#ichinose shiho

[nightshadelinnette]

I'm feeling particularly weird today so here's another scenario quiz:

You're standing in the hallway of a train, choose a room to spend a whole train journey in

ROOM 1

What on earth do you want to discuss with these people?!😭 Stay atleast 13527 kms away from humanity thank you

ROOM 2

Lacus would try to talk to you to reduce the awkwardness in the room, Mika ofc silently looks out of the window. René would either add his comments to Lacus's yapping or sleep

ROOM 3

Welcome to Shinya's private tea party, I don't have to elaborate any further. Yuu and Guren are most likely to have an insult battle with each other, it's up to you to take one side or just peacefully sip tea with Shinya💀👍

ROOM 4

Krul and Ferid constantly bickering, Crowley would talk to you or suggest playing cards (Bad move💀) both of em would accuse each other of cheating in the game and start another round of bickering🗿

ROOM 5

Good choice if you like socialising, it's the most fun room in my opinion, you can play many games with them and tell each other stories

ROOM 6

Urd will leave you on your own, Ky's not interested in humans so he wouldn't care and continue talking to Lest, Little tyrant would be talking to Ky about how he's planning to overthrow Krul and conquer Japan. Don't even jokingly try ask him silly questions, he'd be so pissed off and Urd would have to stop him from rebuking you💀

[aliencatart]

tokuhol time again! this year i made art for @stickers-on-a-laptop of my favorite lupat rarepair getting ready for a date night of thieving

oh and these guys are still here (they forgot):

[lostsoulaltair]

Owari no Seraph Chapter 140 - Thoughts and Analysis (Warning: Spoilers ahead)

Hmm, before starting, I'll make another post about my thoughts so far...I think, or rather I believe at this point, people have grasped the situation with the manga. The way it goes, it has started to connect like a massive web whose missing points are finally fitting...like a whole gear system.

(Hehe, yeah those thoughts will be for the next post)

Now returning or focusing to the latest chapter. In personal taste it was pretty much a bit tad boring given that there was a degree of expectation in terms of what'd appear but of course it doesn't mean it's bad. Actually, we got a new insight along a possible follow up fight between Ferid and Ky Luc.

First of all, the chapter starts with the ones trying to break free who are now again dancing to "save the world". Still, there's a degree of uncertainity given the "cost" of that "saving" the world.

Of course, I'm talking about a difference of ideals between Rigr Stafford, more commonly known as Saito and Urd Geales.

Urd and Rigr being the elders of the vampire council, tend to be the ones to take the decisions that are give more benefit to the world, but given the truth Rigr learnt first hand, doubt began to spread within Rigr along a change of mindset and heart given what the First went through.

Whereas for Urd, such action goes against order. Still, the two of them chose to listen what Yuu had to tell them.

Next, Yuu. Yuu is finally playing smart. We got answered a big doubt ever since Shikama got devoured by Shinoa. Only 30% of his power is within Yuu, whereas the 70% lies with Shinoa.

As to why I mean he's playing smart, it is mostly that he is using that "love" the progenitors have for the First despite everything along the fact of the memories Rigr, the rest of the progenitors (excluding Krul and very likely all those 3rd progenitors that were turned into cursed gear) along Yuu. The fact that the angels existed is a key piece on what exactly the ideals align. But why do I state this?

Simple, Yuu does not exactly have full knowledge of spells. While it's true the First gave three special spells...it does not exactly mean he has all the requirements to trigger them and the second one to know about magecraft is Rigr Stafford as stated in the chapter.

(What I think here is that...Yuu is actually underestimating Guren, Mahiru and Ferid a lot. While it's true he chose to finally leave the nest, there's a reason why I state this which will be for another post, yeh sorry eheh)

But within this, why did the idea of actually taking over the First's goals came to be?

For love.

Rigr at first was like a child, hoping the First would actually acknowledge him as who he is, instead, he found that the First has been trying to resurrect all angels back, and of course with this, it goes with a second point which is "finding a reason to live".

The vampires were left with no reason, spending millenia without changing and now that a fragment of a possibility comes, Rigr isn't hesitating whereas Urd wishes to maintain order.

But why is that? Why is it that Urd is against?

The reason very independent from the love he has for Rigr (I'm not saying it is a romantic love, but I leave it to interpretation for people. We don't know what they endured together when they were human but mayhaps one day we will) is the fact that there are heavy prices to pay in order to save the worlds mentioned. True, everything sounds like a great plan, like the best of the best saving every single thing out, but in order to do so, in order to create a miracle, something must be paid at the same level for such miracle to happen.

The progenitors so far only have a vague idea of the price; and so far they are still dancing to one end goal which was stated back in chapter 108

The final event of the story is very likely heading to that detonation. The battle against the angels, BUT, that will only happen or course depending on which party wins. What do I mean?

Right now, there are four parties at hand.

-Human Team represented by the King of Humanity Kureto Hiragi.

-Guren's Team. A team that is made of Guren, Mahiru and their wild card Ferid Bathory who so far will likely succeed on devouring the 5th Progenitor Ky Luc.

-Yuu's Team which is integrated by the Progenitors, Mikaela and Yuu himself.

Though, how far will such team endure everything? It is unknown for one factor that I'll actually explain later.

And lastly, the new team no one suspected to ever appear given that they were like lambs obeying and following due to the lack of power.

-Shinoa's Squad. Obviously, the team made of Kimizuki, Yoichi, Mitsuba and Shinoa. Who now have a possibility to turn the tables against the King of Humanity and very likely Guren's Team.

All the lines or paths are finally starting to align, the big puzzle is finally merging; and the real battlefield is about to start. The war that will follow up won't be just power alone but strategy and how far the love each team will take them to.

Even if the Progenitors that are currently working with Yuu have chosen to follow up what the First was doing, there are possibilities that such plans won't exactly go as planned given that there are several things in common within three parties and that is the very fact that they are underestimating their respective enemies.

What do I mean?

Vampire Progenitors

The progenitors while holding deep knowledge along having a representant in such field such as Rigr, they have done one thing nonstop which is underestimating lesser Vampire Progenitors such as Ferid along humanity itself. Given their form of being immortals, they believe their battles will forever be won but humanity within the story has displayed that they can still take leaps in order to pursue their objectives.

Humanity's Team and their King of Humanity

While it's true Kureto, despite his methods, has actually tried to make sure humanity prevails; still, he's still in the dark, he has no clue he has several walking corpses but given that factor, along how chapter 140 played at the end, Guren won't allow the walking corpses to turn into dust but rather he'll keep fighting until their goal is set. But still, again they underestimate something. What is it?

Given that they belong to one generation, they believe they'll eventually have the upperhand, which means, they might pull a fight against the Progenitors but not exactly vs Yuu and the Shinoa Squad.

Guren's Team (Mahiru, Ferid and Guren)

Within this team, two of three are underestimating the guinea pigs they managed to gather, what do I mean?

While it is very likely that Yuu's departure was planned, one sole thing wasn't exactly planned. What do I mean?

Correct. In all the story of the manga, Guren made sure to only give power to one sole person within the Shinoa Squad and that was only Yuu given the purpose and goal he had in mind from the beginning. This also includes Mahiru and to some extent Ferid. But the new Wild Card that has popped out is not from the Black Demon Wielders but rather from Shinoa herself.

Given that Shinoa gave a full evaluation along having a purpose for life given that "love" is what fuels her goals along treasuring and protecting the family she has; true, Mahiru has awareness of the power Shinoa has to some extent but not how far they can go, and the very moment Guren's team left the squad and Ferid actually stopping watching them, this gave the opportunity for Shinoa to give her squad to fight on a more equal ground and now that she has the majority of the First's powers along knowing how to enhance and channel the power of all the demons, this can play as backfire against all the demon wielders within the story so far.

How long will it take for the story to finish? I'm not certain, but it is very likely that the end will eventually connect everything into one single thing.

What do you think guys? Let me know?

[annoyingflowerwitch]

next chapters prediction

The sources Ferid mentioned are Kimizuki and Yoichi, some says that it's Mika or Yuu or someone else, nope. Just like Mirai, Kimi and Yoichi also have the sinner key inside them. Guren/Ferid will go after them and we will see a fight w Shinoa squad in the upcoming arc.

We also know that Yuu has the last key. Vamps won't refuse to cooperate with Yuu at this point, they've already lost their brain cells. So Yuu and the vamps vs Guren/Ferid will be inevitable but at this stage I expect Ferid to devour the vamps.

/As a surprise, K could also include Krul (+Crowley). I'd like her to come out from Ferid stomach right in the middle of the fight lol go quunie

[kuregure]

I wanted to share my ONS collection with you because, well, I'm literally putting my savings into it 😔

first, the main story volumes! I had ordered a large part (+20 volumes it seems to me) on Amazon and they had lost my package ☠ I was so angry lmao, so I preferred to order elsewhere

but 10 and 11 come from Amazon anyway and look at 11! I received it with a small rip 😔 that day I decided that amazon wanted to harm me or just didn't like ONS

secondly, the story that I prefer: the Guren light novel obviously. As I am French, we have had the 12 manga volumes since last year it seems (the last one came out last year I mean). Then the 7 in novels. And the 2 from the second light novel but in English because they were not released in France and there is no sign that Kana is doing so. (notice the size difference lmao)

I remember having a hard time reading them, I used Google photo translation for each page, with my lamp next to me. I had to make sure I flattened the page and that there were no shadows. (good memory)

these two fanbooks !

I was originally going to buy them on ebay because they weren't anywhere, but ebay prices are so expensive so I didn't but was close to doing so. Until a professional account put them on sale on Vinted (idk if other countries know about it but I think you have it too??) at a very reasonable price! so thank you 🙏 (I also translated each page from Japanese to French (once again a hassle)

HHHHHHH I got them on vinted too thank goodness (ebay sucks), I was so happy at that moment! It took me two weeks before I decided to spend my money on it! I only have half though but originally I only wanted to get Guren and Shinya. Finally I took them all. They are so cuuute 😤❤

when I saw that there was going to be another collaboration or whatever I was over the moon! look how beautiful they are! I still can't get over Guren's clothes and hair 🤧 so beautiful

I got it as a gift with the Sanrio badges. The person gave me a price and then said "I'll give you two official images of Guren if you buy the badges from me". That's what convinced me LMAO I'm weak.

but look, Guren with Hello Kitty is just AAAAAA

This was the second official image I got with the badges! I already had it but hey, it's Guren. Nothing stops me from having a duplicate. Plus, this image is really beautiful!

they are not official (because the official ones on ebay (AGAIN) were way too expensive for a single acrylic stand. Nonetheless, they are still amazing!

also, it literally took me several months to realize that there was plastic film on them, so I took them off and OH they were immediately prettier LMAO (that was last week)

damn I just realized that I can't put any more photos on this post 😔 so I'm going to make a second one! wait a second!

[amethystroselily]

Catastrophe at 16 is a group of people trying to communicate how much they care about the protagonist and swearing they’re undying love for him as he learns the importance of friendship and gets through that emotional barrier. Vampire Reign is the protagonist desperately trying to convince his acquaintances that they’re all actually besties because he is desperate for a sense of community and connection.

[nono-uwu]

Hello hi here is what alignments ons characters would have in path to nowhere :3 (and i give zero context for my reasoning!) Also feel free to add on/make suggestions for other characters!

(Tierlist maker fried the images holy shit)

Characters not included bc i have no fugin clue where to put them: Mitsuba, Chess, Horn

Characters not included bc I was too lazy to grab their images: everyone else lmao

Explanations for each alignment utc! (aka the flavor text in game)

Violence: Boiling blood torments the body of the violent one. Neither love not hatred matters anymore. - No matter how you try, you will be forever mired in blood

Love: The lover's upturned gaze fixes on the sky above the cliff, as if longing for an unattainable aim of desire. - Fulfill my most frantic loneliness

Greed: Greed will ever expand and snowball into a massive, bone-crushing boulder. - You wish to dominate all, but you will perish a servant

Treachery: Paths of the earth become as fatal as a frozen lake with cracks. Icy demise is at the slightest misstep. - The faithless, the insincere, the dishonest - their soul do not return

Limbo: The limbo one tries to see through Fate's plan, yet has learbed how arduous it is to seek the meaning of life. - Blind idiot, all is vanity

Anger: The angry trudges through mud, searching for a clear path. The answer's not out there; it reflects from within. - The fire of rage may burn out, but I am their fuel

Heresy: Wrath of authority trails closely behind, vowing to chase heretics into the eternal hellfire of the sarcophagus. - Outside of the light, I dwell in shadow

Sloth: The heart of the sloth stays where it is. Even if there are countless roads in front, they shall balk at moving forward. - Cherish the outmoded and preserve the outworn, stubbornly fetering oneself

Fraud: The fraud believes in what they think is true, and therefore feels they can manipulate everything. - The deluded take refuge in the dark, and those who fool others have no place to return to

Immortal: The one who sleeps here is not deceased. Under the light of the red moon, there is an end to death. - Retrograde without return, withered and sunken

[dxvilschild]

꒰͡ ⠀   ִ    SHIP RANKING  ⠀ׂ  ⠀  ͡꒱

SERAPH OF THE END

︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵

ಎ    ⊹       ✿ SUPERIOR OF THE SUPERIOR

⫍ CrowFeri (Crowley Eusford x Ferid Bathory) — I might hate Ferid as a person/vampire, but THIS SHIP IS SO FUCKING GOOD. I adore everything about these two, they're just soooooo perfect together!

⫍ GureShin (Guren Ichinose x Shinya Hiiragi) — Take my fucking soul and make this canon, I'm begging. THEY ARE SOULMATES, END OF STORY!

⫍ MikaYuu (Mikaela Hyakuya x Yuichiro Hyakuya) — Yuu and Mika are literally destined for each other. All their moments and the love they have for each other surpasses any other in this show!!

ಎ    ⊹       ✿ AMAZING GREAT FANTASTIC

⫍ KimiYoi (Kimizuki Shiho x Yoichi Saotome) — They are so fucking cute!! I don't ship them as much as other ships, but they are so adorable together 😭

ಎ    ⊹       ✿ CUTIES

⫍ MitsuNoa (Mitsuba Sangu x Shinoa Hiiragi) — I mean, it'd only make sense for me to ship them. I fucking dislike them, so...

⫍ MitsuYuu (Mitsuba Shagu x Yuichiro Hyakuya) — This ship is a good one, certainly, but due to my dislike for Mitsuba and my intense love for MikaYuu, this won't go any higher. Otherwise, it's a perfectly normal ship.

⫍ YoiNoa (Yoichi Saotome x Shinoa Hiiragi) — This is also a great ship, or at least by the ship standards, but again, I have a deep rooted dislike fot Shinoa and I can't really ship her with many people because of that.

ಎ    ⊹       ✿ EHHHH...

⫍ GureMahi (Guren Ichinose x Mahiru Hiiragi) — Listen, I know this is canon, but I don't think that they have any chemistry, to be brutally honest. We didn't see any sort of development between these two, at least not as much as other potential ships.

⫍ GureYuri (Guren Ichinose x Sayuri Hanayori) — This could work out, but again, there wasn't enough development for me to like them. It's not a terrible ship and I can understand why some people like it, but for me it's... eh.

⫍ YuuNoa (Yuichiro Hyakuya x Shinoa Hiiragi) — No. Just... no. I never liked this ship, I'll never like it, and I also hate Shinoa's behavior towards Yuu with passion. MikaYuu for life hoes.

ಎ    ⊹       ✿ HELL NAWWWW

⫍ FeriNoa (Ferid Bathory x Shinoa Hiiragi) — Who even ships this? Like... what? Why does this even exist as a concept? It seriously makes me wanna gouge my eyes out.

⫍ FeriYuu (Ferid Bathory x Yuichiro Hyakuya) — NOOOOOOOOOO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO, YOU'RE DISGUSTING IF YOU SHIP THIS

⫍ GureYuu (Guren Ichinose x Yuichiro Hyakuya) — No explanation needed. Just awful.

[yuiphantomhive123]

THEORY TIME!!!!

Okay, I sure most of you remember my other theories about Yu and Mika becoming the Sun God Aten and Archangel Michaela in the ultimate battle.

Well, I change my mind…

I now believe they will fuse/merge and become a seraphim or the ultimate seraph.

In chapter 108, Sika Madu told Yu and Mika to stop merging and it was to early for that.

Obviously, he has plan that involves them merging or fusing together.

So, I believe in future chapters Yu and Mika will literally merge/fuse together similar to the demons from Devilman Crybaby, the gems in Steven Universe, or the Kwamis from Miraculous Ladybug, and become the Ultimate Seraphim.

It makes sense because in most art, the description of a seraphim are described as beings with six wings (Mika) covered with eyes (Yu).

What do you guys think???

[rinislove-rinislife]

This is way too cute I’m dying

Look at my sweet little Ferid winking his way through my heart all over again 🥹

Taken from this X post

[sanguutrash]

Seraph of The End and its plot

Let me clarify this: Seraph of The End is a masterpiece, a work of literary art. Despite this, it has a lot of problems with its plot.

Let me state the extremely obvious; Seraph of The End is on an acid trip at this point of the plot. There's a lot of plot twists, and definitely some plot inconsistencies. This is probably because Kagami is changing up stuff so that it matches with his ideal outcome/ending for it, of course. Not to say it's near, since it's still a total clusterfuck and a lot of things have to be clarified before the manga can progress (not to mention it is MONTHLY, so we get 12 chapters per year to work with).

I personally, don't understand how YUU is MIKAELA. This is physically impossible, because, we know that Yuu is the eyeball. Not the fucking human???? unless Yuu is being stupid again and misreading his memories. Like, Michaela named the eyeball, the first Yuu, you know... Yuu. That just doesn't make sense. The eyeball basically gave life to a bunch of humans, so it would more be Yuu's child than a vessel of Yuu. Michaela and Yuu do not appear to be similar at all. You can tell because of the way his personality starts out. A fearful child, and a generic tsundere teenager. He just grows more innocent and foolishly blinded by his affection for life as time progresses. Michaela isn't exactly innocent in the child-like sense, he's more curious. Curious as to why life is... well, life. Honestly, I just don't get it at all. I just have no other way to explain it.

And then, where would Mikaela get his personality from? We know he's a successful clone of Michaela, but we don't know much about him [MIKAELA] as a person. We know a lot about Yuu, he's the first main lead; who the story is about. However, the story is centric around Mika too. So, it's inconsistent and just all the more confusing.

Shinoa Squad, GureMahi, and KrulFeri. (Not using their names as shipping, but more of an abbrev. for their names since theyre seen together) What about them? We have no idea what's going on with them. Since, our original leads in the previous plot arc was centric around them too. Shinoa Squad has been there from the start, so what'll be made of that? Seriously, seems like Kagami just cut them out and forgot them.

The plot is literally inconsistent as shit. Everything went downhill from the conversion of Mika to cursed gear and forth. After that it just got so much more confusing than it actually should be. And yet again, the story falls victim to the plot inconsistencies! Wow. Surprising. The story still remains interesting, but it's still extremely, extremely confusing. This may also ward off newer readers, because it's just not easy to wrap your head around unless you like overanalyzing stuff.

[END. If you are a MikaYuu or YuuNoa shipper, continue reading.]

Alright, now there's two possible ship endings that I can think of right now when it comes to our main leads.

A.) MikaYuu. They've been together from the start, they are the epitome of "It was always you", sacrificed everything to be with each other, show parallels to a ship considered "semi-canon" according to the ship wiki (this being GureMahi, as it has the most material to have parallels be made to)., and of course is a fan favorite. This can work, if Kagami decides to please his readers with something that you wouldn't see in a shounen: queers. I can see the world ending again, with Mika and Yuu sitting together, smiling at the destruction. [Although, I picture Mika slightly less happy.] Yuu and Mika watch as their greed has caused all of this, but they just don't seem to care all that much. After all, they're together.

B.) YuuNoa. They're the main leads. Main female, main male. They display parallels to GureMahi as well (but I find they have less), Shinoa's canon crush on Yuuichirou (that I will write a masterpost analyzing later), it's a shounen there has to be some straights somewhere, maybe Shinoa's love will have some good outcome for her. For YuuNoa, I picture that Yuu decides to revive the world (with Mika being by his side, can't kill off the main guy completely), with Shinoa finally having the strength to profess her love. Yuuichirou being like "WOW!! You like me!? AWESOME!!!!" and boom, they hold hands or something.

I'm mentioning these potential endings because shounen has some kind of outcome for their main characters. (ex: naruto's marriage, goku and chichi, ichigo and orihime, etc.) Of course, it's up to Kagami with what he wants to do with the romantic tensions. As for my stance on ships? Whatever seems the most canon at that moment is what I will support. Of course, as long as it isn't fucking disgusting. At this moment, it looks like MikaYuu is going to be canon. This may change, but I'm all for some queers.

SO, to conclude: Owari no Seraph is kind of a clusterfuck, and that's not a good thing. If it's gonna be saved, Kagami has a lot of explaining to do. Potential endings with ships can happen, depending on what Kagami wants to do with the story.

Send asks about topics you want me to maybe cover!! I'd love to do that :)

[moonlymeeks]

Seraph of the End x Sanrio collab for Seraph of the End's 10 Anniversary!!

https://twitter.com/sanrioanist/status/1589528078778245123?t=6Vpxe1521Unm-Bl-IFp6TA&s=19 (Source)

[classybeardbluebird]

THEY ARE SOOO FUCKING CUTE....

[lostsoulaltair]

Owari no Seraph Chapter 133 - Analysis & Review

Hello everyone, it's been a goddamn while; I've been busy with things, also learning constantly a new language; thus, given that I did like the latest chapter, I wanted to talk or discuss about it; as always, feel free to discuss, disagree, or share your thoughts; though of course, the only thing I request is respect.

Thus let's proceed

A destroyed world a talk about the "meaning of life" & "what it means to live". At the end, we're young.

The chapter might joke a lot between the girl's conversation which it might feel unnecesary or perhaps not worth it but given how the two characters were build; Shinoa is the type of character that does know when there's certain tension when someone is concerned about her.

But let's focus on something more important; the chapter begins with Mitsuba finally finding Shinoa who has been far away from her squad after Guren, Mahiru, Krul and company left to most likely the place where Yuu is.

Mitsuba after for so long finally made an appearance which is something I'm glad for; and as a good friend, she shows her concern given that she's never seen Shinoa act out of her usual demanor.

Something that I do find adorable is the very fact that Mitsuba is trying to be supportive given that there is a weight being carried on Shinoa's shoulders; while it's true Shinoa has never spoken about what she endured as a child; Mitsuba does want to understand her friend and no matter what might happen, they're there for her.

Thus leading to the next panel; Shinoa has always seen herself as a character with no value or rather, that thanks to her existance, the lives of innocents were screwed given that she was compatible with the monster that made sure the world ended in the way it is.

But once again, Mitsuba does convey the message of how Yoichi, Kimizuki and her feel towards her given that there's absolutely no one to reasure her that her life is as valuable as others.

And of course, we got the author with its weird interest on female bodies but; jokes aside from such panel; there's an aspect of truth to it. They are teenagers, they're no longer kids; they're characters that were forced to grow up at a very young age, forced to change to endure all the struggles of their surroundings to the point they had to mimic adults in a sense.

Many might find it pointless, boring, and perhaps even unrelated but the very fact that they touched the emotions of Shinoa does lead to a heavier topic.

Such topic is reflected in the next panel:

While it's true that Yuu has constantly talked about "a reason to live", "family", "friends", etc. Yuu does not know the weight of those words; he says he's going to save everyone, but in order to save somoene, there are consequences, losses and the sort in such path; nothing can be obtained for free in life and that's something that perhaps he might face eventually.

Returning with the squad, Mitsuba at first dismisses such question about the "meaning of life".

There is a huge relevance to the question; and this of course, reflects to the very first issue; that they've been working on how to save their lives that they haven't ever thought about themselves.

While it is very common to see that whenever someone says "that person thinks about themselves" it can come in a negative connotation; but that's not entirely the case; there's a difference between being selfish and understanding one's self.

When it comes to being selfish, it does relate about not caring a bit about what your actions may eventually do to others, how much harm you may cause due to them, willingly or not; it is literally dismissing a reason to as to why there may be something halting something one may want.

But, when it comes to understanding one's self; it is not only a superfitial level of understanding; it is knowing what one person may want, may long, may fight for, what may make them sad, what may anger them, etc.

In this case, Mitsuba realized that she has never given a deep thought to what she, as Mitsuba Sanguu truthfully wants. She grew up to be a soldier, to battle every time in order to protect those who couldn't protect themselves but with the development of the squad, it was not just a journey of sticking together, it was a journey of finding out that love can develop after getting to meet someone.

Eventually, Mitsuba does understand that it's not the typical joke mood or non serious conversation but rather a very important one.

In the next panel, Mitsuba's first longing or desire was to be acknowledged or to be validated. To be recognized; which of course, Shinoa mentions that she does understand that and it is true; Shinoa as a child did want validation from everyone or rather, instead of the term "validation", what it is more proper is "recognition or acknowledgement of existance".

True, in the current chapter Shinoa mentions she was luckier given that they never bothered with her; there's a difference between Mitsuba and Shinoa, which was showing what they could do in order to seek that. Mitsuba tried her best to show that she too held talent; alas with Shinoa, she simply ditched the idea, there was no reason to even fight about it.

But thanks to the very fact that she remembered what Mahiru did even if I too, agree that it was a really harsh method; she did know that at least someone cared about her existance.

Mitsu states that Shinoa was loved in contrast to her that no one loved her; which makes Shinoa to reasure her that she does love Mitsuba. And of course, while it's true that the original source uses the kanji Ai (愛) it does not carry a romantic context (Yes I've been studying if you wonder and there's still a longer way ahead).

Shinoa is reasuring Mitsuba that she too is loved; just like how Mitsuba expressed on her best way that Yoichi, Kimizuki and her cared about Shinoa's safety; Shinoa too knows that the squad itself cares about each other; after all, they're a small family that can only encourage each other to keep going.

But here comes something important that perhaps it might be to personal interpretation but Shinoa does state something important:

Because love exists for someone, it does not mean that's the sole reason to the meaning of life or for a reason to live.

What does that mean?

Us as humans, be in the different envioroments we end up growing, we end up finding purposes for our existance, sometimes it takes longer, other times we have certainty that we found out what we want to do with our lives; along such trail, we will find friends, perhaps a person we might fall in love; we might suffer about a heartbreak or two or so on; but despite that, it's a path we've chosen to walk because very independent of the bonds we forge along the way; there are things we want to do out there, we long for new experiences, new insights, new spots to visit, and of course, we can never suspend the time; we grow up, we mature, we gain interest in other things as we grow which is visible how from childhood, we change a lot when we become teenagers, so as adults too, we change.

In Shinoa's case, she is truthful that she does not find value to her life, given how many chains of events involving her lead to misfortune for others; but despite that, she is thankful that there are people out there that do love her despite the harm her existance may has brought up upon Earth.

Nevertheless, we get a follow up, once Shinoa expressed herself, Mitsuba asks her directly about Yuu's acknowledgement, recognition or validation. Which of course, she responds honestly to it.

It hurts; and it is natural that it hurts her; it's the first time she fell in love with someone but not in the same way Mahiru did, not in the same turn of events Mahiru went through; after all, it's something I'll discuss a bit further from here. Let's continue.

Shinoa eases the mood by asking Mitsuba about how she feels towards Yuu which of course she knows very well that she too has a crush on him. But despite that many might feel the conversation as pointless, there's something certain to the panel itself; it is letting the weight and torment of many mixed emotions go, finally opening up to someone who understands you, to have someone you can trust unconditionally.

The mood eventually soothes to the point the two of them are in peace; having talked about such things when they've never had the opportunity to act like teenage girls, it was a rather refreshing experience for them.

I can't say that's correct or not but even in movies that face the end of the world, characters tend to talk about things they long to do and the sort.

Once Mitsuba asks Shinoa about her first real reason to live; one could understand that it is left to free interpretation given that both girls are simply enjoying their youth; they still haven't found a very truthful reason as to why they're there but for now; they did understand something.

Life is not just about existance, it's more than just hoping validation or acknowledgment, it is akin to what exactly you want to experience, it is about what you want to do instead of what others want you to do.

This leads to the new path I've mentioned before and this shall be discussed in the next point

Moving onwards to a new goal

After a girl's talk; Mitsuba points out about Shinoa's talent that is way above Mahiru's; such talent has always been hinted since the LNs were created.

Shinoa mentions that given that at that time she lacked a motive along goals within her reach; and of course, even Shikama pointed it out that she lacked desires, there was not so much she could do despite being more powerful than Mahiru, nevertheless, Mitsuba is aware Shinoa has gained something she lacked from the very beginning. Confidence.

This leads for Shinoa to have a discussion with her squad, but of course, they were eavesdropping the girls; they gave them their privacy. While they too are clumsy, reckless, immature in general, they too understand that people need some time alone to recollect their thoughts; they understand that there are things that sometimes can only be discussed with a certain someone not because of a lack of interest but rather because there is something that can be conveyed way better.

But very independent of that, it just reflects that Yoichi and Kimizuki have been worried as well about the girls after Yuu's departure along Guren and Vampires.

The next scene is actually something I am rather thankful that I actually thought I'd never see in the story in general; and that is the very fact that they're taking independent action for once; they're no longer following Guren's orders, they're no longer following a vampire's guidance that ends up falling in Guren's hand or Shikama's; nor they are following Yuu's wishes but rather; they're trying to open up a new path but exclusively for what they do label as "family".

Within the squad members, Kimizuki, Yoichi and Mitsuba long to see their families back due to the unfair deaths they had; Shinoa despite not having someone to call family or rather simply accepting the course of nature; she does want to see her friends having their families back, she has seen them struggle, she has seen the desperation of Kimizuki, the longing of Yoichi to have a miracle granted. But instead of following someone else's agenda given that Guren and Mahiru do have knowledge that they simply won't share to the squad; it is the first step for them to walk and open a new path for them.

Shinoa is very aware that their knowledge is limited, along the fact that they're not on an equal ground in terms of power; but given that now she does have confidence and something else; as I mentioned briefly in the other point; Shinoa has a deep understanding that the actions her sister took, do not defind her present or future nor how she will eventually turn out; such outcomes are only decided by her alone and if she wants to create a path along her friends, she has to fight for it giving away for the first time, the real power she has within her.

The very fact that Kiseki-O and Gekkouin were manifested by force instead by their wielders says something about what Shikama sought with Shinoa, what could it be?

Correct. Shikama or Sika Madu, was once an angel that served God but due to his arrogance, he lost his path leading to his eternal punishment for it; but even still, even if the angels that fell with him deemed or viewed him as a God. There was something even the reincarnations of such Fallen Angels were never subjected to.

Absolute control.

And thanks to reading the RAW version of the catastrophe at 16 manga; the purpose of Mahiru and Shinoa at the beginning was to control the punishment the Seraph of the End experiment held. But in contrast to Mahiru; Shinoa was born capable to control demons, she was capable of seeing them from a very young age but given that she has motivation along an objective; that power finally has shined. Leading to a new battle:

Perhaps you, dear readers may wonder how Shinoa was able to connect with Shikama despite him sending her off or cutting their ties; and of course, she does mention there was a small connection; truth to be told; even if Shikama wanted, she was born with him; they were together ever since she came to existance, hence that even if he tried to severe his ties to her, there will be something chaining him down.

And of course, the battle between Shinoa and Shikama has begun

Shikama gave away his power for light BUT, given that Shinoa could devour such darkness; it can only lead this

All the power that came from God's light may be stored in Shinoa's body and as they say, even if darkness tries to consume light; light always finds a way to cast aside the shadows that darkness creates.

Quite long huh? What do you think?

Let me know!!

[kuregure]

Compilation of moments where people (especially Shinya) hold out their hand to Guren

His fabulous team (the best team ever)

Shinya

Shinya again

Shinya again and again. Congratulations Guren, you took his hand!

And Shinoa Squad

This guy always takes everything on his shoulders since he was little. Now that he has trusted people around him, he can finally lean on someone. Although this guy still takes every problem on himself most of the time.

TAKE THEIR HANDS AND LET THEM HELP YOU BRO <3

(well now you are alone once again (except Mahiru) but we are nearing the end, all this suffering is almost over don't worry)

[amethystroselily]

I was thinking about how Shikama obviously parallels Guren and how Ashera oddly enough parallels Kimizuki. And then I was oh my god even their relationships with eachother kind of parallel.