#where did i even get izanami from

[dailymarie]

DAY THIRTEEN

i love this part sm its so pretty... WE NEED MORE BUTTERFLY SYMBOLISM IN MODERN PERSONA!!!!

sometimes i panic and wonder if ive posted yet at like 10 or 11 pm and just keep forgetting. its good though because i almost forgot today... never forget your duties kids!!!! besides school work fuck school work

2-11-24

[arthenaa]

Could i ask for HCs of Mizu with a mommy kink? Like her liking to be called that? Thank you!

Mizu with a Mommy Kink (18+ mdni after the line) gender neutral! reader

ALRIGHT

Honestly, the kink stemmed from the fact that she's a natural protector

She may have a contradicting personality with regards to socialization but overall, it's probably because it's influenced by the values and mindset that she learned from when she was young

Violence had never been the right answer and while the world continues to change influenced by the bloodbath in its history, why can't she make use of it as a way to save others?

yeahh getting philosophical in a fucking nsfw post YEAHHH

anyways, you and Mizu had been acquainted for a while now and she respects you enough to be somewhat vulnerable with you

It's the same with you as well, you regard Mizu as a close confidant of your life stories

It's safe to say that you know each other well enough despite how it looks

There have also been quite close calls that made your relationship with Mizu border something more than acquaintances slash friends with a question mark in bold (its for the emphasis)

So imagine to your surprise how worked up she gets over a joke you made after commenting on her natural need to protect

"Y'know," You lick your lips, eyes squinting as you assessed the woman before you quietly drinking her tea. "You have a natural sense of protecting. Kinda like a mommy."

The blue-eyed samurai freezes in her place

It was a look of horror at first and you were quite tipsy during that time (you two were lounging at your home)

So your thought process was, heyyy why not make fun of this mf while I have no shame

so you did

The look of horror, turned into being uncomfortable until her cheeks flushed to a deep shade of red

You've never seen someone change emotions in just a few seconds

You were enjoying this clearly

Mizu was having none of it and while the term did fluster and invoke horrors worthy enough of the judgment of Izanami no Mikoto

Fueled by her emotions, her secret-not-so-secret attraction towards you, and her need to shut you up, Mizu moved towards you

And now you're where you are now

NSFW

Soft dom with a hint of sadistic tendencies

She likes making you beg and plead for her to do something, then turn a 180 and praise you for your work

loves loves loves overstimulating you

I think its because she hasn't gotten any action over the past few years that all she's doing is take take take from you

You're writhing and shaking in the sheets with just her mouth and she hasn't even gone to her fingers yet

She loves looking down at you, reveling in the superiority that your submission to her brings

It makes her menacing tbh but its hot okay

This mf eats you up like a champ

Fast learner

Has a good stamina but her refractory period can take some time

so yeah it ultimately ends up with you overstimulating a dozen times before she finally gets to have her own release (also probs bc she prioritizes your pleasure over her own)

she loves it

She gives you reigns at first, just to let her know what to do and a few seconds later, your eyes are rolling in the back of your head

Quite manipulative in bed

Says a lot of things like, "you're mine right?", "say you want me", "tell mommy that she's all you need"

you indulge her manipulative tendencies tho

all of this is making you develop a praise kink omf

Sometimes gets overwhelmed by the pleasure and pushes you too far but thats okay cuz its mizu

Stops completely and stares you down when you stop saying mommy

That completely just puts you in your spot

Then her voice drops to a chill and calm tone and suddenly you're shivering and flushing at her stare

Know how people's eyes get duller when they're in the state of lust or smn

Hers get brighter for some reason

She likes positions that allow her to wrap her arms around you or where her body is either on top or covering you

yeahhh stems from the need to protect

After you and Mizu establish this kind of relationship, she begins to act more mischievous around you

MIZU IS MISCHIEVOUS damn, that mf will tease you like its nothing

she will eye you up with no shame, whisper in your ear like its not bothering you, and then act like she hasn't done anything at all

Esp when she gets joke gifts from the brothel like sex toys and what not

She will use them on you and you will limp for a week

More of a service-top rather than receiving

She likes the reactions she's pulling out of you and when you return the favor, she pampers you with so much love and affection and you just flush in shyness

yeaaaaa, its okay to be a red flag in bed as long as it's mizu

[youkaigakkou-tl]

(sorry in advance for the long ask) i feel silly for not noticing earlier but i realized that "Sano Mikoto" follows the same "__ no mikoto" name pattern that several japanese gods have. but that also made me wonder: if the 佐 from sano's name means "help" then his whole name sounds like "the god of help/assistance". but based on how that doesn't align with his yakubyougami nature and how ebisu reacts to hearing the name in ch 53 (his reaction is a bit more clear in the jpn raws) (1/2)

佐 doesn't really mean "help" on its own, it only somewhat means that when it's part of the word 補佐 "hosa" , which means "assistant" (in an organizational structure to a chief or leader) rather than like "helping people". Most of the time 佐 is just used as a kanji to represent the sound "sa", which is somewhat frequently the case for the on-readings (similar to chinese pronunciation) of kanji.

This is particularly prevalent when it comes to ancient literature like the creation myths and stories around gods, where the stories originally only existed in verbal form, and when japan adopted the chinese writing system some 1500 years ago, they applied certain chinese characters to the sounds that existed in japanese (the 50 or so hiragana that exist now) in order to put the stories into writing.

(and then over time 50 or so kanji got simplified into hiragana for normal use but thats neither here nor there. but names got to keep their kanji, which is why creation myth gods often have stupid long names that are 1 kanji per syllable, and the kanji used dont mean much of anything by themselves)

(theres also that often the kanji chosen will have been positive words, stuff like "fast" or "wise" or "powerful", in addition to the chinese word sounding like the japanese syllable (which was the more important part). Its unclear whether all these attributes were all applicable to the god named, its just as possible people afterwards applied those attributes to them in future retellings of the stories because the kanji was in the name. sort of a chicken and egg problem. and anyway, does it really matter what the one "true" interpretation of a story is, if one exists at all? it's a very modern sensibility to demand one, when for much of history stories only existed in the air between a storyteller and a listener. im getting off track here)

this is a lot of words to say, what is significant about the 佐 in "sano", is that it's the same one as in susanoo-no-mikoto. susanoo, notable for being associated with storms and disaster, for being exiled from heaven after causing some sort of destruction, and for being a child of izanagi and izanami and born after their first child hiruko (or rather, ebisu).

the thing about the yakubyougami thing, as with every other youkai and everything about folklore, is that at the end of the day, it's a story. youkai are just a set of attributes and circumstances that are wrapped up as a story, and in turn given a name and a face. a kamaitachi is just the occurrence of "wind whipping up suddenly and dust and leaves cutting someone" wrapped up as a story of "what if an imperceptibly fast weasel with knives did it?!"

it's why there can be so many different versions of stories for the same youkai, with behaviors and appearance differing from place to place, or the same "story" being given a different "name" in different places

(relevant to the latest chapter, i sort of suspect this is why theres like 10 different monkey youkai whose lore is just "this monkey is a FREAK")

what im getting at is, this isnt really like scientific taxonomy classifications, where theres genes you can sequence or criteria you can check to see if something is the right species. (and even then, there's birds stranded on isolated islands, fish sealed in caves, microorganisms in general, etc etc) there's not like a "youkai auditor" that goes around auditing if you're Really the youkai you say you are.

nor is it like you intrinsically know what youkai you are and all the lore about it and what behaviors youre supposed to have and what powers you have etc. you're told that by your parents, and in cases where that isnt possible, you figure it out somehow. like with beniko (popped out of a house and raised by humans), they looked it up and people have come up with a name for the phenomenon, which was called "zashiki warashi". or in cases like odawara where you really do just come to life alone, i imagine you either make a name for yourself, or humans who come across you will make a name for you.

which is a lot of words to say, sano can call himself whatever the hell he wants to make his life easier and not have to explain his backstory or have classmates make guesses at his backstory, as long as his traits somewhat fit. especially since recently he's often in the same scenes as kurahashi, who is now confirmed to straight up not be who or what he says he is.

[oakdll]

i finished persona 4 golden !!!

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 4 GOLDEN AHEAD

It’s lowkey insane that they made the final villain a gas station employee, but it was super cool. I really love the story, almost as much as P5R, although the gameplay was definitely worse for me.

Obviously there are differences because of the release dates, but there were a lot of quality of life issues and inconsistencies. The last 5 dungeons or so felt comically easy, none of them took me more than 2 hours, especially with Marie and Izanami’s dungeons which took me less than an hour each, even with exploring every floor to the max.

The lack of Safe Rooms really hurts the level design here. You basically have to do every palace in one session (at least I did because I don’t like Goho-M’s). Being able to have save points before different sections in each P5 Palace was a stroke of genius, and returning to P4 where every floor is basically identical is just boring. I like how each floor is randomly generated, but it also really takes away from the individuality of each dungeon. Pretty much every dungeon has the same random layout, the only differences are the visuals and occasional conditions like with Adachi not allowing you to fight shadows in one of his floors. Compared to P5, the lack of puzzles and insight into the characters really hurts. In P5, the design of each palace gave you insight into its rulers psyche. In P4, you really only get the occasional confrontation with the character and some dialogue at the start of each floor.

There were also WAY too many chances to mess up your ending. There isn’t anything really wrong with having a lot of endings, but having so many points where you can accidentally get a bad ending because you picked an option that wasn’t obviously wrong was ridiculous. I had heard there were a lot of chances to get a bad ending if you aren’t careful, so I used a spoiler free guide. Having to pick like 7 of the right answers in a row to get a good ending is insane.

If I wasn’t spoiled on Adachi before playing, I never would have guessed it. That is good for the story, but having to deduce it yourself is a bit too much to ask of the player. I think P5 did good with prompting you to save your game before game changing events happen. A mix of that and confirming with the player when they are going off-course from the true ending makes the game relatively simple to play through with no guide. with P4, you basically have to look up a guide for the true ending. Having to say “no” when prompted to leave Inaba to get the true ending is insane, if I didn’t know beforehand I would have messed up my entire playthrough. It makes no sense unless you know the story beforehand, especially when no other Persona game asks you to do something like that.

The game is also shockingly bigoted, which goes entirely against the themes of the Persona series and the game itself. Ironically, in a game about pursuing the truth, the made Naoto deny his truth of being trans. They wrote such good queer characters and then came to entirely the wrong conclusion and ruined it all. I still think if you can look past the homophobia and transphobia, the game has phenomenal writing, but it gets really uncomfortable at times.

The nostalgic feeling Inaba gives off and the PS2 graphics really help the vibe of this game. It feels so much warmer than P5, and I am ALWAYS a sucker for a murder mystery. The fog is such a good visual element to the game, and I have a strange obsession with electrical poles, so having those be a frequent set piece is awesome.

The characters are so wonderful, I really wish I had more time to max out all of the social links here, but I think I would have had to skip out on helping Nanako with her homework and I would never do that to her. Nanako and Kanji are both some of my all time favorite Persona characters, they are both so sweet and I would do anything for them. Marie is also one of my favorites, I have no idea why anybody could hate her. Yukiko is amazing, Chie is a lot of fun, and Yosuke is hilarious. Teddie is a freak but I love him but I HATE his blue eyes, Rise is super nice, and Naoto is so cool. The Investigation Team is debatably better than the Phantom Thieves as a main cast, but they are so close for me. The main characters are all just great.

As for social links, I think P5 still has it beat here. The social link cast in P4 is still good, but there aren’t any benefits like in P5 and some of the characters here I REALLY don’t like. Sayoko is an outright pedophile. With Kawakami at least if you don’t choose to romance her in-game she isn’t as much of a creep, while Sayoko actively sexually harasses a high schooler. I also did not like Eri, I didn’t get to spend much time with her but she really could have treated her kid better. I know she’s struggling but she would lash out leave her kid at daycare because he was having more fun there than at home. Naoki was cool, I barely got to spend any time with him but from what I did see he was nice and seeing the grieving process of one of Adachi’s victims was super interesting. For the club social links, I chose Kou and Ayane. Kou was great, one of my favorites but I ended up prioritizing party members and couldn’t max him out. Ayane was nice, I like her arc but her voice acting really ruined a lot of the social link for me. Ai was also nice, but I couldn’t spend too much time with her and I didn’t like her romance subplot. I actually liked Shu a surprising amount, he was one of the few I maxed out because I had extra time in the evenings and I really liked how his arc ended. Hisano was one I really missed out on, I only got to rank 3 with her and from what I saw she was one of the most interesting in the game. Dojima is one of the best social links in all of Persona. He is very similar to Sojiro, but he’s a lot darker. There’s a lot more drama with him than with Sojiro, both of them are amazing, and Dojima’s relationship with Nanako is so sweet. Nanako as well might be my favorite Persona character. She is the sweetest thing ever, and I would do anything for her. Marie’s social link was also great, but I really didn’t like Margaret’s. I don’t like any Persona social link that requires you to go on quests. I didn’t like the Strength confidant in P5, and I don’t like Margaret or the Fox in P4. The fox is better by default because he’s a fox, but neither are super interesting to me.

The music is phenomenal because it’s a Persona game, but the P4 OST might be my single favorite Persona soundtrack. Pursuing My True Self, Signs of Love, Heartbeat Heartbreak, Heaven, Alone, Your Affection, Like a Dream Come True, Youthful Lunch, Reach Out to the Truth, Time to Make History, and Omen are some of my favorites. The only Persona game soundtrack to compare with P4 is P5, Whims of Fate, Beneath the Mask, Alleycat, Our Light, When Mother Was There, Price, and Butterfly Kiss are also up there. P4 is more nostalgic for me, so I think it might take the edge for me.

The story of P4 is also much more complex and interesting than P5. If it weren’t for Maruki’s palace being so good, I would say that P4 definitively has the better story. Adachi being the antagonist was such a phenomenal twist, and I loved him so much up to that point that it hurt even more. His social link is a phenomenal addition, I can’t imagine the game without it. Having so many endings is partially a result of flawed game design, but also the depth in the story. It really feels like an investigation team solving a mystery. Pushing further and further towards the truth throughout every suspect, from Kubo to Namatame to Adachi, and even Izanami if that counts, the game really accomplishes its goal. I haven’t done the accomplice ending, but I might do another playthrough to get it after I finish P3R.

P4G is a really great game, I think it’s a bit more flawed than P5R, but it’s still phenomenal and it’s not like P5 has no flaws either. P4 really excels with the story and I think the primary issues with it are just a byproduct of being over 10 years old at this point.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"So how many friends are coming over? Do you need snacks? Humans need snacks, right? Your mother's busy with work, but I could probably make you guys something."

Destiny Lane shuddered at the thought of what her father considered to be food. To be fair, as Death incarnate, Izanami didn't need to eat food to sustain himself. As a result, whenever he made dinner for the family, Lukas would politely put the meal in the fridge for "later" and immediately order takeout. Destiny was a popular teenager, with several famous or well-connected friends. If she let them anywhere near her father's cooking, her reputation would be ruined.

"Dad, I have the snacks covered, don't worry about it. Thanks, though. All we need is to practice our routine for dance class before the Harvest Moon Ball is announced. My professor has met with Princess Theodosia and he thinks they're going to announce it soon."

Izanami made a face at the reminder.

"Yes, the same ball that has happened in the same season, every year since the founding of Crystal Cove," Izanami sighed. "It’s such a mystery when it will take place."

Destiny rolled her eyes. Her father could be so oblivious sometimes.

"Of course it's important! We need to know how long we have to practice our routine and when our dresses need to be ordered by," she explained. "I have to think about who I want to ask to the dance and how. It's important. Has Mom ordered theirs yet, or are they ordering a suit this year?"

Izanami mentally searched for an answer, smiling to stall for time. Lukas had rambled on about several options to wear to the ball, but Izanami truthfully hadn't been paying attention. Fashion was something his spouse talked about with their half-brother, Reese, while Izanami read a book quietly far away from them. It's not like he had much of a say in what he wore on any formal occasion. Lukas always dressed him when they went out, as apparently his fashion sense "died out a millenia ago" and reminded them of "a cheap outfit you'd get cremated in". Izanami didn't think what he wore was anywhere near that bad, but what did he know about fashion? Lukas had the mortals' obsession with it, while Izanami could easily spend another millenia in a comfortable dark robe.

"Ask your mother," he replied at last. There was no way that he had retained any information about their outfits, and even if he had, Lukas had probably already changed their mind and ordered something else. "But wait until they're done work. No bothering them in their office."

When the twins were born, Lukas had installed a home office on the ground floor of their house so that they could be nearby if the children needed them. They still had a formal office in the afterlife that connected to Gee's, but they tried to limit their time there so that Gee wouldn't pester them with questions. Plus, it was generally more acceptable to wear their pajamas to work at home where their stepson wasn't hanging around.

They had strongly encouraged Vrai to speak with his brother, King Charley of Strangetown, about the names of dead reapers circulating amongst the mortals. Vrai hadn't seemed interested in the slightest but had still sent them a brief email detailing their conversation. Apparently, Charley would talk to Edana about the names she was still researching and redirect her from discovering who the names were to why dead reapers were being mentioned among the living at all. It was a start in the right direction, at least. Lukas couldn't get that horrible voice they'd heard while trying to summon Riley's spirit out of their head. What did it want and why had it mentioned their children? Both Lukas and Izanami would burn the universe to the ground before anyone hurt their children.

"Mom? Dad? I'm home for lunch! My friend Mordred is here with me, so don't embarrass me!"

Arterius Lane stepped into his parents' house, scanning the living room for anything he'd need to shield Mordred from. Sometimes his father left skulls littered around the house, while his mother abandoned their stolen jewels just as lazily. If stolen tiaras and skeletal body parts weren't bad enough, last time Arterius had brought a girl home to meet his parents, they had walked in on an amorous scene that neither of his parents stopped once they realized their son was home. No one else living could understand the drama of being adopted by two deities who followed their own rules. Still, Arterius loved both of them intensely.

"Mom? You'd better be wearing clothes after our talk last time!"

"Welcome to our home, Mordred. I'm Arterius' father, Izanami. Please let me make you something to eat while you are with us."

Arterius paled at the thought of eating his father's cooking.

"No! I mean, Mom left us sandwiches in the fridge, so we're fine. No need to make us anything."

"Destiny and her friends ate them yesterday," Davis informed his brother while making his way to the fridge. "I'm going to make some mac and cheese if you want some."

"What? Those sandwiches had my name on them," Arterius whined. "Can't she read?"

"Oh, she can read, she just doesn't care," Davis replied, filling a pot with noodles to boil. "I say sabotage your food next time so she learns to stop stealing it."

"Davis! No one is poisoning your sister's food! It must have been an honest mistake. Destiny is very absent-minded and doesn't always read labels."

The two brothers shared a look between them. Their father let Destiny get away with everything.

"We'll just share some of your macaroni then," Arterius decided, shooting Davis a grateful smile. "If that's okay with you."

"So Mordred, what is your occupation? How did you meet my son? What's your blood type?"

"Dad!" Arterius hissed with embarrassment. "That question's not on the approved list of questions to ask humans. It's weird, remember?"

Izanami nodded, but had no idea which of his questions had been inappropriate. Probably asking about his job. Mortals were so caught up with money and how to earn it. Their egos were so easy to bruise. His son was nearly thirty years old now, wasn't parental embarrassment something that ended when mortals finished puberty? But Lukas was the same way about their parents on occasion, so maybe it was simply a behavior for those with parents. Having no parents of his own, Izanami would just have to study the behavior further to understand it.

"I work with his friend Miruna," Mordred answered before Arterius died of embarrassment. "She works at the Princess Zarah Academy and the Pleasantview Academy of Magic when she doesn't have royal duties to complete. I work at Princess Zarah Academy teaching third grade magic and helping out with the coven now and then. Miruna introduced me to your son."

"Ah, so you're a warlock." Izanami didn't have a pre-approved follow up question for the young man. The question he wanted to ask about the nature of this boy's relationship with his son would only make Arterius more embarrassed. He had learned that the hard way. "That must be a fulfilling career. Come, we'll sit down on the couch and continue our conversation while Davis prepares the food. Your mother should be done with work soon and might want to join us."

Arterius smiled. His dad was trying to understand the mortal mindset and that all he could ask of him.

"Sure. That sounds great." Arterius leaned over to stage whisper to his friend. "But if you hear Mom mention the name Reese, you should probably start running for safety."

Izanami opened his mouth to dispute this warning, but after thinking about it, he couldn't disagree.

"Your Uncle Reese is occupied for the time being. He won't be bothering us any time soon. Now tell me, Mordred, are your parents still alive?"

"Dad!"

Lukas sat in their office, chuckling at the commotion in the hall. Izanami had grown so much over the centuries and it was cute hearing him try his best to be kind to the mortals. Centuries ago, Izanami had seen the living world as a waste of time. Now, he was trying to insert himself in the lives of their children and act enough like a mortal to pass as one. It was as hilarious as it was heartwarming.

"So how are the witches in the Pleasantview coven?" Izanami asked politely. "My spouse has taken an interest in one apprentice, but there are surely more witches of interest."

"We have a wide variety of magic users," Mordred replied warily. It was unnerving to speak to Death about his friends. He didn't want to slip up and accidentally get someone killed. "Theo is the brightest new star on the horizon, yes, but he's just one member in the coven. Miruna is also exceptionally powerful, and our queen can hold her own with magic. Master Thorne comes from a different universe, so he's always a good person to go to for perspective on an issue. Our coven leader, Master Maricourt, can solve almost anything it seems with both his knowledge and power. There's a reason why we're the strongest coven globally and it's not solely because of Theo."

"It sounds very similar to the reaper teams," Izanami replied. "Certain countries are led by stronger and more innovative individuals who elevate the team's performance."

"Yeah, that's it exactly," Mordred replied, feeling more confident that Death wasn't about to kill anyone he knew. Mordred almost wished that Arterius hadn't warned him about the true nature of his parents, as it would be less stressful, but Arterius had pointed that every time he didn't warn people about them, his friends would all eventually abandon him once they figured it out for themselves.

"Oh, well, a few centuries ago, I-"

Izanami stopped mid sentence and suddenly pressed his hand to his mouth. It was bizarre, but he could feel a sensation he'd never experienced before. There was a violent urging for him to expel something from his mouth that felt alien to him. To his knowledge, there was nothing for him to expel.

Lukas had "studied" him intensely when they were trying to conceive the twins, and they had struggled to find much of anything in the way of organs or blood in his body. Life was a biological being with DNA and genetic family members, while Death seemed to be a manifestation of mist, darkness, and a random assortment of bones. He never needed to eat, though whenever he did, the food vanished into his internal shadows and never reappeared. One of his first memories with Lukas was when the new deity had forced him to eat a cheeseburger at the burger stand downtown Pleasantview. The feeling of meat and grease and bread were so overwhelming, he'd almost expelled them simply by instinct.

Whenever he was cut, an impossibly dark fluid leaked from under his skin that mimicked blood. He wasn't sure what would happen if he lost too much of that fluid since, much like Life, Death was also impossible to kill.

He had to have some kind of DNA in order to make his children, though no one knew how to test what fluid came from his body. They had gone to multiple doctors in the afterlife to try to map out a genome or even perform a paternity test on Gee, but no scientific investigation had succeeded in revealing Death’s mysteries. It was a running joke that Gee looked nothing like his father, which some "experts" took to mean that no DNA had passed to Gee from his father. This theory had been disproven when Gee produced his daughter, Venisha, who had inherited Izanami's gold eyes. Destiny and Davis had also inherited traits from Death, so clearly, some part of Izanami functioned like the mortals. There was no way that he could carry children though. Lukas had naively considered this when they tried for the twins, but no embryo could grow within his shadows. No life could grow inside death incarnate. It had taken every scrap of power Lukas had just to suppress the pieces of death their twins had inherited while growing inside them. In the end, Destiny and Davis had been born normal, mortal children. They had inherited their mother's attitude and the ability to display horns at will from their father, but were otherwise powerless. The twins couldn't protect themselves from danger, which was part of why their parents held on to them so tightly.

"I've been thinking too much like the mortals," Lukas declared. After spending entirely too long thinking of ways to gain more information about the list of dead reaper names circulating amongst the mortals, Lukas suddenly had an obvious idea. "They can't talk to the dead, but I can. All these ghosts that keep popping up exist in the afterlife. Ugh, this should have been my first plan of attack. I'm spending far too much time with the mortals to not have even thought of this!"

They leaned back in their chair, crackling their knuckles as they did. Well, that was enough work for today. The king of Strangetown was going to handle their Edana problem and tomorrow, Lukas would track down the souls of Adam Darktide and those Siew ghosts Vrai had reported seeing. They had other things to take care of in the mean time. Poor Arterius needed to be rescued from his father, especially if he and this boy had feelings for each other outside of friendship. The poor boy struggled with romance, even with his mother's advice. There had been a real spark between him and Miruna ever since they were teens, but he'd been too shy, too nervous to make a move, and now she was the future queen consort of Pleasantview. Lukas was determined not to see history repeat itself. Their son deserved to be happy, even if it took a little nudging on his parents' part.

Izanami stood frozen in horror with his hand clamped on his mouth, trying not to worry his son. The unpleasant feeling wasn't going away and even more mist seemed to be leaking out of him.

"Mom! Dad! My friends are here! We're going to practice our dance in the kitchen where there's space."

Destiny and a group of laughing teens ran past Izanami, oblivious to his panic. Beside him, Arterius wasn't so oblivious.

"Dad? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Izanami quickly replied. "I'm going to check on your sister and her friends. They should be properly greeted and their names compiled so that I can call the correct parents in case of an emergency."

With his father suddenly bolting away, Arterius gave Mordred an irritated look.

"Sorry, I'm sure he'll be back. He's not always so flighty. You're probably lucky, actually. The last person I brought here, Dad asked weird questions about their favourite colour and exact height and then wrote the answers down in a creepy notebook. Mom yelled at him for hours when they found out. He means well, though. They're both just protective."

"Yeah, he seems a bit intense," Mordred noted. He hadn't run toward an exit like Arterius expected. In fact, he almost looked amused. "Maybe I could come over again for lunch this week and find out what other weird questions he has for me. If you want me to, that is."

Arterius smiled.

"I'd like that."

"Mom! Destiny won't leave the kitchen, and I'm trying to eat my lunch. She can dance outside if she needs space; I'm eating there!"

Lukas hugged their son reassuringly. They had never really been raised with a family or with siblings, so their own experiences weren't usually relevant for parenting. They were much older than most of their parents' children, and the few who were older than them weren't worth talking to. Izanami had his own obvious parenting difficulties, but they both tried their best.

Destiny was the dominant sibling, that much was certain. Davis just needed to learn to stand up to her and things would be fine. In a way, Destiny often reminded Lukas of Riley and how she had commanded attention away from her shy twin brother, Leander. There was little Lukas could do to intervene, the kids had to resolve their problems for themselves.

"Why don't you join your sister and her friends?" Lukas suggested. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind an extra dancer to practice with. Or, maybe you could eat outside on the patio. It's a nice day."

"There's no way that I'm dancing with anyone," Davis exclaimed. "I'd rather eat outside than put up with Destiny's friends. The whole Harvest Moon Ball is stupid. I can't believe that you and Dad go every year. Anything would be better than dressing up and listening to speeches from the stupid king."

Lukas paused. Growing up in Crystal Cove in their latest reincarnation, they had dreamed of going to the annual ball every year. They had gone every year since they recovered some of their lost memories, and the royal family had grudgingly welcomed them every single year for that one day. The ball was now a highlight of the year for the deity. They dressed up in impossibly expensive clothes from dead designers they commissioned and made over Izanami to match. All eyes were always glued to the deities and Lukas loved every minute of it. There was no way they would pass that attention up.

"That's your decision to make, but you might regret it if you don't come. Lots of your friends will be there and you could have a lot of fun. Maybe I should practice my dance moves too. Your father sometimes steps on my toes, so he should practice too. Izanami! I need a practice dance partner!"

Izanami walked towards the kitchen, stumbling a little as he moved. The strange mist seemed to be slowing to a crawl and hopefully wouldn't be noticeable.

"Of course, Dearest. I wouldn't want to dance with anyone else."

He pulled Lukas toward him, placing their arms in a rigid dancing form. Lukas smiled, and if Izanami truly had a heart organ, it suddenly beat faster when he saw the contentment on his spouse's face. With all the fear and worry he'd seen Lukas carry with them lately, he would dance for hours if that would make Lukas smile.

Destiny had a small group with her, far less than Davis had made it sound with his whining. The crown princess of Pleasantview was among them, which Lukas noted. A friendship between his daughter and the future queen could be quite advantageous. Though Lukas knew not to turn a blind eye to the princess while she was on their turf. Claudia was training her daughter well, and no doubt, she had allowed this visit in order to collect more information on the deities or to make a statement.

Well, two could play that game. Lukas had been sneaking around and spying for their entire existence. Some thirty something queen couldn't even realize her disadvantage.

"So how's Arterius' date so far?" they asked, pulling Izanami's hips closer to theirs and letting their hand wander.

"Lukas, not in front of the children," Izanami replied, placing his spouse's hand to an appropriate location. "You're as bad as your brother sometimes. And it's not a date, apparently. They're friends."

"It's a date," Lukas insisted, letting their hand slip once more to an inappropriate spot. Izanami moved their hand again, but not as quickly as before. "Trust me, it's definitely a date. You only take the ones you're serious about to meet your parents."

"Oh. I'll have to reread the approved questions for one of the children's potential romantic partners. It's been so long since Arterius has brought a partner to us. Have you picked our outfits for the ball yet? Destiny implied that it was an important, time sensitive matter."

Lukas nodded and spun themselves around Izanami happily.

"Yep. They're ordered and will be ready in a month or so. Reese ordered something similar for himself, since Gee won't approve Anakin to travel with him. Maybe you can talk to Gee and change his mind. It's so petty and unnecessary. Anakin's come before to the living world and it's only one night."

"Dearest, with everything we've been seeing lately, there is no circumstance where your dead brother in law will be allowed to cross into the living world with his reaper husband for a dance. Ghosts are appearing, and dragging the dead from their realm would only make it worse. Your brother can go dateless or stay at home."

Izanami really hoped that Reese chose the second option. Whenever the two siblings went anywhere with alcohol, bad decisions were made.

He leaned over, pulling Lukas into a passionate kiss that would surely embarrass their children.

"I'll talk to him," Lukas sighed once their senses returned to them. Izanami was being romantic and brushing their bodies together in a way that was flooding their mind with dirty thoughts. It wasn't fair. "He'll probably listen to me. Gee should have still approved something small as a consolation. I'll talk to him too."

"I'll leave it in your capable hands."

Lukas turned their attention quickly to the teens before their dance got any spicier. As much as they wanted to sneak up to their bedroom and lock the door, there was a crown princess and other children of wealthy, important people in their kitchen and Arterius to keep an eye on. If they left this crowd unsupervised, who knew what would happen?

Izanami broke away suddenly, clutching his stomach and shivering. This was no longer something he could keep hidden.

"Izanami? Are you okay? What's happening? You're scaring me." Lukas watched their husband shiver and shake, wrapping a supportive arm around him. "You're all cold and clammy. Sit down, let me see what's wrong."

"It's nothing," Izanami insisted, pulling away from his spouse. "I shouldn't have shared your breakfast this morning. I must have food poisoning or something. Perhaps I shouldn't have indulged in food at all. This will pass, don't worry about me."

"Of course I'm going to worry about you, don't be ridiculous. How on earth could you get food poisoning? You can't be poisoned in the first place! Sit down, I'm going to call...." Lukas trailed off, unsure of who they'd actually call. There were tons of dead doctors in the afterlife, experts in their fields, that they could call, but Izanami didn't have a human anatomy. They could call Gee, but Izanami's son knew next to nothing about his father or the finer details of the job his father had given him. Anku, a fierce woman who had once held the office of the Grim Reaper, was equally clueless about the actual biology of Death, and Lukas would eat glass before they ever called Hailee, their ex-coworker and ex-mistress, for anything.

Their stepmother, Destiny, had a doctorate in world theology and knew just about everything about anything. She had helped them write their own master's thesis about their own powers and abilities and was probably their best chance at fixing this.

"Destiny will know what to do," Lukas declared. "Right? She has to. Unless I could ask an angel? They might talk to me if I apologized for nearly burning their wings off when I burned down our office. They can't stay mad at me when it's an emergency, and I'm pretty sure they like you."

"Lukas, I'm fine," Izanami lied, still watching mist evaporate off his skin. "There's no need to bother anyone about this. I'm simply unwell. You and the children are occasionally unwell too. This will pass."

"Evalla, maybe? We did have a civil conversation at our wedding, and she might know if this is a demonic plot." They paused, considering a desperate option. "I know it's risky, but the Ocean-"

"We're not involving the Ocean!" Izanami snapped, uncharacteristically irritably. "You know he's dangerous and unpredictable. For all we know, he's behind this. He's made two demonic sovereigns disappear so far; I'd die before I'd let him take you. The risk isn't worth it, considering that I'm fine."

As soon as Izanami had said those words, twinkling lights engulfed him just to prove him wrong. He ran to the bathroom as quickly as he could, just as he saw the mortals do after overindulging at the bar. The urging to expel something from his mouth overtook him even if he had no idea of what he had to expel.

"Is Dad going to be okay?" Davis asked worriedly. He looked to his mother for an answer, but they looked equally worried. Davis' parents always had the answer to everything it seemed. To see them completely baffled by something this big was unimaginable.

"Of course so," Lukas lied. "Everything is going to be fine."

Izanami stood up shakily after releasing thick, dark clumps of what looked like mud into their toilet. He wasn't sure what it was or where it had come from, but it at least flushed without clogging the drain.

"Izanami? Can I come in? Do you need help?"

Izanami leaned against the wall, gathering his strength. Expelling the mysterious matter had given him some relief. He was already feeling more like himself, ready to completely ignore this strange incident and never mention it again.

A wailing from the kitchen jolted him from his thoughts and into protective dad mode.

"They've canceled the Harvest Moon Ball? They can't! They can't do that to me!"

Izanami relaxed his stance. No one was in danger. His daughter was just grieving a ball of all things.

"'Because of the tragic attack on Her Majesty Queen Maura, His Majesty King Liam has decided that it would be too high of a risk to gather his guests from the international stage at this time for the ball. Crown Princess Theodosia will hold a luncheon for the ladies of court in its place.' This may be the worst thing Liam's done since he's taken the throne," Lukas seethed, reading from their phone.

This news was Izanami's salvation. With something new to focus on, Lukas would still be concerned for their husband, but their attention would be on Destiny as they both ranted about the unfairness of life. He cracked the bathroom door slightly and saw that Lukas was already texting on their phone and no longer guarding the bathroom door. He stepped out, trying to look as normal as possible.

"That's terrible. What will we ever do with the dresses we ordered?"

[hypnomicimagines]

hihihi can i pls get red rose, fennel and hydrangea for hifumi izanami? feel free to ignore this if you wanna btw

Izanami Hifumi:

🌻fennel: what are their kisses like? where do they like to be kissed the most? 

Hifumi’s kisses always felt like they were leading the way, setting the mood for the type of night you were going to have. While kissing his clients was not something he did, he was a masterful kisser because he knew how to listen to body language and your voice. There were times where your kisses were slow and steady, Hifumi holding your chin and smiling against your lips as he urged you to continue. And there were heated kisses, full of passion, his hands on either side of your face as he kept you close until you were both gasping for air. He knew how to read the room and respond appropriately, though he did like when you took the lead from him, willing to follow you into the abyss if you so wished it.

Hifumi liked when you kissed his hands, kissing along his fingers to the very tips and then back down to his knuckles before giving another right on the back of his hand. You would jokingly greet him like that when he came home from work or just before he left, saying his suit always made you think of treating him like royalty. It was a move he pulled on his clients many times but now he was even more aware of the appeal when you did it to him.

🌻hydrangea: how often do they get into fights with their s/o? who usually apologizes first?

It’s pretty rare to get into a fight with Hifumi. It’s hard to argue with a man who’s mastered the ultimate ‘puppy dog eyes’ look, but there are things you disagree on. It hardly ever extends into a full-blown fight because Hifumi always respected your opinions even if he didn’t get it, and he hoped you’d offer him the same kindness; being two different people didn’t mean you’d have to fight all the time just to prove a point. His patience and understanding go a long way to help keep the peace in the relationship, but there are some things even Hifumi couldn’t easily forgive and it would hurt him to know you took advantage of his good nature.

🌻red rose: what turns them on the most? 

Hifumi enjoyed being pampered. It wasn’t something he’d bring up or actively seek, but he noticed he felt friskier after you took over a chore that was meant for him. He liked when you helped with his skincare, or when you offered to wash his hair or his back, anything that showed you were thinking of him. His way of thanking you varied but always ended with your pleasure, even when you insisted these weren’t actions he had to repay. It only turned him on more to know you did these things for him purely from love.

[thedeliverygod]

Thoughts on recent chapters

I feel like it's been a while since I've made a longer post and I've just sort of shouted about a few random things here and there and I slept most of this afternoon so I have energy to spare lol

Firstly we start with... that. Hiyori. Where do we go from here?

A lot of people have looked into this and I pretty much agree with most takes.

Yato makes her his shinki. But it comes with a bag of questions now that we know a gods greatest secret is survivable per Nana and Kazuma (Yukine & Nora I consider outliers because they have names given by the koto no ha which sort of seals off their ayakashi devolving process--though I do think at this point even if the name Hagusa were removed Yukine would be fine. Nora it's a bit harder to speculate because this has always been her situation). Hiyori is known to multiple gods and shinki throughout heaven. Her very existence makes the gods greatest secret a giant problem unless Yato keeps her away from, well, pretty much everyone except gods and the shinki listed above. Because there's no standard way to know for sure if a shinki will be able to handle to knowledge; because it *is* survivable doesn't mean they will survive it.

Deification. If Tenjin can be deified because he has anger issues then Hiyori can be deified too for better reasons. Honestly. I don't know what it would take to make this happen but @pentamerous brought up the fact about her and Yato's emas being tied and blessed by Okuninushi so idk if that could be factored into this equation maybe?

The "bad" ending-- Hiyori is just dead and no far shore methods are used to 'revive' her. In this scenario I see Grandma Iki being fucking pisseddddd that Hiyori died literally a few days after her and being like wtf are you doing here??? lol. But that's just me and my comedic relief speaking.

Hiyori isn't actually dead because everything in Father's "new world" is an illusion.

The 4th option is tricky but I believe it holds validity. I made a post a while back I think Father's new world sort of strips everyone down to how they view them selves/their deepest insecurities/their most basic form if that makes sense. At least that's theory 1.

This is why Yato is a child (he often views himself as a child in his most insecure moments, relating back to the awful crimes he committed as a kid, but also for emotionally insecure moments such as realizing other humans would be the ones to 'truly' save Hiyori after the hospital incident.) This is why Nora is in her sort of 'snake' form that she hates.

Yukine is an outlier though which I've brought up before. Clearly he's an ayakashi wolf but why is he suddenly a wolf? In his 2 ablutions and and before he was named by Father, he was transforming into a sort of bat/bird type of ayakashi. While he was battling with Yato under his name of Hagusa, however, he did sort of start a wolf transformation and we all made cat boy jokes until his wolf form appeared more recently.

Theory 2 is that literally everything in this "new world" of Father's is under his control and all the visuals are to match. Which sort of matches to what he says despite the fact he says he can't totally make it "bend to his will". He sees Yato as the child he can manipulate. He sees Nora as the ayakashi girl he 'saved' but has outgrown his use for. Yukine he also saw as another one of his tools, much like the wolf ayakashi Father seems to favor, so maybe that's where the wolf form came from? Though that doesn't quite explain the partial transformation before but -shrug-. Of course he wants to see Kaya and he *does* but she's a mangled yomi version of herself, aka not what he wants. But she's long dead.

As Yato is talking with Father about Kaya and sort of trying to understand/reason with him, Father transitions into hinting towards talking about Hiyori. "Who do you see Izanami as?" and then mentions that she's somehow there and that he should be "happy to get to see her. However, as this is happening, Father is sort of manipulating a wave of water which is what reveals Hiyori and the Sakura tree she's under.

The question is, is she really there? Is he able to use her image accurately because she's still alive if it is an illusion? If it's not an illusion, is there some sort of rules that can be broken/amended in terms of bringing Hiyori back to life without pissing off Amaterasu/Heaven? After all, Father's "new world" is not exactly yomi, heaven, or Earth. And we know Father has basically broken all of heaven's rules to begin with.

Lastly, we have the topic of Yato's reaction. We were teased with his aramitama when Yukine was in the box. Now Hiyori is "dead" and Yukine is half dissolved into the ground. I think it's only fair father has the 'monster' he created turned back on him tbh but I also don't want Yukine to see Yato acting like a demon for lack of better words since they just made up and the poor kid is traumatized enough.

bonus question: where the fuck is Bishamon because her twin pistol shinki (Kazuha and Karuha) are fighting the weird ayakashi in the most recent chapter with the god squad and their shinki???

and she specifically only had Kuraha and Kinuha when she was calling out for Kazuma and reunited with him. And it's weird for her youngest shinki to just be by themselves????? the only reasoning I can think of is Amaterasu literally summoned all the damn shinki from heaven when it was raining shinki in the earlier chapter but maybe Bishamon will literally be on the next page or so in the 2nd part of the chapter and it will make sense given that context.

[adachimoe]

Is Namatame actually an "outsider" to Inaba?

Izanami gave the handshake to dudes who came from outside of Inaba. We know that Namatame is one of these people because she even lists him as one. Yet the dialogue in the game suggests he is a local.

As it turns out, he's been gone from Inaba for 6 months. And if you didn't get this I totally understand cause it seems to have been lost in translation.

Namatame says that Inaba is his "hometown", which would make him the opposite of an outsider. In Japanese, he says, "...in this town where my parents live".

But "hometown" doesn't really feel wrong, does it? Namatame's parents live in Inaba, he comes back to help with the family business, and the family delivery business is specifically called "Inaba Ta-Q-Bin" (as written on his truck). His family must have lived there for some time. Tbh, I'm pretty sure Inaba IS his hometown.

In the beginning of the game, there's news about the scandal on TV that Dojima and Nanako are watching. The reporters say that, "Last year, Misuzu was married to the Secretary of the Inaba City Council, Taro Namatame, who is suspected of having an affair".

If Namatame is the secretary to the Inaba City Council, wouldn't he live in Inaba? How is he an "outsider"? It turns out that Dojima had answers for us, but we won't recognize this until a repeat playthrough. And even then...

English game script: He's been working in the city for the past 6 months. My take: He's been working in Tokyo for the past 6 months.

Dojima says that Namatame has been working in "central" for the past 6 months. In the context of government and Namatame being a civil servant, "central" here refers to the place where the "central", main, big kid government things happen. And this is Japan, so that would be the capital city, Tokyo. Namatame has probably been in Tokyo for the past 6 months. (Afaik central does not always refer to Tokyo when used like this, but for his case, I think Tokyo is correct.)

Central got translated as "city" in the English version. "He's been working in the city for 6 months" could be interpreted to mean Inaba itself, which I think makes this unclear.

English game script: Seems he was here recently because of the scandal,

Originally, I posted that I felt the English localization had the context wrong on this sentence because the convo happens on 4/16. That's when Yukiko appears on the Midnight Channel, so Namatame has already gotten fired and moved back to Inaba and started working as a delivery truck driver, and his file in November lists his occupation as delivery truck driver.

However, Namatame did chronologically come back to Inaba to hide from the scandal before being fired from public office. Upon reflection, I think it is more likely that Dojima is referring to that - like it's a rumor or tidbit he heard. But at some point, the police do have to learn he became a delivery truck.

English game script: But he was swamped with work back home at the time of the incident My take: But at the time of the incident, he was swamped with work in a councilman's office, [outside of Inaba / in Tokyo]. (The Tokyo is here for clarity. I doubt Dojima would speak so repetitively in an ADR script.)

Then, Dojima says that Namatame was not in Inaba at the time of Mayumi's death because he was very busy with work in an office (located outside Inaba / in Tokyo) for council people (Namatame is from Inaba but he has been gone for 6mo, so he would be in that office).

The English phrased this as "swamped with work back home". But Namatame is a secretary to the local government and he would live in Inaba. As Dojima explained on the previous line, he's been gone from Inaba for 6 months. The part about him being in an office specifically for guys who are from out of town got vaporized too.

My gut says the English was reworded to make it seem like Namatame was not living in Inaba. I'm not sure - It's something about the combo of "He's been in the city for 6mo" and "he was swamped with work back home". Like someone understood that Izanami picked him because he was an outsider, and they were trying to make that make sense in the script?

Also of note is that the protagonist sees this news broadcast where he is before he gets on a train. The sign on top suggests that the protagonist is in Tokyo riding a fictionalized version of the Yamanote Line. Namatame working in Tokyo for the past 6 months is probably why this news is being blasted all over Tokyo as the protagonist leaves.

In any case, Namatame living in the big city for 6 months is apparently enough to qualify him as an "outsider" to Inaba. Izanami didn't seem off base picking him though if her goal was to stir up the small community. His affair did bring media drama and gossip to Inaba.

[faelune-home]

FFXIVWrite 2024 #12: Quarry

(A/n: More role quest rewrite, though rather than a direct adapation of the quest start, I did a bit more in media res just cos now I'm establishing enough that these are happening with Scions. This one at least also shows all the role quests kinda happening concurrently and Fhara having to juggle them and relying on the Scions to keep in touch should anything happen.

This one is the ranged questline featuring G'raha, cos even though my wol is actually a dancer/bard main and can handle this herself, it'd still be good to have the extra hands and get him more involved in a new location he may be unfamiliar with.

There's a bonus scene included at the end, cos i really wanted to write it for this particular duo/questline, but I could't figure out how to integrate it into the writing I had, so its kinda just tacked on, if separate. Maybe if I edit for ao3 at a later date I'll make it work better.

Word count: 2112)

For yet another day, the skies over Namai were clear, not a cloud nor a blasphemy in sight. The villagers whispered her name in a mix of both reverence and fear, but it did nothing to bring her forth.

Fhara sighed, which morphed into a yawn and a stretch as she noted the sunset painting the sky in shades of orange and purple. It’d been a long day. She may have to meet with G’raha to return to the Enclave and call it there.

She hadn’t really intended for G’raha to join her on this mission. Unlike the other missions for the various delegates, she was perfectly suited to it. In fact when she set out to tell Y’shtola and G’raha she was headed off, expecting them to handle the situation in Radz-at-Han without her, he’d leapt to his feet, offering to be an extra hand. After all, he’d been an archer long before his dabblings in the arcane, surely he could offer an extra pair of eyes on the skies.

His words, and not hers, and as much as she’d tried to gently suggest otherwise, she’d still ended up in the Doman Enclave reporting into Hien and Yugiri with him by her side. She couldn’t deny he’d been helpful though, after their first foray into finding Izanami…

Who was unfortunately now highly elusive, and despite spending so long searching, they hadn’t found a single trace of her in Doma, or any hint of her impressions on the villagers. As it was, Fhara was beginning to think of shifting her focus on another one of the blasphemy hunting missions she was attached to.

She’d received a call from her linkshell that morning as she’d woken, a report from Alisaie back in Ishgard over the progress searching for their not-dragon there before the girl went to bed herself - ah the way of the time difference between them. Fhara had said that she would consider this her last day in Doma  and should nothing else happen, then she’d return to Eorzean shores to check in on matters there. But then according to all the other reports she’d gotten, everything was rather slow no matter where in the world she was…

“Ah, I was just about to call for you. We’re returning then?” Fhara stopped in her tracks, unaware that as her mind had wandered alongside her feet, G’raha himself had appeared.

“Oh, yeah. I was actually about to call you too for that.”

“Seems we both have good timing then,” he said, trying to keep a light tone about the coincidence. Fhara breaking into another yawn made him frown though.

“Let’s get back to Lord Hien and report in. Then you can return to Eorzea and get some rest, you’ve been on your feet all day without stop.”

“Aye,” Fhara mumbled, too tired to vocalise properly. She shambled behind him, using him as a guide to reach the boat that would ferry them back to the Enclave. The walk itself was mostly silent, other than a brief query to ask where she was planning to go.

“‘M not sure yet. Alphi hasn’t checked in yet, so maybe Ala Mhigo?” she said, speaking slowly as her exhausted brain thought carefully, “Hmmm, bu’ Estinien said there was a lead he was checking on, I feel like I should see what’s happening in Limsa.”

“I see. Well, you may also need to consider where you teleport to for an inn check in first. I’m sure Lord Hien would be happy to offer you a room here, but I assume you’ll want to be in Eorzea if you wish to get to work as soon as possible.”

“Hmm…”

~~

Hien was understandably disappointed to hear there was another day of no sightings of Izanami. But he tried to keep up an optimistic expression.

“Tis a shame to have had you both waste your time with nothing to show. But in turn, there have been no other reports of people turning and tormenting the people. That is something to be thankful for at least.” The others couldn’t quite match the optimism even as they nodded in agreement. Hien’s grin fell.

“Even if she isn’t acting, the longer she is out there, the more risk she poses. But for now, we can only wait and hope for a response soon. In the meantime, you will be departing for Eorzea, yes?” he asked Fhara, who could only nod in response, almost half asleep on her feet.

“I really would be willing to offer you a bed here to rest,” he offered, but he knew it was futile in his bemused grin, “But if you insist on moving on, then I shan’t keep you. And I hope we can call you back sooner rather than later.”

“You needn’t worry about being without aid though my lord,” G’raha piped up, punching his hand into his fist, determined, “I will continue the patrols myself, and checking in on the villages.”

“As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, my friend, especially while you opt to remain here in Fhara’s stead, I must insist that you take the morrow to rest yourself. Yugiri and her shinobi can take up your role. Just for one day,” Hien said, quickly adding the final statement when G’raha looked ready to insist otherwise. His tail lashed, but he nodded.

“I’ll remain here, but I would still like something to do that pertains to our search. Maybe some records related to the Domans forcibly enlisted or imprisoned to double check against those that have returned.”

That was the last Fhara heard herself before she finally opted to leave, her aether reaching into the stream and pulling herself west. Drifting along, not even really certain where she was going, where she had decided to return to, her sense of self almost being rocked to sleep by the gentle flow of the aether currents–

The rustling leaves overhead told her it was Gridania before she opened her eyes, definitely at risk of falling asleep on her feet right there by the aetheryte. In contrast to the late evening she’d departed in, it was becoming morning in the shroud, the sky a hazy grey that wasn’t quite a proper dawn yet. Early enough that some of the most essential workers were milling about, preparing their stock and shops, but the main town plaza was deserted all the same.

Typical, when she was aimlessly flowing without a destination in mind, of course she would find her way home. Either here or to the Rising Stones she often found, the two places she would consider the most familiar to her. She probably came here more so because the inn was much closer. Maybe. She didn’t know anymore, she just needed a couple of hours to sleep and feel more like herself and ready to tackle the day afresh.

A quick check in with the innkeep, and she stumbled into her assigned room and collapsed onto the bed, not even bothering to change into proper sleep clothes or even remove some layers. She instantly fell into darkness.

~~

(a/n: im taking advantage of ffxivwrite not being about perfection to just dump a passage here that i wanted to write, but didnt know how to include pacing wise)

She’d found someone! A young boy cowering beneath a howling, twitching beast. Fhara darted ahead, the grass parting in her pink aether swirled wake, and threw a chakrum with all her might.

It hit the blasphemy with such force the thud echoed off the rock wall, and after a dazed moment the beast turned to catch her in its sight. It howled, a grotesque cry that seemed underlaid with wails and screaming, and then started pounding toward her, great claws tearing up dirt in its path.

It was all she could do to dodge in time, circling around and flinging her rings at its again, both hits wrenching another yelp out of it.

“Wait, stop!” the boy yelled, staggering back to his feet and beginning to run toward her. Fhara turned, eyes wide at his approach.

“Please, don’t come any closer, it’s not safe!” She had to keep an eye on the fight at hand, turning back around in time to see the blasphemy raising an awful clawed hand into the air, ready to bring it down upon her. She was prepared to jump, legs tensing to leap back, and maybe grab the boy to take him to safety too if she could.

An arrow suddenly whizzed through the air, piercing into the beast’s side and wrenching another howl from its throat. It staggered, but almost seemed unaffected, ready to raise its hand again, when another arrow embedded itself deep into its skull. An eye went slack as it stumbled, then collapsed. There was barely any time to register its death before it burst into black smoke, instantly dissipating and taking any hint of the creature’s existence with it.

Fhara panted, the adrenaline still rushing through her. It was over so quickly. The blood pounded in her ears, almost missing the way the boy next to her seemed to break down into tears. That was understandable - either a mix of fear catching up to him, or maybe it was someone he knew…

Fhara turned, scanning higher up the grass slope to see where the attack could’ve come from. She didn’t have to search long, as G’raha stood on a piece of land that jut out into a small ridge, lowering his bow. The look upon his face was almost unreadable.

“Why?” Fhara’s ear perked up to hear the wet sob next to her, then flattened again at the growing guilt. It had to be done, but that didn’t make it any better.

“I’m sorry,” she started, reaching out to offer some comfort, maybe a hand upon his shoulder, but he immediately jumped fully to his feet and rounded on G’raha, already approaching them both.

“You killed him! That was my brother and you– Murderer!” The boy shoved into G’raha, clearly not strong enough to actually do any harm, but all he needed was the opening to run away. Fhara reached after him, wanting to shout and stop him, but finding the words trapped in her throat. It was bound to happen…

“We’ll need to inform the villagers of this. Hopefully he has someone else that can care for him after all of this,” G’raha said plainly. Fhara could only nod in response. Neither of them moved.

“Thank you,” she finally said. His ear flicked in acknowledgement, eyes still trained in the direction the boy ran off in.

“I’m sure you could’ve handled it, even with the boy potentially being underfoot. But I wanted to help in whatever way I could. I’m glad I could be here for this then.”

“Even if he yelled at you for it?” His gaze seemed to shift, never moving from that distant horizon, but suddenly looking as though they were seeing malms and malms away.

“It had to be done. I’ve known my fair share of similar cases on the First, people that saw their loved ones turn into Sin Eaters before their very eyes, and then lashing out at the freelancers and guardsmen that had to cut them down. In order to protect them and all the others. It’s never easy, but it has to be done. Our only hope is to provide support so that they may move on and grieve properly.” Fhara frowned, knowing his words to be true.

“Right…” The grass rustled from the wind, and in the distance they could hear voices, people shouting to and fro. Perhaps she could even hear the voice of Hien trying to calm the panic. Fhara knew he would most likely come this way and find them, and then they can report what happened, but she wondered if maybe she should go to him first…

“If I may also admit,” G’raha then said, getting her attention once more, “I know you are more than capable. And even before now, you’ve long since had to make difficult decisions for the benefit of others. But this time, so that you may have one less death on your hands, I would be happy to take on this burden.”

Fhara was stunned at the gesture. It was so very like him, but it still made her freeze. She wasn’t sure how to respond.

“Lord Hien, we’re down here!” She jumped as G’raha called out, turning to see Hien and Yugiri emerge from the bamboo thicket. She was spared from responding at this time, as they gathered round and began reporting their findings, and the encounter with the young boy.

[kurisus]

Noragami reread: Volume 25, 26 & 27 thoughts

The last of the reread thoughts. Until the next reread (I'll still use the same tag!), and see you with the release of the final chapter shortly. Until then, I'll be mostly off the grid.

Volume 25 is...absolutely brutal. It starts right off with Yuka clearly seeing Hiyori as similar to her mother (aka someone who smiled her way through problems), then we get a flashback of Yukine's father finding the letters and ripping them up in front of him. The most chilling part is that he said he knew all along what was in them, but Yukine isn't even listening. And then there's the page of sound effects followed by an unsettling silence. I just. ANOTHER TOP 10 MOST GUTTING MOMENTS OF NORAGAMI. (Maybe I will actually compile a list.)

Nora goes back to trash dad because even though she's figured out he's full of shit, she still craves the love of a parent--she wasn't ever alive long enough to have it, so that yearning will never go away. So when he calls for her with a fake apology, she's never heard that from him before and believes him, and gets swept up in the moment of working as they used to. But the illusion is broken, and that's why she eventually turns on him.

Yato's struggle to get Yukine back contrasts beautifully with trash dad's backstory--a story about how the world is mean, and cruel, and you have to fight to survive because everyone's just in it for themselves. Trash dad is projecting his anger onto Yukine because he never had a father figure to look up to, but Yukine does now--Yato.

Yukine realizes this in what is still probably the most beautiful scene in the manga (although him asking Yato about him being buried is tied). I cried so many tears over this, and I will continue to do so.

Trash dad in Yomi with Izanami is a super interesting scene because of how casual she is with him. She sits with him a while, seemingly never pressures him to dine with her, and willingly tells him all about shinki and ayakashi while asking him about his own past. At the end of this, he steals the brush from her and escapes. When we see Izanami in the current story where Yato and Ebisu encounter her, she's desperate for a friend and keeps pushing food on them. So my guess is that back then, she was a lot more hospitable (or maybe just because she knew humans aren't allowed to leave Yomi), but him stealing from her and escaping caused her to become even more lonely and distrustful.

Likewise, what Father says about the brush naming shinki is very interesting too. The law of Yomi supercedes the law of heaven as far as spirits are concerned, because she was the first person to try naming ayakashi. Since Hagusa and Mizuchi were both named as corrupted spirits, the names bestowed by the brush can't be removed by Amaterasu. Could Izanami remove them? Probably.

That makes me wonder if, in the final chapter, because the brush is destroyed they will lose those names. It doesn't really matter, though, because (a) Yukine already made the choice to become a stray. That won't change. Same with Mizuchi, even if she'd personally gone around and begged every god to release her. But (b) both of them were pushed into this choice by a master manipulator, one who is dead and won't be able to control them anymore. And (c) Yukine, at least, has found his forever master. Mizuchi is...a little lost in that regard, but I'm hoping the fan theory that Kofuku names her comes true.

Not a lot from volumes 26 and 27, but I didn't notice before that trash dad separated himself from Fujisaki so he woke up, but how did his lifeline to Father get cut? I assume they'll explain it in the last chapter--maybe Yato stopped by? He's unable to talk super well (probably because he's feeling some of the effects of decapitation) but he would still remember the name...but that also fades as he talks to the police.

Side note, I love that his birth date is omitted in his student ID. The month and date, not just the year. Adachitoka said NO celebrating Fujisaki's birthday for you.

Now that I'm not distressed and angry about the Hiyori shinki thing (because I know it was reversed), I want to comment that I wish she had said, like, a single word while she was a shinki. Wondering where she is, or who that girl's body is, or something. I do just wish this whole business hadn't happened in the first place, but it is what it is. Since it was undone, it's not a dealbreaker.

As for my other ending hangups--I think Yukine's father won't have his fate mentioned, or maybe just a quick mention that he's dead. There's a point in Yukine's Hagusa arc where he decides his father isn't worth his time, basically, and the official translation talks about forgiveness. But it's not really forgiveness, it's just accepting that getting revenge won't do anything now.

Still kind of wish Hiyori and Bishamon had had more to do in the final arc, still think it's a bit funny that the gods started slaughtering humans only for them to go back to normal like 10 minutes later, don't really care that much though. As long as the trio stays alive and trash dad stays dead, I'll take it.

Discord reactions:

[alpaca-clouds]

Orpheus and the Katabasis

Another topic for mythologic geekery. Let me today talk about a topic that folks within comparative mythology actually do not really quite agree on. Orpheus and the Katabasis.

As you may know: Orpheus is not a god. He is a dude. At times a half-god, to be fair (though speaking from the perspective of Greek mythology: Who isn't really?) Actually, to be very exact for the Stray Gods fans: In some versions of the mythology he is in fact the son of Calliope and a mortal man. But given that he was actually no god and thus not venerated the basis for the story of Orpheus and Eurydice did not change that much. Within the versions we have records of the basic outline of the story shifts. Again, in some Orpheus is a half-god. In some the nature of Eurydice shifts, too. But it always is: "Orpheus is a musician who finds his muse in Eurydice. Eurydice dies. Orpheus goes to the underworld to reclaim her. He does some music. Hades likes it and lets her go. But Orpheus cannot turn around. He does. Eurydice gone. Orpheus sad." Often the myth even ends there, never explaining what becomes of Orpheus after failing.

Something that makes this myth so fascinating to me is the discussion of it was part of the Katabasis. A "trope" shall we say within comparative mythology.

I think, in fact, that this was one of the first myths where I as a kid had the "Oh, this is actually like very similar" moment. Because I read another myth and was like: "Hey, that is like with the Greek singer dude! But how can that be? They are so far apart?!"

And the myth in question is Izanagi and Izanami in the Japanese mythology. A myth that involves many of the same tropes we know from both Hades and Persephone and Orpheus and Eurydice. Woman dies. Man goes down. She cannot return to the living. Either because she has consumed part of the underworld. Or because he turns around.

And when I first read that myth with like 12 years I was like: "Huh?!"

Here is the thing why this is a topic that folks will argue about a lot in Comparative Mythology. There is the idea of the Katabasis. Aka, that one of those myths - some go even as far as speculating whether it is like even pre-proto-indo-european - that shows up again and again. Not quite as similar as it is when we compare Izanagi and Orpheus, but still the same idea.

The idea being that: Someone goes to hell/the underworld for a quest. This quest usually involves either rescuing a loved one (though this does not need to be romantic, it might also involve family members or dear friends) or obtaining knowledge of some sort (like the knowledge how to make fire). Some tropes show up again and again within that. Like loosing the ability of returning due to consuming something. Or the god/ruler of the underworld testing the respective hero, often resulting on the short term or long term death of said hero.

Now, would it show up only in myths of the Indu-European family and in a lot of them, this would not get argued about. But it doesn't. It also shows up in Pacifica mythology, in South American mytholgy and Eastern African mythology. Meanwhile it does not show up in all the myths or in some is argued whether this really is comparative (like Ra's journey through the underworld or the liberation of Ushas).

Which basically leads to two different interpretations:

This is a concept that has been around since the days of very early humans, leading the myth to be kinda passed along and adapted throughout the world.

Most humans do in fact burry their dead, making the idea of an underworld as a world of the dead very logical - and it is just a human need and want to either get a loved one back or optain knowledge. For the later it could be argued that the believe of someone who died and came back having mythic knowledge being kinda logical, given that death is the one thing we still know surprisingly little about.

Obviously I do not know the answer to which of those things is the real answer.

But I find it endlessly fascinating.

Also... just the amount of adaptions of Orpheus specifically is super interesting as well. xD

[broken-clover]

Ayo hope you're doin good as of reading this, I do have a quick question regarding the Cloverswap AU (if you're still doing that btw)

Does Terumi feel guilty about the first world (I.E the Age Of The Origin, and the start of the Prime Field Device War)? Also, does Terumi consider Izanami a sibling, seeing as she IS apart of The Master Unit, does he like bothering her or surprising her with affection (if he does)?

(I suppose I need something soft to take my mind off of things...)

Trying to wrap my brain around everything to do with the Prime Fields feels like a losing battle (I have genuinely tried to understand Blazblue's story but I really cannot parse all of the random stuff they keep tossing in so I've kinda just given up)

For the most part I just keep the general strands of Terumi's background since weirdly his motivations are mostly straightforward (and, admittedly, perfectly reasonable at first? I'd get bored if my entire job was tied to destroying the things my sister made.) Like with a lot of the stuff about Kazuma I think a lot of Terumi's fuckups were done either accidentally or out of ignorance since he'd spent eons floating around in nothing.

Like, oh! There's something new here! I wanna play with it! Maybe I can show it to my siblings- wait no no no fuck stop poking my sister you're making her angry!! Uhh well now there's someone inside my sister, are you my sister now? I guess that's nice, I wanna see where she came from- wait where did the world go. Did I mess up. Shit.

Though the Boundary is stuffed full of information, since he was basically just floating in the void smashing things as necessary Terumi didn't really understand a lot of mortal concepts. At best, the idea of them was very abstract. He's the baby sibling of the trio, his job isn't to understand, it's to destroy the things he's supposed to destroy. The idea of him causing a war because he wanted to play with the Weird New Thing swimming in his home never crossed his mind as a possibility since, well, why would it? He's just playing, why would that he a bad thing?

When the idea sinks in that technically, the destruction of the old world was his fault, he's veeeeery upset by it. Susanoo curls up in a dark spot somewhere for a few millennia, even hesitant to destroy Amaterasu's creations like he's supposed to because he's worried about breaking everything again on accident. But with enough time, he's simply too curious to not take a peek at the new reality his sister is in charge of now. He wants to know about the new world, but he now also knows that flaunting himself and his siblings to mortals is a bad idea.

I imagine in addition to being easier to travel around in, having a human body gave him some additional reassurance that most people wouldn't find him very interesting. When he first met Relius, he was very apprehensive at the idea of giving arcane knowledge to mortals, even if his curiosity won out in the end. He did spend several minutes making Relius pretty please cross his heart to not use the boundary knowledge for evil. Had he not encountered sweaterdad Relius the world probably would have been fucked because Terumi also barely understood what lying was at that point, Relius is like the one guy that would have said 'yes' and meant it.

Imagining Terumi and Izanami is weirdly funny because I figure he'd be very confused about their relationship, at least until someone mentions the mere idea of her maybe being considered his little sister, and then it's all over because Terumi's just hung up on the thought that he's not the youngest anymore (given his experience with Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi he automatically assumes older = in charge and makes the rules).

I am still not 100% on how Cloverswap Izanami works but in any case I could see Terumi being overenthusiastically overbearing and that ending up with him getting stabbed by her for it. he's more emotionally wounded than anything.

[mxstball]

@arcanaanima from ask

"Wh--what? What in the world? How the fuck did they find this place already?" Heidi blinked. "I JUST had that other Aesen over not too long ago. All I sent Hera was a location request to MY Hall of Origin. How did they find this place?"

Actually, you know what? At this point, considering Izanami's resources, she wouldn't be surprised if there were others that were like her to some degree.

Either way, Heidi was happy to receive the phone. "Alright. This addition will have to do with your Infinity Energy signature, so if you feel that being adjusted a little, it's nothing bad."

Heidi summoned Ghost and the two went to work. On the surface, it looked like she was just tapping a few buttons, but there was a tie in the Infinity Energy between Shukukou and the phone. It was surprisingly quick, however. Seems that Heidi was getting good at this.

"The fact that it works with other Arceus the same way is kinda cool. Thought I had to do more tweaks. Anyway, so I added a new app to your phone -- or, I guess, to you directly. The app is tied to your unique Aura and Infinity Energy signature, but it interfaces through your phone. Doesn't take any space or memory or anything. So, there's a few things that this app does. So, you don't need this, but there's an improved map that allows you to make a portal or teleport to various major areas that you've been. You can even set your own. The map doesn't just cover this world, though. It covers every dimension that you've been to as well. Second, when messaging people, not only can the message go through dimensions like it already does, but it can go through time as well -- and it will show you the time that they're in relative to you. So, if I went back 200 years, it'll say that I'm currently 200 years in the past. Because of this, whenever someone talks in relative times and places, tapping the message will convert it to the relative time and place for you so you know where and when to go."

"Finally, for anyone that has this app like me or Zinnia, there's special teleport and portal technology between the app users. Starting with requests, you can send a teleport or portal request to the other person, and, if they accept, they either instantly teleport to your location, or a portal opens to be right in front of you. In term of open requests, you can enable to where other app users can teleport to you at any time while open requests are available. This will be on a per-contact basis, and you can turn it on or off with a simple tap or with your energy signature. So, for example, if Gloam had the app, you have request turned on, and she gets in a hairy situation, then she can simply tap to instantly teleport to you; however, if you are out on a mission, your requests will be turned off, so she won't be able to teleport to you and will have to pick someone else instead."

Heidi handed the phone back. "So far, you're the only one with the app in this world, but if you find it useful for others like your Legendary Pokémon or Proxies, then I can set it up with them as well."

[arcplaysgames]

AT LAST I FINALLY FOUND YOU, YOINK

throbbing king of desire, lmao, did you have fun there localizers?

this place is so fuck ugly i'm sorry i keep gettign distracted going "why does this look so bad" lmao. Atlus, I have notes for you and it's what the fuck are these textures.

BECAUSE YOU TOOK AWAY MY FRIEND IGOR AND YOUR VELVET ROOM FUCKING BLOWS, NEXT QUESTION

god i suddenly remember in P4G i was hypothesizing what cool liminal space the P5 Velvet Room would be. we had elevator and then limo and then.... a prison. i think I was hoping for a train car, which LET'S BE FUCKING REAL, THAT WOULD HAVE FIT PERFECTLY INTO THIS FUCKING GAME. Reverie hopping on the train and walking to the conductor's booth and putting a Velvet Key in the door so it opens to another dimension? that would have been SO FUCKING COOL

AND YALDABOATH TOOK IT FROM US

(autocorrect is like "do you mean whaleboat" lmao)

lmao i love you Morgana. "And?" same energy as "ahem a dumbass says what"

Morgana would so pull that too because Morgana is a perfect character who I will kill for. I am asking to kill for Morgana.

Anyway, we go up against Holy Grailaboath but it's a DISTACTION of course

BRUUUUUUH

that's pretty cool

actually like we're gonna recap but straight up: this ending is still kind of an ass pull like P4G, but not even nearly as severe of an ass pull, like the player gets ZERO in universe hints of whomst the fucketh Yaldaboath is, but at least we have the context of "oh Evil Igor" to go with, so it's not nearly as bad as "The gas station attendant was the Mother of Japan."

ALL THAT SAID, at least this ending Fucks, which P4G did not. P4G should have ended with Adachi and I stand by that bc Izanami was a massive disappointment. Even if I can kvetch about the similarities between this ending and P4G and how much is just a rehash

P5R is like what if the P4G ending was Hot And Sexy, so it is a wild improvement in that sense. It has scale and spectacle on its side, and BALLS TO THE WALL AUDACITY.

Anyway, this fight literally took me 58 minutes, from my save point before the final boss to the point after the cutscenes when the game finally went "yo, you wanna save?" And it's a fun, dynamic fight that at least nods at the brilliance of the Nyx fight in P3P. Yaldy has all the usual tools of the Magician, the bell, the book, the blade, and the... uh.

YOU KNOW I was gonna make a joke about this but HONESTLY? HONESTLY? A gun is a decent replacement for the wand. That's not even a bit.

He's got some bullshit status effects but really, nothing struck fear of god into my heart like when Reverie, armed with Athena and her 53 STR score, got hit with the Jealousy Brainwash and literally almost one hit KOed Mona three times in a row. My fucking PANIC.

Eventually, the game goes into the "okay you beat the boss so here's your cinematic ending" mode like usual. Yaldy starts cheating again and beating the shit out of the Thieves with bullshit total party wipe spells.

kisses morgana on his perfect lil head

oh my god its you

Mishima is like if Issun from Okami was somehow even worse, so he has to show up to rally the masses into clapping their hands and believing in the Phantom Thieves

I'M DOING THIS FOR YOSHIDA TORANOSUKE!!!!!!

AND OUR DAD (BOOGIE WOOGIE WOOGIE)

listen

i'm gonna just

let this one go, okay. i can't criticize every damn thing and its fine because

are you fucking JOKING, are you KIDDING ME, Reverie just summons a COSMIC EVANGELION to beat the god of control with

fucking SATANAEL, who, what, stood with the Demiurge Yaldaboath until realizing his true nature and turning against him, the Gnostic version of Lucifer?

so satan saves christmas

Atlus, you are a bunch of fucking hilarious weirdos, thank you for this moment of sheer fucking ridiculousness

the degree to which this is cooler than Myriad Truths cannot be overstated

sometimes style is substance and this is one of those times

anywhere, where is philharmonic, they need to show up and explain why the fuck they keep letting this shitbird cheat at these dumb fucking causality-deciding games they play, goddammit

[mizukagami-takamagahara]

Annon-Guy: What's your opinion on the Split Timeline thing introduced in XBLAZE Lost Memories? You know, the idea of the XBLAZE World and the Bloodedge Experience World being seperate from the BlazBlue World and each othe I mean.

This is actually a really fun question, and I’ve been procrastinating on answering it because I have a whole theory related to it but I don’t want to get into it without being able to cite my sources, you know??? Unfortunately today will STILL not be the day I really get into it, because I’ve been in and out of the hospital and still have not found those sources I wanted. Whoops.

But let’s at least get to an initial answer. Usually I hate split timelines in stories; I like consistency and I like making huge conspiracy boards full of connections I’ve noticed. A split timeline is a smart move for writers when a series gets too big; it alleviates the pressure for absolute consistency between different authors. It gives them room to be more creative, to explore more- it also gives them room to make minor mistakes. But like I said, I really really love my concrete consistency. Split timelines kind of take away narrative tension for me, too; I can’t get too excited about what xyz event means for the rest of the series, because it may not have even happened.

Interestingly, I actually really like BB’s split timeline set up. This is a unique case, and I originally didn’t like it, but then I saw a post on… I can’t remember if it was Reddit or Steam or what, I want to find it so I can link back to it and discuss it more in depth. Someone was positing the theory/interpretation that the three separate “timelines” (BB, XBlaze, Bloodedge) actually do occur in one reality.

Remember how at the end of CF, Terumi (and, like, everyone a little bit) was trying to kill Amaterasu to end this world, and create a new one???

Or how Sechs in XBlaze wanted to “return everything to the Seithr,” also ending his world???

In the west, when we hear a story has "multiple timelines" or a "multiverse," we think of stories like Marvel and Homestuck. In these stories, there are infinite worlds operating in their own, separate 'bubbles,' but existing effectively simultaneously.

The post posited that BlazBlue’s setting uses a different interpretation of “multiple timelines/universes,” more rooted in Asian culture. Like concepts of reincarnation or the Hindu Yuga Cycle. In these types of stories, there are many 'worlds'- generally far too many for the human mind to count, but still a finite number. And only one exists at a time. The next is born when the previous dies.

The idea here is that each separate BB-verse setting happens in a linear order, one at a time, going about its own business until the world is ‘ended'- that is, where it dissolves and "returns to the Seithr," the Boundary.

From this, it is recreated and begins again- or the next setting begins. After enough repetitions, certain events may end up drastically different- or someone may manipulate the recreation process to influence the ‘new world.’

This would be Susano'o's plan at the end of CF, and part of the promise that Izanami was selling to everyone during the fight for the Azure.

This would also be what the Origin did to start the C-series, using Amaterasu to influence the world’s next ‘rebirth,’ and then refusing to move on/let anything change.

I wish I could get deeper into this subject, and I hope I do at some point, because it completely changed how I interpret BlazBlue’s setting and several plot points and I really love it. I wish it was a more popular interpretation in the fandom. I’d also like to look deeper into the story to see if I can cite some points that give evidence to this theory.

At some point when I have more energy I'd love to revisit this topic, explaining it better and citing some sources from the BB series that I believe support this interpretation.

For now, what do you all think???

[mistbow]

I want to talk more about right and left (if you’ve followed what I’ve been saying about it in the context of Zestiria, you should realize that they pay a lot of attention to this).

There’s actually a reason why the right-hand side represents the human, the physical, the body whereas the left-hand side represents the seraph, the spiritual, the heart, which surprisingly not many people know or realize, not even Japanese people from what I’ve seen around (which tells you just how disconnected a lot of people are from their spirituality).

In a lot of major religions in the world, like Christianity or Islam for example, the right is what is considered sacred, and this is so pervasive that even you can see it in the international language, English.

Do you know why it is called “right” meaning “the opposite of left”, even though the Old English word it comes from, riht, did not have this sense but meant “good, proper, fitting, straight”? It’s partly because the right hand is often the stronger, more dominant one, but also partly because of religion-related reasons.

In Christianity, after the resurrection, Jesus ascends to heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father. The “right hand” in this case is seen as a place of honor, as seen throughout the biblical text. In a simplified manner we could say that in the biblical worldview the right side is good, noble, and heavenly, while the left is bad, low, and earthly.

Ecclesiastes 10:2

A wise man’s heart turns him toward the right [which is the way of blessing], but a fool’s heart turns him toward the left [which is the way of condemnation].

However, Shinto sees things differently from the majority of the English-speaking side of the world.

For example, and this is surprisingly a shrine etiquette that not many people know of, but when passing through the torii gate, you should step from your left foot. The reason for this is because in Shinto, the left means kami and the right means person (左は神、右は人). But why is this?

If you know about ancient Japanese mythology, as described in Kojiki, when Izanagi-no-Mikoto purified himself after visiting Yomi in a failed attempt to rescue Izanami-no-Mikoto, Amaterasu-Oomikami, the sun kami and supreme deity of Japan, was born when he washed his left eye. I hope you see why the left side is sacred now from the view of Shinto, and by the way, Maotelus is modeled after Amaterasu.

Even the sound of “左” (hidari), the word for “left” in Japanese, is similar to “日照り” (hideri), the word for “drought” in Japanese, a period where sun keeps shining without rain. Translated more literally, “日照り” can also mean “sun-shine”. The more the sun rises, the hotter it gets; to the ancient people, this meant that the Sun that looked as if it moved from the East, the right direction in the compass, to the West, the left direction in the compass, would be at its strongest when it was on the left. The more the Sun shines, the more the power of the Sun increases, which relates back to Amaterasu being the kami of Sun.

(Speaking of cardinal directions, I’ve also talked about this before, but despite the seraphim being partially based on Four Symbols [四象], their directions are actually inverted [Mikleo on the West/Left instead of Azure Dragon’s East, Lailah on the North/Up instead of Vermilion Bird’s South, Edna on the South/Down instead of Black Tortoise’s North, and Zaveid/Dezel on the East/Right instead of White Tiger’s West]. They’re actually this committed to associating Mikleo with the Left side [to Sorey’s Right side], even to the point of breaking this rule for him. EDIT: It appears I have been looking at this the wrong way, because I assume the cardinal directions used is the Japanese one, when I should’ve considered what the Chinese use too.)

(By the way, despite all this, the right side is not ‘discriminated’, so to speak, in Shinto, unlike what has been said about the left side in, for example, Christianity.)

Aside from myths and all that, there’s actually one more reason, though still based on spirituality. Heart (心臓), the organ, is located on the left side of the human body, and this organ is said to reflect the state of your mind (心). I’ve said before how kami also describes the mind, the heart; the Japanese word “精神”, containing the kanji for kami (神), represents mentality, will, ethos, and this concept isn’t even exclusive to the Japanese only, since the word “spirit” is used in a similar way in English anyway.

This is already getting too long but I hope you get the idea! I wish to talk more about other Shinto influences in Zestiria in more detail next, like how Armatus (as the main focus/gimmick of Zestiria battle system; it’s even in the name, FC-LMBS, which stands for Fusionic Chain Linear Motion Battle System) might be related to the concept of shinjin-gouitsu (神人合一, “kami and human become one”), etc.