it hit them then how tired he sounded. Could it be as simple as that?

It was.

Well, nothing that sleeping aids and a good talk with some good folks they know that also had trouble in the war couldn't fix, right?

It was more than that, sadly. But the good patrons of the Boar hat were eventually reassured that the near-death scare wouldn't happen again after several weeks (Oh, he fought them on it. But they just got their wives involved and dragged him from house to house and when he seemed afraid to connect with anyone, hometown to hometown on journeys that would hopefully be as healing and helpful for his soul as those experiences had been for them.) And by god, it wasn't such a big deal to pretend that having the urge to sleep through the entire day wasn't odd at all, nah, people have different sleeping schedules and even if this one is straight up . . . well . . . it didn't seem human, they wanted to say, sensing on a subconscious level that Mel was somehow different than their nightshift colleagues, teenage children, and night-owl buddies. . . they cared more about their kindly acquaintance getting quality sleep than when he did it. As would any sane person, right?

Headcanons About Meliodas' Sleep

(Brought to you by this post and encouraged by @7-ratsinatrenchcoat)

Okay. First of all, demons are nocturnal. You cannot convince me otherwise. It's literally canon that they are at least twice as strong at night. You expect me to believe they just sleep through that? No chance. Demons are nocturnal; their sleepy time is the daytime.

Of course this doesn't mean they can only sleep during the day. Demons are as flexible with their sleep as any other race. They're also forced to be so more than any other race, given the war with races who very much are not nocturnal. But the best and most natural option for them is to sleep during the day.

Demons also need less sleep than humans.

Now Meliodas has always had a crappy sleep schedule. Between his father, Chandler, leading the Ten Commandments and the constant conflict with the goddesses, Meliodas doesn't have the time (or takes the time) to take care of himself properly.

His sleep especially suffers from this. Because not only does it not match the expectations placed on him, it also means leaving himself more open and vulnerable than he's comfortable with.

Because of this, Meliodas is also a very light sleeper; always alert in the case of a threat. The only times he actually sleeps deeply is when he feels completely safe (around people he trusts).

The first time it happened was with Elizabeth at Heaven's Theater. It wasn't something he planned to do, of course, but it was the first time in a long time that he actually felt at peace. (And even he can only go so long without any proper sleep). When Elizabeth noticed that he'd fallen asleep, she just let him sleep, keeping watch over him. It ended up being the best sleep he'd had in years.

After Meliodas joins Stigma, his sleep does not get any better. He doesn't have any more reason to feel safe there than he did in the Demon Realm, and with Stigma's members being diurnal, his opportunities to sleep during the day is significantly decreased (Ludociel is not about to accommodate for a demon's needs).

He technically could sleep during the night instead, but it's not something that comes naturally to him, and frankly, he doesn't like it. So when he can get away with it, he doesn't. Instead, he gets his sleep mostly through naps of varying lengths during the day.

Elizabeth, Gloxinia and Drole all work together to make sure that Meliodas gets the sleep that he needs. They do this by giving Meliodas time to sleep, distracting Ludociel, keeping non-demon friendly Stigma members away, and just watching over him.

As much as possible, they try to make sure at least one of them is by his side as he sleeps. Because he sleeps a lot better around people he trusts, but also because otherwise they'd have to trust him to take care of his own sleep (and as we've already established, he sucks at this).

After the curse, things get a lot worse before they get better. During that first time (before he meets Elizabeth's first reincarnation), Meliodas just goes through the motions. Sometimes he's awake/walks until he collapses, sometimes he sleeps for days; caught up in his grief and burdened by his newfound immortality.

Starting with the Elizabeths, Meliodas finally regains some regularity back into his sleep. Mostly because he needs to keep her safe, needs to figure out a way to break the curse; but also because she's always Elizabeth, she always cares about him and his well-being.

Adjusting to a human sleeping schedule is hard. Over the years, Meliodas develops some hybrid sleep pattern. He sleeps some during the nights, but also stays awake through most of them and sleeps during the day whenever he can.

Meliodas' sleep is at its best when he's with Elizabeth and/or have something that requires him to keep to a proper schedule.

Meliodas still sucks at taking care of himself though and will often mess up his sleep up. Something Merlin has been on his case about many times over the years; there have been threats of violence.

For that she is grateful for more than one reason when they gather the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins. With how close they are all living, how close they are all working, Meliodas has less openings to fuck upp his sleep. Especially since the other Sins don't know that he is a demon, meaning they expect him to keep to a human sleep schedule. If he fucks it up, they notice, and they care.

Meliodas also feels a lot of responsibility for the other Sins, so he's more careful about making sure he gets his sleep, so not to mess up their chances at a better life.

He still doesn't like sleeping at night, however, so he works around that whenever he can. For example, insisting on keeping watch during the night while the others sleep.

This also means he frequently takes naps during the day. It's something that the others think is weird at first, but over the years they just accept it as a quirk of their captain.

Meliodas has the habit of falling asleep randomly and pretty much anywhere, when around the other Sins. He knows that even if these people don't know the truth about him, they will have his back. So he feels safe around them, and relaxes enough to fall asleep. And when I say anywhere, I mean ANYWHERE. Just as long as someone else of the Sins is nearby.

Mostly it happens when they're alone, just the Seven Deadly Sins. But sometimes it has happened in more public situations. If anyone would dare to say anything about the captain of the legendary Seven Deadly Sins falling asleep "inappropriately", well, they'd be quickly shut down by the rest.

After the Seven Deadly Sins are framed and forced into hiding, Meliodas struggles not to fall back into bad habits. It's mostly keeping to his routines (running the tavern, being around Hawk, etc.) that keeps him from slipping too badly.

It's hard though, not being around the people who he feels most safe with. Thankfully, the Boar Hat gives him privacy at least, letting him be more relaxed.

Being away from Elizabeth is the hardest. The not knowing what's going on with her. He knows she's alive, because the curse says she'll die in front of him. But that's only a small comfort, and over the decade her fate and well-being sometimes keeps him awake both night and day.

After his secret/race is properly revealed, Meliodas is more open with his sleep. His sleep doesn't really change much compared to before, but the way he deals with it does. He's all lot more honest about it - yeah, he hasn't slept yet, it's night, he doesn't really feel like sleeping.

The others approach it differently now too. It's not just an odd quirk of their captain, it's part of his nature. This means that if he wants to sleep during the day, he should sleep during the day. Of course, they've always let him do that, but now they're more adamant about it (not even Meliodas is allowed to get in the way of Meliodas' natural sleep kind of adamant).

As king of Liones, Meliodas doesn't always have the luxury of sleeping whenever he wants to - but he still keeps to more of a hybrid sleep pattern. He loves falling asleep with Elizabeth, so he will sleep some during the night. But will also stay awake most of it and take some nap during the day - depending on the day and the state of the kingdom/his duties that day.

When Tristan was little, he and Meliodas used to nap together during the day (you know, something like this).

[hihopelessromantics]

Can clever plotting end the Holy War? Sure. But this time the plot’s just, “Meliodas decides to fuck around and find out and drag everyone he can think of into it."

ah yes another drabble that I got too shy to put in the reblogs. this meme format gives me so much joy 

from that reblog chain: Yet another reason why the Demon King ducked up by making his preteen son a war commander. The amount of strategy he displays by doing that is… might I say god awful. He consulted ZERO people on the development of children. Probably freaked out when he saw baby Mel for the first time. Like "STOP SCREAMING I COMMAND YOU TO STOP."  *even louder infant screaming* "YOU CANNOT GET AWAY WITH THIS INSOLENCE!” levels of ignorance. 

The only thing stopping Ten Commandments Meliodas from getting the audacity to kill him sooner was a lack of a support system. This kid saw the slightest hint of hope and went OH YEAH. PEACE. ALL THE WAY LETS GO. and immediately was such a disaster about it that he sent shockwaves through history. Imagine if he had been allowed to properly communicate with his brother and others even once every several weeks. The hijinks TC Mel would get into.

Prompt:

The traumatized teen leader of the Ten Commandments finds a little hope in his own home. Throwing as much caution to the wind as he can possibly afford, he drags his precious little brother around the Demon Realm and the battlefields of Britannia to find a solution to the war that’s fucked up their lives from the beginning. More and more happless souls are yanked into the rebellion as impulsive kid shenanigans ensue. Then Meliodas and Zeldris accidentally open up a litttle too much to their new friends and news of their (and Elizabeth’s!) home life goes viral, roping in the four archangels and the ten commandments who are not fucking stoked to hear what they’ve been left in the dark about. This is the aftermath. In meme format. 

________

Zeldris: I remember last time we got the chance to talk like this you asked me why I always work so hard. And I got too nervous to answer

Meliodas: uh huh

Zeldris: well… the truth is… I have this dream. That one day I’ll be able to make the demon realm a peaceful place. No more reliance on violence to prove our value. Just, just us demons, working to be the best we can be.

Meliodas, feeling a lil bit of his soul revive as his third eye is being pried open with a chainsaw: ‘keep it cool Meliodas don’t be a blubbering weakling in an important moment’    d-damn Zel…that...

Zeldris: I know it’s strange. To imagine a world where we could give up satisfying our vengeance against the goddesses. But it’s doing so, so much more harm than good. I can see it. I know you might not understand why I would be willing to give it up, with what the goddesses have done to us… to you… to mom. You think I haven’t guessed what happened to her, but… unless father killed her… no, that’s not important now. What’s important is how we move forward… if we just… stay stuck like this, then what’s the point of it all?

Meliodas: nah FUCK the war. It’s all pointless BS. Mom knew it too

Zeldris: please don’t - wait what

Meliodas: don’t what?

Zeldris: um. I thought you might be really angry

Meliodas: what, for being stronger than me? Strong enough to hold onto hope even after all this time?? Zel. I’m glad you could share that with me

Zeldris: 🥹

Meliodas: That dream... I would love to make it come true. even if trying to make this place less of a hellhole is a big hassle and doesn’t work out like exactly like we thought, I don’t think I could regret trying. You’ve shown me love can grow here after all... I have a reason to try

Zeldris: Big brother… do you… doyouwanttorulethedemonrealmtogether one day?

Zeldris: I’m the second prince, and I know father expects much less of me. But I’m capable. I’ll be of use right by your side. You’re the heir. The one everyone expects will be king. Fullfilling that... Is that the path you’re dreaming of? Is that what you want to do? 

Meliodas: !    Weeelll. Actually. It never meant anything to me, being the heir. Except more pressure from the Demon King. If there’s gonna be a new Demon King, it should be you. That’s what I think.

Zeldris: Ah. So that’s how you feel... in that case, are you still willing to continue on as a prince at all?

Meliodas: like I’d let you shoulder all this BS all by yourself if I could help it. I trust I’ll... “be of use”? 

Zeldris: No-no-I-that sounds- use? No- I don’t think like that -!

Meliodas: Aw, Zel, your face is all reddddd. Hehe. Always wanted to turn the tables on you like that! Don’t worry. I know it’s because father makes you so unsure, and I unwittingly helped out with that for a while.

Zeldris: Hmph. You just can’t restrain yourself. Don’t make me so anxious when you know I already am!

Meliodas: I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But you know-

Zeldris: Yes, I know. You love me. When do you think we’ll be capable enough?

Meliodas: hm  *remembers a certain silver haired goddess*

Meliodas: Well, that depends…. How much into the realm of crazy are we willing to let this revolution become?

Zeldris: I’ll do anything I have to for our people.

Meliodas: great. great. How good are you at Public Speaking by the way

*some time later*

The demon king: 👁️👄👁️

Assorted people from all five clans, several Induras, a bucketload of dragons and miscellaneous creatures from all over Britannia, Bloody Ellie and some archangels, all of the vampires under a newly crowned queen, and the demon army, including Gowther who somehow broke out of prison and found Glariza along the way:

. . .  you’ve been staring at us for five minutes. That’s gratifying and all but I hope you don’t expect us to explain. Trust me, you don’t want to ask how we all got here. No time for that anyway. We also have questions. So many questions... Questions we prefer you answer before we all kill you. For starters, why are your sons lolis and how the hell are they talking to those CREATURES in the back. Do you see those? Please tell us we’re hallucinating at least some of them. Is that a pig?

Zeldris: rude. Karen has been dragon queen for eons. She knows more languages than I do and probably understands every word you are saying. I’m just doing my best to translate, that is all.

Meliodas: his name is Wild :D isn’t he cute?

Wild: Meliodas-sama why is your father’s face so red? I think he needs a healer.

Ludociel: a pig that speaks? this truly IS hell. Why the fuck did you summon all these untrustworthy creatures from purgatory. Meliodas, I can’t wait to punish your father for bringing you into this world. I can’t believe his mistake is working in our favor right now. MAEL STOP HUGGING THAT THING

Mael, choking on the fluff: this is the best day of my life for so many reasons

Wild: Good to hear, my friend!

Elizabeth, removing her face from the fluff: AMEM. Thank you for having an audience with us, demon king. We have important news. We are ending the Holy War once and for all. Die or die. I'd give you the option of living, but you'd die anyways. Your people are really pissed that you sent your own kids to war and lied to them about it. Whether you live or die, whatever your punishment for prolonging this war will be, that is their call, not mine.

Demon King: FOOLS. DO YOU REALLY INTEND TO KILL ME? when the dust settles here, you will all be dead, and the Holy War will begin anew!

Elizabeth: when the dust settles, I'll be making love to your son on my golden throne, and you'll be a scorned, forgotten memory.

Meliodas: looking forward to it!

Zeldris: I’m gonna kill you brother

Demon King: you mortals cannot POSSIBLY fathom the thoughts of a God. Why I've done the things I've done is beyond you.

Random demon: could say the same for any other child abuser...

Ludociel, shouting at the demon king with equal ire: YOU could not possibly fathom how MUCH I have had to deal with ever since Lady Elizabeth brought that horrible demon and his gaggle of abominations into our camp! I have seen things. Felt things. Even tasted things. That no goddess should ever have to again. (*Meliodas grins evilly*) I don't even care anymore. What is strategy? What’s logic? We ate rocks made by a 5-year-old to get in here safely

Merlin: I'm 12

    (Bloody) Elizabeth to the demon king: touch her and ill torture you to death 

Demon King, trying desperately to figure out why there's a small child here and why Bloody Ellie is being weird about her, she LOOKS FAMILIAR, oh god is this her child, HOW LONG HAVE THOSE TWO BEEN A THING, this isn't their weird fucked up love child is it??: 

I AM GIVING YOU FIVE MINUTES TO LEAVE THIS REALM

Rou, completely ignoring the 200 ft tall giant: oh my God Mel he fell for it!

Ludociel, also completely ignoring him: WHAT??

Meliodas: that was frozen tree blood. And a prank. Your goddess magic is adequate to protect you that's why we had you all cast Saint's Coat

Merlin: Maple Syrup. It’s called maple syrup. And magic potions don't taste nearly that good. I'm shocked you fell for that Ludo. you really are losing it

Gowther: technically, he isn’t wrong. The potion to combat the miasma is partly made from organic material from purgatory. There were some rocks in it. And also bone.

Sariel: when did you go to purgatory??? 

Mael (muffled by Wild's fur): rock is organic?

Zeldris: 84% of native purgatory rock is!! It’s even been linked biologically to a demon’s darkness. It’s fascinating. I read a whole book about it

Sariel: hello??? who took this man to purgatory without saying shit to anyone?? 

Tarmiel: I don’t even know who that is. I can’t remember when he got here

Demon King: YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW YOUR ALLIES?! YOU SNIVELING NAIVE FOOLS! STOP THIS.

Mael: not true, we know who he is!  that’s the boyfriend of the demon I found trapped in a magic circle in the woods, remember? And I was like, I’m kinda having an exestential crisis right now so it could just be me, but if a goddess and a demon can really be friends and being a pacifist is okay actually and everyone was just being a bitch to me for no reason, then fuck it, who cares why the demon king put you in here? I’m setting you free. just promise you won’t wreck anything. make a demon contract with me or whatever and let’s end this cursed war. and she went “yea actually i’m directly an enemy of the demon king. he threw my lover in jail :(” and then me and Elizabeth and that guy over there *Doll Gowther throws up a peace sign* did a jailbreak while you lot were arguing over whether you could trust Mel or not? Remember that guys? 

Ludociel, who did NOT remember, on the verge of fainting:

Mael: Wait did I not tell you ANY of that?!? BROTHER I’M SO SORRY

Doll Gowther: Don’t be. He would not have let you contribute in a substantial way again. 

Ludociel:  I HATE YOU ALL. EVEN YOU ELIZABETH YOUR VIRTUE IS UNSALVAGEABLE

Elizabeth: do I owe you dessert Mel or does him insulting my virtue in this context not count

Meliodas: I’m not actually sure…might have made that bet too vauge

Zeldris (to Merlin): I’m not letting them adopt you. You can be my little sister

Demon King, finally realizing who Merlin is and that he’s not getting out of this unscathed unless he gets serious: THAT’S IT. YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFY ME? BARGE INTO MY REALM UNINVITED TO CHALLENGE ME ONLY TO BANTER AMONGST YOURSELVES? GUESS WHAT. YOU CAN’T. EVEN THE MAGICAL POWER YOU RELY ON SO MUCH COMES FROM ME!

The ground begins to shake violently. Besides the obvious, nothing else happens. 

Demon King: MY COMMANDMENTS. HEAR AND OBEY. END THIS NONSENSE REBELLION. RIGHT NOW! 

The Ten Commandments, permanently scarred from realizing that Meliodas the Destoryer and Zeldris the Executioner were kids this whole goddamn time, and not just weirdly short: ...loooooook...uh...here’s the thing. we’re gonna kill you now and we don’t need your power to do it. We got rid of it already. We have the power of, uh, *checks smudged writing on hands, dilligently inscribed by Elizabeth* ... teamwork

Wild: AND OUR MIGHTY BODIES!

TC: and what ... what the pig said

Mael, extracting himself from Wild’s fluff, noticably buffer than 5 minutes ago: Plus the power of the gods! It’s almost noon :)

Zeldris: Damn, we timed this wrong. You better not destroy the castle

Yeah this has been sitting in my drafts for weeks because I don’t know how to end it. Anyone who wants a part 2 let me know lol

[hihopelessromantics]

Meliodas Never “Betrays” the Demons Au

Since I saw @sullina answer this anon post on a Monday some months ago, I’ve been working on this. I thought this was so interesting that ideas just started springing into my head. Here’s the post for context.  https://www.tumblr.com/sullina/712945738391437313/au-where-meliodas-never-betrayed-the-demon-race?source=share

What if everything else changed to reflect this premise? It could be like a spin-off of the Seven Deadly Sins with a bit of psychological horror. That could be genuinely gritty and thrilling. And... I'd watch it.

My dialogue-loving imagination is perfect for making this, I have decided.

Forgive me for what I’ve done to this show omg. Or demand more details. Or both. 

A classic adventure saga begins!

The story would still have some cheery flashbacks/mention of Liz from time to time - more of them than in canon I'd say - but as usual, we wouldn't see Meliodas's own thoughts. After a while, the series's premise seems to be: two people with an unforeseen connection and growing love for each other go on a journey to reunite old friends to save the kingdom from a horrifying fate. Fun! 

There's a bit more . . . blood than the viewer originally thought there would be when characters get injured. (realistic blood loss anyone?) And the monsters they encounter are steadily getting creepier the further they get into the wilderness, slowly proving to the viewer that humans are not the dominant species in their own kingdoms, only the most numerous. Over time it becomes clear that humans have been stuck in a “medieval” age of sorts for this long because this beautiful fantasy world is such a dangerous place. Occasionally, the Sins will swerve their course to avoid this specific city that exists simultaneously in six places at once, and where humans are . . . not welcome. The question of who exactly lives there is brought up several times and everyone looks at Meliodas as if to say buddy give us the tea. He only chuckles and says it’s not fairies or giants or beastmen when pressed. The druids live somewhere weird too. and give us some fun and wacky architecture for villages while we’re at it. There are rumors circulating that some kind of life has returned to the ruins of Danafor, with adventurers swearing that there was nothing there while others swear that there is, and the villagers the sins encounter are more creeped out by that than rumors of the actual evil going on.

Meliodas, despite his poker face and guarded personality, would make it very clear to Elizabeth how much he respects and cares for her, even more so than in the original manga. She reciprocates his feelings and they quickly become as inseparable as if they’d been together for years. 

The rest of the Sins' romances/backstories might have twists as well. (Except for Merlin, who would be genuinely appreciative of the sins being together and being found family, because she's already too weird in the original). The truths of that would gradually unravel, but they'd work through it in as much of a healthy and mature manner as they're capable of, with the support of their friends. Everything is going pretty well for the Sins as people, despite the world going to trash fast with the efforts of whatever villains there are. The story pivots from Elizabeth's POV routinely to show other characters' struggles and the growing darkness of the evil they set out to vanquish.

The Sins bond, address a bit of their pasts, (even Meliodas feels safe to open up a bit!), and Elizabeth is learns to kick ass with Meliodas's help. A really wholesome show despite whatever new horror elements are added. 

Enough with the premise though, let’s get to some actual scenes!

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Show] Outline

Season 1: “The Seven Deadly Sins”

Pt. 1

Two mothers in a place that’s no place for kids

Introducing Elizabeth

Fateful Encounter

A girl who can be saved

Pt. 2

{in which finding Meliodas’s Team is a wild ride}

Pt. 3

{In which saving the kingdom with a ragtag group of criminals is more complicated than it looks because we still don’t know what we’re dealing with, you didn’t conveniently forget about that before agreeing to this right guys? right?

Pt. 4 + OVA

{in which there’s just a lot to deal with here}

Season 2: That which doesn’t exist

Pt. 1

The Goddess LIz

{In which Meliodas meets Liz and they have adventures and potentially nsfw time}

Pt. 2

The Demon’s Diary 

{in which Gelda has to deal with. Just a lot. Too many things honestly.}

Pt. 3?

The Sentencing?

the sins are sentenced for their crimes? 

Season 3: Revival of the Commandments

Pt. 1

{in which a princess dreams of blood and a Knight, of his people}

Pt. 2

{in which Zeldris has a lot to deal with. Just a lot. And everyone else is just as nervous but for very different reasons. Oh god is that more things?}

Season 4: Wrath of the Gods 

Pt. 1

{in which the druids make a mistake and a Holy War has to end once and for all}

Pt. 2

{in which Arthur decides he doesn’t need a special power and a certain ancient menace is ill-Equipped to handle him or the rest of the nonsense going on right now}

Pt. 3

{in which a “damsel in distress” doesn’t exist}

Pt. 4 

{in which the effects of systemic racism were the real blight on Britannia all along (and everyone facepalms because “we thought we all already knew that?? Anyway kill it with violence and mass destruction of property and maybe some eloquence like we do everything else”) }

Season 5: Dragon’s Judgement

Pt. 1

{in which sometimes you have to fight God in your backyard}

Finale!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A big thank you to @zeldriszezinho for coming up with fantastic ideas for the plot details. Which you all will see play out later when I gather up all the scenes I’ve been cooking up and force them onto paper. It was a lot of fun, hope to collab with you again (and anyone else who wants to join us) in the future. <3

[hihopelessromantics]

Some Liones Citizens: King Meliodas!! please get this war criminal out of here!!! He is back again wandering the goddamn market our local artistians are starting to try and sell him things our painters are sketching him please

Meliodas: on it! :) *finds and tackles Zeldris in a hug*

Zeldris: GET YOUR HANDS OFF- oh it’s just you. Why are you so difficult to find?? huh???

Mel:

Zel, still in his embrace: *does not yell and shove and fly away*

Meliodas, to the citizens: it seems. He is too powerful to safely anger. And I seem to have failed other methods of getting him to go. Oh well. Get em next time

Zeldris: is that a fucking pinup of me

Meliodas: oh he does that to everyone. Even cats. Don't worry about it

Zeldris: is that one of Elizabeth

Meliodas: ooo I am buying that

I love the fact that zeldris is basically naked now and wearing no clothes but decided to add boots to his outfit lol he’s such a hore I love him so much

[earmo-imni]

Oh my gosh, this was so nice!!!! Thank you for all the praise, and your drabble is delightful! I could absolutely see that happening, lol. Also I have. So much written right now and I’m only on the time skip between “Meliodas turning into a Beast” and “Elizabeth actually finding him as a teenager and starting the actual plot”. I mean it’s just in bullet points right now but frankly that’s pretty good for me.

Okay, questions first. Yes, Meliodas can speak. I can’t decide if I prefer him speaking with like a depressed version of his normal voice or like if Bryce Papenbrook got really deep and growly but with the same level of emotion as his normal Meliodas voice.

I imagine his beast form is something like a cross between the thing he turned into in Purgatory and the shadow he had at the end of chapter 28:

Like, dragon-y, like the purgatory form, but more humanoid and spiky and scary like the shadow. The dragon’s too round, in this form he’s a BEAST, a terrifying monster with too-human (well “human”) eyes, made out of magical darkness gone haywire. And he’s covered completely in his darkness, too, and it’s spiked like fur so he almost looks soft but it makes it so that it hurts to touch him (a reaction to his own feelings of “must keep others away” and defensiveness. He’s a lot less open and friendly in this.) (The “hurts to touch” thing probably goes away after enough time with Elizabeth. I want them to have a dance. Or at least cuddles.) (Ohhhhhhhh idea: his eye color changes depending on how relaxed he is! Like they’re human, but a lot of the time he’s defensive and grumpy and hurting and his eyes are demon dark, same when he’s angry or fighting. But when he’s relaxed or happy or especially vulnerable they go back to green!)

They don’t figure this out for a long time but his beast form is essentially a reflection of his own feelings. His demon powers gone completely haywire but he turns them on himself in such a way that they mutate him to reflect how he feels about himself: a monster that hurts people and is terrified of getting hurt yet again.

I don’t think it’s a perfect cube that protects them…I was just thinking of like. A generic magic barrier that let through only the people Merlin allowed. Which isn’t really something that I think has ever occurred in the series, so I might need to rethink that bit 😅

Oh, wait, there’s that seal thing they used on Baste Prison! Maybe it could be an adapted version of that.

Honestly I’ve been primarily focused on one) Meliodas angst and two) plot (in that order) so I hadn’t really thought about how the Sins would react to being thrown in with Meliodas. I had initially thought Merlin would tell them the truth prior to them getting thrown in, but it would be much funnier for her to not tell them anything until they’ve freaked each other out and Ban and Meliodas had a little fight (because the two people fighting that you imagined would absolutely be Meliodas and Ban lol) and then once everyone’s been like “Okay why do you all seem cool and not terrible like that’s clearly the monster we were sent to kill but also he’s really chill?????? And like. Depressed as hell??????” she comes down and is like “Okay so here’s the deal” quietly smirking to herself about the shenanigans.

(Meliodas would know about the plan to give him company already, so he knows not to actually kill any of them when they attack him. He does get annoyed with Merlin for the hassle, though.)

Also an addition to the drabble:

Meliodas: “Those chicken looking things are [such-and-such] birds, idiot, how do you not know that, where are you even from. Now let’s go get some, they do make good food.”

And then he’s genuinely surprised that Ban would offer him a home-cooked meal. Like, he’s clearly a Beast, why wouldn’t Ban expect him to just eat like an animal? But no, Ban treats him like a friend. (It goes a long way towards getting Meliodas to open up to the others, especially since he was alone for a long while. It took time for Bartra to get all the Sins to Danafor so Meliodas was alone with ruined buildings and the corpses of people he’d known and lived with for years scattered throughout the streets for…probably weeks, if not months. It fucked him up a little). (He did his best to bury them all, but he was only one person, and he wasn’t used to this form. It was hard to move in properly for a while. The Sins ended up helping him bury everyone after they join him. Liz gets her own special place in his private “lair”, which is essentially the au’s version of the West Wing from the Beauty and the Beast movie.)

Idea: canon-divergent and -compliant Beauty and the Beast/Seven Deadly Sins fusion where:

Meliodas curses himself instead of destroying Danafor and turns into a Beast that roams the ruins of Danafor, protected from ambitious adventurers by a magical barrier created by Merlin that will only allow certain people through

Elizabeth still grows up as a princess but with Bartra telling her stories of cursed Beasts protecting and be saved by innocent Beauties instead of tales of the Seven Deadly Sins

The Sins minus Merlin are tossed into the ruins of Danafor with Meliodas, supposedly because their punishment was altered to “kill or be killed by the monster lurking there” but really so they can keep Meliodas sane and prepare for the Ten Commandments

Hendrickson and Dreyfus are still controlled/possessed by Fraudrin, who is still trying to unseal the Commandments and the demon clan, and

Merlin is driving herself insane trying to protect her friend and break his curse(s), protect her other friend and break HER curse, and accomplish her goals with Arthur and Chaos

The main story begins when the Great Holy Knights take over and Bartra sends Elizabeth to Meliodas in the hopes of protecting her and enlisting Meliodas and the Sins’ help in saving the kingdom

(I fully intend on expanding on all this and maybe even writing a full fic, but if anyone else feels inspired to create art or writing based on this then go for it! Mentioning me as the original inspiration is appreciated but if you don’t that’s fine too. Please tag me, though, I want to see!)