#samsara beats

[kazu-naito]

you know it's over when you see these expressions

[gyrovagi]

(nimbly dodging an assortment of hammers that are falling from the sky aimed directly for my head) ok. will contain spoilers for all games at some point but i'll put the avowed ones at the end and mark them for oomfs who haven't finished it yet. Please finish the game so i can tell you about ambrose (i am smiling but you can see me visibly white-knuckling the edge of my desk). anyway

i honestly think this is in large part just the natural conclusion of focusing in on reincarnation as a known, provable, central mechanism of your universe. so this is more scattered 'what's all this then?' thoughts and not, like, an essay with an argument. what IS all this then

because if you know for a fact that reincarnation is real, then birth and death are two sides of the same coin. the god of death has two faces, the god of rebirth/redemption is also the one reaping souls to sow again. which is a concept people on earth are already familiar with, but it's literally true in eora - and what tips it over into something horrific for me is the fact that you don't get a clean slate with the next turn around the wheel. every newborn infant is already a ghost. there's always a chance, however slim, that something from decades, centuries, even millennia ago could come back to haunt you. we don't see people experiencing awakenings and then having a good time! even if aloth comes to accept iselmyr, his awakening was a direct result of the physical abuse he experienced as a child. your fucking soul keeps the score!! and you have no way of escaping samsara other than hoping the god of entropy blasts your souls into bits, a mercy which he fails to extend to some of his most devoted followers in poe1. for his own reasons ❤️

which leads into the Second Fundamental Horror of eora, before we even start thinking about the hollowborn: the wheel of life and death is controlled - was hijacked, even - by gods who are completely unaccountable to the mortals whose lives they play around with. you can dedicate your life to rymrgand and he'll put you back in the game in the exact same position and there's nothing you can do about it. if you're born a godlike, if your child is born a godlike, whatever trials and tribulations arise as a result, a god chose to do that to you. you most likely won't ever get the chance to ask for an explanation, and even if you do, you won't get any answers.

the watcher learns essentially by chance that the ultimate 'function' the godlikes are born for is to act as backup bodies or batteries for the gods. even for the godlike we see that seem more favored by their gods/the people around them, the horror is still there just lurking in the background. a godlike does not exist by chance, they exist as the conscious act of a god who exerts control over their life and death as a matter of course. i feel like i can't put this into words the way i want to - like, it's not an accident, it's not a complication of birth or pregnancy that can just happen and it's nobody's fault. it is someone's fault. without your knowledge or consent a god reached into your womb and forever changed your baby, or a god forever changed you before you were even born. you know this for a fact, and there's nothing you can do about it.

and we still haven't gotten into the fucking hollowborn!!!! which is just right there on the page. what do i need to say about it. a baby that's physically fine - that is, strictly speaking, alive and breathing, with a beating heart, and warmth in its little fingers, but will never be capable of living. fifteen years is a generation. that's a long fucking time for whatever odd percent of babies to just be born... empty. and then woedica in the burned book of law tells you that soul maladies like the hollowborn weren't uncommon before the gods took over the wheel. like. jesus. you have some limited amount of control over trying to make sure an infant's born physically healthy but what can you do to make sure it's born with an intact soul?

[major spoilers for both poe games commence but deadfire is almost 7 years old. if you are oomf who hasn't finished though it's fun to experience it yourself.]

and THEN deadfire leaves eora with the wheel broken - and there's no follow-up of what's developed from that in avowed three years later, most likely to just plain avoid spoiling the game lol/having to refer to any concrete 'worldstate.' but if it didn't immediately result in a new spate of hollowborn births (which it could've! people just might not have put the pieces together on that just yet), eventually like. it's not just that life on eora will die out if kith can't figure something out, it's that 'life' on eora will be soulless. which is if anything more existentially terrifying.

and the gods. the fucking gods. their unnatural, engineered birth directly demanded mass death on an inconceivable level. not just the deaths of willing engwithans, but the unwilling ones, too. not just the end of one civilization, but the devastation of the huana who were left completely in the dark about thaos' intent. how could you possibly expect gods who came into being like that to assign any value to mortal life? the gods were born from death; they are, in fact, still actively parasites latched onto the cycle of death and rebirth, which they twisted from its natural existence and bent and hammered to serve their purpose. they were born horrific and unnatural and then they made all birth horrific and unnatural.

[AVOWED SPOILERS FROM HERE ON]

this is why this one avowed note text makes me so crazy like. go make a bloody birth of them. the goddess who presides over childbirth, who came into being from the deaths of thousands of peoples, says: these people are soulless heretics worshipping a false (true) god. Go make a bloody birth of them. (She was a bloody birth!!!) Kill them so they'll be reborn under our control. The Engwithans had to die for our (unnatural) birth; the Ekidans have to die to pay for their god's (natural) birth.

what avowed ends up bringing to the table is the idea that a 'naturally-born god' is, arguably, no less horrific. sapadal, as far as we know, just coalesced into being from essence in the living lands over time. no mass murder required. but whatever horror they were spared in the nature of their creation, they're instead horrific by nature of being something with the power of a god but all the emotional intelligence and self-control of a child. they didn't choose to be born, they didn't have any control over the circumstances. they're innocent, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous. it was terrifying for the engwithans to realize they could find no gods, but it's also terrifying to think that something that powerful could just be born out of nowhere and wreak destruction without understanding any of it. and of course that if you let them they are just as capable of overriding the autonomy and identity of the godlike they created (by accident) (honestly no less horrific than the godlike the other gods made on purpose)

They were real for this.

[rambheem-is-real]

Amarendra possessed Mahendra during the final fight?

GUYS (gender neutral) my sister and I came up with this theory when we were watching bahubali 2 on cable today, its very long i'm sorry

but anyway

throughout the fight between mahendra and bhalla, while mahendra manages to get a few blows in, he's mostly losing

also his physical body language is very erratic, fighting strongly but without the same military precision that bhalla has; he gets his ass kicked/strangled/speared/gored MULTIPLE times

but whats interesting is that after one point, mahendra dodges all of bhalla's blows, never lets him get a hit in, and beats the shit out of bhalla in a matter of a few seconds

when is this point? after this

Shiva - god of death, could also be considered god of souls by proxy, as yama answers to him, as well as the god of the cycle of samsara (reincarnation)

we see mahendra get kicked, a cloud of vibhoothi obscures the audience's vision, and then we see what looks like mahendra with renewed determination and a sudden new set of moves

rising up slowly, the blood dripping on his face paralleling the blood dripping onto the shiva lingam, shot to look like a rebirth of sorts

now after this, he smears the vibhoothi onto himself, and bhallaladeva, who doesn't really believe in a divine force, stops in his tracks in what seems like fear/confusion because he senses something is wrong

mahendra keeps his eyes on bhalla as he approaches devasena's cage, confidently reaching for the chains, then proceeds to beat the shit out of bhalla in a way that he's never done before in this fight

in contrast to his earlier fighting style, now he's more restrained but calculated. he's brimming with rage as you can see in his eyes but he's not as feral as before. he stops being on the offensive (as mahendra usually does) and lets bhalla attack him first several times

and this look in his eyes, is pure rage, even when bhalla stomped on devasena's face you didn't have this level of coldness in those eyes, only anger and fear

much easier to see as part of the scene and not as screenshots but my point is this is pure hatred that mahendra never showed

then drags him onto the pyre that devasena prepared, like he knew exactly where it was despite never seeing it before

who do we know is a defensive fighter? who do we know (through death) has a connection to shiva? who do we know has reason for utterly hating bhalla? for using chains as his final weapon against him, representing him enslaving the woman he loved as well as the kingdom he loved?

now here

what if, this isn't just implying that amarendra is watching this all happen from heaven/approving mahendra's actions, but revealing to bhalla and us that it's amarendra himself?

bhalla in that first screenshot looks like he's having a huge realization, in this case that he was fighting amarendra the last few minutes (which is why he got beaten so easily this time)

and the subsequent fear, that he realizes he can't fight his way out of this since amarendra is a better warrior than mahendra

and then

my one gripe with this shot has always been that it doesn't really have an emotional impact given they've known about each other's existence for like 2 days now but consider this shot now to be amarendra in mahendra's body, staring down his brother in rage

but bhalla has entirely given up on fighting at this point, he doesn't bother freeing his leg from the sword and he doesn't try to get a few hits in

i think this is because he's happy on some level, that this is finally personal

in the first movie, he says his biggest regret is not getting to kill amarendra himself, but he's almost satisfied now, that he finally got that fight he wanted, and he knows he's lost so he doesn't bother

(maybe he even feels a little guilty??? no one NOT obsessed with the brother they murdered brings up the brother to their widow every time they see each other)

and finally

mahendra was the only one with his back turned to bhalla's fiery death (he does look back eventually but almost as if he doesn't want to), kattappa, avantika, and all of the soldiers around them were also watching the whole time fully facing front

now what reason would this man have to avoid seeing this?? he's not squeamish about death or anything, and why would he feel bad for bhalla of all people?

unless... he loved bhalla at one point

unless he hated the man bhalla became, but still loved the version of his annayya that he remembered

unless he felt saddened that it came to this point but knew this was necessary

anyway my point is MAYBE THIS WAS AMARENDRA!!! with all of the fighting style changes and the imagery of the god of death/reincarnation surrounding them

only temporarily ofc i think its mahendra in the ending scene again but

[astrum99]

Surprisingly, human beings are the only creatures that looked into themselves. Movement of a blade sharpened to max, lightning fast, no hesitation. Peeling back skin and draining sinus. Bodies (alive, young), huddled around bodies (dead, damaged), to examine and poke and tear and say “I see, that one is the Inferior Vena Cava”. These abominable actions saves lives. Curiosity and morbidity guided a way of survival, of rescue. Later, the same sentiments, mixed with desperation, guided a way to destruction.

Bearing the remnants of humans, their organs pulsating in its body. A machine. A child of man.

Angels, on the other hand, are made perfect. Healthy body, strong will, and filled with holy light right off the bat. Vicious in battles. No need for learning, little need for healing. The smoothness and perfection of their skin akin to marble and sea glass. All creations pale in their presence. Nothing beats perfection. Certainly not creatures of cold unfeeling metal. Lightless, soulless, running on a fixed program of 0’s and 1’s set by the expired words of self-destroying, world-destroying, rotten images of God. Heretic. Even in their perishment, they set to ruin. Systems that they themselves can no longer escape from. Samsara of endless pain and death.

It is a wonder then, that when the machine finally tear through Gabriel’s helm, he become faintly aware of the things hidden deep inside. The ugly, raw things inside. The things he must have known but were never brave enough to face: the same pulsing gore that pushes through the gaps of his skin is the same as the one in the mankind’s bodies; the wires that prods through the throbbing organs is the same as that runs through the chassis of the machine. His body echos the lesser beings. For a second, he could not distinguish himself from man nor machine. How ridiculous, he thought, it thought. To be of this state. To see his/its image in his/its body. To have his/its strings/wires cut so late. The taste of spectacular freedom at the last millisecond of his/its life.

As the last drop of holy light seeps through his helm to stain the machine’s optics, he recognizes himself as heaven’s machine, and the machine as mankind’s angel. And now they are the same.

---

Insp is this post by @sinew-lattice!

thank u for infesting me w brain worms i enjoyed hosting the wiggly thing very much (also pls let me know if u don't like ppl writing/tagging i can always take stuff down:] )

[calllynx]

I know its an easy way to have a lot of drama in a story but it always bothers me when people are like "oh the Ancients were in a death cult" or "oh what about the Ancients who didn't want to ascend they were probably forced into it" or portrays like, drones spraying people with void fluid to forcibly ascend them. I don't want to randomly attack anyone's story or ocs but it just makes me think a lot about how Ascension is portrayed in terms of the culture of the Ancients in-game.

In general I strongly dislike the sentiment of that one echo added in DP, it's very counter-canon. The idea that the solution is to have a good time living instead of seeking ascension makes sense for this world but not for Rain World. Ascension isn't really comparable to death, it's more like proper funeral rites that allow a ghost to go free from the mortal world. It's like escaping Samsara.

We don't know exactly how the impossibility of death manifests in Rain World, but at the least it has to be extremely unpleasant. Whether it's a constantly looping death dream impossible to differentiate from reality (like we experience in-game), or a constant cycle of reincarnation, we know that every creature in the world experiences the suffocation that comes from not being able to escape.

The one description of an Ascension rite we get from one of the echoes seems to imply that the individual was already dead when being submerged in the void fluid anyway. Void fluid baths were highly in demand. This whole civilization was built around the desire to transcend the suffocation that comes from living in Rain World, and the goal of the game is to follow them. The reward for beating Rain World is not having to play Rain World anymore. Ascension is beating the game.

All that to say, an Ancient who doesn't want to ascend reads less to me like someone breaking free of a deathcult, and more like someone inexplicably rejecting their entire cultural upbringing in favour of one more similar to our own, and denying themselves proper funeral rites. No shade to other people with Ancient ocs, I've just spent too long arguing about the game lore and now my brain's turned to stone. It's like someone who says "just throw my body to the dogs idc" instead of wanting their soul to go free I feel.

[gongziyus]

so many of the actors in love and redemption were in immortal samsara that i can't help but compare the two.

one of the things i appreciated about the latter is how as a romance, it wasn't just a story about yandan and yingyuan's love--it was also a consideration of romantic love and what it makes people do/what people use it as an excuse for. romantic love made xuan xing/wei yang be blinded by tao ziqi's deception and unable to let go of her even after he discovered her betrayal. it made tao ziqi able to manipulate xuan xing; but it also made her devoted to ji dou to the point that she gave her own life up (twice!) for him and his desire to rule the world. it made yumo leave the heavenly realm to search for yandan for years in the mortal realm. it made xuan ye fall for ran qing, made him bring her back to life again and again after (inadvertently) killing her. it countered and interfered with his desire to rule the world through violence and subjugation. for ran qing, it allowed her to defeat xuan ye. and then ultimately romantic love caused xuan ye to give up his desire to rule the world because that desire was incompatible with the person he fell for. yingyuan was born of romantic love. it complicated yingyuan's duty to protect the three realms, because he couldn't devote himself to the world and also to his lover. and i love this complication so much. yingyuan's problem with love is the same problem his dad has with it--he can't be in love and also be concerned with the fate of the world. the only difference is that his dad wanted to rule the world while he wants to protect it. they come to totally different answers. his dad at first isn't able to reconcile the two desires and "loses" to his mother, but then in the afterlife he realizes "losing" to ran qing means his love for her means more to him than ruling the world. for yingyuan, the answer is that his romantic love for yandan serves to confirm his duty to protect the world--she's in the world, so he has to protect it. protecting it is protecting her. loving it is loving her. and for yandan, romantic love is what transforms her from a simple immortal attendant to a full blown epic heroine. because of romantic love she defies the heavenly realm's rules, demands her lover to acknowledge their love, and walks through purgatory (?) for 900 years. romantic love makes her save yingyuan's life. without it, the story would have ended around episode 15, with yingyuan willingly dying and ji dou successfully deceiving the world.

for immortal samsara romantic love isn't good or bad, it's just something that causes things to happen. it's interesting. it's fecund. it animates the world. it makes stories.

now that i've picked love and redemption up again, what i'm seeing is that romantic love is one of the ways xuanji comes of age. she falls for sifeng, and then she confirms that love again and again and again, in the face of xianxia shenanigan circumstances and other people telling her that she can't possibly feel romantic love for him. she chooses that love, and in doing so identifies and believes in her own desires. one of the things about xuanji is she has no senses (xianxia shenanigans) and she kind of goes on a quest to regain them--but even before she regains her sense of taste, smell, and touch, she engages with romantic love.

in immortal samsara, The Thing cast opposite romantic love is the fate of the world. in love and redemption (as the name suggests), romantic love is much more personal, even though the story is set on just as grand of a stage--The Thing set against romantic love is xuanji's anger, grievance, and resentment borne of betrayal and injustice. in the 9 tribulations where xuanji kills sifeng or watches him die without caring, she doesn't love him--and she can't, because her grievance hasn't been assuaged. sifeng's love for her has to counter her resentment; not to beat it or overcome it, but to acknowledge it, to witness it, to validate it. it's only when xuaji's grievance is witnessed and assuaged and understood as the right reaction to what was done to her *to the degree that she feels betrayed* that she can have the space for love. sifengs dies tragically 9 times because that's how badly xuanji was hurt. i love it; the personal bent of romantic love in love and redemption--romantic love being set opposite xuanji's deep feelings of anger and betrayal--means that her lover has to answer her needs. he has to satisfy her. (it also means that because romantic love figures into her coming of age, sifeng doesn't treat her like a child, even though she's born yesterday.) she's not a clean slate like yandan was when yandan first fell in love. i'm a far way off from finishing l&r, but i think that's why l&r won't be a tragedy (i hope!) like immortal samsara was--because the romantic love in the story is concerned with xuanji's needs.

[iamcassian]

you guys know how the archons get their power from their believers?

well. let's see who the real strongest archon is.

barbatos has a whole church dedicated to him. while mondstadt is probably the smallest nation, the whole population is dedicated to the anemo archon. they believe steadfast in him, and his church prays day and night. the strength of their faith proves him not to be as weak as he tries to appear as.

morax was arguably the strongest before he quit. while he still remains strong, his power must be weakening, because liyue believes rex lapis to be "dead". i wonder is liyue will still worship morax, or be a godless nation like khaenri'ah.

raiden shogun was feared by her nation for a long time. i think her power is growing now because she is no longer simply viewed as someone to "be afraid of". now she is a better archon, therefore having more believers. because to aknowledge the existence of the divine is not always to believe. she cultivated the power of the musu no hitotachi herself, so she is incredibly strong even without the faith of her people.

lesser lord kusanali is no doubt revered. although, while she was trapped in the sanctuary of surasthana, she was not wholly believed in, because most of her nation still loved greater lord rukkhadevata. now, after erasing rukkhadevata, her people adore her. she has the power to create an endless samsara cycle, as proved in the main sumeru story quest.

focalors was praised as an archon. she had the opera epiclese to transfer power so she could fool the heavenly principles. she then transferred her power back to neuvilette, giving him his power as hydro dragon sovereign now. he has more power than an archon, and the only person who could best him now are the heavenly principles or a descender.

murata has showcased the might of her determination and will. all the power of her believers goes into fueling the sacred flame, and she gave up her gnosis powers. the power she showcased when she beat back the abyss and broke the sky was solely her own. her people believe in her so strongly, so when the day comes, and she uses the power of her people, i suspect she will be very, very strong.

[stormyrainyday]

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don't be shy and share anyway! 

thank you for the tag @offworldlamb-writes !!

So Who Was I to You, My Love? (Metal Fight Beyblade) (ongoing - taken from most recent chapter)

Gingka slammed his fist against the last abandoned warehouse within the city limits and screamed. The Dark Nebula helicopter had long disappeared into the night sky, leaving him sweating and shaking as the adrenaline drained from his body. He hit the wall once more, but any fight left in him was gone– with one last defeated cry, he sank to the ground, legs trembling from the run, the heels of his hands pressed into his burning eyes.

2. So Bury Me at Sea (Let's Pretend It's All a Bad Dream) (Genshin Impact)

Freminet hurled his Vision into the sea with the remainder of his strength. It splashed once, rippling softly against the gentle waves, and sank beneath the tide. The waters of Fontaine would cradle it, cherishing it as a treasure, but holding it selfishly in its grasp against the passage of time. Good. He never wanted to see the damned thing again. 

3. The Breath Before the Fall (Metal Fight Beyblade)

Hikaru turned Aquario over in her hands as she lingered outside the stadium, waiting for Blader DJ to announce her entrance. There was no point in trying to calm her hammering heartbeat; she’d accepted this long ago. The bravado she’d shown the others today was a mere facade. The truth was, she’d drawn the short straw amongst the Battle Bladers competitors– Ryuga was her first opponent, and it terrified her. She just hoped he wouldn’t be her last.

4. Truth Serves No Master (Genshin Impact, Duolingo)

Alhaitham sighed and rubbed his tired eyes as he read the morning paper. Another student had gone missing from the Akademiya, something that had been increasing in frequency over the last few months. The matra were on the case, but they had yet to turn up any leads; the only thread linking the disappearances together were that they had all occurred from the same Darshan– Alhaitham’s very own alma mater, Haravatat.

5. Time Has Brought Your Heart to Me (Genshin Impact, My Little Pony)

Alhaitham was no stranger to love. After meeting Kaveh, he thought he knew the rules. They bickered frequently, yes, but there was no doubt in his mind that they were fully committed to each other– Alhaitham thought, those fateful years in university, that he would never feel this way with any other guy.

6. Samsara (Genshin Impact)

This time when Kaveh reached into his pocket to find he had once again forgotten his keys, he didn’t bother to return home. He simply exited the tavern and wandered the sleeping city.

7. Your Secrets Keep You Sick (Your Lies Keep You Alive) (Genshin Impact)

Baizhu had lost count of the days that’d he’d lain bedridden in the back room of Bubu Pharmacy, Changsheng slithering tirelessly at his side to keep him alive. He hardly noticed her in his fevered haze, only felt her vaguely as her cool scales glided smoothly across his skin. If he’d been more coherent, he’d apologize for the sweat soaking through the sheets– as it was, he focused his attention on the edges of the room, trying to keep himself from falling asleep.  “Baizhu,” Changsheng hissed softly into his ear. “Should I get Gui or Qiqi to see to you?”  “No,” he wheezed out, the single word sending him into a coughing fit that brought tears into his eyes. Blood splattered on the tissue and his heart raced from the exertion. “They… cannot see me like… this.” 

8. If I Can Ease One Life The Aching (I Shall Not Live In Vain) (Genshin Impact)

Baizhu shivered under the covers, keeping time with the rapid beat of his heart. Sweat beaded at his brow and his eyes were dry– if he could have checked in his small mirror, he was certain they’d be bloodshot. As it was, he could only lay in bed, propped up halfway on pillows, kept awake by the shallowness of his own breathing. Changsheng’s cool scales swept across the bare skin of his arms, smooth and slippery and agonizingly cold against his feverish skin. He didn’t dare protest, though. He’d brought this on himself, and the snake was only helping him balance his qi. I’d do it again, he told himself. I’d save that patient again in a heartbeat. It was a mantra he repeated to himself on late nights like these, when his collected agonies piled up and left him bedridden.

9. Untitled Genshin Survival Battle crossover fic (work in progress) (Genshin Impact, Metal Fight Beyblade)

More than anything, Freminet wished he could sleep en route to the Survival Battle, but between the nervous chatter of the girl in front of him, his coworker Yu kicking his seat, and the sheer terror of traveling thousands of feet above the ground, it was hopeless to try. He should’ve brought his noise-cancelling headphones, but since Ryuga’s awakening, there had been considerably more racket in the Dark Nebula headquarters. Lately, he’d had to wear them to sleep to block out the noise of late night training, leaving the battery (and, more often than not, Freminet himself) drained come morning.

10. Untitled Childe/Lyney fic (work in progress) (Genshin Impact)

Before his heart had the chance to slow and his breaths had time to steady, before the last drops of the Primordial Sea receded, before Lyney even had time to be thankful for his life in the wake of the Fontaine disaster, Father had already put him back to work.   The House of the Hearth never really did rest after all.

tag you're it (no pressure): @shadows-aflame @stars-shine-for-me @shinystealingbirb @heretic-saint-taliesin @little-red-rhapsody and anyone else that sees this and has fics or original works please i wanna read them

[petterwass]

This was just very funny. Oh Mr Assassin, you can phase through operators when you're injured?

Beautiful Rice Wife says no to that. You don't get to do that. Stay put.

Chongyue beat on him. Assassin tries to phase through, Shu Samsara's him right back into Chongyue's fist.

[painom]

if not for you - chongyun

815 words | prompt from @andromeda-nova-writing - "write about writing"

To write was pain. To write was torture. To write was suffering. To write was to die a thousand deaths once and one thousand times over. There was no joy to be found in writing, no love. Within writing, there was nothing to live for, only to slog day in and day out, one foot over the other, in search of completion. One would think that completion would bring happiness, but do not be fooled. To complete was only to experience fleeting happiness before falling once more into the trap of starting anew. It was a cycle, an ouroboros of fate. A never ending samsara of unhappiness. 

It was no secret you hated writing. You hated it with every fiber of your being. It brought you no satisfaction, no pleasure. Every day you wrote was a struggle. If you had to be honest, you didn’t know why you wrote when you despised it so much. You even tried quitting quite a number of times before the never ending works in progresses you penned would inevitably grab you from the neck and yank you back in. 

And it would have been one thing if you were a good writer. Then maybe everything would be worth it. But you were “average” at best, “good” on a good day. Whenever you’d reread your work, the words on the pages would mock you gleefully—the awkward wording, the banal exposition, the annoyingly uniform paragraph length—everything existed to throw blows against your soul. There was nothing about your writing to be proud of. 

You were a masochist. It was a fact you knew well. Only those addicted to agony would take up something they hated as a job and hobby. Only those that took pleasure in pain would keep coming back to it day in and day out. And that was you. Pathetic little you. The you that hated yourself so terribly.

“Would you start something new if you could?” Chongyun asked one of those days as you slaved away before the typewriter. After commissioning him to keep him company on his exorcisms for your previous novel, you found yourself within each other’s company more and more. Working on a sequel, you still called him to visit from time to time. Not that he minded. Though you had times you’d burst into fits of frustration, your company was usually lowkey. Low stakes. He didn’t have to watch himself around you. 

“I would,” you stated without hesitation. “If I could never write again ever in my life, I think I would be satisfied.” He hummed as he took a sip of his tea, staring up at the sky. 

“It would be a shame if you did. I like the stories you write.”

You laughed.

“Isn’t Zhenyu your friend? His works are much more popular than mine. I’m just lucky the Yae Publishing House is willing to print my novels and pay me.” you said with a shrug. He frowned hesitantly.

“Xing— I mean Zhenyu’s novels are great, but I’d say they’re more like epics. Your novels are more emotional.” he then paused before jumping as if noticing something, “N-Not that that’s a bad thing! It’s just… nice to be able to feel things like your characters’ emotions without feeling like I’m going to lose control.”

He once told you about his condition before. It was that very thing that inspired the main character in your novel. The concept of not being able to indulge in emotions, being forced to keep yourself in control—it affected you in a way. And before you knew it, you found yourself writing a world where someone like him could experience life in a way that he didn’t have to hold himself back, a world where he could feel safe. 

“Are you saying my works aren’t exciting?” you teased with a raised brow, prompting him to wave his hands before him frantically.

“In no way! I’m just trying to say that your writing makes me feel good. I feel comfortable when I read it, like I’m at home in bed on a cold winter day.” he rambled, doing his best to think off the top of his head. But the honesty in his words caused your heart to skip, if not a little, beat. 

“Is this your way of telling me to put up with the pain and suffering so that you can keep reading what I write?” you asked curiously. If he wasn’t panicking before, he did then, as if you caught him doing something he should feel guilty for. 

“What? No! While I would feel sad if you stopped writing, I would never—”

But you interrupted him with a laugh, enjoying the way his frantic expression lead warmth to travel throughout your chest.

“I’m kidding,” you stated plainly. “I suppose if you like my writing that much, I’ll keep writing just for you.”

[gallusrostromegalus]

"-and then the new guys beat the shit out of the Soul King's buddy and dismembered th Soul King for parts to sell as part of an organ harvesting scheme!"

Wait.

"but they messed up and now the only normal exit from Hell is being blocked by God's Ass."

Wait.

Is the title a joke about.... no, I'm taking that thought too far. One thing at a time.

Gallus, is God the elephant?

~**CONGRATULATIONS ON SPOTTING THE OVERARCHING THEME/MAJOR NARRATIVE DEVICE FROM THE SHITTY LITTLE SUMMARIES!!! **~

Your High School Literature teacher would be proud.

--

Ok, it's two steps to the left of "God is literally The Elephant", but that's where it started.

The Fable of The Blind Men and The Elephant actually IS about how no single person can perceive the entirety of any situation- your friend's weird breakup, the nature of God, economics, etc.- and that you need to work with other people to have a damn clue about what you're doing. The Fable (Or rather, my favorite children's book about it), is used as a framing device to structure the plot because I have ADHD and my brain is a flan on a good day, so I need all the structure I can get.

But The Fable is there because the overriding theme is one of how people *thinking* they know what they're doing when they have only a fraction of the information available, feeling like they have to do something alone, and/or failing to communicate fucking anything is the primary cause of disaster, and things only start to improve when the characters start listening to a diversity of opinons and fucking cooperate.

So on one hand, the fact that God's Repairman's Disassembled Corpse is gumming up the wheel of Samsara is the elephant. On the other hand, the elephant is the wheel itself, and the important lesson here is to fucking talk to people about your problems and help each other out.

Also yes. It's a very shitty pun :)

[peemanne]

INFINITE WEALTH SPOILERS IN MINI RAMBLE AHEAD!!!!!!! YEAH!!!! LIKE FINAL CHAPTER SHENANIGANS!!!!! REALLY BAD!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!! (and also touching on y2 and y6 and gaiden i guess but come on)

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!! IF YOU ARE NOW ON YOUR WAY OUT, SEE YOU LATER AND ALSO CHECK OUT THIS COOL PHOTO OF ZHAO I TOOK

Been mulling over IW's story since I beat it, and while there are still aspects I'm very much still mixed on, one thing I've surprisingly found to actually only be better after thinking about it even more was the final boss in Ebina. And yeah yeah he could have used a tad bit more screentime, but I think the stuff he does have and all the stuff he symbolizes are really well written. In Gaiden, we dealt with the manifestation of the yakuza itself, and now we face off against the manifestation of all the wrong the yakuza's done. Despite Kiryu's best efforts, there's so many lives he's endangered. So much death that follows him and those around him, and he's completely aware of this. Kiryu shows a lot of self-destructiveness throughout the series, like in Y2 where he gives himself up in a practically suicidal draw with Ryuji, or in Y6 where he so readily throws himself away at the first chance he gets. I still remember Haruka's line in that game: "Don't look so satisfied about this!". And especially in IW, knowing that cancer's got him that much closer to death's door, he's still so ready to throw himself away. But now that's he's forced to rely on his allies, now that he gets to really reflect on all the friends that he's made throughout the years, now that he has Ichiban telling him to really LIVE, he's done running. Kiryu sees a lot of himself in Ebina, because he knows the look of a man who's hellbent on throwing himself away.

Ebina knows he's fighting a losing battle. He leaves Sawashiro alive and he repeatedly begs for Kiryu to kill him at the end of the fight. Look at the demon on his back: he knows he's falling into hell, and he's intent on dragging the reason why he's falling down with him. And that's why it's so cathartic seeing Kiryu beg to him at the end. He's breaks down, seeing the personification of all of the sins the yakuza, and he cries out apologies. Because that's what this fight is about. Atonement, against a vengeful spirit. A breaking of the cycle, further hammered in by the choice to name Ebina's moves after chakra points ("Pierce the Muladhara, Cripple the Manipura, Wheel of Samsara"). The theme The End of Denial is such an amazing choice for this too, a much more sorrowful, reflective track than most of the other final boss themes. It's not just a cheeky bit of "look how far we've come" that they've included the original Yakuza's intro guitar in here, it's Kiryu directly reflecting on running away. Running away from the Fourth Chairman spot. Running away from Daigo and the clan. Running away from his family. Running away from all the wrongs he's done throughout the years. And now that Kiryu finally finds himself ready to confront it all, even if it's in his twilight years, there's not a chance in hell he's gonna let it slip past him, as he takes Ebina head-on. I couldn't disagree more with the notion that Ichiban should have been the one to fight him. Despite it being his half-brother, this just isn't his fight to take.

It's why this line means so much. Teary-eyed, he begs the man he just punched down for forgiveness for everything the yakuza has done, and he begs for him to LIVE, to not throw himself away the very same way Kiryu has. And this is how he breaks the cycle.

This is how Kazuma Kiryu finally gets to live again.

~ ~ ~

ok thing over! i've been thinking about a write-up on this game's finale ever since i beat it last march 30th and ebina's an aspect i really had to stew over, and i finally got to it in the same way i did with my gaiden mini ramble. by making a long text wall in a discord server and figuring that it'd fit well enough to be put here

i'd really like to shoutout @.FormerSoulKing on twitter and their post on IW's religious symbolism for inspiring this post. it's also just like, a really cool read.

additionally i'd also ramble about the ending scene with ichi carrying eiji out at the end and how it's like him "setting things right" and not letting what he watched happen to masato happen to another friend of his but honestly i just love that scene so much i don't think i could ever properly put it into words

[burlveneer-music]

The universe has graced us with a new Painkiller album - Samsara, released today on Tzadik

Thirty-three years after their first meeting, Samsara is a spectacular reunion of three of the world's most extreme musical explorers—John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Mick Harris. Originally formed in 1991, PainKiller is a legendary trio that forged a completely unique language blending jazz, metal, grindcore, ambient, dub, and so much more. Recording again for the first time in over a quarter century, these three master musicians have come up with an intense new musical direction. Mick Harris, performing on his trademark electronics, has created a rich tapestry of beats and sounds that have inspired Laswell and Zorn to some exciting new heights. Samsara presents three old friends exploring some bold new sounds.

[ccaptain]

♡ phaikae (plus flamekae if you're feelin it) :3

hurls this at you like a pipe bomb -- @delivrnce

PHAINON:

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙰𝚂𝙺𝙴𝙳 𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙾𝚄𝚃 𝙵𝙸𝚁𝚂𝚃?: Phainon. He's the gallant one in the relationship, hear me out when he took Kaeya on an official date. WAY past them doing everything else. Funny to me..................

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝚆𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝙸𝙽 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙵𝙸𝚁𝚂𝚃 𝙺𝙸𝚂𝚂?: Kaeya, no doubt. He takes............. some freedoms when it comes to Phainon.

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙶𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝙽𝙸𝙲𝙺𝙽𝙰𝙼𝙴𝚂?: KAEYA. If PhaiPhai wasn't hilarious of a proof enough,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙲𝙾𝙾𝙺𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙼𝙴𝙰𝙻𝚂?: Kaeya. Putting ''Phainon'' and ''in the kitchen'' together in the same sentence is recipe for an explosion, a grease fire or a self-inflicted burn.

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙷𝙰𝚂 𝙱𝙴𝚃𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙰𝚂𝚃𝙴 𝙸𝙽 𝙼𝚄𝚂𝙸𝙲?: Kaeya, for reasons. Like, how would Phainon explore his own musical tastes stuck in the Amphoreus samsara, cut him some slack-

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙷𝙾𝙶𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙱𝙴𝙳?: Both. Very funny to just hear them roll around and in eachother, but also: they have nightmares. :( 

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝚆𝙰𝙺𝙴𝚂 𝚄𝙿 𝙵𝙸𝚁𝚂𝚃?: Kaeya! To make a breakfast to find out what Phainon can like, and then come back to kiss his lovely PhaiPhai all over to wake him up <3 <3

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙴𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝙾𝙵𝙵𝙴𝙴?: Kaeya. Kitchen and Phainon in the same sentence bad. Horrible. Forbidden from happening.

𝚆𝙷𝙾'𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙱𝙸𝙶 𝚂𝙿𝙾𝙾𝙽?: Phainon :B Kaeya likes to feel small sometimes, and to curl into his very muscular bf.

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚈𝚂 𝚄𝙿 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙻𝙰𝚃𝙴𝚂𝚃?: Both seems reasonable to me. Kaeya doing his weird stuff, Phainon training. If one of them has a nightmare, they won't sleep again and go do something together.

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙲𝙷𝙴𝚂 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚆𝙷𝙾'𝚂 𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙳?: Kaeya has always reached first for Phainon's hand. To ground him, to give him the comfort he denies himself. He claws through the debris of a looping samsara of terror and pain and punishment to desperately grasp at him- because he sees Phainon, way past the mask of the Heir, and it comes so natural to recognize that they both wear disguises hiding their true nature. Kaeya would reach for Phainon's hand through time, though space, through madness and uncertainty.

𝚆𝙷𝙾'𝚂 𝙰 𝙵𝙰𝙽 𝙾𝙵 𝙿𝙳𝙰?: Phainon! Cuddliest man ever once he got comfortable with it. I feel like he just ups and leans on Kaeya, cuddles into him, encases him in his arms, and it makes Kaeya's heart speed up triple the beats,,,,,,,,, 

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝚂𝙽𝙾𝚁𝙴𝚂?: Probably none, but I am slapping the label of Perhaps Snorer on Phainon. :3

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙶𝙴𝚃𝚂 𝙰𝙽𝙽𝙾𝚈𝙴𝙳 𝙼𝙾𝚁𝙴 𝙴𝙰𝚂𝙸𝙻𝚈?: Kaeya. Annoyed at everyone covering Phainon in empty praises because they see nothing of the true him- they are interested in marvellous feats, not in the man under the bright smile. Annoyed at the Goldweaver who's so close to Phainon and both understands and doesn't understand the person he has come to love.

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙸𝙽𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙰𝚃𝙴𝚂 𝚂𝙴𝚇?: Both. Kaeya's libido skyrockets when he's comfortable, and it's been ages since Phainon felt the same around someone, intimacy is not only happening, but it's gonna be incredibly sweet and tender. SLAPS THE CAVITY BUTTON

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙰𝚂𝙺𝚂 𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙸𝚁 𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙸𝙽 𝙼𝙰𝚁𝚁𝙸𝙰𝙶𝙴?: Rubs my chin................ I feel like Phainon would. After they're both free to travel and destroy, why not? Who is stopping him from elevating the bond between him and the being who stood by and saw him for what he truly was, and kept nurturing his nature? Dragon-proposal dragon-proposal dra- (I am forcibly hit by an heavy object and dragged off stage)

𝙼𝚈 𝙼𝚄𝚂𝙴'𝚂 𝙵𝙰𝚅𝙾𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙴 𝙼𝙴𝙼𝙾𝚁𝚈 𝙾𝙵 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁𝚂: Phainon inviting Kaeya to live in his house,,,,,,,,,, clutches my chest. The fact that this cemented Phainon's trust in Kaeya, to begin living with him and being able to see eachother every day without a walk in the middle of it from the guest accommodations. The way Kaeya could wake up cuddled into his warm arms and enjoy sharing the bed with him,,,,,,,,,, oooooghougogohoogoho (explodes)

𝙰 𝚁𝙴𝙶𝚁𝙴𝚃 𝙼𝚈 𝙼𝚄𝚂𝙴 𝙷𝙰𝚂 𝚁𝙴𝙶𝙰𝚁𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁𝚂: To not have come sooner. Kaeya didn't realized that he was missing Phainon as a key piece in his life, painfully so, until their eyes met.

𝙸𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚈 𝙲𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙳 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙶𝙴 𝙾𝙽𝙴 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶: He would have bought Phainon more general-looking decorations just so he could steal more from him </3

𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙸𝚁 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴 𝙻𝙰𝙽𝙶𝚄𝙰𝙶𝙴𝚂 𝙰𝙲𝙲𝙾𝚁𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚃𝙾 𝙼𝚈 𝙼𝚄𝚂𝙴: PHYSICAL TOUCH, words of affirmations, gift giving due to the plants from Kaeya's part-

FLAMEREAVER, THE DEPRESSED SKYSCRAPER:

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙰𝚂𝙺𝙴𝙳 𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙾𝚄𝚃 𝙵𝙸𝚁𝚂𝚃?: On an official date????? 100% Kaeya. Good question where him and a man thrice taller than him would have gone unnoticed tho-

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝚆𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝙸𝙽 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙵𝙸𝚁𝚂𝚃 𝙺𝙸𝚂𝚂?: Both. Both leaning in, missing the other, starved in the tenderness. Mouths meeting while the forefront of Flamereaver's cape is tugged desperately at, a desperate sound leaving Kaeya's mouth when he realizes how starved he has been for this man.

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙶𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝙽𝙸𝙲𝙺𝙽𝙰𝙼𝙴𝚂?: KAEYA. DIDN'T EVEN HAD TO THINK ABOUT IT-

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙲𝙾𝙾𝙺𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙼𝙴𝙰𝙻𝚂?: Kaeya. The 'flame' in Flamereavers name doesn't make Kaeya hopeful that he has learned how to cook suddendly-

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙷𝙰𝚂 𝙱𝙴𝚃𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙰𝚂𝚃𝙴 𝙸𝙽 𝙼𝚄𝚂𝙸𝙲?: Kaeya, and reasonably so because how do you expect this depressed bastard to listen to anything but to screams and the crumbling of planets-

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙷𝙾𝙶𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙱𝙴𝙳?: Flamereaver. Perks of being extra tall in normal beds..............

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝚆𝙰𝙺𝙴𝚂 𝚄𝙿 𝙵𝙸𝚁𝚂𝚃?: Kaeya, expecially after they meet for the ''first'' time. Let's say that he just doesn't sleep so he can keep looking at him a little longer..... and if Flamereaver doesn't sleep either, they can spend the night talking or touching eachother. Just to make sure that this is real.

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙴𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝙾𝙵𝙵𝙴𝙴?: Kaeya. But he may allow Flamereaver to heat the coffee machine up............... supervisioning him close.

𝚆𝙷𝙾'𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙱𝙸𝙶 𝚂𝙿𝙾𝙾𝙽?: FLAMEREAVER. ZERO DOUBTS ABOUT IT. I MEAN HAVE YOU SEEN-

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚈𝚂 𝚄𝙿 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙻𝙰𝚃𝙴𝚂𝚃?: Has this dude ever gotten some sleep in his entire new life? Probably Flamereaver. With Kaeya bonking him sweetly to bed.

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙲𝙷𝙴𝚂 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚆𝙷𝙾'𝚂 𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙳?: Kaeya reaches for Flamereaver's claws, and lets the sharp tips of ossidated gauntlet scrape and prickle at his skin. Out of eternal love for this mangled herald of Destruction, out of guilt for not having found him sooner. The love outweights the guilt, of course- now that he has found Flamereaver, he will be by his side no matter what. Company helps, soothes the soul. At least, he won't be alone in the chaos anymore.

𝚆𝙷𝙾'𝚂 𝙰 𝙵𝙰𝙽 𝙾𝙵 𝙿𝙳𝙰?: With how starved they are? Both. What if I just start crying.

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝚂𝙽𝙾𝚁𝙴𝚂?: None! Room is quiet. They don't sleep... much.

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙶𝙴𝚃𝚂 𝙰𝙽𝙽𝙾𝚈𝙴𝙳 𝙼𝙾𝚁𝙴 𝙴𝙰𝚂𝙸𝙻𝚈?: Kaeya. Annoyed for the same reasons as he felt for Phainon, but this time his annoyance is more justified- because Flamereaver is proof that he has been failed by the people who claimed to be close to him. Annoyed, angered- at himself, too, for coming too late.

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙸𝙽𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙰𝚃𝙴𝚂 𝚂𝙴𝚇?: Kaeya would ride the literal soul out of Flamereaver. He's into him, uh. A whole lot. A big fucking lot of lots-

𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙰𝚂𝙺𝚂 𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙸𝚁 𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙸𝙽 𝙼𝙰𝚁𝚁𝙸𝙰𝙶𝙴?: Flamereaver needs two therapists and half and cuddles- but this time, it's Kaeya who proposes. Much further down the line, when the seeds of Destructions have sprouted into new life and they can watch it together.

𝙼𝚈 𝙼𝚄𝚂𝙴'𝚂 𝙵𝙰𝚅𝙾𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙴 𝙼𝙴𝙼𝙾𝚁𝚈 𝙾𝙵 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁𝚂: Finding him. The softest hand kiss he's ever received, how Flamereaver is Destruction incarnate, but was so tender and sweet with him. If Kaeya had any tears left, he'd cry.

𝙰 𝚁𝙴𝙶𝚁𝙴𝚃 𝙼𝚈 𝙼𝚄𝚂𝙴 𝙷𝙰𝚂 𝚁𝙴𝙶𝙰𝚁𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁𝚂: Not coming sooner- because this time, it had a terrifying impact on the one Kaeya loves. He has failed Phainon, in some way. 

𝙸𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚈 𝙲𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙳 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙶𝙴 𝙾𝙽𝙴 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶: If it was possible to split himself into two, or four, or seven segments, he'd seven times to go seven different instances of Phainon and stay at their side no matter what.

𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙸𝚁 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴 𝙻𝙰𝙽𝙶𝚄𝙰𝙶𝙴𝚂 𝙰𝙲𝙲𝙾𝚁𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚃𝙾 𝙼𝚈 𝙼𝚄𝚂𝙴: WORDS OF AFFIRMATION, physical touch, quality time to make up for the lost time they didn't had-

[yuuka-chan-twst]

It's honestly a fact that twst mc is overall better then the om!MC,

1: the unfair treatment is a proof tbh,om MC gets a nice and fancy life,books,money, education while staying in devildom,where as twst MC has to live in a rundown building with a fire breathing monster,little-to-no money,Ghosts,and gets turned into a janitor,is called magicless,and insulted by cast on various occasions.

2: diavolo Is a nice man,he helped MC get through devildom life,gave her money etc etc,is generous,where as the asshole Crowley, doesn't care for MC,makes her do all the work,and blackmails them about their living conditions to get his work done,he literally left MC to die in scarabia arc while he was at vacation..

3: obey me is harem game,meaning things will only be tough for MC during first few chapters of the story,after that it's all love and Harem,nothing new,where as twst mc has to deal with overblot every damn time,fixed riddle's overblot?Now Leona's turn!did his too?now azul!and the samsara continues...

4:obey me MC is indeed female.... bet you didn't knew that huh?MC's canon/default name in game and manga is ibuki and yuki!both extremely used names in Japan,for girls.

Where as yuu/mc has no appearance,in manga however we have different types of MC every arc!Male badass MC,female badass MC,Chubby and short MC,Insecure MC(all chapters aren't out yet so all of them aren't leaked yet.)

5: strength!do I even need to explain??Om MC(canon)by themselves can't do anything,they rely on pacts and their harem.

Twst mc,in the manga and game is confirmed to be strong,they beat up guys from Savannahclaw(beastmen),and they went as far as fighting overblots by RAW STRENGTH,and they won.

6:IQ!

Twst mc is stated to be smart,as they didn't needed azul's godly guide to pass in exam and still managed to pass,their leaders skills,And they figured out azul's unique magic loophole before Leona,who is one of the smartest and cunning people in twst.

Om MC is constantly overshadowed by other characters,they aren't stupid,but not too great,they SHOULD know that brothers started acting different towards them after the find out they are lilith's descendant...they forgave BELPHIE a MURDERER,wtf??and belphegor got now consequences of his actions..

Om MC is having time of their life fucking Demons,where as twst mc just wants to go home,atleast om MC gets to go to human world and visit their family,Twst MC haven't seen their family since so long,neither is Crowley finding a way for them..

Over ratings??

Om Mc 5/10

Not a bad MC but if they are making an insert character they should make it appearence-less.

Twst mc:9.9/20

Good character,but is used alot by that ass man Crowley....

[asksythe]

Since it's been a couple years I feel fine to ask, garden of the gods isn't entirely dead right?

Don't need a date because I know you got stuff, just wanted to make sure it's still alive.

Sorry for pestering you.

Oh hey! Good morning!

Yes, From the Garden of Gods and its spinoff story are alive. That said, I don't want to give people false hope. I know there are people who have followed this sleepy blog of mine for ten years and counting.

You probably already saw the prose version of Clan War, so you know the story beats and ideas are alive and well in my head. But as you yourself put it, life and work get in the way. I can't write for my hobby if I'm busy writing to pay bills.

Plus... I can't say I look fondly on a lot of post-Inuyasha developments. It's changed my feelings a fair bit for the story and for Kagome.

I always want to return to FtGoG and complete it, but I doubt I will have the time and space to do so until fairly far in the future. It might be a project for my retirement years 😅. I'm gonna be one of those cool fanfic grannies!!! I'm kinda halfway there already!

Neither here nor there, but today, I finally managed to convince/wheedle/cajole/push/drag @erimies to resurrect her Naruto fic, Clan of Samsara!!!!

Woooot!!!