#or rather this one guy's theory on religion (like what religion is how it forms etc)

[stopmyhearts]

Found a paper that talks about doctor who and the topic I need to write about

I should not have this power

[what-even-is-thiss]

What do you think would our world be like if Christianity hadn't been invented? I'm not trying to start an anti-christianity argument, I am just wondering... Because it transformed our world and our cultures so much. For example, no Christianity = no colonization as we know it, would we still believe in heathen / nature gods or would another religion colonize the planet? What would that look like? Would we even have racism? Since "race theory" was invented by white christian colonizers to "justify" slavery.

I do think that it’s possible colonization would’ve happened in one form or another. What it would’ve looked like, I’m not sure. But people often forget that cultures with religions other than Christianity have historically erased and conquered.

As a Christian I don’t excuse the sins of those who share my faith. Their forgiveness is up to their victims, themselves, and God. And I recognize that Christians as a whole have a tendency to ignore our bloody history. But I also don’t think the world would necessarily be that much better without it. Different? Absolutely. Better? How would we know that? It wasn’t the only or first major religion to spread like wildfire. It wasn’t the only or first religion to be used to justify atrocities. Look at historical examples in Communist countries. Atheism being used to erase people’s religions. Look at the history of Islam. One of Mohammad’s first big feats was launching a military campaign. Look at Ancient Rome. Even though they let people keep their gods they still plugged their own gods in where they didn’t fit, used them to justify horrible atrocities, and severely discriminated against Jewish people.

People in power just want an excuse to justify their actions. Religion or lack thereof makes for a convenient excuse whether we like it or not. Without Christianity the world would still have power-hungry people looking to force their will on others and they’d find an excuse. Possibly in some other religion, possibly in something else. But Christianity became a world religion so long ago that I cannot tell you what I think would’ve happened exactly. If modern racism wasn’t invented something would still be contributing to discrimination.

Perhaps the cult of Isis would’ve taken over the world. It had some similar ideas to Christianity in some ways including a focus on love and a good afterlife for its followers and it was spreading a lot even though some tried to ban it. Maybe it was on its way to being the state religion before my guy Jesus showed up. And temples and shrines of Isis being erected in town squares would be the first step in colonizing an area.

Perhaps the Chinese would be the first to colonize the new world. Or the Arabs. If Islam existed in some form or another. Or even with their old gods. Perhaps the traders of west Africa or the Norse. If you ask me, someone at least was bound to make contact across the water one way or another and unfortunately bring diseases like smallpox and measles with them. What their response would’ve been, I’m not entirely sure. Humans are often xenophobic, but they are also often caring.

It’s taken centuries for the native populations of the Americas to return to their pre-Columbus numbers. Whether or not that recovery would’ve happened faster under different leadership, I’m unsure because as the different colonizers demonstrated over time, there’s many different ways to “deal” with native populations. The English preferred to drive them out, the Spanish attempted to absorb them through intermarriage, the French slowly encroached on their territory and disrupted and took over their economies. And later in Africa and Asia the goal by all was generally to use the land and it’s people as a resource rather than a place to live.

Colonization was an extreme example and expansion of pre-existing techniques and attitudes. There can be arguments made that something like colonization was inevitable eventually with expanding technology such as better ships and guns. There can also be arguments made that it wasn’t. That guns don’t promise colonization. Perhaps something akin to old empires would’ve happened instead. Which isn’t always much better but is more contained.

Whether or not Russia as it exists at the size it is today is also up for debate. Some would argue it’s inevitable. Someone setting up shop in that exact spot has several flat weak points of land easy to invade from so any empire in that spot would find that the only way to protect themselves would be to own all of the land surrounding them. Then again, perhaps nothing is inevitable and that patch of land would be conquered and reconquered switching hands forever.

Alternate history is almost pure speculation. It’s fiction. A popular genre of fiction. You can probably find a book out there telling a story about this if you like.

[mrsvercetti]

Hiya! Can I have a matchup with the turtles?

I’m 5’4 (and a half!) and I’m 19. I work as a writer and work with firearms and blacksmithing in my free time!

Currently studying religion in university. I graduated from high school at 16 and LOOOVE learning about the earth, who formed us, how the heck we got here, the makeup of plants and space!

I’m super outgoing and love everyone! Although I’m an ambivert- I love socializing but I also love spending 5-6 hours writing in the dark about God and space theories. I’d rather work alone than in a team because I feel like I’m the only one who can specifically articulate what I mean. Also I like listening to music and spending time by myself in my head with no one to bother me. I have many ideas but sound like an idiot when I talk about them so I just make myself look stupid, everyone underestimates me!

I am super creative and love science and technology but it all goes right over my head. I can’t remember the biological makeup of the plants I love to study, I wanted to study neuroscience but my math skills are that if a 6th grader. I have horrid math anxiety. I can tell you how to hack into a telemarketers computer but cannot do it myself. I have so many ideas for cool tools… but I feel kinda useless.

I’m creative and artistic but I can’t draw. I can’t get out any of my ideas out in paper so I’m just stuck,

writing about them.

thank youuu!

I match you with...

Donatello

This man....This sweet little angel

He would NOT STOP thinking about you.

Like to him, EVERYTHING about you cannot be described by words. That's how perfect you are to him.

You and him both love learning and you guys bond over that.

He wanted somebody who would understand his intelligence. How special he is.

When you came to his life, it was like a God’s blessing.

He would always talk about you to his brothers. He can slightly annoy them but his brothers are happy that Donnie is happy y’know?

Personality wise, you guys are opposites.

He’s shy and you’re sociable and outgoing. You guys fit like a puzzle.

He would have you as his lab partner as soon as you guys get together as a couple.

Would teach you whatever you want to know. If he doesn’t know, he’ll spend hours doing research. Because he loves you and wants you to know everything.

He would let you work alone if that’s how you want to work. But the only condition is that you need to stay close to him. What if you get injured? He needs to protect you.

He doesn’t find you stupid or underestimate you in any way. He loves listening to your ideas and would love to cooperate with you to make those ideas a real thing.

This man will help you with biology if you have hard time remembering it. He’d also help you with math. This man will literally help you with anything.

If you are with him, he will never make you feel useless. He’s a gentle ninja who loves to give people what they want.

Creativity is what makes someone infinitely attractive in Donatello’s opinion. So, your ideas are never ignored or criticized in any way.

He’s not much of an artist. But would totally love to practice it with you.

If you wrote something like a short fanfiction, he’ll read it even if it is not finished. He wont judge you and will help you write the rest.

Also LOVES reading your theories. And will encourage you to write more.

Definitely will indulge himself into studying Religion with you.

If you are anywhere, Like in his lab, on the streets, on the living room watching T.V with his brothers, he will constantly flirt with you.

He will also bring you gifts that he made. He spent days to make it perfect so be very thankful, okay?

Will also be a bit of a tease. He’ll tease you about the height different you both have.

If you get upset about it, then expect the worlds greatest apology. Flowers, gifts, cuddles etc.

He’s also the type to sew you a dress or any type of clothing that you like.

Your name on his phone is this “😘🥰💕❤️Babygurl😍😊😚💗”

He’ll call you pet names all the time! “Honey”, “My Beautiful Queen”, “Baby girl”, “My cute kunoichi” (Because he will teach you ninjutsu), “Bunny”

Very clingy and wants to be with you all the time.

He's a sensitive baby so please don't be harsh on him if you get upset or angry.

He also gets insanely jealous if anyone flirts with you. He'll also get sad if the person who flirted with you seemed to be better than him. You need to reassure him that he's the only one for you.

Also, you get along with his brothers so that's a plus point!

[fratricideknight]

i'm sorry to rant about the angels in spn again (see original thread here - i'm tired of me, too, for the record) but i feel i made some concessions in that thread which i shouldn’t have, because people made some really good points and i kind of got side-tracked from my original point. once again, feel free to give me your thoughts, whether you agree or disagree. i finally learned how to add cuts, so click to read more :D

one of the reasons i love season 1 so much is because, in my opinion, it is the closest approximation to what spn was supposed to be. scrambled urban legends which our heroes have to untangle (e.g. Bloody Mary and the many myths around her) and uncertain folklore. take the episodes 'Phantom Traveler' and 'Skin', for example. in the former, demons are said to come in many different forms and this particular one to function like the initiator of a natural disaster which has adapted to the times. you're "wide open to demonic possession" if you're emotionally distressed, rather than just anyone being possessed. so cool!! the latter is a spin on the well-known idea of shapeshifters. the audience knows generally what to expect, but spn establishes its own unique, awesome lore. shapeshifters literally SHED THEIR SKIN, they don't just look like their target they become them, they need to keep their target alive for a psychic connection so they can download their thoughts and memories. so damn cool fr. even 'Bugs', a "bad" episode (spoiler alert: it's really not), had the super cool concept of curses tied to the land which the boys can't break, almost like the natural disasters of the supernatural world, which the two random guys we call our protagonists are not equipped to deal with. even by season 2, some of this has been lost. rather than establishing unique lore, the monster of the week episodes become more about using the same old lore in different and fun ways. e.g. sam and dean hunt a ghost while in prison, they investigate ghosts which are being controlled on a movie set. even when they introduce new monsters (djinn, zombies, the trickster, people infected with the croatoan virus, werewolves), they're used more for story purposes and we don't really learn all that much about them. the exception i guess would be the crossroads deals, which warranted explaining since john sold his soul for dean and dean would later do the same for sam. using lore in creative ways is very much a good thing, but these episodes rarely build much on the lore itself, just put the characters in unique situations; again, that's a good thing, but you can do both! more of season 2 goes towards plot episodes - and i'm not complaining, the plot is awesome! but i wish they kept the season 1 lore stuff up. it makes me think of that post which says "what is lore in supernatural if not just any book sam reads" and yeah. just yeah. bring back tulpas and friends!

now for how this ties into the angels: as per the original thread, they could have been super creepy! they were certainly not used to their full potential in the horror department. however, i will reiterate my opinion: they do not work with the original idea of spn. adding them turned it into a different show. even if they're made to be creepy and straight-up evil, there is baggage which will inevitably be dragged into the show with their inclusion. who in the world doesn't know at least a little about and have preconceived notions of angels? not many people, and most of those people would not be watching spn. the same could be said of ghosts and demons, but there is a religious baggage inherent to angels which cannot be avoided. even demons can be somewhat separated from their religious roots, especially if they turn out to not be demons at all (theory here). and, like i said, the show and its characters were not supposed to deal with religion beyond the spectre of it, sam having faith and dean not. their (lack of) faith informed their decisions, but neither of them were wrong or right in their beliefs, just at odds. the world should have felt claustrophobic while also being too intricate to fully understand and retaining a sense of mystery, and season 1 achieved this the best with some of the most complex and interesting lore in the show and the small stakes and small scale. get the cosmic beings out of my face, eric; no you cannot have angels if they just turn out to be dicks! i know better than you and i am gnawing on your bones.

[smaller-comfort]

In which I extrapolate a whole bunch of things about the post-game, and continue to try to make sense of the Great Eagle.

Mostly, though, B'st and Resh'an sit down and have a conversation.

Notes below the cut- this really turned into an essay about my general theories/headcanons rather than commentary on the fic, whoops.

In the first chapter all the references to the new year imply a standard Gregorian calendar‐ but I think, actually, they probably celebrate the new year on the vernal equinox and use a modified version of the Persian calendar. Because Reasons.

Some basic operative assumptions going on here: first, that Homeworld and Serai's world are just two worlds out of thousands in the Sea of Stars. This is entirely separate from Resh'an fracturing space-time; I think, for the most part, he's the only person really able to interact with multiple timelines at once. Aephorul can, too, to some extent, but he sucks at time manipulation and doesn't have the Vial of Time to help. ("Listen. When you describe your work, I can see how beautiful it is- but the underlying mathematics are a godsforsaken mess, and you know it." "Skill issue.")

Second, Solstice Children are a natural phenomenon that can occur among any humanoid race on a planet with an axial tilt and at least one moon in regular orbit. (Molekin, birdmen, Docarri, probably the lizardfolk- all could potentially be Solstice Warriors.) So Serai's world did have Solen and Luana analogues before the fall, but solstice religions look very different from one world to the next. (Songsters did not have the potential for solstice magic, hence B'st being more about the return of the sun.)

Third (and this is maybe where we get into wilder speculation), that Resh'an and Aephorul have been fighting their proxy wars across many of these multitudinous worlds, but there are plenty of worlds where Resh'an has a stronger foothold than Aephorul, and vice versa. Zale and Valere are not the only Guardian Gods; they're not even the only ones in this particular timeline. They may be the last Guardian Gods, though. Other worlds have Evermist islands, and know and revere the Great Eagle.

Songsters: pretty sure we don't know what they really looked like. It's possible the Lost Souls are their natural forms- little floaty blobby guys. It's possible B'st's living glass default form is his original shape- maybe the Songsters were all buff bodybuilder bipeds. Or it's possible they were something else entirely! I lean more towards little floaty guys, personally.

We only get "centuries" as the time frame for the fall of Serai's world. The Great Eagle preceded the Vial of Time, though, so I'm kind of inclined to view "centuries" as potentially "several thousand years". Assuming that time passes at the same rate on different worlds, of course. It's possible it took the Songsters a very long time to build Es'tristae, and even longer for Aephorul to figure out how to dissect their souls. Either way, things have been fucky there for a very, very long time.

B'st saying he's older than Resh'an implies either that Resh'an and Aephorul were very early in their immortality when the Great Eagle happened, or that B'st is very, very old. Or both! I think Songsters were probably relegated to legends on most of the worlds Resh'an was familiar with. Aephorul probably stumbled across them by accident, and Serai's world being as technologically advanced as it is has some implications about the relative age of sentient cultures there, compared to Homeworld.

I want canon background about B'st and T'kor so badly, you have absolutely no idea.

Other background things: B'st was one of Aephorul's hostages to force T'kor to build Es'tristae. B'st's indomitable will comes from his desire to not just avenge T'kor, but to ensure that no other worlds fall like theirs did, ever again. "Don't worry, I'm going to live forever so I can personally murder your ex boyfriend" is not a conversation he ever has with Resh'an, but he's thinking it pretty hard at times.

It's entirely likely that B'st goes to see the Elder Mist about becoming a music note in 100,000 years, instead of being recruited to fix everything that's fucked up with Mooncradle. Maybe I'll write that, too, but I really needed to deal with the Mooncradle Problem somehow.

I don't think adults in Mooncradle are completely unable to leave; the dock that the Vespertine uses sees some use by regular merchant ships. But why would they want to leave? They were chosen by god to help raise and serve more gods.

This is probably the first time in Mooncradle's history since its founding when there weren't any Solstice Warriors in attendance, and the 20 years since Zale and Valere are probably the longest stretch they've gone without any new children. It takes about 30 years for something to become standard/commonplace/traditional, so they're actually in a pretty good place for a paradigm shift.

"Bring your own subtext," I say, as I write a thousand words of B'st flirting. Not sorry.

(My own subtext: Hortense/Teaks all day long. Otherwise, I'm a Mooncradle Polycule Truther. Garl and Teaks have kids together at some point, but its mostly because they both want children, and Zale, Valere, and Hortense are absolutely useless on that front.)

The statue, ribbons, and stones kind of appeared in my head fully formed after some discussion about Resh'an's babynapping, and how ordinary people might deal with that. (The unspoken flipside to praying that you get to keep your kid- if it's an unwanted pregnancy, maybe you pray the Great Eagle will take it off your hands. Garl's going to hate that revelation so much.)

I cut it for length, but Resh'an does try to justify taking infants-

"I used to think I had the luxury of principles. It was always worse, somehow, if I waited until the children were older. And you can't wait too long; if they don't start training early, they'll never be able to take down a Dweller. This was the only way that worked, with the least amount of suffering."

“And now there are no more Dwellers, in this world, or my own. Clearly your results speak for themselves."

B'st will put up with a lot of Resh'an's bullshit because he can recognize a fellow victim when he sees one, and because he has very particular ideas about debts and gratitude while he's still trying to process all of his own trauma. There are some limits to his patience, though.

"Tell these people to stop sacrificing their stones on the Solstice" is a banger of a line, and it got stuck in my head until I wrote the second chapter.

"Maybe you should consider seeing other people." I've mentioned that I think I'm hilarious, right? I know I probably should have cut it, but just imagine B'st making his :T face while he says it.

I said it in the notes to Dreaming Still, but it bears repeating: Resh'an and Aephorul are awful at all of this. Just complete failures, in terms of being godlike beings, and everything else they do. Resh'an decommissions Mooncradle because it was a shitty idea that didn't work. Only one pair of ascended solstice warriors across how many worlds and how many thousands of years? Absolute dogshit.

I don't have anything else planned with Valere's family, but I might write some small things involving Zale's surviving brother, and Moraine's mother. These aren't characters I have particularly well fleshed-out, though.

This is not technically set in Outshine the Sun continuity, but if it were, it would take place some time in the middle of Dreaming Still. Resh'an takes a nap after this, and the associated dream loop would be him appearing to Aephorul as the Great Eagle, dissolving into burning sunlight.

(OtS is 100% fixit fic. Somewhere in there is a resolution for Resh'an and Aephorul that isn't mutually assured destruction.) (Probably.) (...maybe.)

The nice thing about all the time travel multiverse fuckery is that I don't have to worry too much about continuity. "Yeah this takes place after Loser Takes All, but in a different timeline than Dreaming Still." 👍 nailed it.

I'm not happy with the very end but I was also sick of looking at it. Imagine B'st just picks Serai up and carries her around while dancing after this.

[darkestrellar]

Fandomless shadow follows many of the same basic principles as the original but it's not exactly the same. For one thing the scale is much bigger, to make it more relevant to the setting. It's not just the result of a system / energy accumulation on a single planet or that single planet's ecosystem anymore. (or maybe it started that way a long time ago and got Worse. idk man I'm working on it...)

Since this is MY HOUSE NOW and I can do what I want (in theory) I want to invoke cosmic horror or some silly nonsense. I haven't read any cosmic horror in my life. The closest I got was religion :')

I do know it should be heavily involved with people's psyche and emotions again because that's foundational to my concept. The shadow itself has no singular identity, I'm not doing specific eldritch beings here, I like it to remain Impersonal. It's either something that's existed in some form from the very beginning, or for as long as there has been life capable of thinking and feeling to prompt it into existence, and it grew over time. Because of this, it is not something that can be fought or destroyed by conventional means.

It does not manipulate with thinking intent. Nor does it have specific, definable goals or motivations in the way an individual or even group would. Those who are affected by it certainly can, though. The exact way it affects a person is heavily rooted in that person themselves (classic line about the darkness in people's hearts). Some people get obsessed with it, some people get obsessed with what they think they can Do with it, some people become a conduit or are just totally broken down and consumed like fuel. It doesn't care.

Like the original, the only definable "goal" that it could be said to have would be to spread further, which happens through or is prompted by the negative experiences and emotions of ordinary living things, usually; and so the effects it has on living things, and the actions of those I have dubbed "carriers", ultimately further that end. In that regard it's rather basic and yet inevitable. Whatever containment the original was in, this one's broken out a long time ago.

As for Svern, he is just one little guy. He is, again, somewhat unique for his unusually static mind and flat emotions, which simultaneously make him more resistant and more susceptible. He ventured into the Cave(tm) and it resonated with him and he doesn't even really know why. Just like main verse, he impulsively, instinctually made a dedication to "it"; even though he barely understands what "it" is.

I'm not sure how this will manifest as compared to main verse yet. I've gotta work on the details more. But, he's not the only person who's linked up with whatever that shadow is. In fact compared to the potential guest muse oc that I also want to work on (orz) he's in babey stage, which is why he can still get out!

It will not be easy.

[goffilolo]

Black Clover thoughts - devil edition

Quick! Black Clover is coming back from hiatus soon and I need to share my silly thoughts about the devil lore before Tabata ruins it. Some of it is vaguely based of demonology, and some it is just my usual brain rot.

I got so much shit to say about Beelzebub. First of all I need to know what that bitch actually looks like, because how else am I supposed to draw him as anything other than his shadow form or the gremlin form? C’mon Tabata, don’t be shy babygirl, show me the face of the devil that was subscribed to Zenon’s gay depression for the past 20 years or so.

Also regarding Beelzebub, I came up with this whole running joke about how he invented Christianity, which originally started off as an MLM that was ran by him and a human he was contracted to named Jesus. Basically long story short after Jesus’ death he ended up possessing his corpse for a few days, which is how the crazy rumors have started and the ‘apostles’ which really was just Jesus’ downline (minus Judas who was the only one to realize he was being scammed) ended up spreading the news further and over time it spiraled into a religion. I choose to accept it as canon in my heart because I find the idea of a whole religion being accidentally invented by a devil to be hilarious and if I incorporate it into my AUs it means that Astaroth has to grin and bear Orsi and Lily’s good natured offers to baptize his kids, while choosing NOT to tell them that their entire faith is a result of a devil scam.

I don’t have that much to say about Megicula as of yet, other than my personal belief that since in canon she ended up taking Astaroth’s place during the Qlipoth she could’ve been his student/successor back in the underworld. I’m imagining full on ‘crazy disgraced mana theory professor and his sidekick that thinks her superior should probably be institutionalized, but is also writing down everything he says’ vibe. Add in to the fact that Megicula canonically shows no understanding of significance on interpersonal connections and her fascination with things that strike her interest seems rather cold and calculating, and all I’m picturing is this devil critter with a clipboard aggressively writing down stuff while muttering ‘interesting’ at the most boring and benign things about humanity and human realm in general, and I’m saying this specifically within the context of my Peanut Gallery AU.

Adrammelech’s lazy ass during the entire Qlipoth? Iconic. We know nothing about him yet we stan for the personality alone. According to demonology he’s in charge of Satan’s wardrobe, so the idea of him being like a royal stylist? Spectacular, no wonder he acts the way he does with Lucifero. Peak troll behavior.  Also, is that the reason why Lucifero looked the way he did at Qlipoth? Did Adrammelech roll up with some clothes on a hanger and say ‘today we’re doing a maxi skirt and tits out kind of look, people are gonna love this’? And Lucifero just went with it? I demand answers Tabata!

Speaking of the bitch himself! I sincerely believe that Lucifero is shit at what he does. I mean like Augustus level of incompetence. Silv and I had this running joke that the reason underworld is such a shit place to begin with is because Lucifero is very bad at managing it and that the lower rings of the underworld are their equivalent of forsaken realm, but worse,which explains why Liebe’s life there was so terrible before he got yeeted at the hellgates. Lucifero is the single most disliked political figure there but everyone is too scared to say it out loud because of his power. And all the other supreme devils in their political cabinet just have to put up with his ass.

And finally, for the honorary mention in this post - good old Lucifugus. According to demonology this guy is like the prime minister of hell, meaning that Lucifero just pushes all of his paperwork onto him. This man has not had a vacation in at least 5 centuries and he won’t have it for another 5. He hates his job, he wants to retire, he could sign Lucifero’s paperwork in fuckin crayon and his shitty king would be none the wiser because he does fuck all. No wonder he murdered Nacht’s family and all the other people at the ritual. He was probably pissed off at being summoned while he was in the middle of doing Lucifero’s work for him.

[n1kolaiz]

The Six Realms

Okay, so I was pretty close to giving up on writing analyses but I'm back LMFAO plus I see we're close to 100 followers and I just want to thank you guys for being so very supportive <3

Alright, I'm not sure if anyone's ever written about this, but if an analysis like this exists, please do let me know because I'm kind of curious as to what other people think about this, too!

Remember that time Fukuchi spoke about bringing "about the five signs of an angel's death"?

I read a little bit more about it, and as a minor content warning: this analysis will focus on a few religious aspects (Buddhism + Hinduism). So if I get any of the facts wrong, firstly: I do not mean any disrespect to either religion, and secondly: please do correct me if I interpret anything in the wrong way.

Spoilers for BSD chapter 90 onwards + BEAST!AU under the cut!

So I'll start by talking about the Decay of Angels. As we all know, the members include Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Sigma, and Bram Stoker, and their leader, Fukuchi Ochi. After Fyodor's arrest, the Decay of Angels came into light with Nikolai murdering four government officials in a week. These murders symbolise the Buddhist cycle of existence, or otherwise known as samsara: the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

"We are the Decay of Angels—hiding here as terrorists, a 'murder association', five people who will announce the demise of the celestial world."

Nikolai Gogol, chapter 57

Samsara is described to be a concept beyond human understanding. According to Hinduism, samsara is the physical world where every being has its soul trapped into a physical vessel. The Hindus believe that everything has a soul, and due to a soul's attachment to desire, it is forced into a deathless cycle of being born, dying, and reincarnating into a different body. In Buddhism, the ultimate way to break free from this cycle is by obtaining nirvana.

Nirvana is a Sanskrit word for the goal of the Buddhist path: enlightenment or awakening. In Pali, the language of some of the earliest Buddhist texts, the word is nibbana; in both languages it means "extinction" (like a lamp or flame) or "cessation." It refers to the extinction of greed, ill will, and delusion in the mind, the three poisons that perpetuate suffering. Nirvana is what the Buddha achieved on the night of his enlightenment: he became completely free from the three poisons. Everything he taught for the rest of his life was aimed at helping others to arrive at that same freedom.

- TRICYCLE'S definition of nirvana

As Fukuchi mentions in the panel above, there are six different realms of existence. These realms represent every possible state of existence, but one cannot live in a specific realm forever. Depending on whether or not one's past actions were morally good or bad, an individual is born into one of these realms. Basically, the controlling factor of which realm a person is born into is dependent on their respective karma. The realms are separated into two categories: the hellish ones and the heavenly ones.

The Deva Realm: where beings are rewarded for the good deeds they have done. This realm is void of anything unpleasant. It is basically paradise— empty of unfulfilled desires, any form of suffering, and fears of every kind. Religious individuals, however, do not seek to be born into this realm since its attitude is more or less carefree.

The Asura Realm: where demigods are admitted. Asuras are driven by greed and envy, and may come in conflict with human beings since they are quite similar. They are powerful beings, but quarrel with each other quite a bit, making this realm quite undesirable to be reborn into.

The Animal Realm: where beings are given the form of an animal (you probably guessed that lol). Individuals here don't actually have good karma to take pride in, but rather, they are born into this realm to work off their bad karma (by being slaughtered, hunted, or forced to work, etc). Being born into this realm forces one to atone for their past sins by living out their life as an animal.

The Hell Realm: where one is punished for their evil actions. The most merciless of realms, where one pays for their transgressions through pure suffering, methods of which include: dismemberment, starvation, and psychological/physical torture. However, once a person's term is fulfilled in this realm, they are presumably promised to be reborn into a higher state.

The Preta Realm: similar to the hell realm, in which beings pay for their past sins (specifically: greed and stinginess) by having to survive through hunger and thirst. This realm is also known as the 'ghost realm,' because some pretas are psychologically tortured by being forced to live in places their past selves have lived in. They are invisible to human beings living at that time, which pushes them to face the depths of despair and loneliness. Your typical horror movie, really.

The Human Realm: the only realm where one's actions determine their future. The status (social ranking, physical wellbeing, and so on) of a human being in this realm is determined by their past actions, but due to the fact that a person has their own conscience to differentiate good morals from bad, the actions they commit in this realm have the power to determine which realm they are sent to next.

Okay, so now that I've got that out of the way, let's shift our focus to the Book. Very little is known about the Book, but the basic fundamentals of how it works is that whatever is written in the book will come into existence only if its contents follow the rules of karma. In addition to that, only a few sentences can be written into a single page of the Book, and it must follow the current narrative of the story.

If I'm not wrong, the first time the Book was mentioned was by Fitzgerald, who wanted it to resurrect his deceased daughter in hopes of restoring his wife's mental health. The next time the Book is brought up is when Fyodor's intentions to possess it are divulged; his goal was to decimate the global population of ability-users. And now, the current arc has the Book as its central focus, with a single page in Fukuchi's possession.

[ BEAST!AU spoilers ]

The Book acts as the central point of multiverses, with each character's lives differing from universe to universe.

Dazai committing suicide in this alternate universe stands in sharp contrast with how he decided to start up a new life in the main universe.

Oda staying alive to act as a mentor to Akutagawa in the ADA differs from how Oda uses his death to prompt Dazai to "be on the side that saves people."

And of course, the way Atsushi and Akutagawa have their positions switched in the two universes depicts how different their lives would be if they were given the chance to be mentored by different people— these are just a few examples of how the Book houses an endless amount of possibilities.

[ end of BEAST!AU spoilers ]

Hypothetically speaking, this kind of reminds me of the differing realms I mentioned before, where suffering is promised in some realms, and better things are granted in the rest, depending on one's karma, or the deeds they've done in their past lives. In this scenario, perhaps one's past life can be understood as one's current life in a different universe. That's just a personal opinion though. Take it as you will.

side note: Keep in mind that the person who is more or less impervious to the Book's effect is Dazai, with his nullification ability. I wouldn't want to propose any theories in this aspect (I don't believe I'm fully fact-checked ;_;), but I could use Dazai as a raw example of how your choices affect your future. If Dazai had decided to stay in the Port Mafia after Oda's death, or if he even decided to go through with his suicidal fixations, life would've been different for him in the root universe (obviously, ryley) I mean, you could basically understand that from how he ended up in the BEAST au, but imagine if he really did slip up in his decision-making in any of the universes.

Many analysts have proposed that he went MIA (early in his life) from the main universe for a while to figure out how the BEAST universe worked, whilst having the Book to his advantage. Perhaps his actions were guided? I'm not saying he's all-knowing, but he's sure as hell smart. I'm not sure if Kafka was trying to highlight the concept of karma when it comes to Dazai, but if he is, then I suppose you could say that Dazai is pretty much unaffected by the rules of karma, existing as the centerpiece of all the multiverses. No Longer Human is the namesake of his ability, but the book talks about disqualification from societal norms and generally, the world. I was talking about it with a friend, and they reminded me that Yozo (the main protagonist) was pretty strong in his views against society. Like he didn't speak out of total defeat, he spoke out of defense. If there was anything Dazai actually lost to, it was his guilt— "Living itself is a source of sin."

Then again, that's my personal interpretation since everyone has their unique perspective of his writings. In terms of the actual adaptation, you could translate the word 'disqualification' to 'insusceptibilty' when if it came to the Book's effects on Dazai? This side note is becoming really long lmao anyways I'll link a few theories which afflicted me with brainrot down below.

Another thing before I wrap up, the name 'Decay of Angels' stemmed from Yukio Mishima's book entitled 'The Decay of An Angel.' This is the final novel to the author's tetralogy: 'The Sea of Fertility.' The main protagonist, Honda, meets a person he believes to be a reincarnation of his friend, Kiyoaki, who takes the form of a young teenage boy named Tōru. The last novel of this series enhances Mishima's dominant themes of the series as a whole:

the decay of courtly tradition in Japan

the essence and value of Buddhist philosophy and aesthetics

Mishima’s apocalyptic vision of the modern era

Again, this could be referred to what Fukuchi goes on to say:

Some people view the concept of samsara optimistically, justifying it by saying that perhaps each individual is given a second (third, fourth, fifth, who knows) chance to refine their actions in order to be birthed into a better realm, with their karma being the independent variable.

On the other hand, other people, specifically the Hindus, view the cycle of existence as some sort of plague. To them, the flow of life and being forced to endure the suffering of mere existence in any form was somewhat frowned down upon. Some Hindus viewed samsara as a trap. Besides, having one's soul being limited to a physical body for the rest of eternity was not very appealing, especially since where they ended up at depended on the karmic value their past actions surmounted.

Even so, particular types of Buddhists don't seek nirvana, but instead, like the Hindus, they make an effort to be good people of society, building up their good deeds to increase the likelihood of being reborn into one of the better realms.

As mentioned before, the Deva Realm was the home of angels, the most carefree, gratified beings to exist. Fukuchi describes these angels as the people who don't get their hands dirty, the people who act as the puppeteers of society: politicians.

In terms of parallels, angels were the most fortunate and powerful, but they didn't have anyone ruling over them. A lack of supervision would lead to the abuse of power, which is what I believe Fukuchi was referring to. Deeming himself the Decay of Angels, he sought to prove himself as the 'sign of death that falls on the nation's greed.'

A few fun facts (okay, not really) about Yukio Mishima: he committed seppuku (ritual suicide by disembowelment) on the day he held a speech to voice out his unpopular political beliefs to the public. Mishima deeply treasured traditions and opposed the modern mindset the nation was advancing forward to adapt eventually. In his last book, The Decay of an Angel, he spoke about the five signs which complete the death of an angel:

Here are the five greater signs: the once-immaculate robes are soiled, the flowers in the flowery crown fade and fall, sweat pours from the armpits, a fetid stench envelops the body, the angel is no longer happy in its proper place.

The Decay of an Angel, p.53

The reviews about this series I've read so far describe Mishima's works to be quite complex; his writings demanded a lot of time to deconstruct and understand. They were highly symbolic, and he was pretty obsessed with death and the 'spiritual barrenness of the modern world.' I think you could attach a few strings from here to the mindsets of the DOA members. Of course, this parallel is completely abstract, but I'll go on rambling anyway:

He should have armed them with the foreknowledge that would keep them from flinging themselves after their destinies, take away their wings, keep them from soaring, make them march in step with the crowd. The world does not approve of flying. Wings are dangerous weapons. They invite self-destruction before they can be used. If he had brought Isao to terms with the fools, then he could have pretended that he knew nothing of wings.

The Decay of an Angel, p.113

I suppose you could resonate Nikolai with that excerpt. As much as Fukuchi takes the lead in this whole murder association, I'd like to believe that each member of the DOA plays an equally interesting part in whatever movement they're trying to execute. Fyodor feels it is his god-sent purpose to cleanse the world of its sins, his motto being, "Let the hand of God guide you." Sigma doesn't know where he belongs, since his origination comes from a page in the Book, and is fueled by the desperation to find a reason to live. Bram holds one of the most powerful abilities which is counted to be one of the "Top Ten Calamities to Destroy the World."

What I mean to say is that the DOA members are incredibly powerful, and they're not your ordinary antagonists (or I'm just biased). It's not just overthrowing authorities, mass genocide, and world domination— you could say that each individual is trying to utilize their purposes to their fullest expenditures, and the way they're trying to assert their plan into action is a little more passive-aggressive (framing the Agency, having a convo with a suicidal dude in jail, etc). They're the gray area between evil and good. As they framed the good guys for their own crimes, they're trying to conquer the bad guys for exploiting the innocent as they please.

This post would definitely age well if all hell breaks loose in the current arc (as if it didn't) and Kafka doesn't give us a happy ending.

That's all I have to say for now I guess! Thank you for reading, and once again, if anyone else something they wanna share, feel free to do so <3

sources (tryna follow Q's example ^_^) :

the six realms

samsara

the decay of angels

beast!au

the book

the sea of fertility

yukio mishima

theory: dazai’s emotional/mental state in beast!au

q’s theory: dazai being the protector of the book

theory: beast!dazai and the book

[rumblelibrary]

The Diary of Doctor Laszlo Kreizler

Chapter 1

Synopsis: Alienist’s notes are private, sometimes gruesome, secrets of others and of himself.Those pages belongs to secrecy and decadence, have a glimpse to this world made of drafts, notes, accidents and reflections. Or maybe it is you the only person that should ever reach for it.

While you read this imagine Laszlo mostly at the end of his day, scraping the ideas and the thoughts, adjusting previous notes with additions, closing the day behind himself with a couple of sentences while sitting in his evening robe, a good glass of whiskey and his glasses bridged almost at the tip of his nose. Or maybe imagine yourself, you sneaky thing, reach for it from a far shelf.

Word count: 3k

Warnings: listen, this is the set of ideas and confessions of a man living in the 1890’s. Most of them will be outdated, rough, even deprecating in some analysis of the roles of men, women and social status, religion, etc.So be prepared, my point is to make Laszlo reflect upon those topics, but to be as faithful as I can to his time. Mention of death, mutilation, self harm and a minor depiction of a fight. Psychologically troubled young children ahead! Author’s note: I am a nerd for a good Victorian novel and a sexy Alienist.I have always been charmed by Laszlo’s mind and inner conflicts. So I took the chance and tried to have a run into that rollercoaster.  The story is placed between season 1 and season 2.

Diary belonging to Dr. Laszlo Kreizler.  This is a professional book of annotations over medical treatments of an alienist toward his patients. Do not disclose and send it back to the address if found: Kreizler’s Institute, xxxxxx, New York City (NY) L.K.

Samuel Griswold Goodrich, Illustrated Natural History of the Animal Kingdom (c1859). Contributed for digitization by University Library, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Schiller in his “Die Weltweisen” wrote: So long as philosophy keeps together the structure of the Universe so long does it maintain the world’s machinery by hunger and love. From the philosopher point of view sexual life takes a subordinate position in human’s life, from recent studies pushed by European philosophers, everything is about sexuality and its development. I like to think of the experience of being an alienist as the process of Queen Penelope that, while waiting for her husband Ulysses return, undoes her craftwork every night. I undo the fabulous constructs of people’s beliefs to go back to the rough sketch that stands at the beginning of their loss, their complex, their pain. Maybe that’s why working with children is so motivating and fascinating. They can be saved and yet, I am well aware, some of those sketches already traced in their young lives equal to scars that not even the most advanced theories could cure. But I can sooth them. I can prevent them the torment, the anguish, the recollection at night of those monsters. I feel like a poet would be a better alienist than a philosopher, but I have got no poetry nor philosophy in my veins, but the cold experience of the razor blade judgment of Life itself.

Today I observed a fight among the children at the Institute. Age range between 10 and 12. Boys. The fight was over the possession of a side of the playground, the territory of a pack  of youngsters formed under the name of Steven. Peculiar lad, coming from a military background finds comfort in replicating the schemes he lived in his family. He takes the role of the Father/Captain of the team and subjects children that come from a similar background story, but do not posses his same attitude to the command. All quiet on the front, until the space he declared is own spot got affected by the presence of others.  Intruders. I knowingly let the events unfold to see how Steven would react to his challenged authority. His reaction was, at first, worded, a sketch, a stage-play of an action he witnessed over and over, and he knew the part so well that some of the contending kids lowered their stance against him. Among considering to mildly intervene into this pyramid scheme of authority, another boy, Jan, calls himself on the role of the educator and hero of the masses and proceeds to unfold a wild and well assessed punch on the newly declared dictator face. Balance is established again. No need for me to arbitrate, once more the laws of nature seem to apply to children as in a state of nature.

Meet John Moore over lunch. His job at the newspaper is picking up, he is charmed by the spirits and the wits that he finds in his shared office with all the other writers. He mentions many, goes on and on over qualities and troubles, gossips and tendencies, and even little scandals here and there. To be aware of all those details gives me no interest, but to see a dear friend so invested clearly gives me something to pick up. To consider also the amount of details and the way he describes this or that member of the journal, I can do a small exercise of analysis. It is almost too easy because John is painfully genuine, even some of the kids at the institute would beat him hands down in a battle of lies. The more he likes somebody, the more he goes on about all the details and the characteristics, often letting aside the physical appearance. When he doesn’t like somebody he has a couple of adjectives for the wits and around four or five for the physical aspects that usually indulge on some repulsive idiosyncrasies.  John is a man that painfully fits in the storyline of The Picture of Dorian Gray: to him physical beauty is spiritual beauty and, of course, the other way around. This part of him surely intrigues me, makes me want to tease more from him. But, as a friend, it concerns me as John is way too prone to purposelessly decide that somebody with good eyes is also a good human being, which is a very romantic and admirably naive way of judging matters. I noticed some names that keep repeating in his narration. I dread that it is synonymous of a soon encounter from my side with the objects of his admiration. Fetiches, I dare to say, that I will have to annihilate before they sediment into his mind, perpetuating a narration that soon sees John being mislead by others.

Reserved: Tickets for the Eroica, Symphony n. 3 by Ludwig van Beethoven. Thursday evening.

Note on the show: the first movement lacked the pathos needed to begin with, I am not sure that the guest orchestra really managed to portray the wider emotional ground needed to withstand the whole representation. As the evening progressed there were some outstanding performances by the cellists. Still not approving the choice of reprising the early quick finale movement against the lengthy set of variations and fugue that we are used to in presence of the Eroica. Underwhelming the performance of the horn and oboe, vital in the comprehension of the genius of Beethoven. 

Niki is a new addition of the Institute, quite old for the standards. He is already 16, he will leave when summer ends to some expensive college his family meant him to stay. His parents expect me to make him “normal” in the time we are allowed together.  He is Austrian and I let him act it out like I don’t understand German for the first week of hist stay until today. I believe I hit his pride, which is good, in the moment I answered back to one of his sneaky comments. Now he knows. He is not safe from me, he doesn’t like it. The young man has a tendency to danger, risky tasks and edgy situations. In his mother’s own words “Niki is not afraid of anything”. The phrase didn’t raise any excitement in the father, rather some sort of painful acceptance that is role as the alpha male of the house is probably not only being challenged, but  already diminished, if not abolished. I have taken in consideration that Niki will break himself a bone or two in the process of the therapy, probably out of the spite of boredom or rebellion. It took him less than few days to turn himself into an outcast among the outcasts, which only drives me closer to analyse the complexity of his narcissistic wall of self defence. I gave him a physical challenge to lift a certain weight, he is a pretty skinny one, he didn’t like the challenge, but I am sure he will take it. He is a brainy guy, he hates to be questioned on unfamiliar ground. He won’t sleep at night thinking about it.  A challenge, in this first phase, can only bring me closer to the ease of his pains. To continue the observation.

It is a sad privilege of medicine, in particular the one I practice, to be able to witness the weaknesses of the human nature and the reverse side of life. Nevertheless, I oblige this same privilege of the study as life moves into shades of darkness. To be aware of it gives more solace to my soul than to be victim of patiently waiting for the inevitable unfolding of the events. To be able to understand more about psychology would bring more comfort and elevation to any human being, the times might not be there yet, but eventually something will move into the direction of a more wholesome approach.

Dinner meeting with Sara Howard, at the restaurant Jardin Des Cygnes, 7 pm sharp.  Do not expect to reach the dessert. Do not know if John will be participating due to undeniable tension among the two and the fatal despise of John over French cuisine.

The case that Sara unfolded tonight to my ears feels more and more like pulled out from some gothic book or from the mind of a Roman historian that needed to justify the godly origins of an Emperor. One killing, apparently random, a very constructed iconography over the body. Signs and insults, shapes and drawings. Is this a work of art? Does the killer wants his victim to be his Mona Lisa? His David? I am charmed and destabilised. If this was a murder like any other, then why to spend so much time into it? Based on the description the act of killing itself was quick: a sharp cut over the throat, almost like not wanting to ruin too much the surface to use as base for, what? I keep rerunning those symbols over and over as Sara described them to me, my mind is flooded with the designs of greek philosophers that needed to explain themselves why the sky is above our head and never collapses on us. Hilarious how, no matter the science advancement, in the mind of many the sky stands inevitably overt their shoulders, suffocates them, brings them to a death of the soul and not of the body. Is all this graphic charade indeed only a form to scream for attention?  To stress the eyes of an unaware viewer? It seems ridiculously elaborate, a scream for attention would be quick, it would be like guided by instinct, not reasoning, craftwork. Any man with a knife can paint in blood red the walls of a room and that’s asking for attention. That is the primal howl: look at me! I am here! But this one.  I don’t know yet.

Spent the early morning reading anew my copy of The Metamorphosis by Ovid. Didn’t touch it in a long time and I got bedazzled by the world of terrible sensuality, anger and selfishness of those gods and mortals. I think back at all the deviances and weaknesses of human kind and I try to relate it to all of those humanoid figures. Niki would be a minotaur, the lonesome son left in the labyrinth and his strive for success is his bull’s head. Or maybe a centaur, because of his wits and strategic thinking. I might keep up the process, maybe this is the way to understand my patients better, to understand the killer better. Must remember not to romanticise it. Greek gods were probably the first form of self indulging of a society that needed gods to be forgiving and allowing favours and punishments, but only in exchange of sacrifices. But the sacrifice never comes from the God’s will, but from the will of the man that perpetuates the act of killing. To sacrifice someone or something is the sadistic response to a lack of love deeply inherited in human mind that becomes neurotic. Is the killer giving the God of his own neurosis a body to feast upon? 

I talked with Jan this morning. The young boy is about 10, but he acts like a full grown adult. I could easily asses that’s the reason why he could challenge Steven in that fight. Two children mimicking adults situations they know too well. Jan is son of an industrial man, but he is also son of the dialectics of the industrial revolution. He sounds like he swallowed some of those books about working class rights and communism, probably pushed by a resentful surrounding (mother?uncle? the midwife?) over the social role of his father. As much as incredibly smart and lectured, Jan lost most of his early occasions in life by spending a considerable amount of time using his fists. The anger ever present in the young boy always surprises me, he seems to be holding a power, a strength of a full grown man in those tiny arms. Nevertheless, he is already the tallest of the group. He is surely an idealist, which makes him also tragically fragile. His strength mixed with his heart of gold can make him the best of the heroes or the worst of the villains. He apologised for the fight, he specified how he didn’t like the sound of Steven’s voice, more than the sound, the level of pitch.  I can’t stand somebody shouting orders, I just don’t listen anymore. He is so mature even about his own feelings, almost a gentleman in his chivalry toward the weaker children, honest with his open heart and resentful against any form of injustice.  I am not spared by his ways, he would come at me whenever he feels like I was being partial over some of the kids, his sense of justice blinds him and transform a perfectly balanced boy into a ranging animal.

Ordered book, to be delivered around tomorrow evening: Introduction à la méthode de Léonard de Vinci by Paul Valéry. Suddenly feeling myself as a gross ignorant in art themes. I always regarded myself aware of the artistic personalities and tendencies of present and past, but this new amount of perceptions over the human figure and the human body leads me to document myself more. I could ask John for advice, but he wouldn’t take things at matter that seriously. I can almost hear him say how I can make gruesome a pleasant topic such as art. I should probably wait to see the body to push any further aesthetic study, but I find myself not being able to stop. I reckon, I can allow myself a vice or two.

Today I saw the body of the killed man, courtesy of the Isaacson's. To be fair, I had underestimated it. In Sara’s descriptions, probably due to her more analytic mind, all the charm of the representation got lost in favour of a less cryptic and reasonable understanding of the act. Sara got what some alienists will call a masculine mind, which I don’t perfectly agree on. If I apply that same approach John would be a very feminine mind, all wrapped up in romanticising even the ugliest. I guess that dividing the world in “fragile and gentle” and “strong and powerful” is just easier to explain the fluctuation of something that doesn’t need a real name or a category like human inclinations on thoughts.  I got a feverish sense of patience by looking at the body. Each symbol traced with sapient slowness, dense of the time that the killer spent with the body. That is a work of hours, he had time and meaning. He had resources and was able to spend not less than the time he needed to reach, a vision? An ideal? A message? Is it the message meant to be understood? Am I supposed to unravel it or it is maybe just the way the killer communicates within himself? And if I do decifrate the code, will that bring me closer to him? Or to his next victim?

Reminder: ask John to replicate all the symbols on the bodies in the correct measure and order. It might be needed some hard convincing. Addition: scheduled meeting, his house, 3 pm.

It wasn’t a day like any other when I met you. Or maybe it was, and that’s why I got so struck by it and now I am here playing it over and over through what my memory clung on so desperately. In my own experience, life was often similar to swimming in a lake. Those rich, dense lakes in the north of (illegible cancelled word) were my father used to bring us during summer. I still feel the pull, the draw down toward the abyss. It ashamed me, in a way, the fear that such a simple feeling aroused in my young mind, unaware nevertheless, that such a feeling would follow me through all my existence. It was a prophecy and, like most of the prophecies, was a riddle. I cradle in my heart the charm of those days, the mindless happiness. The foolish feeling of freedom. Little I knew that freedom would be taken away from me that soon, that the body that used to navigate me over the dense waters, helping me to fight the haul toward the unknown, would become my own cage. That day. Today. The day where I met you, the day I was afloat.  The child gasping for air felt the wrench become a gentle push and now he is floating on his back over the scary waters of reality and malice. It gave me relief and it gave me terror, because since that very moment I knew that I would never be able to move on from the sight of you. From the feeling of your eyes lingering on me. From the smile you so easily shone upon me. From the whiff of imported perfume that hit me when you turned on side exploding that swan like neck. And nothing, not even my stern look, could dim that wave of hope that your sole presence washed over me. The abyss roars, calls me to a home of damnation and terror and curses my name and yet you repeated that hell-bound name of mine after me and I felt safe.

John told me so much about you, it feels like I have always known you.

The rope is gone from my neck, the guillotine won’t fall on me, I am spared, I am free.

I have read your latest article, I am thrilled to help with the case.

I am in disbelief.

Your voice.

Dr. Kreizler

How dare you? How dare you to come into my life, to appear, like a vision, mystical, in a way I despised at University when all those theology students talked about the divine. In this very moment I can’t recollect much of what you said, something about the case, about going with John at the obituary. It feels confusing, I feel overstimulated, my memory fails me, I am not sure anymore. I write these few lines and it is passed the hour of the witches and I wish, I demand, to never see you again, because life should never grant hope to a condemned man. 

[shankss-magnificent-ass]

My theories about the ancient weapons

So I'm too tired and hormonal to actually create anything at the moment. So I am going to share some of my One Piece theories with you guys. Also, beware this contains spoilers from the manga chapters released as of 6/1/2022

So in regards to the ancient "weapons" so far what we know is that Pluton is a ship, Poseidon is Shirahoshi, and Uranus is unknown (as far as I'm aware).

I've seen lots of theories about Uranus and about what or who it is. I've seen other people's ramblings about the hito hito no mi Model: Nika and joyboy being Uranus. How there was such a big emphasis on how special Momo is, the weapon the celestial dragons have. And the nature of the gods the weapons are named after and the nature of the weapons themselves.

Poseidon is the god of the sea, Pluton is the god of the underworld, and Uranus is the god of the sky. Shirahoshi is a mermaid living in the sea, who can control the sea kings and has the potential to control water with Fishman karate as Poseidon. Pluton is a warship and has no clear connection with the underworld.

The connection could just be a misconception to associate the underworld with death. But Pluton is another name for Hades, who is known to be the wealthiest of the Greek gods and the god of the depths of the earth. And what do you need for a warship? A wealth of resources, especially metal which you need mines for. The name pluton could have been given to the ship to imply that that particular ship will not reappear for it is in the underworld. And seeing as Pluton, the ship itself, has spent the last eight hundred years in the Alabasta desert, it can't be in good condition.

Which connection it is, is not clear to me, but I believe Pluton is obsolete. I think Franky can and will end up building something better. And the ship that Franky builds will become the new Pluton. But like without abandoning Sunny. There is a good chance Shirahoshi is going to reappear with Noah and a fuck ton of sea kings as Poseidon. But Uranus is still shrouded in mystery, and at this moment I do and don't think Luffy is Uranus.

I don't, because Nika is a sun god and commonly in mythology the sun god and the sky god are separate beings. On top of that Luffy's ability comes from a mythical devil fruit, and none of the other mythical fruits are given such important roles. Also, Oda hasn't said dick about Luffy being Uranus, and being true would feel like a cop-out. But we're still in the middle of an important arc. Luffy defeating Kaido is just the peak of the arc, the story still needs the resolution to cool the heat from the battle.

But in many Indo-European religions, the sky god is a leader, the father of the gods, or are associated with rulers also usually an important deity in the religion. Thor is Odinn's son, a key god, and basically a prince. Zeus is the King of the Greek gods, while Jupiter has the same role in the Roman pantheon. I could fucking go on. But if you look at what a King should be, then Luffy has a good chance of being Uranus. He cares for others, he doesn't like injustice. He can move the hearts of many and draws out loyalty and respect in even the worst people without even trying.

There are, however, others I believe could be Uranus.

Momo, because of how much Oda emphasized how special he is, the number of seasons he's been in, and the voice of all things that he possesses.

Morgans, because he is seen openly rebelling against the celestial dragons, and what seems to be an ability to control the birds. He is also a bird himself, associated with the sky like mermaids with water. Also, Morgans has control of the newspaper, over the information. And we all know what kind of storms can form in the wake of bad press. How news outlets can form the opinions of the masses if applied correctly. News can affect the winds of change, and it'd be rather poetic if Oda made Morgans utilize his paper for good considering how the media is utilized in real life.

Then there's Shanks, because of the role of 'father' that I mentioned earlier and thor's father is the King of the gods, and the sky-slicing move as well. But by the 'father' logic, it could also be Dragon. It could also be the weapon the celestial dragons need the ope ope fruit for. A weapon which supposed But that weapon could also be pluton as well because we haven't laid eye on pluton being still in the desert. It's entirely possible that Uranus could also be someone or something we haven't met yet.

But I do believe that all three will be involved in the final arc... so yeah

[fantasyinvader]

Based on @nilsh13​’s rundown of the takes in The Teacher Theory guy’s magnum opus fanfic, it’s kinda clear that these guys are talking out of their ass.

CF is about choice and free will? Then why are you installing a tyrant who believes she knows best and makes everyone bow down to her. The devs have even said that the route is about getting rid of those who stand in your way because you believe something different.

Game is against organized religions? Then explain the Buddhist symbolism or the very fact that the devs have said the world was made to support fighting against Edelgard in Silver Snow. The entire fucking world paints her as the bad guy to the point the last cutscene before the first battle of the BESF is literally called Against the World. And that’s not even going into how Edelgard canonically takes over the Church at the end of CF, the only route without any form of separation of Church and State.

AM ruins Felix’ and Ingrid’s characterization? Funnily how growing the fuck up and following your dreams ruins your characterization. 

Edelgard is the only leader that cares about Byleth, yet she told Jertiza he can try to kill Byleth after the war.

The Blue Lions is the status quo house. Hmm, giving power to the masses vs. reinstating the ideals some dead fuck tried to implement a thousand years ago as he attempted to conquer Fodlan. Sure, Blue Lions is about status quo.

Edelgard is based on Napoleon and that’s a good thing. Edelgard is based on the guy who took the French revolution, turned it around into him being crowned emperor, putting his brother on the Spanish throne after trying to help his ally there with a coup, invaded Portugal because they wouldn’t sign on to the Continental system and traded with the English, tried to invade Russia because they began trading with the English which screwed up Napoleon’s plan to invade a weakened England? The guy who was bleed France so hard with his wars that when France was invaded, the invaders were greeted as liberators when they arrived at Paris? That guy?

The theme of Three Houses is the damage prejudgements cause. I mean, the early game makes it out that Claude and Rhea can’t be trusted and that Dimitri has a hidden darkness. It’s almost like the game does so to make the player pick Edelgard, thinking she will be the good guy only for her to end up the villain. Maybe these guys should check their own prejudgements, because they still are buying into the fandom guessing about the story pre-release and it’s been two fucking years.

It’s disgusting of Margrave Gautier to send people to kill his son. Said son tried to kill his brother multiple times before being kicked out of the family as a freaking adult. Then he began robbing people, not to mention raping women, and had a member of TWSITD in his group. A group that somehow succeeded in stealing a Relic, I might add. Also, the game says Lonato would have destroyed every village he enountered on the way to the monastery. Funny how Edelgard emphasizes with a rapist and a guy whose anger would have hurt the masses, rather than the masses she said she’s doing this for.

SS is the bad ending for Byleth. Lol, whut? You mean becoming cold and distant as they fight their former students and peers, turning their back on the teaching gig they loved and led to them gaining emotions in the first place, believing that they should be killed if they can’t maintain their humanity, gets their accomplishments stolen by the one pushing the idea of merit, gains no recongition for their deeds, and spends years fighting TWSITD from the shadows in order to support a totalitarian regime? Not to mention losing their powers because they followed the path of ignorance, never rising up to be a leading figure for the masses? That’s the GOOD ending? ( @crushednugget​ this might be worth adding to your “everyone is miserable in CF” posts)

I can go on, but fuck. What are their moral compasses like if they think the things you do and support in CF are in any way good?

[witchcraftingboop]

The Nameless God

The Christian god is referred to as simply God, usually with different attributes before or after to further categorize or differentiate him, and I have a theory on why that is that I'm not sure Tumblr's going to like, but that I have to get off my chest.

I just need to say, before we start: I primarily wanted to put this together, not to open up like discourse or anything, but to explain and put into words more why I call and refer to this God the way I do. So if you don't agree or have a differing view on it, I think that's neat (not being sarcastic here, I genuinely enjoy hearing about how and why others think the way they do), but I really just want to put my thoughts and ideas, even in this most basic form, in order in at least this small little post. Getting the words out of my head helps free up space, and that's all I really intend this to be!

So here we go! (Note: It is like 5am, and I haven't slept so if this makes no sense or is riddled with errors, please do be patient with me!)

Cavendish puts the basis, or really the jumping point, of my theory well when he explains the importance that a name carries in magic:

"The conviction that the name of a thing contains the essence of its being is one of the oldest and most fundamental of magical beliefs. Names are used to identify things. Instead of reciting a long and detailed description of the characteristics of an animal, it is more convenient to say, this is a 'frog'. . . . For the magical thinker the name sums up all the characteristics which make the animal what it is, and so the name is the animal's identity. If it did not have this name but some other - 'toad' perhaps - it would not be what it is, but something different. This is the root of the magical theory that the name of a thing is a miniature image if it, which can be used as a substitute for the thing itself."

- The Black Arts (1967) Richard Cavendish, p41

When you think of it, King Solomon's control over the 72 demons was heavily reliant on knowing not only the name of the demons, and those of some of their underlings, but also on speaking the "true names of God." We're not going to talk about the whole Hebrew inclusion or background to the workings done, because this post is primarily going to be about names and domination rather than specific systems such as that. But! In knowing the true names of God and speaking them during the conjurations, the magician gains domination over the demons and the right to call on angels for their assistance in their work. (Is it 100% guaranteed? Lol absolutely not. But it is something to be said that calling on His true names can be almost like a bargain chip or incentive. Hey, I know this, and I'm waving it like a VIP backstage pass; please let me in, guys! That's sort of the vibe/energy of it.)

Regardless, the demons called upon recognize the power in the names used and, in recognizing it, heed the call of the magician who pronounces and knows them too. Their fear is based on the efficacy and authenticity of those names.

Back to the Nameless God. What does this mean for him?

It is my opinion that denying his name to the masses was on purpose. If he is an all-knowing, all-seeing entity then he had to have known and been aware of what giving out his name would mean. That's not to say humans are capable of dominating deities on the whole or on average, but it is a wellknown practice to eat your gods, consume your idols, etc. And in some traditions and religions, it is your duty to put your gods on trial.

But I'm not saying he's a coward, but I'm not not saying it, ya know? The Fae know it and the demons know it all alike. Give up your name and you give up power. A loss of control? For the big man? Even in the bible, it wasn't something he was overly fond of.

But anyways, it makes sense, in my mind, to refer to him as the Nameless God - even if I do happen to have the Solomonic texts and the grimoires phonetically spelling out his holy names and such. It's kind of a . . . tip of the hat, really. An "I see you and I respect it" kind of thing.

I mean after all, you know me as Boop. I am well-aware of the value and importance in remaining anonymous and holding onto what's close to you. I also gave The Astrologer my natal chart but we're not talking about that right now.

[shatar-aethelwynn]

What are the warning signs of antisemitism in Gnostic studies the only one I could think of is that the hebrew worships a "false god" but are there others i should stear clear of

It depends on the text and they're often easy to miss because you need to be aware of subtext and background information. Sometimes its not what's said explicitly as what it implies. That's why it's important to read the texts with some kind of commentary. Very often the references are hidden in "scriptural" language because these are all "Christian(-ish)" texts, and it's easy to gloss over references as just another bible verse until you realize what is actually being said. ("-ish" because some forms of Gnosticism are heavily influenced by non-Christian sources as well) One that's easy to explain is the serpent's seed theory. And by "easy" I mean "once you start to understand the mythology and worldview of the Gnostics and how they cited scripture you miiiiight be able to notice these sort of things when they show up as you read. Maybe." I don't recall offhand which particular source this one is from, but I remember finding out about it and just going "what. the actual. fuck. Why is this a thing?" (Fairly sure this one is in one of the early "against heresies" books...Tertullian or Irenaeus maybe? I forget. If it is one of them, it's possible there's some exaggeration due to second-hand information going on and the actual beliefs weren't quite this extreme.)

Disclaimer: I categorically reject this theory from start to finish. It's bad. I'm only giving it as an example of an easy to recognize situation and I really do not want to discuss this one further after this.

First you have to realize that it didn't take very long for antisemitism to infiltrate Christianity in general. Some sects held out longer than others, but it moved from being a Jewish sect to being an anti-Jewish Greco-Roman cult rather quickly. Not everyone succumbed, but it becomes increasingly easy to find antisemitism the more divorced the religion became from it's Palestinian starting point. Gnosticism is not an outlier in this, but because of some of the ideas inherent in it, and the time period in which many of the surviving text were written, it's fairly safe to assume that most of the authors weren't very friendly toward Jesus's biological kin. Of course, most of them believed he wasn't ever actually biological so that didn't help matters.

In Gnosticism there's a general idea that not everyone is capable of, well, gnosis. There's a sort of genetic component, but it's spiritual genetics. Sort of. It's weird. Anyway, there's this whole convoluted story about how the physical world as we know it was created, and that's very bad, and the god of the OT is evil because by creating the world he doomed humans to fleshy prison, and sex makes it worse because it splits the eternal soul or something and makes more pieces trapped so it's harder for everyone to return to their perfect pre-physical form. Or something. But the Jewish God=the bad entity that is responsible for this hell we live in currently. Like I said, it gets weird. And there's other entities to keep track of along the way. Aaaaanyway, sometimes the Serpent is the good guy because he's just trying to free people from this bad not-really-a-god by waking their gnosis. Other times...that's where this particular theory comes in (isn't Gnosticism fun? you can get different versions just like all the other types of Christianity!). This one is based on that one time "the Jews" and Jesus were arguing and said they were the children of Abraham and Jesus said "no, you're the sons of the devil" and people understandably wanted to kill him for it (John 8, the most Gnostic-friendly of the canonical Gospels). This particular branch of Gnosticism absolutely ran with the idea and decided that they (the ones capable of gnosis, i.e. "real" people) where the sons of the "real" god (not the bad not-really-a-god who created this horrid flesh prison), but that the Jews were, quite literally, the descendants of the devil, i.e. the Serpent (yes, Eve had sex with the Snake in this theory, whether he was in Snake-form or not at the time isn't quite clear, but remember sex=bad in general), and were therefore a) evil and wicked and only out to cause the gnosis-capable further problems, and b) quite literally not actually alive and/or human. You see where this is problematic and can lead to Very Bad Places? Now try wrapping your head around that when it's not always stated outright and is only alluded to by quoting whichever books the author deemed to be Scripture (orthodox canon took a few centuries to get worked out).

Gnosticism: fun times! Weird, interesting, sometimes enjoyable (I think so at least), not always good. But that's hardly unusual when dealing with ancient texts. This is why it's worth having a guide who understands this sort of content when you start reading this stuff. Because on the one hand you get texts like The (Sayings) Gospel of Thomas which is actually very interesting and definitely worth reading, and on the other hand you occasionally find stuff like this that just makes you sit back and stare at the wall for an hour while your brain reboots.

[flutteringphalanges]

Summary:  “Am I in Hell?” Agatha’s voice was hoarse, a hint of fear in her tone. “That depends on your definition,” Dracula answered. “Perhaps.” His fingers felt cool against her burning skin, the fever raging through her body. “If you’re going to kill me, then do it,” she mumbled. The count chuckled, gazing into her eyes. “On the contrary,” he smirked. “I’m going to save you.”

((In which Dracula cares for a gravely ill Agatha))

Characters: Agatha Van Helsing/Dracula

Rating: M

Read on FFN and AO3

A/N:  Happy New Year's Eve AND happy Dracula 2020's First Year Anniversary Eve! I thought about posting this tomorrow, but I thought I made you guys wait long enough. Plus wanted to end 2020 on a good note since, well, this year has been...yeah...ANYWAY, hope you enjoy it! Feedback/likes/reblogs are greatly loved and appreciated! -Jen

                                              Chapter Twelve

Agatha leaned over the bucket again and retched the contents of her stomach out for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day. The thick, tar like liquid had already begun to congeal as most old blood does. This time around it belong to a brown bear the Count had swiftly taken out in the mountains. The third animal the couple had tried to test Agatha's theory that she didn't need to survive off of humans. So far every attempt had ended in failure.

"You're growing weaker." Dracula commented, his voice impatient and edged with worry. "And if you keep up at this rate, you risk going feral." He wasn't sure how true his implications were, but at this rate, the former nun was endangering her well being. "Please, Agatha, be reasonable. It isn't a kill if I do it for you."

"And yet it would still be on my conscience." His lover sighed, wiping the side of her mouth with her sleeve. "If I am to live forever, I simply cannot have that." She swallowed, tasting the bitter bile on her tongue. "We'll keep trying. Surely there is something out there. No creature is designed to survive on one given source from a singular thing. Humans in our case."

The elder vampire groaned in response, clearly tired by his beloved's humanity that had managed to survive during her transformation. Agatha gently rested a hand on his arm, her eyes glancing up to meet his.

"Please." She said in a soft, yet adamant voice. "I want to keep going."

"If something begins to happen. If you start to change or..." His words seemed to fade off. "If it comes down to it, I will do what's in your best interest, Agatha. Even if you hate me for a millennium for doing it." Once more he paused. "I love you."

"I know." She smiled. "Which is why we will find a solution. Together." The corners of her lips twitched into a faint smirk. "And who knows, when we do, perhaps even you will convert."

Dracula snorted and rolled his eyes. "I hate to dash your hopes, but I can almost guarantee that will not be happening. I have an acquired taste and standards to boot. If we are successful at finding an alternative, I'll leave the riches to you." He leaned in close to her ear, his breath tickling and sending a shiver up Agatha's spine. "You truly have no idea what you are missing out on. The knowledge. The stories. Everything a filthy animal's blood lacks. Deep down, I know there is an inkling of curiosity within you."

The former nun took a step back, locking eyes with him. "That's what books are for. Reliable and only harmful from their papercuts. I will not be swayed from my decision, Count Dracula." Exhaling, she glanced around the room. "So we've tried deer, bear, rabbit...perhaps livestock is our next bet. Though, I do dislike the idea of stealing someone's property."

"You can't have it both ways, Agatha." Dracula frowned, clearly irritated by her stubborn, selfless nature. "Ultimately, the end result won't leave you with the happiest outcome, but stealing as you so referred to it is less sinful than murder." He scoffed at his words. "Then again, we both know our opinions on religion. Or lack thereof."

"...We could always start a farm?" Agatha spoke after a moment's pause. "After centuries, it wouldn't hurt for you to gain a hobby. One that would benefit me and keep you out of trouble." She chuckled, the laugh laced with exhaustion. "Imagine a flock of chickens. You could sell their eggs at the village market...if one was held at night, of course."

"And I think all of this animal blood has gotten to that pretty little mind of yours." Dracula said, cupping her face between his large hands. "Come, you need your rest. We can at least agree on that."

He was right on that account. She was feeling rather drained. Not to mention nauseated from the bear. The taste still lingered on the back of her tongue. Nodding her head, she took the vampire's hand and followed him down the long stretch of hallway to where their coffin was located. It wasn't the nicest looking thing, more so an oversized box filled with dirt. But Dracula was insistent on sleeping together and promised soon he'd have something specially made. Agatha couldn't help but wonder how someone would go about commissioning a luxury couple's casket. An interesting conversation indeed.

"I really hate that we have to sleep in dirt." Agatha grimaced as Dracula lifted the lid. "I don't care how restful it may be, waking up covered in grime isn't at all pleasant."

"You are by far the fussiest vampire I've ever created." Her lover laughed, shaking his head in amusement. "No one has ever voiced as many opinions as you. Or demands for that matter."

"Like you, I have standards...they just are different than yours." The former nun replied, eyeing the large box incredulously. "One day, when I have enough strength to do so, I'm going to look into these vampiric rites of yours." She could tell by the look on his face the idea didn't excite him. "Oh please, it isn't like I plan to shove a stake through my heart. Though, I am well aware that was a failed attempt on Jonathan Harker's part."

"To bed with you." The Count ushered, helping her into their place of rest. "Enough of this nonsense. It's time to take a nap while I go out and...borrow some farm animals. I hope you realize how much I care for you, I don't haul a full grown cow back to the castle for just anyone."

"Oh so heroic." Agatha snorted, pursing her lips as Dracula leaned in to kiss her. "Blatantly asking for praise rather than quietly accepting the fact that I truly appreciate all you do. If I am fussy, you are needy."

A pleasant form of bickering. Usually they had heated discussions-often of which ended in a passionate session of fucking. But tonight was different. Perhaps his worry for Agatha caused the flame to momentarily simmer down. Messed with his ability to be both suave and an ass. She looked beautiful lying there in the coffin she clearly despised, and though part of him wanted nothing more than to take her now, he knew it needed to wait. She was hungry. Needed to feed. And the consequences of not doing that were far from good.

"Name calling is childish, my dear nun." Dracula smirked knowing the irony behind it. "Now, please have enough sense to sleep. I'm losing moonlight by the hour and if I'm to get back here before dawn, I must leave now." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Stay."

"I'm not some hound." She called after him from the confines of the casket. "I can come and go as I please…" Agatha gazed up at the coffin lid that now blocked her view of the room. "For now, I just choose to accept that perhaps you are right about resting. Sleep does sound agreeable."

The former nun could've sworn she heard Dracula answer, but her mind had already started to grow foggy. Taking in an unnecessary breath, she closed her eyes and tried not to focus on the strange feeling in her stomach. She was so tired. So worn out. So weary that it didn't take long for her to slip away from reality and into her dreams.

Even in the darkness, Agatha recognized the place from where she stood. Though far emptier and dusty, it was an unmistakable memory implanted in her mind. The old inn that she had taken refuge in soon after her escape from the ruins of what had been St. Mary's convent and her lost sisters.

Taking a step forward, the former nun felt loose stone crumble underneath her feet. Glancing down, she lightly kicked a rock on the ground and watched as it bounced across the room, hitting the wall opposite her. She wasn't exactly sure why she was here. It was a dream, for sure, but it oddly felt real at the same time.

"Agatha?"

The voice was soft, meek, and the woman knew instantly who the speaker was. From the shadows, as timid as they day they met, Mina stepped out. She wore the same, blue habit as the day they had departed, blonde hair cascading down her shoulders. A cold draft came in from a neglected open window, blowing her locks gently. The smell was intoxicating.

"Mina?" Agatha whispered, her voice hoarse. "Why are you...you need to go! Go now!" She covered her nose, throat burning. It was only a dream. Only a dream. And yet, it felt so horribly real. "Go now!"

But the other woman, oblivious to the fact her friend was now a vampire, had a look of relief plastered across her features. "You disappeared." She said, stepping closer Agatha who, in turn, backed up against the wall. "I thought I'd never see you again. Where did you go?!"

"Mina, please!" Agatha pleaded, biting down so hard on her bottom lip she could taste her own blood. "You must go now. You're in danger!"

"It's alright now." The young woman insisted, closing the distance between her and the vampire. "Now that we are together again, we can...Good God, Agatha, what's happened to your eyes?!"

The once flat edges of her teeth had begun to grow pointed and a low guttural sound rumbled deep from the bottom of Agatha's throat. She stared back hungrily at Mina, the last reminisce of control she fought to hold disappearing. The vampire stepped forward, a prisoner to her own thirsty as her victim stared back in horror. She was so thirsty. So very, very thirsty…

"Agatha?" Mina whispered weakly. "Agatha, please!"

But the rational, humane side of the former nun was gone. Mina's pleas of mercy falling on deaf ears. Without so much as a second thought. A second consideration. She lunged towards the woman, knocking her onto the ground. As her sharp nails dug into the woman's flesh, she gazed down and readied to bury her fangs into…

"AGATHA!"

Agatha's eyes shot wide open, startled awake by the sound of Dracula's voice. She looked up and saw the other vampire staring down at her in utter astonishment, his hands gripping either of her shoulders as if he'd been trying to hold her down.

"It's alright. It's alright. You were having a nightmare." He attempted to assure her as her head whipped around wildly. "I've been trying to wake you up."

"Mina…" Agatha panted, as if needing to breathe. "Mina...I tried to warn her...tried to stop myself…" She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "I couldn't control it." When she opened them again, the former nun looked deeply into her lover's eyes. "I was so thirsty…"

Dracula's lips pressed into a thin line as if he was trying to hold back on saying something. It wasn't until Agatha gathered herself enough that she really took in what the other vampire had yet to admit. Deep, long claw marks scraped the inside of their coffin resembling those of an animal trying to get out. Agatha looked down and noticed chips of wood sprinkled across her.

"Did I…" She swallowed, her stomach twisting. "Was that...me?"

"We're running out of time, Agatha." The other vampire said quietly. "If we don't figure things soon enough, it's only going to get worse. I'm not willing to let that happen." He paused, considering his next words carefully. "That means, I'll have no choice but to teach you how to hunt."

Agatha said nothing, but stared at the deep marks on the coffin. She thought of her dream. Of Mina. Of all of this. Swallowing, she ran a hand through her messy hair and sighed.

"Fine." She relented. "Teach me."

[lostsoulaltair]

OnS Theories (14S). Fourth Theory (Special Theory) - Sika Madu’s deceased son and the Michaela trait (Long Theory)

Hello everyone, this theory wasn’t planned for these days, but since there are some doubts out there, I’d like to give my point of view within this issue. Let’s begin!

In the latest chapter, it was revealed that Sika Madu held a deep grudge against God and the world he created for the death of his son, hence why he stated he’d create a dark sun.

Many have stated that the son of Sika Madu is Mikaela Hyakuya and the main reason is because it’s been stated in the manga itself but before we proceed to talk about it, let’s talk about another issue which is the Michaela trait.

I’ve read some fans in the spanish fandom talking about it, asking about how the trait ended up dwelling in the kids and perhaps that was the reason why Mika had the Michaela trait for being Sika Madu’s child. But, there’s one issue in this, what do I mean?

First of all, the first hint of the trait appearing in the world was when Ashera was able to transform into a vampire thanks to Yu’s blood instead of dying by it. Such event happened in chapter 79 after Ashera was called to meet up with the First Progenitor.

After such events, Sika Madu became interested on the results Ashera gave since he’s been having guinea pigs for 600 years. But then, what does this imply?

It means that it’s highly possible that the Michaela trait started to appear thanks to something humanity made or perhaps God himself made as a punishment against Sika Madu for tainting what it was holy and forbidden. Which would actually explain why Shikama kept on performing for 600 years, a lot of experiments with guinea pigs; what does that mean?

He was aware that, within humanity, there was a low percentage he’d be able to get such trait, but for what reason? What did he tried to achieve?

He was aiming to bring his lost son back, for that, there will be a better explanation of his taboo in another theory...

Returning to the main point of the theory, Shikama was aware that the Michaela trait would end up appearing with its own respective time; he was aware that the trait itself wasn’t related on seeing unique humans but rather, with a peculiar DNA, hence why he became intrigued with Ashera being able to survive after drinking Yu’s blood; but now, there’s something rather curious within this, what do I mean?

If many might recall back in old chapters, it was seen Ashera going with him to the Land of the Rising Sun, what does this have to do with such trait?

It’s quite possible that the current demons from the black demon series were compatible with such trait but, despite the results, it ended up with how Noya stated long ago, they failed to become Michaela. But why?

It is well known that once a soul is gone forever, it cannot be returned as it’s original form, even if Shikama kept performing his experiments, all were doomed the very moment his spawn or his beloved child died; thus he started to create his own world slumbering within the dark sun.

But then, what was the point on creating demons? What was the point on bringind down all the events?

It could be said his wrath along the demons he created from vampires reflect all the negative emotions he once felt in the past, which is why he aimed to create an army he could control for his own, a world that would oppose directly its real Creator.

Another topic I’d love to talk about is: Mikaela, is he the son of Shikama or cloned son?

Now, many have stated that Mikaela Hyakuya is heavily the son of Sika Madu but, there’s an issue to this, what do I mean?

Sika Madu is displayed as an arrogant, prideful and powerful being that sees time as a trivial matter due to his inmortality, Shikama has always been able to dictaminate which religions and empires would fall and rise, he was aware that Rigr was pulling some strings to weaken the Hiragi family along creating the Hyakuya Sect.

Hence, it can be said that he was aware that Rigr was tracking down the kids with the Seraph trait and Michaela trait to use them agains him, which actually would explain why the Hyakuya orphanage kids including Mika and Yu had difficult lives, they never were  happy with their respective families.

But now, there’s one sole issue as to why I believe Mika Hyakuya is not Sika Madu’s child, what do I mean?

When Shikama has something peculiar to keep, he defends it, how can I state that if Shikama doesn’t care about humanity in general?

If Mika was Shikama’s reincarnated child, he’d have moved all the things he wished in order to keep him safe; he’d have made the Hiragi Family track him down before Rigr did in order to awaken his past self or the son he once lost. Then, where exactly is the key he’s desperately searching?

Something curious within the story is that Shikama has been focused on one sole thing, what do I refer or likely who?

Correct, I refer to Shinoa Hiragi, but why? It is well known that Shikama has always been trying to possess her which is something he succeded to do in previous chapters but, there’s an issue to the whole possession thing, what could it be?

That Shikama in fact, was testing his vessel, not possessing or keeping the body for himself, he was testing the stress Shinoa’s body could handle with his power, as if he was making preparations for something else.

Furthermore, there’s one thing in common with Shikama’s deceased son and Shinoa, what do I mean?

Both were kept in secret, both were kept in order no one could track them down, even  Rigr wasn’t aware that Mahiru was protecting her little half sister from both parties, the JIDA and the Hyakuya Sect.

Furthermore, in recent chapters, it was clear that despite Shikama possessing the Hiragi family for years, he always aimed to possess Shinoa as a definite goal in mind; but, within this, there’s something else to add, what could it be?

Despite that Shikama has tried his best to possess his current vessel, there was one curious thing he always stated before he changed his strategy:

“If you lower your walls, you’ll get to see few of my memories”

By this, I’m not saying Shinoa is the child he’s sought but rather, her heart might hold certain key he’s been aiming to find ever since the experiments began. How can I state this?

It is well stated that Shinoa and Mahiru were created by experiments, but only Mahiru’s mother was able to live for few years until Tenri killed her; in Shinoa’s case, it’s even unknown who her mother was, it is only stated that her mother was a demon possessed woman but, is that the truth?

There’s a small part that might be a lie within this, and this is mainly because Shikama and Shinoa share some physical characteristics, despite Tenri having a small role on how she was created, Shikama played a huge role for Shinoa’s creation as well. Along this, Shikama’s main goal was that Shinoa lowered the walls of her heart but not with the common purpose of a demon, but rather, to find something that lies within such heart.

As a small hint for this, in the LNs, more specifically in Catastrophe at 16′s last volume, Shikama stated that if it weren’t for Shinoa, no one else would have been able to have demons.

To conclude, it can be said that Mika Hyakuya is not Shikama’s cloned son nor reincarnated son due to the fate Mika’s been targetted with; within this, the Michaela trait itself might actually be something Shikama was punished with as a reminder of the sin or taboo he performed and  lastly, Shinoa plays a huge role on whatever resides within her heart since Shikama’s goal was not exactly to possess her but rather unlock something hidden within it.

What do you think guys?

Let me know!

gif belongs to hpeymchope

[teacup-baphomet]

G/t Drabble (Crash landed on a hostile planet trope but NOT via the a tiny vulnerable human in a planet of mean powerful alien bigs route)

tw: a bit of censored cursing. Uh. I’m not sure what else. Maybe broaching of sensitive tops such as sexuality and religion. But not really. Mostly it’s just rlly dumb word play/lame humor and a confused alien being confused (and kinda freaked/troubled due to the confusion? you’ll see if you read it i guess). there is some sad lorg boi times. idk. no romantic relationships. just a shaky friendship is forming between a crash-landed big-arse alien (a human! *gasp*  i woulda never guessed something as vile as that o: ) and one of the much smaller, very much not human locals. most want to kill the poor dude who got stuck on this planet of hostile lil guys who think he’s a monster and immediately decide they much off him asap. so like having this one ally is kinda important to him. But it’s hard. because. lots reasons rlly. culture differences. the language tech can only do so much. the size diff creates definite issues because trust is hard in general. and trusting a big being that could easily cause havoc on your planet mostly just cuz he /seems/ nice is not a very good foundation... there is much to learn between the two before they can be truly good frens. so uh good luck to them lol *raises glass* I mean. I don’t think I’ll ever write these two again. but I’m sure they’ll end up good friends. probably.

Anyway without further adieu, here have a disappointment (read: attempt to be creative but i’m kinda lazy tbh and still kinda bitter I can’t draw for more than like 10 minutes before I start spacing out :/ )

"We are called humans or the scientific name is homo sapiens" spoke the large alien, Lyle.

"Homo sapiens? That is rather long, is it not? Why is a "scientific name" even a thing? Why would that be necessary? Scientific name versus what kinda name? Emotional name? Why are these science names two words? Seems annoying. What is wrong with just calling yourselves simply homos? Or something else just as nice and concise. Straight to the point if you will. Probably. I... Uh.. I obviously don't know what exactly is the purpose of a scientific name as i already implied... Sooo..." The much shorter – and much scalier- native being (called Torrynts) awkwardly looked off the side to stare at the plain, blank, siding of their dilapidated, isolated house as if it were the most interesting thing in the entire vicinity. Which it wasn’t of course. There was a f***ing alien 15 times their size only a few them-sized lengths way…

 Lyle gave his new comrade – and only friend on this gawdforsaken planet that mostly wants him dead- th pondering, and possibly ironically, rather colourfully scaled Torrynt by the name of Kyvlar a bemused look, bordering on coy.

"Huh. 'Straight' to the point you say?" He paused with a small snort. "Well, my not-so-statuesque friend, do I got news for you~"

Kyvlar suddenly blanched, giving a Lyle a look that was like a knife to the heart while blurting out. "Wait, wait, wait! Hold up! We? There are more than one of you? Here? On this planet? Were you just a distraction the whole time. Oh... Oh no.... Have we really been victim a secret homo invasion this whole time! I-"

 Their panicked monologue was interrupted by a most horrendous noise. Like a slowly dying tornado with the hiccups or something.

"STOP. Stop I-I can't. I can't. This is too much much!" Spoke Lyle with his hand covering the bottom half of his  and his eyes scrunched shut.

 'Welp,' thought the Torrynt, 'This is the end. This is when I die. I should have known better than to immediately put my trust in such an enormous obviously dangerous specimen. Ho-'

 Kyvlar’s dramatic internal speech was interrupted when the alien surprised them by uncovering the his face, revealing a huge grin. ‘They weren't upset? Huh?’ The Torrynt blinked owlishly at the human in confusion.

 "Sh*t, bite-size (Kyvlar noticeably paled at the impromptu nickname not 100% the foreign joking tone, well it would have been noticeable to someone their size at least), I know you don't mean to, context-wise, but you reminded me of my great aunt Karen when my Uncle Todd and Uncle Copper decide to have their friends over along with relatives for a gatherin'."

Plastering on a faux distraught look and blatantly mocking tone, he  continue with exaggerated hand gestures. "Oh no, it's the...the...," he paused with snort, "... the homo invasion... No, no, no... Not here... not in this... this good, Christian neighborhood. Aren't just two of them enough? Oh woe is me!" The alien dropped the mocking tone and smirked towards the smaller being. "Heh. Good ol' great aunt Karen could never remember Uncle Todd was Jewish and so was the majority of that neighborhood.... It’s where my Uncle Todd was raised actually…"

 The said smaller being just stared blankly at the homo-no-human they supposed as just “homo” meant something else, they weren’t sure what else, beyond just something else.

 "Uhhm. Wh-what? U-Uhm, so what exactly is “homo” then? And what’s Christian? And Jewish too. What’s that? Are... Are those other types of -uh- intelligent, sentient creatures on your planet? Y-you know, b-beside hom-er-h-humans? Or are these subtypes of humans? What kinda are you? What is a great aunt? or Uncle? Does the great indicate a larger size? Oh gawd, a-aren't you humans b-big enough regularly? Oh... W-wait. O-or are you a great- uhm- great aunt, was it? E-er, g-great something? Ohhh. Zyntall (Torrynt swear). I'm sooo confused r-right now... " The timid tiny being, sighed in frustration before their eyes snapped open wide in a panic, and they did an immediate one-eighty with their behavior, and it was off all their previously trust, as wavering as it was, vanished in an instant, squeaking out a quick "sorry. oh, Z-zyntall... I'm so-so-sooo sorry. I-I hope I d-didn't offend y-you or anyth-thing... p-please, oh please, don't hurt me" while gazing everywhere except towards the much larger alien, hoping desperately the 'bite-size' nickname was just a bad joke...

 Clearly they not only didn't get what so hilarious about the whole thing but also thought he was a monster prone to violence – still. Lyle sighed, all the mirth that was previously in his expression draining out of him leaving him with an uncomfortable grimace on their face. How disappointing... They really wish there was another human here to share in the jesting. But alas, that was not meant to be. At least as far as they knew there was no "homo invasion" in the making. Lyle wasn’t naïve. He knew humans were easy to slip into a gray moral state, at best. The role of villains at worst. And many of his kind would likely take advantage of a planet full of tiny, vulnerable people. Lyle couldn’t help but inwardly cringe at the thought, getting nervous about something that wasn’t an issue. At least now. Currently, human-wise, it was just him on this distant planet. And as far as he knew, no one - well, no other human at least- had any clue where they were. It probably just seemed he simply disappeared. Never to be seen again most likely. Trapped on this random alien planet in scenario that is akin to some sort of a personal hell of sorts.

'Wow. Hello, major depressive episode that’s making me overly dramatic. I haven't seen you since I was - what - eighteen?' thought Lyle regretfully. Calling this planet a personal hell was probably a bit over the top. But still, he couldn’t even seem to keep the trust of his single native ally. It only adds to his feelings of lonely isolation. And he feared his lonely angst will only get worse and worse. But only time will tell.

Giving a small sigh, he mentally prepped himself to try and get back his small friend’s trust. At least he was able to laugh for a wee bit earlier. It had been so long since he had done such. It was nice. Hopefully next time it will not lead to a backtracking in his attempted friendly ships with an open local, or even worse, a hostile local. The little laser guns that native being had stung like a b*tch. It reminded him when he got bit a couple times by some fire ants during a vacation as a child.

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So yeah these were rando improvised characters made on the spot.

But Lyle is a guy (he/him. He’d be chill with they/them too)

And Kyvlar is… a Torrynt. So like they/them I guess. Torrynts don’t have genders. Like at all. I guess they hermaphroditic (intersex if talking by human terms but not really as they are capable of reproduction and they aren’t human so… I dunno… Not even sure if hermaphrodite is a useful term. As idk if hermaphroditic animals, in nature, are capable of reproduction… I don’t think so? But I’m not sure tbh…). There is no variants like there are with human “sex”. And male/female concepts are 200+% foreign to these wee reptile-like aliens (albeit warm-blooded minded, so perhaps more draconian than reptilian idk. Also aliens being described as reptilian gives me hives due to a conspiracy theory that is like super bigoted actually n’ stuff. Very yikes. Don’t want to talk it about it rlly…). Their reaction would def be “wtf. That’s the weirdest sh*t ever” to such a thought as male n female binary dynamics & whatnot. No exceptions. They’d be like why a lot of you guys limiting yourself because of whether or not you are a potential offspring vessel or not. I don’t understand.

So Yeah. Uh. Anyways.

Their conversation about this prolly (or close to this):

Lyle: Hi. I’m Lyle. Just some random dude form Earth I guess.

Kyvlar: a random dude what?

Lyle: uh. I’m a dude. I guess I meant that I’m a boy though dudes don’t really have to be boys I think. But not to derail too much… Yeah. I’m a man/guy/boy/brosef, whatever you wanna call the male gender. Please not by brosef actually, heh. Anyway. Yep. A boy. That is what I am. Uh. How about you. I can just tell… you ….you have uhm two legs. Oh damn. Wait. That sounded so stupid. I wouldn’t assume your gender or anything. I just… You don’t look exactly human so..uh. UGH. Nevermind. I don’t even know where I was going with that... Heh. ANYWAY, so yeah what’s your gender is what I’m trying to say. Sorry I’m awkward as f***. I’m not used to socializing much. Been doing deep space sh** on my own for a few years now and.. uh.. yeahhhh….

Kyvlar: *stares blankly*

Lyle: Uh. Yeah. So. A Gender? Do you, uhm, have one? Or…????

Kyvlar: Uh. I think so? I mean I’m mostly a day-by-day I’ll figure it out then type but I, I really want be able to fix my home up. I want to learn to cook. Kinda suck at it now. Uhm. I guess… Uh. I should probably help you get on good terms with my people so they stop trying to kill you. You seem nice n’ stuff… so yeah. There’s that. I could use a little more purpose in my life. Not to-

Lyle: wait. Huh? What are you talking about? Are you talking about an agenda?

Kyvlar: Yes????

Lyle: *snorts* I didn’t say an agenda. I said a gender. As in A. Gen. Durr. Like are male or female or maybe something off the typical binary track??

Kyvlar: Uh. Er. Huh??? I, I’m so confused right now…

Lyle: Hooo boy. I’m so not prepared for this discussion at all.

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One of these days I’m gonna have a character that’s silver-tongue and smooth af and not some bumbling awkward doofus (*cough* like I am *cough*).