#mephisto and faust are dead

[bungone]

apparently people like it when i rant about things, so

Mephisto and Faust didn't deserve their fate. They didn't deserve to die. Narratively, it makes sense. It's well written. Awful. I love it. The story would not have been the same if they hadn't. I'm not saying they shouldn't have died. I'm just saying, they didn't deserve to.

I see so many memes and jokes and whatnot about how much they suck, how they're pure evil (Mephisto more than Faust), but you have to remember they're children. Literal children.

In canon they're what. 13? 14? They could (should) be in middle school- and the fact they're not in itself is fucked up, because it's not just a normal situation for the world they live in, there's circumstances that were out of their control that prevented them from ever growing up to be normal kids.

Mephisto? he was in school. Then he got assaulted— that's a canon point. And by no fault of his own he now has a terminal illness that makes everyone around him simultaneously terrified of him and hate him on a fundamental level. Guess who was the only one who didn't? Faust.

And that's cool and all but two kids who's ages are in the single digits shouldn't have to rely solely on each other to survive. No buts, no exceptions, they're supposed to have adults care for them.

And guess who that adult was? Talulah. And that was fine, sure, at first, before the whole changing thing. She was the adult figure that they needed and it's no surprise at all that Mephisto refused to leave even after she changed. She was the only one who showed them an ounce of kindness and that was something Mephisto, unlike Faust, had experienced before. So it makes sense that Faust would be less trusting of her and ready to leave.

But they didn't. They stayed, and these 13 year olds, with like, severe developmental trauma, who have been conditioned to be okay with violence and death so long as they achieve their goal in the end, aren't to blame for their circumstances?

I mean sure, Mephisto is sadistic and doesn't care for the lives of all his soldiers. Tell me the fact that they all look exactly the same and wear masks doesn't have something to do with it.

Look me in the eye and tell me soldiers that don't have human faces and all wear uniforms and could easily be perceived as carbon copies to an outsider wouldn't be easy to overlook.

The fact they've been stripped of their individuality makes me think that he—Mephisto, I mean—can't actually handle killing people all that well.

anyway thats that pls get homeboy a res stone and cough drops and a karaoke machine and his silly little snake boy he's in a severely unhealthy codependent relationship with back pls thanks

[alvadee]

the thing, why Erik and Christine is my ship and beyond that the dynamic that fascinated me the most is because their relationship is so toxic and so beautiful and so layered. it's like...i am the angel your dead father sent you, you are my angel of music, i am your father (figure), i am your teacher, you are my teacher, you're my muse, you're my victim, i am yours, you made me experience musical ecstasy, you too, you guided me out of my grief, i am grieving because of you, you're the normalcy i long for, you bring out the side in me i didn't even know i had, i've never been so happy, i've never been so frightened, i've never been so desperate, i want to die because of you, i want you to kill us both, he's just a man, he's every shadow, she's just a woman, she saved everyone, it's just a kiss, no, it means everything!

Erik and Christine are an abuser and his victim but they were also two lonely, broken people who found solace in each other, they are also musical geniuses inspiring each other to inhuman achievements in their art, they share are bond that even they can't really understand or anyone else.

I also love the weathered frenemy relationship he has with the Daroga and Raoul is also a perfectly nice young man who, in my opinion, is the most interesting when he's at his worst (jealous) and I love that everyone has fun with their non canon ships too. But Erik and Christine's dynamic will always be like crack to me personally. They're Death and the Maiden, Hades and Persephone, Mephisto and Faust/Margarete, the Rose and the Nightingale, Beauty and the Beast, they're opposites, they can't be together, they're day and night AND YET

ah! Fate links thee to me, forever and a day...

[antaresr]

I had been looking at the theories about what Sylus is, and I took it upon myself to use my nerdy powers to research, look for relationships between things and an explanation, this is still a theory, I don't have the absolute truth.

Caution contains spoilers

The first thing we have to take into account is the meaning of his name, Sylus is a diminutive of the Greek name Silouanus, derived from the Latin name Silvanus, from silva, which means "forest".

With this we can look for a root within the Greek mythology, among the myths there are two that we can highlight:

1. Cronos, Cronos is the name of the King of the Titans who dethroned his father Uranus and whom we know as "Father Time", who is represented with his relentless sickle and accompanied by a crow.

2. Apollo, Apollo fell in love with the daughter of a king, whom he courted and fell in love with and got pregnant, however Apollo had to travel and left his beloved but to protect her he left a crow following her everywhere, however the woman cheated on Apollo with another man and according to interpretations Apollo or his sister, Artemis, kill her but save the baby who was Asclepius, God of medicine.

However these are very noble associations for the Sylus Backstory, so we can also consider Hades or Ares.

In the case of Hades, crows were considered his faithful companions and guardians of the underworld. It was believed that these dark birds accompanied the god on his travels through the realm of the dead and acted as his eyes and ears in the underworld. Their presence was seen as a symbol of the connection between the world of the living and the dead. The crow of Hades was considered a symbol of protection and good omen. Its presence in the world of the living was believed to be a sign that Hades was watching over and protecting those who were loyal to him. On the other hand, it was also thought that the crow of Hades could punish those who defied the established order and dared to challenge the god of the underworld.

On the other hand, Ares, the god of war, also had a close relationship with the crows. These birds were considered his allies and were associated with violence and death on the battlefield. Their presence was interpreted as a harbinger of war and bloodshed.

Crows occupy a prominent place in Greek mythology as divine messengers and bearers of omens.

Now on to the favorite child, Mephisto.

Mephistopheles (also called Mephisto and other variants) is a demon of German folklore. Mephistopheles is commonly regarded as a minion of Satan charged with capturing souls, or else as a type character of Satan himself.

Mephistopheles is associated with the Faust legend of an ambitious scholar, based on the historical Johann Georg Faust. In the legend, Faust makes a deal with the Devil at the price of his soul, with Mephistopheles acting as the Devil's agent.

So we can think that Sylus, like Zayne, has some relationship with some kind of god, a god of death, war or time, which if we think of various gods there are many that represent more than one thing like Sekhmet who was the goddess of war, the drunkenness and of the medicine or the goddess Tiamat, the goddess of the creation and the Chaos, so we can consider that inside the universe of LADS The god representative of Sylus is the god of the time, the war and death and for that reason we are in a cycle of eternal reincarnation between to live, to fight and to die, and assuming that was the case it could be a matter of a fight between gods, Astra vs. The god of Sylus, both want the Aether protocore which has ended up in MC's hands time and time again. However Sylus like Apollo, fell in love and instead of taking the Aether from her, has protected her with Mephisto, keeping surveillance over her, but as Mephisto is in charge of always watching MC he knows everything she does where she goes and who she relates with, that way Sylus knew that MC was looking to enter the N109 and as in the legend thanks to Mephisto MC manages to make a deal with Sylus who would be like "Satan" or the "bad guy".

Within the game with Sylus reference is made to both things with Sylus, when "the monster with wings and horns" appears people die but for MC it is a symbol of protection.

And Sylus probably knows what is going on, in the last chapter they have released when MC tells Sylus that she saw something he deflects the conversation and doesn't give it importance, which is suspicious.

So we can think that Sylus, is some kind of demigod, one that being related to bad things like death and war is satanized as a demon, like Hades who in mythology did not do anything bad but in the present time if you look for a villain of Greek mythology it is always Hades, so this explains many things about Sylus.

[threads-strings]

Faust the Widower

A little ramble about his name origin as someone who read the original Faust I in german and likes it

Ofc, Faust is super commonly known as the Man who did a deal with the devil, but what a lot of people kind of miss is the aspect of Gretchen’s tragödie.

Faust wishes for power riches etc., but he also wishes for love. The devil (Mephisto) grants him that wish by guaranteeing that “Every woman will hold the beauty of Helena” (A mythological woman who was said to be the most beautiful of them all)

Shortly after, Faust falls in love with the first woman he sees (a girl in the story but. Time period and all that.), Gretchen. To him she’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, and he pretty fastly seduces her, ruins her reputation with it, kills her brother, mother and drops her again because it’s not true love. He’s just lusting after her and believes it is love.

Anyway that’s the aspect I wanted for his name in the story I made for him as well - PC doesn’t actually look like his late s/o at all. He just believes they do.

“Women will look hold the beauty of Helena” -> They will look like Faust’s s/o. They’re the most beautiful person to him. In truth he probably can’t even remember their face anymore. Anytime they try, PC comes up instead.

Faust sold his soul to one of the eldritch gods (the one opposing Virgo) ((I deadass forgot its name I think it was Aurelia or smth 😭)) in order to take revenge and bring his dead s/o back to life. He believes all he needs is a vessel that has a connection to her. A sacrifice.

Meanwhile in my hc it’s that PC is connected to the gods as well (like be fr they have so much supernatural shit happening around them), and has become a target of the god.

So the god influences Faust, and makes him believe PC looks just like his s/o. That has to be a sign that they’ll be the perfect vessel, right? A rebirth, they remember him too, this time it has to be right. This time he can beat the odds and save them. Even if it killed them every other time, it’ll be different this time.

Truth is though, it’s all a trick. And at the end PC will end just as tragically as Gretchen did.

Or maybe, they can break the cycle. Who knows.

[totheseus]

NEINHAGEN AU

This is a small masterpost for anything related to my Slenderverse / Creepypasta AU. This is VERY loosely based off of canon, so the characters may differ greatly! Content is subject to change.

Trigger warnings for discussion of death, suicide and sickness.

WHAT IS IT?

The Neinhagen AU is a partial WW2, partial infection AU and partial folklore AU. Set in the Gespensterwald Woods, most to all characters suffer from sickness that develops into delusions as a result of sigma radiation, emitted by the Nachzehrer Slenderman.

If you don't understand any entity terms, see lower! Terms will be defined.

Whilst Slenderman is the key supernatural source of this sickness, other entities exist in these woods. The woods were generally put off from entering until the war considered it as grounds for invasion, thus starting back the movement of people through it.

CHARACTERS

TOBY

Toby plays the archetype of the character "Faust." Due to suffering health problems and delusions from sigma radiation, Toby attempts to take his own life. He fails, and is met with Slenderman who makes a deal - Toby offers Slenderman his soul in return for temporary bliss and worldly goods. Jack is assigned to aid Toby in this.

JACK

Jack plays the archetype of the demon "Mephistopheles" or "Mephisto". He is a demon who serves under Slenderman, though he has his own free will. See above for more.

JEFF

Though he was supposed to be drafted to fight in the war, Jeff was excluded due to suffering delusions caused by sigma radiation. Instead, he was sent to a monastery in hopes that he could be exorcised of his demons. He served under a mentorship of Jane, until one day spotting a spirit outside and mistaking it for Slenderman, the subject of his delusions. Whilst chasing it out, he became violent and erratic due to disorientation and ran further into the woods, losing contact with the church.

JANE

A nun at the church Jeff attended. Though she initially intended to aid Jeff, his radiation spread to her which caused her to slowly fall ill.

When chasing Jeff out into the woods to stop him, she quickly fled after he became violent. She later bumped into Natalie who took her in.

NATALIE

A hunter who resided in Gespensterwald Woods. For unknown reasons, she is completely immune to sigma radiation and has existed without issue. Though, she tends to be unwelcoming to visitors due to the amount that die almost immediately.

She took Jane in after discovering her fleeing in the woods.

SALLY

Born to an unwanting mother, Sally was killed during childhood due to her mother fearing the conditions of the war wouldn't prove fitting anyway. Sally was cursed to become a Mylinger, eventually put to ease by Liu.

KATE

One of the researchers in the Woods investigating the deaths. She is the first to become contaminated and go insane.

LIU

One of the researchers alongside Kate. He makes a breakthrough in the radiation and discovers Sally, but is soon killed by a feral Kate.

TIM

Conscripted to the war, Tim was sent to Germany as a soldier. His group were quickly killed, from sickness, warfare or unknown causes. Whilst fleeing, he bumped into Brian, another soldier in a similar predicament. The two decide to commit treason and flee South, hoping the escape the warfare. During this time, they accidentally run into Gespensterwald Woods.

BRIAN

See above.

ENTITIES

NACHZEHRER - A spirit believed to drag the living into dead along with it, often through malice. They are thought to drain their victim's life force remotely. They were associated with epidemic sickness, though this is not a necessity for their existence.

MYLINGER - A spiritual incarnation of the souls of children that had been forced to roam the earth until they could persuade someone to bury them properly. They are often the result of a child killed be an unwanting mother.

MEPHISTO - A demon from literature who acts as the devil's agent for Faust.

FAUST - A character from literature. He was a scholar, displeased with life so he attempts to bargain with the devil for worldly goods and knowledge in return of his soul.

OTHER

SIGMA RADIATION refers to a common concept in most Slender Mythos. Sigma radiation is the non-contact force that Slenderman emits to make his victims ill, delusional or disoriented, hence why so many of the characters are constantly ill or confused.

All of the German spirits mentioned are in fact German Mythology! They are slightly adapted to fit the story, though all do have their own Wikipedia pages.

TRIVIA

Will be added.

[love-and-deepspace-wiki]

Mephisto

Age: Unknown

Details:

Mephisto is a mechanical bird belonging to Sylus. He makes his on-screen debut in No-Hunt Zone No. 7 at the very end of "Where Light Vanishes" (Chapter 3, Story 8) after Xavier tells the protaganist the Protocore they found had been modified - "Clearly the work of Onychinus". Mephisto is shown surveilling her from a nearby tree branch before flying away.

Mephisto's eyes appear to be made of rubies. They glow with a lustrous, yet haunting hue in the darkness. He communicates using caws and coos that Sylus calls speaking "bird", but the protaganist describes his screeches as sounding like "a metal spoon being scraped against a metal bowl". Over time, she is slowly learning how to understand him, though.

Quick Info:

Sylus makes him follow the protaganist around for observation

He gets very upset if he's called a pet

Has razor-sharp feathers

He's not bulletproof (the protaganist accidently shot him at Elysium, breaking his wing)

Outside the Odd Workshop after the protaganist meets "Little Girl", Mephisto follows them to Elysium. But just prior, he killed 7 or 8 fat dead rats. Their remains were left lying in the street, their flesh and blood mixed with broken pieces of monitoring equipment.

Fun Fact: The Name Mephisto

The rats (woahhhh~) made me think of this gif and I could not resist. But there's a connection to the fun fact, I promise! It's about the name Mephisto!

Mephisto is such an interesting name choice for this character! The name is derived from Mephistopheles/Mephistophiles (there are many variations of the spelling). If you happen to be a Ghost fan, you might remember it popping up in the lyrics of "Call Me Little Sunshine":

The name initially appeared in the first "Faust book", in which a scholar gives his soul to the demon Mephistopheles in exchange for knowledge. But since it's initial use, other works often used the name as a stand-in of sorts for Satan and the Devil. There are various hypothesized meanings of the name. But in Greek, Mephistophiles literally translates to "Not a lover of light" and is often interpreted as "he who shuns the light"!

[crowsfinal-thought]

Call me Little Sunshine music study.

Previous Studies:

Kaisarion

Spillways

Skipping all the other lyrics, there’s one part in the chorus that catches my eye; “Call me Mephistopheles”. Mephistopheles, or, Mephisto, originates from the German folklore in the Faust legend. In the Faust legend, Mephistopheles acts as the devil’s agent, forming deals on his behalf. Many of the song’s lyrics center around always being there for you, such as “Call out in the middle of the night”, “you will never walk alone, you can always reach me”, “even when you’re dead and gone, you can always reach me”. Without the mention of Mephistopheles, it almost sounds like something that may be said in church referring to god, like “god is always there for you”. But in the song, the lyrics show conditions. “All you’ve gotta do is call me little sunshine” right before the mention of Mephistopheles. This tues in to a way of saying “as long as you praise me, I will be there for you. It’s basically what is said about god, but instead about Satan, or more importantly, Satan’s agent. As you know, in ghost lore, Papa is the Satanic anti-pope, which as the catholic pope is god’s mortal agent, Papa is that for Satan, a human Mephistopheles.

[littleeyesofpallas]

JOKER[ジョーカー] It's funny I know in my head taht there's an association with the Joker card in a playing card deck and the grim reaper, but I'm not actually sure where from? It might be a Japanese specific thing? It feels silly but my frame of references is like 90s comedy anime where normal school kids play something like old maid and the joker card, i.e. the old maid, has a menacing grim reaper figure on it... I know there's some loose association of the Joker with The Fool in tarot, so then is the Joker as grimreaper supposed to evoke The Death card? No idea... In any case, past the original appearance, the Joker monsters actually ditch their clown mask entirely and assume an almost exclusively death/skeletons motif in their fusions instead.

These are all nice and straight forward

HELL HEART[ヘルハート]

FLARE DEATH[フレアデス]

TOMBSTONE[ツームストーン]

BLUE TERROR[ブルーテラー]

SUICIDER[スイシーダ] Maybe obscured by the fact that Suicider isn't a word, but I feel like this isn't how Japanese would phoneticize that? Like it's not generally how they write SUICIDE[スーサイド]/[スイサイド]. The design doesn't help clarify any details as to a theme...

SPLATTER[スプラッター] like the horror subgenre

Monster Rancher 3's only Joker subtyle is a Joker/???

MAGII[マギー] Clearly the theme is playing cards and sort of implicitly closeup magic, like the stage magician card tricks type, so just MAGI with a held KI syllable?

Then of course we get the big mess of GBA game Jokers...

RUNASOSU[ルナソス] weirdly i dont' know what this is about. it's a mew subtype??? So the the first half seeming to be "LUNA" feels coincidental?

JUGGLER[ジャグラー]

SCISSOR MAN[シザーマン]

MASCARER[マスカラー] it's just MASCARA with a sustained A syllable at the end

CROCUS[クロッカス] like the flower? CLOCKERS? But ti's a Ducken subtype, and I dunno what either of those have to do with Ducken's usual toy theme...

GRASS KEEPER[グラスキーパー]

GLITTER[グリッター]

DEMON MARINER[デモンマリナー]

ASTRAL[アストラル]

CRAVE DIVA[クレイブディバー] weird one... At a glance my brain tried to fill in the blanks and assumed it was supposed to be GRAVE DIGGER[グレイブディガー]

ERIGORI[エリゴリ] No idea what this is about... I mistook it at a glance for the Egregori of gnostiicism as appropriated from apocryphal biblical lore. But then I realized the syllables aren't right, so again, no idea...

SEABISHOP[シービショップ] a type of old european cryptid used in a lot of JRPGs for some reason. Old accounts seem to be a kind of decayed skate or ray mistaken for a humanoid, kind of like a Jenny Haniver, with their pointed heads compared to a bishop's hat

SOUL REAPER[ソウルリーパー]

UNDERTAKER[アンダーテイカー]

GESPENST[ゲシュペンスト] German word for a ghost

SKULL GOLD[スカルゴールド]

DARK PREDATOR[ダークプレデター]

HELL LORD[ヘルロード]

ENMA[エンマ] Chinese King/Judge of the dead. Despite common misconceptions comparing him to the devil --often because of the incidental monstrous qualities he has as a wrathful deity who metes out condemnation-- he's not a god of the underworld itself, he's the judge presiding over who goes to the underworld or not.

MEPHISTO[メフィスト] from Mephistopheles, the devil from the story of Faust, and the other half of the famous literary trope, "Faustian Bargain."

NECROMANCER[ネクロマンサー]

REQUIEM[レクイエム]

GARTH[ガース] GIRTH? I don't get how this can be read in any way that makes sense with the design

TOORYOO[トーリョー] a term for a head carpenter

VIRTUE[ヴァーチャー]

BERETTA[ベレッタ] Given ther ed hood design I thought ti was a reference to B.B.Hood in Dark Stalkers, but her name is actually written BARETTA[バレッタ]

YOGARASU[ヨガラス] from yogarasu[夜烏]:"night crow"

SOUL EATER[ソウルイーター] the name is straight forward but I can't seem to find any images of this thing...

And finally the new additions from the LINE Monster Farm mobielgame,

RA[ラー] named after Ra the Egyptian sun god.

SAKURA CHIRU[サクラチル] from sakurachiru[桜散る]: "to fall(cherry blossoms)," but also a slang term for "to fail(an exam)"

[niumiu]

Hong Lu Almost Died (For Real)

Summary: Hong Lu died outside of Dante's vicinity and his remains are yet to be found. The thought that they could have lost him in a way that was unretrievable made Gregor anxious. Warnings: Gore, Blood, Eye Trauma, Anxiety, Don Quixote Jumpscare

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first breath that entered his lungs tickled, and sort of stung. He coughed a little as he gasped, learning to breathe again. His heart hammered back to life in his chest.

Gregor sat up.

Everything looked a little fuzzy, blurry and spinning. He patted the ground beside him and his fingers brushed over the familiar frame. He picked up his glasses and cleaned them a little with the fabric of his shirt, then perched them on the bridge of his nose. Suddenly everything looked a lot clearer.

Rodion stretched, Yi Sang looked down at his feet, Sinclair seemed to be a little nauseous as per usual… Dante and Faust spoke over how to best approach their next checkpoint; Meursault and Outis stood nearby them, giving their input on the options. Heathcliff and Ishmael seemed to be lightly conversing about one thing or another. Ryoshu smoked nearby, staring off into the distance.

Gregor blinked.

“Thou art awakened at last!” A familiar voice greeted him, and he almost jumped out of his skin.

“Hah?!” His body jerked into action and he had to physically restrain himself from impaling his fellow sinner, Don Quixote. “Do you have to yell so close to my ear?!”

Don Quixote walked back to Dante without answering his question. Gregor sighed and stood up, stretching his legs. It never felt any easier to come back from the dead, but this time he felt a little more odd than usual.

He walked to Dante, and before he could ask the question on his mind, he heard Meursault say:

“We have found nothing but his hair tie.”

“Thy humble subordinate hath scouted the battlefield, Manager Esquire!” Don Quixote added, “Though mine scouting skills art mighty, there was nothing to be found…”

“As I said, one of the beasts might have run off with the remains.” Outis sighed, ever so annoyed at one thing or another, “I can conduct a proper search,” She eyed Don Quixote before continuing, “If you so desire, Executive Manager.”

<Yes, well… I think both you and Meursault can cover a bigger area in a shorter time— Oh, Gregor.>

“Hey, manager bud. Sorry for bothering and all but…”

“Yes.” Faust cut him off swiftly, “Hong Lu is nowhere to be found.”

“Ah.”

“If you so permit, I shall now begin to search for his remains.” Outis spoke.

“I await your orders, manager.” Meursault added.

<Please do it.>

There seemed to be a slight worry in Dante’s voice.

The two sinners who had been addressed departed, and without being asked to, Don Quixote gave a quick salute and went off on her way. Probably to do more “scouting”.

Faust gave him a strange look, then excused herself and went back to Mephisto. Only Dante and Gregor remained. They stood still, staring at each other.

<Uh… I’m going to… uhm… talk with Vergilius.> 

They quickly left.

The group remained idle and waited for any news of Hong Lu’s whereabouts. Gregor had smoked an entire pack by the time Outis and Meursault showed up again. He stayed somewhere nearby to hear them report to Dante that there were still no signs of Hong Lu anywhere in the near vicinity. Dante dispatched them again.

Gregor stood up and walked away.

He didn’t have anywhere particular in mind to go, his legs just itched for some action. Before he could realize it, he was already running. Cold sweat dripped off his face and a feeling of utter emptiness unsettled him to the core.

After turning at a corner, he saw something on the ground that made him come to a full stop. He was kneeling beside the pool of blood in the blink of an eye. His hands hovered over the blood, still fresh. He had no way of knowing if it belonged to the one he missed the most, but he had a feeling he was on the right path. 

He stood on his feet again, paced around the blood puddle in a circle, then went off in a direction. He was never really good at tracking. His specialty was maiming, slicing and killing. Gregor prayed silently to something he didn’t believe in, but wanted to. If only he could find anything that could be used to bring Hong Lu back.

The war had him witness entire battalions being wiped in the blink of an eye, but he still couldn’t get used to seeing somebody he was slightly close to die. Even if they would always be brought back to life— as long as the contract was in effect— it still hurt to see them die. Now as he ran for his life, he refused to face the fact that there was still a way for them to pass away for good. That would be to leave no remains behind.

Gregor tripped pathetically and fell on his side. He thanked the cursed heavens that it wasn’t on his face. Dante wouldn’t want to rewind the glasses unless somebody else died along the way, and then he’d have a headache. Still, his mad chase was forced to a halt by his own clumsiness and incompetence, and he laid on the ground. His body was still but his thoughts were still racing farther than he wanted to. It would hurt if this was the end for Hong Lu. He’d spend every night from there on thinking and wondering what happened to him. Every smoke break, he’d be reminded of his silliness and generally light-hearted foolishness.

One day, many years from now, Gregor would be doing anything— maybe brushing his teeth before going to bed— and then he’d see the ghost of a man he no longer remembered the name of in the mirror. Then his chest would ache again.

Gregor sighed and sat up, getting on his feet in no time. He resumed the search, this time no longer running. He bit his bottom lip and looked over, feeling the vague scent of blood in the air and letting it guide him. Eventually he could spot droplets of fresh crimson painting the path for him. The droplets became bigger as he approached their source, and once he turned a corner he found it.

Half of his face had been melted off the bone and the skull behind it showed itself pristine white. The other half had been clawed at, and the eye had been gouged out of its socket, but it was somewhat recognizable. If anything, the nametag on his uniform and the long, dark blue hair gave his identity away. Gregor paused and stared with wide eyes.

He kicked his way through the gore that littered the floor around Hong Lu. The fellow sinner still held his weapon firmly in one trembling hand. His other arm laid by his side, twisted in an unnatural manner. Once Gregor stepped into his personal space, Hong Lu’s body showed reaction. The blade of the spear swung vaguely his way, but Gregor could block it easily with his own mutated arm.

“Hey— Hey! It’s… It’s me.” He said.

Hong Lu froze, then his chest vibrated, and blood gushed out of what probably was his mouth, or somewhere in his neck. It was a miracle that he was even alive. Gregor breathed in shakily and held his colleague’s good hand in his.

“Don’t fret. Dante’s gonna get you patched up in no time, buddy.”

An agonizing whine came out of Hong Lu’s remains. He breathed slow and slower, his conscience beginning to fade away. The wounds must’ve been pretty recent, considering the blood that pooled around him was fresh. He must’ve resisted for far longer than he should’ve. Hong Lu seemed to be delicate, with his rich boy mannerisms, but he was far stronger than he looked. It would still take a while for him to die like that. Gregor could only think about the many times he’d died before, and how slower deaths were always the worst for him.

Hong Lu groaned and squeezed his hand, and he had to swallow dry. He let go of Hong Lu’s hand and raised his palm to gently pet the sinner’s dark hair.

“It’s— It’s going to be alright. I found you, okay? We’re going back to the bus. Don’t worry.”

Gregor let his palm fall to his colleague’s shoulder, squeezed it comfortingly, then gritted his teeth and in a swift move, let his bladed arm sink into Hong Lu’s chest. The sinner’s body jerked in surprise, and his good hand flew up to squeeze Gregor’s wrist for a few seconds, before it lost its grip and fell back to the ground. Gregor breathed in and out, slowly and shakily. Once he recognized Hong Lu was properly dead, he pulled his bladed arm out of the wound. Blood gushed out and Hong Lu’s body deflated like a plush that lost its filling.

It hurt, but Gregor knew he had to die regardless for the rewind to work properly. He stood up and squeezed his eyes shut, breathing in through his nose and breathing out of his mouth. He managed to somewhat calm himself down, but not enough. If only he hadn’t smoked all his cigarettes earlier…

There was no use crying about that now. He swung Hong Lu’s body over one shoulder, grabbed the halberd off the ground and made his way back to the bus. He was somewhat worried he’d have trouble finding his way back, considering he ran around without really knowing which direction he was going. Still, the bigger of his concerns now rested its weight on his shoulder, so he knew he’d had to find the way back.

Gregor gritted his teeth and put his entire focus on it.

Later that night they'd finally reached the checkpoint, albeit many hours later than planned. Of course Vergilius had given an earful to both Hong Lu and Dante, and while the Executive Manager seemed to be almost sulking, Hong Lu was simply quieter than usual. Gregor was honestly just glad he was alive in the end.

"Thanks for not giving up on me." Hong Lu jumpscared Gregor by entering his room right behind him.

"Wha— ah!?"

"That was kind of you. Dying that slow was really not fun!"

"Uh... uhm... I don't think any kind of death is fun but... you're welcome?"

Hong Lu smiled brightly at him.

"Just don't run off like that ever again, okay?"

Hong Lu nodded. "Okay! Do you want to come over and have me wash your hair?"

Normally Gregor would've said no. He felt sort of bad that Hong Lu was wasting expensive products on him but... He'd feel a little off if he didn't spend a few more hours around his fellow sinner. It was true that Hong Lu hadn't been lost after all, but his mind was still digesting the frightful experience.

"Okay, I'll accept, but only this once."

"Yay!" Hong Lu caught him by the sleeve of his shirt and without asking twice, dragged him to his room in the corridor.

It was a little silly, but Gregor was really relieved this airheaded idiot was still alive. He let himself be dragged around with a little smile on his lips.

[maligns]

reading faust again. mephisto my stupid bitch. my love.

“pathos from me would make you laugh” -- fucking iconic, at least he knows that he’s utterly heartless. self aware king.

literally meph’s sire is like why do you always come here to complain... do you have no friends -_- (not verbatim obv, but the sentiment is 100% there)

“death is no interest for me. i’m like a cat, you see. its no fun once the mouse is dead” mephisto -handshake- sebastian michaelis re: their love for cats. it is official.

[thenightling]

Herbs and spices for protection

Okay. Due to the negative reaction Disney's new Haunted Mansion movie is getting for depicting the use of burning white sage to try to drive away evil spirits, I am going list some other herbs and spices used for warding away evil.

I am aware that using sage isn't a strictly indigenous practice when it comes to driving away negativity and evil spirits but there is a complex history of the last seventy years of illegally over-harvesting white sage because of its use in Neo-Pagan, Druid, Wiccan, and West African, and Haitian cleansing rituals. And there have been shortages of white sage among people who consider it a sacred plant.

So in the spirit of responsibility here are other herbs and spices used for warding away evil.

1. Salt.

An old superstition goes that if you spill salt, you are welcoming evil spirits or demons. This is because in many European traditions salt is a protection ward against evil so to spill it is to disregard its power and protection. To counter spilling it, and to gain some good luck against the forces of evil, you sprinkle a little of the salt over your left shoulder (the sinister side) to drive away demons and evil spirits.

In late nineteenth century occultism it was common practice to use a circle of salt to defuse curses and negative energy. A circle of salt was believed to protect against dark magick and evil spirits.

in Disney's Hocus Pocus the evil Witches' magick could not pass through the circle of salt that surrounded Alison to protect her from their magick. In Hocus Pocus 2 The evil Witches could be trapped within a circle of salt until someone broke the circle.

Salt was also used in Haitian tradition to ward away and cure zombism. Zombies in Haitian lore were not reanimated corpses out to eat your brains. They were the victims of a curse which was often attributed to blow fish poisoning that made the victim appear to be dead but they were actually temporarily paralyzed. The victim was revived and enslaved by the shaman.

According to Haitian folk beliefs a fistful of salt shoved into a zombie's mouth could cure him and free him from the dark power. 2. Cinnamon.

Cinnamon is supposed to be very lucky and is often used in Neo Pagan and Wiccan cleansing rituals. It's scent can counteract brimstone (Sulfur) so it is supposed to be able to counter the forces of evil. Cinnamon is believed to be able to ward off negativity and invite good luck. It is used in cleansing rituals to drive away evil. (It's also very good for your health in moderate amounts.) When ingested cinnamon also is supposed to ease discomfort during menstruation. And its scent is supposed to have a calming effect.

3. Garlic.

This is one everyone seems to know from the movies. According to Eastern European tradition, garlic wards away vampires. The reason for this might stem from the fact that garlic can actually help with blood ailments and even help rebuild blood after a bout of blood loss and anemia. Many Eastern European and Italian dishes contain garlic.

4. Roses.

Roses (particularly wild roses) are supposed to be able to ward off vampires. This comes up in the novel Dracula, the 90s Dracula: The series, and in the 1988 film Fright Night: Part 2. It's also hinted at (but not very well) in the 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula. Wild roses, when placed on a vampire's grave, are supposed to be able to prevent a vampire from being able to rise. It is supposed to be as effective as garlic as a weapon against vampires.

Rose petals also were able to burn Mephistopheles in Goethe's Faust part 2. So roses are sometimes believed to protect against demons and demonic power. The angels that came to collect Faust, and save him from Mephisto, were armed with roses and it worked.

Roses are sacred to the Virgin Mary according to some Catholic folk traditions. They represent femininity and maternal protection.

5. Certain woods:

Hawthorne, Yew, Holly, white birch, oak, Cedar, and Mistletoe, are the preferred wood types for staking vampires. Certain types of wood, like Hawthorne and Holly, are supposed to be sacred and can ward off evil. Mistletoe is toxic and can harm certain entities in Norse lore.

6. Wolfsbane

Wolfsbane, also known as aconite, or Monks Hood, is supposed to work to ward off vampires and werewolves. Warning: This is a very toxic plant to ANYTHING that ingests it. Do not handle if you have open sores or cuts an do not try to grow it if you have pets or small children. There is no antidote for wolfsbane poisoning. I do not recommend using it.

7. Lamb's blood

I do not actually recommend this one but I thought I should mention it since the next thing on the list is the semi-modern substitute for it. Note: All use of blood in magick, even for protection, can be dangerous. This one isn't actually a herb or spice but I felt it was worth mentioning. Lamb's blood is supposed to be able to ward against demons or fallen angels if applied to doors or drawn in a protective circle around someone. This does NOT mean you should kill a lamb to obtain the blood. You can easily get lamb myoglobin (the "blood" in muscle tissue) from grocery store lambchops. In magical practices there is no difference between myoglobin and blood. This is another one I don't really recommend. It comes from old Hebrew beliefs.

Lamb's blood worked to keep out Azrael, the Angel of Death, in the Passover story, and it was used in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman by Thessaly to protect Lyta Hall by drawing a circle of lamb's blood around her. This also came up in the Canadian TV series Forever Knight. Some lore states that blood from a black lamb is especially powerful.

8. Sacramental wine.

Blessed wine has the same effect in warding as lamb's blood and it's much more humane and vegetarian. Both blessed wine and lamb's blood have been used in exorcisms to drive away demons but over the last few centuries sacramental wine is preferred. This has come up in Forever Knight.

9. Holy water or blessed water.

Many Christian denominations and Wiccans use blessed water for healing and protection. Sprinkled in doorways and windows it is believed to be able to help keep out evil. It helps with cleansing and healing.

10. Moly AKA the Snowdrop flower.

In Greek lore this herb can protect you against magick and even weaken magical beings.

11. Angelica (plant). Burning the leaves of an Angelica plant is supposed to lift curses and the root of the Angelica plant can be used to ward off evil. You see Angelica leaves used to lift a curse in Hocus Pocus 2 to free the good teen witches from the evil witch, Winifred Sanderson's trap.

12. Vervain (Also known as Verbena).

This herb is supposed to be able to protect against the hypnotic powers of vampires and promote good luck and relaxation. It is used in The Vampire Diaries.

13. White chalk.

White chalk is supposed to be able to protect against evil (and sometimes works against ants too). lines of white chalk in doorways and window sills or drawn in a circle around someone you mean to protect are supposed to keep you safe from evil. You see this in the 90s film adaptation of A little Princess.

14. Frankincense. This was always considered to be lucky but it was deemed sacred in a lot of Christian folk beliefs after it became associated with the gifts from the magi to Jesus.

15. Myrrh. Same as above.

16. Rowan. Rowan is supposed to be very powerful in protection charms.

Anne Rice named her Mayfair witch protagonist after the plant.

In Wiccan beliefs, a five pointed star (Pentacle) made of Rowan twigs, and secured (tied) at its points with red thread or red ribbon is supposed to protect against all harm, negativity, black magick, and evil forces. It is a very positive protection charm. It is a Scottish folk belief that black magick cannot be used against someone who has Rowan somewhere in their home.

17. Apples. Apples are considered very lucky in Norse and Greek lore.

18. Chamomile.

Chamomile is supposed to relax muscles, reduce inflammation and promote positivity.

19. Peppermint.

All mint is supposed to promote positivity and soothe. Peppermint, in particular, is supposed to help with digestive ailments. It is very good as a tea.

20. Pumpkin or Turnips. A turnip or pumpkin carved into a traditional jack-o-lantern, and lit, is supposed to ward off wandering spirits at night. This stems from the Irish folktale of Stingy Jack. Turnips were originally used in the earliest Irish Jack-o-lanterns but it was discovered that pumpkins were easier to carve and supposedly just as effective as the turnip. Today Pumpkins are more commonly used, particularly in the USA. The original Jack-o-lanterns were not just for Halloween night. Keeping a Jack-o-lantern lit all Halloween night is supposed to be very lucky. It's bad luck and invites spirits into your home to blow out a jack-o-lantern before midnight. It is a powerful protection ward against spirits and supernatural threats. A lit white candle is also supposed to help purify against negative energy and evil spirits. Fire is an ancient multi-cultural weapon against evil spirits. In many ancient beliefs fire would drive away evil entities or weaken malicious spirits.

21. Palo Santo Palo Santo, when burnt, is supposed to drive away evil. It is also believed to amplify positive emotions and courage. This is a common belief in Ecuador. 22. Clover. A shamrock and especially four leaf clover are protective symbols and are supposed to offer good luck according to Irish tradition.

23. Mugwort. Mugwort has multiple uses in old magical practices. When burnt it is supposed to banish evil spirits. And similar to Poppy flowers, mugwort is supposed to be sacred in its use in dream based magical practices. 24. Poppy plant. The poppy plant has a dubious reputation for some of its uses but the flower is sacred to Morpheus, the lord of dreams, in Neo Greco-Roman Paganism. In Eastern European folklore poppy seeds (a pile of them on the floor) is supposed to serve as a distraction to keep a vampire from feeding on you as you sleep. Grain, Mustard seeds, or rice can also be used in the same way. A rope with many knots in it can also distract vampires because traditionally they have traits we would today call OCD and the vampire would feel compelled to unravel the knots. 25. Paprika. Not very common but apparently in at least one story it works against vampires. 26. Dried chilies. According to this superstition, supposedly if you suspect someone has cast a hex or The Evil eye on you, if you touch that person with three dried chilies and then burn the chilies and there is no pungent odor, it means the person cursed you. 27. Cayenne Pepper Scattering Cayenne Pepper around a home is supposed to break evil spells. This is a common practice in New Orleans. 28. Honorable mentions: Juniper, Rosemary, Bay leaves, Thyme, St. John's wort, Rue, Hyssop, and Lavender. Rule of thumb, if it has a nice fragrance that's often some culture somewhere that believes it will protect against evil. Also if something can keep away ants it usually is believed to be able to keep away evil.

[cleoenfaserum]

FAUST (1926)

Faust – A German Folktale (German: Faust – Eine deutsche Volkssage) is a 1926 silent fantasy film, directed by F. W. Murnau.  Faust has been praised for its special effects and is regarded as an example of German Expressionist film. Faust (1926 film) - Wikipedia

Faust was Murnau's last German film, and directly afterward he moved to the United States under contract to William Fox to direct Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927); when the film premiered in the Ufa-Palast am Zoo in Berlin, Murnau was already shooting in Hollywood.  F. W. Murnau - Wikipedia

Starring Gösta Ekman as Faust, Emil Jannings as Mephisto, Camilla Horn as Gretchen/Marguerite, Frida Richard as her mother, Wilhelm Dieterle as her brother, and Yvette Guilbert as Marthe Schwerdtlein, her aunt.

“Behold! The portals of darkness are open, and the shadows of the dead hunt over the Earth. . .” Faust: Eine deutsche Volkssage | 1926 | dir. F.W. Murnau tumbler weirdlookindog Mar 11

Murnau's film draws on older traditions of the legendary tale of Faust as well as on Goethe's classic 1808 version. Ufa, the producer, wanted Ludwig Berger to direct Faust, as Murnau was engaged with Variety; Murnau pressured the producer and, backed by Jannings, eventually persuaded Erich Pommer to let him direct the film.

Watch the film below

link https://youtu.be/fM0DG-Brzns

Renoir’s adaptation captures the haunting beauty and cruelty of Andersen’s tale: a poor girl in rags sells matches in the snow, unseen and ignored by passersby. As the cold overwhelms her, she lights match after match to warm herself, and in each flicker sees visions of warmth, love, and joy — visions that stand in stark contrast to the brutal indifference of the real world. She freezes to death, smiling, as her final vision carries her into a peaceful afterlife.

This film reminds me so much of the following film ...

This short masterpiece is the version of the Little Match Seller I like most. link https://youtu.be/mfy4xSYCMBs

Another version 1914 (link https://youtu.be/B0vpI6XIHDk)

I asked AI GPT the following questions:

1. Can you tell me why the 1926 film Faust is all about and why the cruelty with the virgin at heart Gretchen and why would God allow such cruelty?

2. In your conclusion to the previous question, I formulated the following: "For such a conclusion as yours, you would have to be a christian and a believer. For atheist and other faiths who do not share this religious outlook, how would you word your conclusion?

3. Why is this harsh, tragic pitiless portrayal so much a part of their story telling.

Gretchen, young Faust and Mephisto

LISTEN (and read along) AI GPT AMAZING REPLIES

The Little Match Seller is a 1902  British  short silent drama film, directed by  James Williamson, retelling the classic 1845 Hans Christian Andersen fable of the sad life and tragic death of a little match seller

The frozen child in the Little Match Seller The Little Match Seller - Wikipedia

[wordwizards]

dude faust is crazy so far faust asked mephistopheles to help him get with this lady and mephisto is like "ok fine...i'll figure something out" so then he comes back later and says "i told her neighbor that her husband is dead, and you're another witness who will come by tomorrow to corroborate my story. so just tell her that her husband is definitely dead and then we can use that as an excuse to meet with your crush since she lives right next door" and i guess that's just how you met people back then because faust is like "sounds good"

[undyinglantern]

[vremyanoi]

homeport replied to your post: take poca with you to beat mephisto take poca with...

She’ll have to get past Faust first.

Poca vc: He’s the next heaviest target. It’s ok. This time, I’ll protect them. 

[franzliszt-official]

Good afternoon/evening Mr Liszt :) I was listening to Symphonie fantastique and I was wondering if Totentanz was inspired by it?

Good morning my dear pupil.

I suppose listening to the Songe d'une nuit de sabbat sparked this doubt. Although our very strong friendship certainly has had some effect on the both of us - "Hamlet" he used to call me, Hector a fervent atheist with the strongest mystical experiences I have ever encountered - I'd suppose the clearest bond between our musical choices would be his idea to include the Hungarian march in La damnation de Faust, with all that the Ràkòczi March meant for me and all Hungarians abroad.

In the Symphonie Fantastique he included the gregorian canon for the Dies irae, which outdates us all by many centuries and has always been a stable for all students of music. Such a coincidence is incidental. The Dies irae has been the basis for my "Dance of the Dead", Totentanz, as a self-explaining motive, and for some other compositions of mine such as one of the Mephisto-Walzer. The Totentanz, though its name nevertheless would suggest the such, has not been inspired by a chorea macabæorum, but by the medieval fresco called Triumph of Death located in the Monumental Cemetery in the Square of Miracles in Pisa. Its subject is the topos of three bodies found in the woods, that of a peasant, of a noble and a clergyman, all equal in death, and the struggle between forces of Good and Evil to capture the souls of the dead and condemn them either to Eternal Death or to be saved.

I enclose pictorial representation and video re-enactment from 17:50 onward