#foiled a demonic plan yet again!

[wordslikesilver]

More Elden ring mental illness has gripped me, messmer and Miquella are meant to be foils. Miquella’s plan is proven flawed by nothing more than the kindness of Messmer. Messmer is a living demon of a man, he is meant to be a boogeyman that’s never spoken of, think of him like Morgott. But he’s so unrelentingly kind. He’s so kind and soft hearted that he can’t even give less than a hero’s burial to beloved friends that turned on him. He asked his men to point all their hatred at him alone, he’ll bear their scorn, their curses, their grievances. He’ll be their Angr Mainyu. Yet they followed him in droves for a war that would bear no honour, no grace, no glory. They followed him so willingly and loyally they’d give up the honour of their houses, their bloodlines, to be at his side, that’s how much he meant to them. No matter how hard he tried, Messmer’s darkness would never be enough to make people turn away from him and see him as less than the good, worthy man that he is.

Oh GOD DAMN IT, ITS GUTS AND GRIFFITH AGAIN.

Anyways, my point is, miquella’s plan fails to account for the nuance of love and kindness that Messmer shows others and then earns loyalty from them by accident simply by listening to his heart. Miquella is trying to carve off all his nuance and humanity to be pure unfiltered warmth and kindness to all and compel the masses towards peace through that manipulation but Trina says that’s a fate worse than death for him. Compare with Messmer. He hates the darkness inside of himself. He hates his flame. The abyssal serpent is LITERALLY the beast of darkness from Berserk. His phase transition is basically activating his berserker armour. Yet the complexity of who he was and the warmth that shone through the masks he wore inspired, rather than compelled and the results of that difference are clear. His men literally would march to hell forever at his side for him.

[milk-ly]

Kotoko and her connection to Dante’s Inferno’s Satan

Disclaimer: This is just about symbolism and I know how it sounds but I promise I’m not trying to imply anything or demonize her! I love Kotoko! Ive just been repeatedly noticing details about the parallel for several months now and I just really want to bring it up! This is just an analysis of the details MILGRAM has provided for it. I’m incredibly sorry if I make a mistake!

Kotoko has a lot of parallels to Dante’s Inferno Satan, especially in relation to Es.

To make sure we’re all on the same page, Dante’s Inferno is a Christian poem that outlines the 9 circles of hell. MILGRAM directly references Dante’s Inferno by quoting it in all the t2 door arts.

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter.” A quote derived from a sign at the gate of hell in the poem.

Each ring of Hell contains sinners with different levels of sins, and each ring’s sin was meant to be worse the further inside you go. Ive seen a couple theories that each prisoner correlates with a specific ring of hell. (Ex: Haruka is ring 1, Limbo; Yuno is ring 2, lust; etc)

But Dante’s Inferno only outlines 9 rings, what about our 10th prisoner, Kotoko?

While it could be that she’s again the “outsider” to the other prisoners, the last section of the 9th ring of Hell is significant because it is the center of Hell, containing Satan. So it could be reasonably argued that Kotoko correlates with it.

MILGRAM already has a TON of religious references. One that I’ve seen pointed out is how it seems the cover art of each novel is a reference to a famous Christian art piece.

The Es in each novel seems to be where Jesus relatively is. Remember that Jesus is both the son of God AND God. God gives sinners their judgements which sounds very similar to Es and how they're giving the prisoners (the human sinners) their verdicts.

Plus, the quote Milgram quotes is on the doors the prisoners are entering, and in Dante’s inferno, it’s on the gate of hell so you can compare or theorize that MILGRAM is a parallel to (or straight up is) purgatory. And Es, being the one who decides the verdict, parallels God.

Also, her t2 VD is named “YONAH,” which is the masculine version of the name Jonah. Not only does this relate to her themes of masculinity again, Jonah is a name that originates from Hebrew origins which means “dove.”

It is also a reference to the book of Jonah. A main theme of this book is “Jonah wants God to operate on his timeline [...] He wanted God to dole out punishment on his clock instead of according to God's plan. Yet God showed Jonah that in his infinite wisdom, he can't and will not be rushed.” Which is pretty much exactly what happens in YONAH, and also once again compares Es to God.

Dante’s Inferno’s Satan was an angel, a splendid being, apparently the most perfect of God's creatures… an “Angel of light.” We/Es deemed Kotoko innocent in t1. She had the highest innocent percentage in t1 too because a lot of people thought her murder was justified. You know, the most perfect of God’s creatures. The most perfect out of the prisoners.

“We really can work together.”

But then Satan tried to usurp God.

“If you don’t have the strength on your own, let me take care of it. Es! I can do it in MILGRAM!”

Kotoko wants to be the prison guard because Es isn’t capable in her eyes.

Satan was ultimately sent to Hell and punished as "the ultimate sinner" for his betrayal of trying to usurp God.

We are now punishing Kotoko for her attempts to judge the prisoners herself and “usurp” Es. It works even better now that she has the highest guilty percentage in all of MILGRAM so far as the “ultimate sinner.”

As a lot know, Fuuta also has tons of religious references too. (Ex. His VD is titled Baptism by Fire) By him also passing judgements onto people, you could say that he was trying to play God.

What is that saying about us, the audience, then? And our parallel/foil to Fuuta/Kotoko?

Dante’s Inferno as a whole is very much based around the idea of “evil will be punished,” which not only encapsulates Kotoko’s ideals but MILGRAM’s as well. It makes sense that MILGRAM says that Kotoko is a perfect parallel to the facility.

(I also wanna mention that there's something that could be said about the holy trinity in relation to Es + the audience + jackalope. For example, how Jesus is God in the flesh and Es is the audience "in the flesh," by acting as a personified version of us to interact with the "human sinnners" but I feel like I might be going into tinfoil hat territory.)

[imminent-danger-came]

Eldritch Abomination MK Theory

OKAY. @the-punning-ubus

I just want to say reading these tags are SO validating, because I have my little "MK was an eldritch abomination thing pre-hatching from stone" theory and seeing someone else come to pretty much the same conclusion feels good.

I've been meaning to write a proper theory post on this for a while, so now is as good of a time as any!

Obviously we have Wukong's "Not just anyone can wield my staff, but you did" from A Hero is Born and "The staff's just a big 'ol stick bud! It takes someone special to wield it" from 3x03, but there's also something in 1x09 Macaque:

Macaque: "Your staff kinda gives you away dude, not just anyone can wield that thing."

-

Macaque: "Ohohoh no, can't you hold the magic staff anymore? Well, you know what that means—there really isn't anything special about you. You're just a kid with a heavy stick."

-

-

The sweet irony of "There really isn't anything special about you. You're just a kid with a heavy stick!" followed immediately by MK lifting the staff again is not lost on me.

So, from s1 it was pretty obvious that Wukong didn't "give" MK any form of power, but we knew that already with MK being a monkey demon and all. I just think it's particularly intriguing that all of this was laid out in the same episode where MK proclaims "I am the weapon!". In all honestly, he probably was/is.

One of the main questions coming out of s4 is "why was MK created?"—Monkey King's stone was used to form another, but for what purpose? To what end? What reason was MK at the center of all these stories?

Well, here's my current theory:

MK was something in a past life, and that something needed to be contained—and so, to put a stop to past life eldritch abomination MK, he was then sealed away in the stone.

I think this scene in particular raises some alarm bells:

The stone cracks open, bursts with light, and then it closes—like something was put inside it. The scene could of course just be an aesthetic choice, or chosen to be this way for another reason we don't know yet, but it just feels so deliberate. A ball of light appearing from the stone, then another ball of light in the mystery woman's hands being revealed to hold a monkey, and then the stone reforming around the ball of light. I just can't help but feel there's something there.

Next I want to discuss the two key things that make me feel this theory has merit:

1.) MK has made a habit of breaking out of things he shouldn't be able to (the calabash in 1x05, the trigram furnace in 2x00, the scroll in 4x07, Destiny itself in 3x14) and the stone would be no exception.

2.) Every antagonist in this show has been sealed away in some form, then being released to resume their plans from before being sealed. Here's a list:

DBK was sealed under the mountain, and after being released continued his plan of world domination.

Spider Queen was metaphorically trapped in her fallen empire, and after being given the chance to rule the above world once again, immediately takes it.

The Lady Bone Demon was imprisoned in her tomb, and after being released prematurely (before learning the error of her ways), she continued her plan to destroy the world and create a new one.

Azure Lion was imprisoned in the scroll, and upon being released (by an unknown 3rd party), immediately worked to free his friends and then end the Jade Emperor's reign.

Now, I love foils, so MK breaking out of the stone he was sealed in, yet coming out an actually changed being unlike everyone else in this show, would be DELICIOUS:

Lady Bone Demon: ”No backup and no weapon? So, you’re plan is to fist fight a child?” Sun Wukong: “We both know that’s not what you are.”

(3x11 This Imperfect World)

-

Lady Bone Demon: "STOP! Have you forgotten? Destroy me and you destroy the host! Have you become so desperate to end me that you would sacrifice this blameless innocent child?" Sun Wukong: "You're giving me no choice! All the time you spent locked away, and you haven't changed a bit! I'm going to finish you, like I should have done a long time ago! I told you—you should have stayed buried."

(3x11 This Imperfect World)

-

Subodhi: "I have not brought you to your master. Although this is the stone from which Sun Wukong once sprung, it appears overtime, it was used to form another. A simple creature, with no past, no family, and no name. There is a reason you were at the center of these stories—a reason you can harness the power of the Monkey King himself!"

(4x06 Show Me the Monster)

-

(If you want extra fodder for this, please see this parallels post :3)

So, if MK were to hatch out of the stone—where *he* was sealed away—and he actually came out of it a "blameless innocent child" with "no past, no family, and no name", it would work exceedingly well. Wukong's not above giving people second chances, but if you use that second chance to try and destroy the world, you force his hand.

(Side note: it could also be the case that the stone was used to "reset" whatever MK was in his past life, and Wukong was originally meant to destroy whatever came out of the stone—which could be the reason he stayed at Flower Fruit Mountain for hundreds of years. However, when an child came out, a new being without a past or the memories of what it was before—Wukong choose to let it go. He choose to let it live a normal life—or even ensuring it could live a normal life—and it then found it's way to Pigsy. This definitely gets into real crack theory territory, but I did want to bring it up.)

Now, none of this is even mentioning the suspiciously MK shaped figure in the mural from 3x13:

Now, the figure in this mural is only shown when MK is also on screen, which is framing that drives me insane. Perhaps this is when they first caught MK's past life, then finally able to subdue him and seal him in the stone.

And so, if MK really was this terrible chaos driven abomination in his past life, what does that mean ✨thematically✨?

Well,

Sun Wukong: “Point is, mistakes happen, but so long as you leave the world in better shape than you found it, then it’s all good. Right?”

(4x01 Familiar Tales)

-

SWK: “ENOUGH! I’ve never let anyone dictate my destiny in the past, and I’m not about to start now. None of us are! We can’t change who we were yesterday or in a past life, or a hundred life times ago! We live with the choices we’ve made, for what matter is the choices we make RIGHT NOW! Only we decide who we are and what we do with the power we have.”

(4x07 Pitiful Creatures)

-

MK can't change who he was in a past life. He can't change that the roads all lead to pain. But you know what he can do? He can try. He can try and get a little bit better every day. He can try and help people. He can try and make the world better than he found it.

Maybe in a past life, MK caused just as must chaos and destruction as Wukong did in his past. Maybe he caused even more problems then he has as the Monkie Kid. But that also doesn't undo the good he's doing now.

Anyways, that's my "MK was an eldritch abomination thing pre-hatching from stone" theory. Hope you enjoyed

[theeminentlyimpractical]

ALRIGHT I HAVE SOME CROWLEY THOUGHTS that are LONG and UNHINGED buckle up kids //// MILD SPOILERS(?)

Essentially - knowing Crowley's angelic rank recontextualizes a lot of the first season. Hat tip to @moonyinpisces for inspiring this madness with their Pre-Fall Thoughts.

BLUF/shitpost TL;DR:

God machinated the not-pocalypse, including manipulating both our idiot angels (this is canon, fight me)

Crowley Fell out of necessity in The Plan, knows that as a higher ranking Angel and both resents God and still believes in Her Plan

When foiling the Antichrist initially fails, my man has a crisis of Faith, thinks God has abandoned him yet AGAIN, and is like WELP FREE WILL IS ON THE TABLE NOW BABYYYYY 

LET’S RUN AWAY ANGEL NO ONE IS WATCHING THIS IS MY ACTUAL SELF HELLO NICE TO MEET YOU

Aziraphale, having been a heavenly plebe*, still believes in the hierarchy of Heaven and blah blah blah

Crowley, still a Believer at heart, makes one last plea to the Almighty OR HE WILL RUN AWAY SO HELP HERSELF

My Guy is successfully manipulated by God into staying and also rescuing Book Girl’s Book

Great Plan fails successfully 

Oh. OH.

They survive thanks to another divine intervention.

Crowley muses on the ACTUAL Big One, which like, my dude, how do you KNOW?  👀

Aziraphale is entirely unaware of this whole process and is fully on team Free Will and is all “our bookshop” this and “our car” that; meanwhile

Crowley is now a full time existentialist and part time Sad Keanu because if his entire existence is predetermined, why do anything, including love?

*this also makes it super fucking funny that Aziraphale insists on standards. Crowley is quiet luxury. Aziraphale is nouveau riche.

ACTUAL META WITH CANON CITATIONS (yes the above is the short version):

I’ve always assumed that Crowley falling was part of The Ineffable Plan, similar to how it was necessary for Aziraphale to give away his sword. God accepts Aziraphale’s babbling excuses, and 6,000 years later the sword shows up in the hands of War. When he returns to Heaven, he is reprimanded only for losing his body - the sword has ineffably disappeared from Heaven’s requisition roles. He HAD give it away in order for it - and him - to play their respective parts in The Great Plan.

And that was thwarted only by Aziraphale and Crowley collaborating for the good of humanity, and (selfishly) for themselves, rather than angels and demons. For it to work, there needed to be an agent of the Ineffable Plan on each side.

We now know Crowley was fairly high ranking in heaven. Would he have had insight on the Plan, or some part of it? Or merely assumed, truly believed, as he still seems to, that they would all play a part? We also know he is somehow wrong about how the hierarchy of Heaven works - what if his error was in assuming his role in the Plan meant maintaining his status as an Angel? [EDIT GIVEN NEW INFO: seems plausible he went to God and asked for a stay of execution on the Earth, and he got it, whether knowingly or not.] And instead God sends him away to fulfill his role in Hell, when that comes to pass. It could be why he’s not too concerned with the day to day of demoning - it will all work out as intended, in the End.

Does he know, suspect, or just truly still believe that they were meant to thwart the Apocalypse, which is why he is so confident in their cockamamie scheme? And when that apparently fails, he feels betrayed by God again, because the Plan he felt entrusted with seems to have been scrapped. He rages: 

“For the record, great pustulant mangled bollocks to the Great Blasted Plan!”

That may be why he’s so ready to run off with Aziraphale in that moment. If the Plan is off, then he can finally make his own choices, and he chooses Aziraphale and freedom. Aziraphale doesn’t choose him back, and Crowley moves to run away anyway, with one final plea to God to not let this come to pass, a Psalm 22 of his own.

Crowley is the only demon we see who still seems distraught over his Fall, rather than out for vengeance. He resents God for damning him, but often seems to believe in Her ineffable game.  He still addresses his final pleas directly to the Almighty -

“God, you listening? Okay, I know you’re testing them, you said you were going to be testing them. You shouldn’t test them to destruction. Not to the end of the world.”

Only he never leaves, because of a fire started by a gust of wind and the sheet music for Her favorite musical. 

And then they do thwart it, and survive, thanks to Agnes’ note fluttering inexplicably right into Aziraphale’s hand. So many little details demonstrate divine intervention. 

So now what’s the Plan? Crowley was ready to run away when the Plan was off, but now? He muses on the nature of The Big One before they dine at the Ritz. He says it lightly, but how does he have this insight?

What, exactly, is their role in the Second Coming? Because, it appears, they do have one.

Aziraphale seems blissfully unaware of the divine intervention in successfully averting the Apocalypse. He is now All In on Their Side, finally feeling free. Crowley, on the other hand, seems painfully aware. My man had the full free will he finally grasped in that bandstand burned away in a bookshop fire. 

Do I think he necessarily knows their exact role in this? No. And they still have free will in the small things, naturally. But I wonder if we will see Crowley resigned to his (and Aziraphale’s) fate being predetermined, a foregone conclusion. So why do anything, including love, if in the end, nothing really matters. 

[dino-fart]

I’m so happy to have won the chance to request a fic! Thank you! What about one where the reader has telepathy and maybe some siren-y powers and so he recruits her to help him with making sure Talokan stays secret/protecting it? And he’s like into her? Haha

Oooo me likey!!!

Warnings: Mention of past abuse by family

It was quite an arrangement you made with their king, you would steer anyone away from Talokan while he kept you safe from your kin. You weren’t like any sirens, you had telepathy and in the waters you were a siren with a white shimmering tail. But when you got to the shore, your tail changed into legs. Over time you had learned to control when this happened as well as stopping from over using your telepathic abilities. But it didn’t matter since you were born you were an outcast to your people. 

When Namor told you his story, you couldn’t help but feel...Jealous. His people embraced his differences and raised him to be a god and a king. But you...You were a demon, you were the runt, the disgraced siren. You had escaped your tribe a long time ago and simply wandered the sea which led you to meet Namor. 

You now sat on the rock in the middle of the ocean, combing your wet hair with your fingers. You had just finished leading a ship away from the border of Talokan. Tears formed in your eyes when you recalled how your mother tried to ‘force’ the evil out of you by methods of torment. You hugged your legs to your chest, that was covered with a white seashell armor top, and sighed sadly. You heard someone from behind you and your telepathic abilities alerted you that this was a visit from the king. “Good evening, your highness.” You said not turning around. 

“How have the borders been?” Namor asked, studying you. 

“All clear...Go back to your people.” You said coldly, not wanting to let him see you vulnerable. 

Namor didn’t answer, instead, he swam around to face you and what he saw hurt him. He saw the tears falling down your cheeks and your posture. “Ma'alobech? (Are you alright)” He said and climbed up on the rock and sat next to you. 

“Yes.” You lied and looked away from him. 

He nodded, deciding not to pry yet. He pulled out a few shells and showed them to you. “Tell me more about these shells.” 

You wiped your tears and looked over at them, “They’re just regular shells, your grace.” 

“On the contrary...These shells are the ones that are used in your armor, which makes them special.” Namor slowly raised his hand and stroked your cheek. You met his gaze finally and he leaned in to kiss your forehead gently. 

Know that you can confide in me, I will do whatever I can to keep you safe and happy. You read Namor’s mind. 

Why? I am not a Talokan. 

No...But you have been helping us and that means the world to me. 

Like you need any help, your grace. I’ve seen how you and your people fight. 

True, but it’s nice to have a...Quieter approach. 

Or maybe this was a scheme to hear me sing? You grinned. 

Looks like my plans have been foiled... Namor grinned. 

You closed your eyes when you felt both his hands cup your face. 

“Talokan is forever in your debt...I am in forever in your debt.” He whispered softly and leaned in to press his lips against yours. 

You let out a content sigh and kissed him back. Namor finally parted his lips from yours and stroked your wet hair back. “You will always belong here in Talokan, here with me.” Namor leaned in to kiss you again. 

For the first time in your life, you felt loved...

Dividers By: @firefly-graphics

[hisui555]

Hazbin Hotel thoughts : Foils 8

Masterpost here

Now @phoenixlionme had another very interesting idea, so again, credit to them for this post about Vaggie VS Velvette. Without transition, let's jump to it.

While they're unconnected and haven't interacted together outside of fanart, both have, indeed, quite the number of common points : they're both the most sane one (well, at least for what was shown up to now) of their group, keeping their focus on their task while Charlie goes singing in the streets without warning and the Hotel residents have their antics, or the "Voys" as Velvette calls them get themselves tangled in their respective fixations and are too busy shooting themselves in the foot. Both are also the respective "backbone" of their group - Velvette outright calls herself as such, and she's not really wrong : while Vox is the face and front, also occasional brains and providing the medium, Val the muscle and providing the content, Velvette provides the notoriety and influence, making sure they are known and in a positive light. She's also the second half of the brains, and the spine.

Vaggie on her side is Charlie's most stable support (and the only one before Lucifer or even Alastor arrived, and Alastor's support comes with strings attached), and the Hotel's manager. She's also the hidden ace in the hole (contrary to Alastor's most obvious one, in all senses of the term regarding him - pun unintended) as the Hotel's protector and secretely Fallen angel, making her also the "spine" of the Hotel and keeping Charlie on track : without her, Charlie's project would have crumbled. Unlike Velvette, though, she's perfectly happy with staying in the shadows, but still at Charlie's side, and is seen along with her instead of in a separate setting : she shares a room with Charlie, while Velvette has her own floor she works on. Vaggie's activities correlate with Charlie's, but she's still her own individual, while Velvette is individualistic enough, but belongs to the Vees group and is counted as one of three Overlords.

They both have short patience (and a short-ish fuse) with their coworkers, being both the ones with their heads on their shoulders : Velvette has to call Vox up when Valentino loses it and starts butchering her employees, and is very much signalling that she's not dealing with that bullshit. Vaggie has to put up with the Hotel's residents, who, bar Husk (and even then, his lethargic alcoholism counts), also are quite the wacky bunch. Funnily enough, Ep 3 both focuses on Vaggie's attempts at manning the trust exercise, and Velvette's entrance at the Overlord meeting, putting them kind of back-to-back. While Velvette has beef with Carmilla, it mirrors both her and Vaggie's way of doing things : they both push people to their limits, drilling them on to a desired result with an imposing personality to match, but on complete opposite ways - Vaggie goes drill sergeant with the goal to build up trust and have people behave themselves into taking things seriously to both help Charlie and the residents of the Hotel, Velvette corners Carmilla to rip information out of her and try to divide to conquer, brazenly boasting a plan and insulting everyone in the room while she's at it.

Vaggie pushes people to do their best to unite them, Velvette tries to drive them apart with her tactics to take advantage. They both prove successful in their respective field : Vaggie's exercise ends up working, bringing the Hotel's residents together and sparking genuine friendship between them (bar Alastor, but he didn't participated anyway), Velvette's tactic gets her valuable information (the fact that Carmilla, a demon, killed the angel, proving demons can uprise against them) - contrasting to Charlie's methods failing (as seen with her breaking down in Ep 5) and Val and Vox immediately getting their own plans canned due to their impulsiveness. Both of them aren't the leaders of their groups (who are Charlie and Vox) yet prove to be the most competent when in charge.

Amusingly, as Phoenixlionme also pointed out, they are the shortest (bar Niffty for Vaggie), and the "youngest arrival in Hell" of their group, potentially : Vaggie was in Hell for 3 years while the others where there for at least 50 years or so (Alastor died in 1933, Angel in 1947, Niffty in the 50s, Husk in the 70s), Velvette is the youngest of the Vees and the most recent Overlord (Vox died in the 50s, Val in the 70s, and while Velvette's date of death is unknown, given her focus on social media, it can't be before the 90s or new 2000's at the very least). Angel has parallels to Valentino and Alastor to Vox, both enemies/rivals of them, Velvette has them with Vaggie on top of having beef with Carmilla, who they end up both connected to : Vaggie wins Carmilla's respect and ends up being mentored by her, approaching her with a genuine ask for help, and understanding Carmilla's motives of wanting to protect her loved ones - a point that connects both (see Out For Love). Velvette's rudeness leads her to be very insolent towards Carmilla in a calculated ploy to rile her up and get info out of it (ironically, also as Phoenixlionme said, Velvette found the dead Exorcist's head, Vaggie is an ex-Exorcist - which Carmilla immediately pointed out, and has no animosity towards Vaggie at all), arrogantly trying to prove herself superior to Carmilla.

A fact that also slipped under my nose but that Phoenixlionme rightfully brought to light is that Vaggie, as the manager, manned the Instagram account (before they were archived) for the Hotel, and in Ep 1 tries to make a commercial for it, while Velvette is obviously connected to social media (funny point : I don't think we've seen Vaggie's phone yet...? Unless I missed something) as its namesake Overlord. They also both opposite trends in fashion : Vaggie keeps it simple, and has changed the least from her pilot appearance, while Velvette has changed the most, and, as a fashionista, is seen with a different outfit and hairstyle each time she appears. They also treat people differently : Vaggie ends up condeeding points and warming up to everyone, accepting them as they are (most glaring example : Sir Pentious and the Egg Bois) as long as it's not dangerous, Velvette is - everyone together now - respectless.

I agree with Phoenixlionme that the Vees will be major antagonists for the Hotel later, plus the Exorcists, but while Angel has to get closure about Valentino and Alastor might get set up against Vox, it is fairly possible that Lute will be actually Charlie's enemy, replacing Adam, (and if Lilith is an antagonist, she'll probably be Lucifer's) while Velvette could potentially be Vaggie's : they both are the hypercompetent friend of their respective groups, the ones with their head on their shoulders keeping the leash on the others so that the chaos doesn't unravel in even worse chaos - the stable pillar at the side of the leader(s) providing vital support. Although, Velvette has her own thing and industry field while Vaggie follows Charlie's idea, but with her own, personal way of doing them : being firm and stern when needed, where Charlie is the gentle guiding hand.

Can't wait for Season 2, honestly. Again, kudos to Phoenixlionme for the request, I'm really glad you submitted it - hadn't thought about that one !

See y'all for the potential next.

Again, Masterpost here.

[stxriesfromasharchive]

Headcanons / Verses

The Four Horsemen

150 years have passed since the death of The Destroyer (end of Darksiders 1), the great demon lord that terrorized the disastrous wasteland that was Earth after the premature triggering of the apocalypse, thought to have been begun by the Horsemen War - in truth, the Seventh of the Seals that bound the pact between Heaven, Hell, and Earth had been shattered by a Maker called Ulthane in conspiracy with the archangels Azrael and Abaddon in an attempt to give Heaven the upper hand in their ever lasting war with Hell. The demons, however, were prepared for the ploy and stormed the Earth before the Seventh Seal could be shattered, thus foiling Abaddon's plan and defeating the archangel. Abaddon would later fall from grace and become the terror known as The Destroyer.

The Charred Council knew of this but realized that the Horsemen (who would be summoned once all seven seals were broken to spark the end war and calling the lords of paradise and dregs of purgatory to the earthly plane so that the three Kingdoms can fight for the fate of creation) would not enact justice because of the lack of proof. Thus they conspired to send War and let him take the blame, that he would pursue the guilty out of revenge.

Now, 150 years later, the Council has since fallen silent - retreating from the domain they occupied that was destroyed in the final battle between the sin Envy and Fury (end of Darksiders 3). With the final remnants of Hell's armies slain, the surviving angels cast out from Heaven doing their part in repairing the damage done to Earth, the Horsemen themselves have agreed that the council must pay for their transgressions, but not just yet. In due time, they will be punished - but for now, The Horsemen have decided to lay dormant, awaiting for the day they are needed once more.

And what better way to spend their time than by mingling with the new generation of humans on Earth. Under the guise of humans themselves, the Horsemen live out these days standing guard, diligently watching for any malignant sign of the darker forces that may plague Eden once again - all the while, if they have to admit, indulging themselves along the way.

Each Horsemen has taken a human disguise and have sealed their true powers away in pieces of jewelry that they wear in their mortal form at all times - easily accessible to break whenever the time comes for them to unleash their full potential. - Death's conduit is a ring with an oval shaped onyx gemstone. - Strife wears a single silver earring that holds a blue tourmaline gemstone. - Fury's bracelet is her conduit with a fire opal gemstone. - and War has an amulet with a purple topaz embedded into it.

[everfcre]

original characters: mini bios.

sawyer. mystery girl found in a cemetery. amnesiac hunted by angel assassins. befriends two hunters and an angel on a mission to find her missing memories. discovers herself to be the one true vessel of the archangel thiel. is tricked by thiel into giving up her body and saved by the two hunters discovered to be her family by blood. uses her second chance to try and redeem her actions as thiel’s vessel. is put to the test when she comes face to face with thiel again, putting her on the path to undercover the events leading up to her resurrection as a baby and determine her future.

thiel. archangel. first daughter of heaven. branded as a lucifer sympathiser during the war in heaven. tortured by michael fanatics before escaping to earth. uses a witch to bring her vessel to life before betraying her. spends the next 22 years watching her vessel grow up from afar before tricking her into giving up her body under false promises. takes her revenge on heaven using her one true vessel only to be foiled by the girl’s family who are able to rescue her. makes plans to recover her vessel to finish what she started after recovering from her initial defeat.

nathaniel. son of an angel, abdiel, and a human mother, hannah. parents are killed by heaven and steal nathaniel to brainwash him into becoming a soldier for heaven, wiping his memories of his family. joins the brotherhood of assassins and carries outs hits on heavens most wanted for years. finally disobeys his superiors when he is tasked to assassinate a pregnant mother to ensure the death of her yet unborn child. is brainwashed back into compliance and forced to kill the now grown child. is later cast out from heaven during the fall from metatron’s spell and tries to live a life on earth posing as human. is given the chance to right the wrongs of his life and discovers heavens involvement in his old life.

matthew. 1970’s born. unfortunate son. lost his mother young. boarding school graduate. rejects his fathers plans for him to be a lawyer and runs away from home to become an activist during the vietnam war. forced into conscription and dies in battle. wakes up the guinea pig of a mad scientist who makes him a vampire with genetically enhanced blood. breaks out an returns to america to wander the country alone.

kate. psychology student turned into a vampire by her psychotic ex boyfriend. kills him and runs away to france, effectively faking her own death. returns to the us to set up an office providing mental health care for victims of trauma.

max. son to a witch and a spirit walker. estranged from his mother after walking out on her family. raised by his father and maternal grandfather. taught in both magic and spirit walking. blind in one eye. goes on a mission to bring his mother home when hearing of her whereabouts and in possession of a black grimoire.

tessa. prodigy witch. lost her mother too young. raised by her father. learns magic from a young age and helps her father run a witch’s apothecary. marries a spirit walker and has a son. becomes restless in her domestic life and is tempted by an archangel to leave her family to possess an ancient grimoire, in return for hiring her as a personal witch. takes the deal and blinds her son to ensure her never returning home.

rowland. former best selling author now living in obscurity. known for writing stories of the supernatural. his works actually based on real encounters with hunters and monsters. retired from writing after his hunter friends had been killed by a demon. now lives in a secluded mansion in a small town. drinks to numb the grief and avoid life in general as he waits for the demon to find him too.

anna. insta famous witch. thousands of followers torn between her being an actual witch or just a girl who likes the aesthetic. quite literally a real witch. not very responsible with her practices. vain and niave. has a heart of gold and will actually do the right thing when it’s serious.

the alternate timeline.

johnny. resident of the year 2050. tech genuis and all-round good natured nerd. gets on the wrong side of a medical tech company during an internship. becomes a fugitive hunted by the british men of letters. accidentally gets sent back in time by his sister to the wrong timeline. befriends his mother from an alternate timeline to help get him home.

kit. hunter operating in new york city. takes on occasional bar work to support his living. resides in a flat with his older sibling, johnny. becomes a victim of brainwashing by the british men of letters after johnny steals technology from them to prevent them from using it against others. a brainwashed kit then follows johnny to an alternate timeline to bring him back to the men of letters and recover their stolen technology. regains his identity and memory with the help of his alternate family and works to bring down the men of letters.

jovi. rookie witch in a family hunters. the youngest of three siblings. strained relationship with her mother. takes on temp singing jobs to support her at college. becomes a fugitive when her family is targeted by the british men of letters and goes on the run

mira. head of the british men of letters. raised since birth to lead the organisation, taking over from her mother and father. leads a technology based approach to the organisation. sets up a medical tech company as a front for the men of letters and uses government funding to develop weapons. has several influential organisations under her thumb, including the police, the white house and congress. develops brainwashing technology later stolen by one of its contributors and sends their best brainwashed soldier to bring him back dead or alive and recover the stolen technology.

greenchurch.

joel. small town cop. single dad. divorced. pillar of the community turned nervous wreck after experiencing a dear death incident. things get weird when he finds himself healing from wounds and even death. opens a case into his own suspicious death to solve the mystery of his sudden regenerative abilities.

cacey. enthusiast of the paranormal, extraterrestrial and supernatural. gets in trouble a lot for sneaking into graveyards and abandoned buildings. daughter to a single mom. befriends a talking cat and begins to uncover the secrets of her small town and it’s spooky history.

rudi. son of a former rockstar. rebel with a heart. musician head over heels for his drummer girlfriend,ash. accused of her murder after they both go missing in the woods and only one of them comes back. labelled the town junkie. ptsd from his kidnapping in the woods by a monster and losing ash. single dad to their infant son, todd.

leo. art student. record shop worker. girl next door. daughter of the town judge. ex-girlfriend of a hunter. supporting her best friend raising their son as a single dad.

olivia. daughter to joel long and charlotte ellis. little sister to riley long. four year old cutie pie looking out for her dad. dealing with the aftermath of her parents divorce. becomes concerned for her dad when he starts exhibiting strange behaviour and tries to investigate. helps keeps her dad’s secret as an immortal man.

clara. small town girl made local pariah after she accuses the star quarterback of sa’ing her. unapologetically badass. works at a diner to pay the bills since her dad left and get out of town one day. momma died young.

miles. photography student hiding a big secret. werewolf by birth family heritage. adoptive parents none the wiser. just trying to be a normal twenty-something.

carin. small town mayor. appears normal but secretly trying to keep the recent bout of supernatural activity in greenchurch under wraps. aware of the town’s heritage but not truly a believer. trying to keep the investigations of a local cop at bay.

monique. journalism student. shares a small flat with her best friend, clara. working on graduating when she becomes interested in the town’s local history when strange things start to happen, inspiring her to investigate as her first real story.

ash. drummer in a band. girlfriend to rudi and mother to todd. is abducted by a monster in the woods one night with her boyfriend who survives while she does not. remains a ghost in the woods where she died.

the alden sisters.

alba. head of the remaining alden family. eldest of the four sisters. leads the journey to greenchurch escaping the salem witch trials to establish the small town as a safe haven for all supernatural creatures. becomes the “mother of greenchurch”. head of the town’s legal system. married a local man. condemns her youngest sister to be sealed in a tomb forever after she defies the balance of life through forbidden magic. joins the pact with her sisters to seal themselves in the town to be its protectors.

astra. second eldest sister of the clan. expertise lies in celestial magic, charting the courses of the moons and stars and using these to channel her powers. resides in the town’s astronomy tower converted to double as her home. falls in love and marries a vampire. helps her sisters to magically seal their youngest away in a tomb when she goes too far with necromancy magic. seals herself in an imoveable statue in the church graveyard to keep guard annora’s tomb.

alena. second youngest of the sisters. hopeful and optimistic but sadly sometimes proved wrong. expertise lies in potion making and healing remedies. marries a local human woman. helps her older sisters to seal away their youngest sister as punishment for messing with the balance of life by way of dark magic. turns herself into a cat to forever watch of greenchurch and its residents, and keep an eye on annora’s tomb.

annora. youngest of the alden sisters. forever homesick after being displaced following escaping the salem witch trials. finds it hard to fit in amongst the other towns people and so throws her efforts into her magic wanting to become the best. meets a charismatic necromancer who encourages her to advance her gifts into dark magic. begins to practice necromancy as taught by her new lover and steps further into forbidden magic that goes against the laws of balance. meets a wounded archangel, thiel, who convinces her to use her magic to bring back to life the archangel’s one true vessel to ensure her survival. travels with thiel to 1983 to recover her vessel, pushing her abilities to bring back the unborn baby girl from her mothers grave. is sent back to her own time by thiel and into the lap of her sisters who punish her for her crimes by sealing her forever in a tomb where she can never upset the balance of nature again.

the big three.

adam. first man. former resident of the garden of eden. cast out by god after the defiance of his first and second wives. punished to live out his days on earth raising his two sons, cain and abel alone. after losing his sons, adam is put to work by god to fashion weapons for heaven in eternal servitude for his family’s crimes. adam lives in a secluded cabin in the woods where he appears to be nothing more than a woods man.

lilith. first woman. resident in the garden of eden and wife to adam until she is unable to bear children and is cast out by god as punishment. lilith channels her grief into creating magic and the black grimoire. lilith later meets lucifer and is conceived by him to use her magic to poison the tree of knowledge, causing eve to be unable to bear human children and be cast out by god. lilith realises her mistake and joins with eve on earth to create supernatural beings such as vampires, sirens, incubi and succubi as their children.

eve. second woman and second wife to adam. is tricked by lucifer to eat from the poisoned tree of knowledge and becomes unable to bear human children, instead siring the leviathans. eve is cast out to earth where she meets lilith, the two joining forces to make supernatural creatures together in open defiance of god.

[maguro13-2]

Darkness Reborn ~ Origins of the Ink Demon Final Chapter Pt. 21

Duo : *panting*

(Biolizard vanishes into nothingness)

Duo : I won!

Xigbar : Heh! Guess the Biolizard's useless. Alright, you win!

Duo : Give me Lain, now! Release her!

Xigbar : Nuh-uh-uh! You will give me the heart, first.

Duo : Grrr!

Lain : Do as he tells you as what he says!

Duo ....

Lain : ....

Duo : ...Alright, you earn your keep! Here, catch! [throws heart capsule to Xigbar]

Xigbar : What do you know? You finally earned your keep. You can have her back! Guess I won't be needing her as hostage anymore. [pushes Lain to Duo]

Lain : Oh, Duo. Thank you, sweetheart! I knew you could do it!

Duo : Welcome back, genius.

Xemnas : What a remarkable display. I must be amazed that was a truly and yet valiant effort that your courage has go beyond one's darkness and the other.

Duo : So, you must be the leader of Organization XIII, Xemnas.

[Organization XIII - Yoko Shimomura]

Xemnas : You have discovered that the light itself can stop the Ohkuboverse unveiling itself as a complete facade to Shadow Realm. That man named Ohkubo is truly a genius for his lies and makes the person Shinra, a master of deceit. You hardly understand that Deathscythe is the name of your machine. A machine that has a heart and the evil forces from this Soul World are a diversion related to darkness itself.

Duo : So you knew about the Ohkuboverse being a complete facade?

Xemnas : Yes. Demon Vibe was responsible for the evil forces, humanity's despair caused by the evangelist was actually from the man that fears all humans, Sephiroth. the gift of Humanity's despair was the key to open the hearts to darkness, but then the light of hope has retaliated Demon Vibe's plan for galactic conquest and his creation, the evangelist, tried to destroy the devil's world for itself as it was part of a plan for genocide. But then was stopped and defeated by the family of devils, the Kusakabe. Demon Vibe's plan of galactic conquest was foiled by the Kusakabe and has renewed his plan by creating a diversion to his new world that are the forces of evil itself.

Duo : You mean, Demon Vibe had this planned from the beginning, just to make Shinra a fool to become a hero!? But after he created the world of Soul Eater, the Time Eater and destroyed half of the Ohkuoboverse, incluiding Shinra and his beloved Iris. Unfortunately, that both him and Iris's fate our reincarnation into these cute and cuddlesome creatures from a Sega title. (shows photos of the Angel Chao and Devil Chao) That's what the Time Eater was after, it was going after to Demon Vibe and put an end to Shadow Realm, but then it fled back after Shinra's man-made son Death was created.

Lain : So Demon Vibe was the one that set up everything. Galactic Conquest was his dream of becoming ruler, no it's something else. He wants to conquer both The Real World and the rest of the Universe, his dream was not only conquer the galaxy, but to rule the universe as well, making him the "true" ruler of the cosmos!

*RUMBLING+PERFECT CHAOS*

Lain : (gasped in shock) It's that sound again! Something's vibrating the earth.

Duo : Yeah! I know where the sound coming from! It's not the Biolizard nor Black Doom's transformation. It's something else.

Xemnas : Perhaps that you are referring one's heart that is filled with anger and sadness, and combine it into the ultimate and deadly force that craves death and destruction. The Shattered Meister.

Lain : Shattered Meister. It's a name for a warrior that is so powerful, but yet deadly that it could bring the death and destruction over the planet. It's causing the planet to vibrate. One's vibes has combine and it becomes the ultimate power! Someone's using it's anger and sadness as a deadly force to destroy anyone who goes near it.

Duo : So, this Shattered Meister that Inca named it, was only trying to get rid of the bad things that happens to anyone. Just my luck of how the bad things would come to be. Well, whatever it is, if this Shattered Meister would be pretty bad of destroying the human race, Sushi, ramen or noodles, hamburgers, and everything else is gonna be history, just like what Professor K said. I wonder who the shattered Meister was?

Lain : Who could it be?

Xemnas : You will find out sooner or later. The answers will be revealed. (the two teleports away)

Xigbar : See ya, Suckers!

"Back in the year 1990s..."

Bully #1 : Hey, let's go pick on her and take her stuff!

Kid Moirai : Hey! Cut it out!

Bully #2 : Hey, I pulling your sister's hair!

Young Maka : Yamete! Yamete!

Young Makoto (as a kid) : Hey, you leave her alone! Pick on someone your own size!

Young Moirai : Yeah, you bullies!

Bully #1 : What else there is, kid!?

Bully #2 : We're just only messing with her!

Bully #3 : Yeah, it's not like that nothing is ever going to bad happened to her!

Kid Maka : Ore wa....(yelling in rage) YAMETE KUDASAI!!!

*DBZ SFX : POWERING UP!*

[Criticial Moment of Contra - Akira Yamaoka]

Kid Moirai : AAAHH! That power!

*RUMBLING+PERFECT CHAOS ROAR*

Young Makoto : It can't be!

Young Moirai : You there, Kid with the masked! Makoto was it!?

Young Makoto : That's me! I heard everything from your father. Your sister is one of the warriors that has the power to bring destruction and destroys people's hearts and not just their souls! Moirai, listen to me! What if your sister and others could unleash Shattered Resonance and could easily destroy the world? If that happens, we'll all be history! There is a way that will might help your sister lower it's power! We need a vibe that will calm her down!

Young Moirai : Okay! (uses the vibe of Calmness) Alright, sister. This is going to wear you down!

Young Maka : Too late!

Young Moirai : Here goes!

Young Maka : YAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!

*DBZ SFX : ENERGY EXPLOSION*

"later in the present..."

[Unrest - Hidenori Shoji]

Homura Akemi : So that's it. That's the end of the event known as the Shattering, a girl has a power system called Shattered Resonance and it's power triggered her by going into the combination of Anger and sadness called Frustration. This event that is caused an explosive shockwave of energy that devastated 80% of Japan's population. That event happened about around 12 years ago. This led the Real Maka Albarn to be taken away by the Death God of Mobius, Grim. securing her in a room at the reaper's palace full of pumpkin ghosts and robotic defenses, known as the Hang Castle, confirmed to be created by World's greatest genius "Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik.

*various scenes flashing back*

Homura Akemi : So wait a sec. I'm really curious about the whole Soul World situation, despite the name Soul Eater coming from a weapon in PSO, it does believe that Soul World is just another scheme from Zorc, or probably that this Demon Vibe entity basically form the of Cosmic Horror. Hey, wait a sec, I am right! Dark Fantasy is Cosmic Horror, cause the name Dark Fantasy isn't Dark Fantasy at all, it's Lovecraftian Horror! Yeah, I get it! Lovecraft Horror is a genre about science and monster horror that was originated from the named H.P Lovecraft, the man who is responsible for the term Dark Fantasy that was coined in the United States of America, this explains everything to Berserk. Maybe...(holds a case containing the Chaos Emeralds) If I could use the emeralds' power to re-arranged the events of 2011, all of this non-canon stuff in the script will might be canonized! I gotta give these to Sonic, right away.

Homura (?) : Going somewhere, Homura?

Homura Akemi : Wha...? Who's there!? An assassin, some kind of law enforcement? (the person steps into the light is none other than, apparently, another Homura)

Homura (?) : Look what the cat dragged in.

Homura Akemi : You there! You kinda look alike me! But way edgier! Who are you exactly? *heartbeat echoing* AAAH! (Holds head in pain) Oh no, Now I know who you are. You're the responsible for giving me life!

*flashing images showing the Time Eater*

[Dark Samus Appears - Kenji Yamamoto, Minako Hamano]

Homura Akemi : Time Eater!

Time Eater (as Homura Akemi) : (chuckles) Congratulations, half ling, you finall remembered the day that you were born, the one who gave you life...is none other than Drawcia and me. I suggest that we do things my way, whether history can be changed or not. Yes, it is confirmed that It was that I destroyed half of the Ohkuboverse, only 50% of it that it was merely a facade to the Shadow Realm. It was a splendid to exerminate Shinra's people or sending them into the real world into one's timeline. But I never that Shinra Kusakabe was Soul World's creator, the one that killed was turned into a worthless Devil Chao. He lived life the fullest after he lost his original body.

Homura Akemi : You! You're the one who turned Shinra into a Chao! You're the one who destroyed half of Soul Eater's universe! So what did you do to his beloved Iris? Is she dead the whole time or what?

Time Eater (as Homura Akemi) : She may have killed by me, but she has brought herself back to life in one of these timelines to Real World AU. You too if you will re-arranged the events. With all seven emeralds and seven time stones, we will make the story of this script canonized or be de-canonize.

Homura : Oh really? If I re-arrange the events of this timeline, will Shinra and his people might come back humans or is this will be Shinra's fate as a worthless lifeform forever?

Time Eater : You have a good question. That will be the choices of your actions on what depending you wanna do for yourself!

Homura Akemi : Okay...You thought of it as a deal, but we can settle this human to alien, or definitely space entity.

Time Eater : Heheheheh! You'll have plenty of time to fix the events and re-arranged them for the canonized ones. It'll be super fun for you to re-arranged them. With those Chaos Emeralds and the Time Stones, you'll reach maximum power to unlock it's full potential. Think fast! You'll be happy to meet with the one that you'll ever love. Each time passes and then crosses into a loophole, it will repeat, rewind, and replay it again and again and again.

Homura Akemi : Hmph. Alright, I'll fix everything what I started. But remember, if you do anything funny to real world AU, you'll be wiped out of an existence and might never come back. I will save everything and fix the events that are happening right now.

Time Eater : Very well, then. Have a pleasant day for you, Homura Akemi. [teleports away]

Homura Akemi : So, Shinra's beloved Iris is alive...how did she managed to bring herself back to life? Was it Resurrection or Reincarnation? It's quite obvious that a girl from 1000 years in the Ohkuboverse was killed by the hands of the Time Eater. But why on earth if she's alive again?

"5 Years ago..."

Sister Iris : Shinra-Kun...I've come back to see you again.

*Heartbeat echoing*

Sister Iris : Shinra-Kun, I promise that I ever get to lay eyes on you.

*heartbeat echoing*

Sister Iris : I never had my heart torn to pieces. I fixed it for you.

Shinra : Sister....!

*GLITCHING*

Shinra : Sister...!

[suspense music plays]

Sister Iris : Shinra-Kun. Please, Shinra-kun!

Shinra : No sister! No sister! (voices of Iris is heard) Please, Iris! Stop!

Sister Iris : Shinra-Kun...Aishiteru yo.

*GLITCHING+ZAPPING*

Shinra : [yelling in pain] WHAT'S HAPPENING TO MEEEEEEEEE!?

"Shinra's beloved Iris...has returned."

"Waiting to reunite to rekindle her heart."

"So now it's time for us to usher in to this bright era of ours."

"Rest your head, it's time for bed."

Inky : [laughing evilly]

~ 101th Scene : Lover of the Devil ~

[termytheantisocialbutterfly]

Have not yet confirmed for myself but have been told that in the season finale it is revealed that the mysterious person that knows all about the big bad group of monsters is in fact Dean. Again not confirmed but purportedly Jensen Ackles hated the ending so much he bought the rights to the series and made the og writers self insert God evil and the new big bad is his backup plan in case he was killed and plot foiled. Anyway the finale reveals that the prequel is in fact a sequel and Déan used the magic ghost of his car to escape heaven and go to the past of the alternate universe containing God's backup plan to foil it. God I hope this is true.

Even if it's not true, I'm choosing to not only believe it is true but also to believe that Jensen Ackles is exactly that petty because that is messy and terrible but the added drama makes it hilarious and honestly perfect.

Also self-insert God was always evil and this show could have never been a true prequel because it already ran on the non-canon premise that Sam and Dean's parents went demon hunting together. Not that they ever cared much about canon to begin with but Jesus that was really a monster of a plothole.

[clarasghosts]

I'm only a third through this episode, but the bouchard girls are my heroes.

[scarlett-vixen]

hey kat congrats on your milestone!! im a proud contributor 😌 can i please request fluff J with mammon? have fun w it!!

Thank you!! It took me longer to post these than I wanted but oh well.

Prompt: J- Jealous

Pairing: Mammon x reader

Genre: Fluff

The light shining through your window was a soft pink, a notebook laid open on your desk, a jacket was thrown across the back of your couch, and there sprawled out on your bed was a very grumpy demon. You had been invited to Purgatory Hall to spend the day with the Angels, without hesitation you had accepted, now six hours later he was impatiently awaiting your return.

Mammon huffed and rolled over on his stomach, face buried in your pillow, he hated waiting on you to get back. What was so great about the Angels anyway? They weren’t nearly as fun to hang out with as him yet you always said yes when they invited you over. He was tired of them cutting into his time with you, so this time he was going to give you a piece of his mind about it when you got back, maybe you’d stop leaving him behind so much if he explained why he was the better choice to hang out with.

“You know this is my room right?” You had walked in while Mammon was busy pouting, he jumped at your voice and sat up instantly, he ignored your question and started asking his own.

“Where ya been? How long did ya plan on making me wait huh? Ya know yer the only the only human that makes The Great Mammon wait? You should be honored that I did!” His brows furrowed, he was doing his best to look tough, you saw through his little act and could tell he was overjoyed you had returned, so you decided to mess with him.

“Do I sense jealousy? From THE Mammon??”

“WHA—ME? JEALOUS? What do ya think I’d be jealous of huh?” He tried to look stern but his bright red cheeks gave him away.

“I dunno, maybe the fact that I spent the day with a couple of Angels and not you?” His blush deepened and he quickly turned away from you. “You know you’re the Avatar of Greed right? Not Envy? Or did you and Levi swap while I was gone, I mean it was a whole six hours, who knows what changed in that massive amount of time!” You teased.

“It was a long time!” Mammon protested. “I had to sit here bored outta my mind while you were off bakin’ cookies with ‘em Angels again!” He was full on pouting at this point, his plan to scold you was foiled now that you had seen through his act so quickly.

“Well Mr. Know it All, that’s where you’re wrong! We didn’t bake anything! Instead, I was teaching them how to make friendship bracelets!” You stuck your tongue out playfully, it had been a while since you had seen him sulk this hard over sharing your time, but you knew he couldn’t stay mad at you for long.

“Ya made what?”

“Friendship bracelets! It’s a thing in the human world where two friends, usually younger kids, will make a cute bracelet for the other to wear showing the bond of their friendship! Luke wanted me to teach him how to make one so I did!” You beamed, proud of your achievement.

Oh great, cool, that’s fun. I didn’t realize you and Luke were such good friends, I mean I was your first friend but it’s okay, guess he’s your new best friend now.” Mammon was still seated on your bed, arms crossed and face red from embarrassment, you couldn’t help but tease him.

“Actually, I did make a bracelet for you. I was going to give it to you but since we aren’t best friends anymore, I guess I’ll just have to throw it away, after I spent soooo long making it.” You clutched your chest dramatically. The second born rolled his eyes and tried not to look too excited, he put his hand out waiting for you to show him the gift. From your jacket pocket you pulled out a small bracelet, golden strings braided together with a little M in the middle of it, you placed it in his palm and watched him turn it over a few times.

“Ya know…I’m not really into this kind of cheesy human world stuff…” He slipped the bracelet onto his wrist, still entranced by the way it glittered in the light.

“I understand, I can take—“

“No! Get away!” Mammon pulled his wrist close to his chest and turned his body away, preventing you from touching the bracelet. “It’s mine! I ain’t takin’ it off! Ya made it for me, ya can’t just take it back!”

You started to laugh, all jealousy was now gone and in its place was genuine pride and excitement, he was so easy to win over. Maybe now he wouldn’t get so upset when you spent time with the others.

“Fine keep it, but if you never take it off,” you wrapped your arms around the greedy demon, hugging him tightly and pressing your cheek against his, you could feel the heat from his face. “Then I guess that means we’re friends forever! Do you forgive me for abandoning you?” You gave him your best puppy dog eyes.

“Yeah yeah, I forgive ya…long as you remember who yer BEST friend is when ya hang out with ‘em again.” Mammon settled into your hug, still messing with his new accessory.

“Of course, how could I forget?”

[imminent-danger-came]

i loved ur lmk fandomification rant, now i'm curious- who's your favorite (non-monkey!) lmk character (and any insights you want to share with the class? :eyes:)

Mei, Lady Bone Demon, and probably Azure!

But I could go on a long rant about any character in the show tbh, they're all my favorite character with the 3 I listed and MK being my "favorite favorites" (except maybe Jin and Yin, sorry guys. I do like their place as a sense of normalcy for MK, acting as the "monster of the week" antagonists in 4x01).

Little miss "I would watch my sword break 1000 times so long as I used it to protect the ones I care about" is my girly. Watched her best friend die in the A Hero is Born (AHIB) special and held onto that as a grudge all the way until 3x10. She just wants to see everyone make it out alive, but I doubt she's ready to pay the price required for that. No one in this show is. Mei watched Peng run away in 4x14 and wanted to kill that bird with her bear hands. She took everything Subodhi said to her in 4x09 so personally, like Subodhi probably knew she would, which allowed her to build off of MK's plan so they had a chance at succeeding. She's at her god damn limit. Her episodes (1x03, 3x02, & 4x05) are some of my favorites. She drives a motor cycle, she wears lipstick, she's a gamer, she wields a kick-ass sword, she's a dragon. In 3x12 she's willing to sacrifice Wukong for the sake of the world and more specifically MK. "Don't you realize you're hurting the people who care about you the most?" She's "fakin' it until she's makin' it". Literally what more could you ask for in a character.

Then you have LBD, who fights for a perfect world supposedly for mortal souls yet discards people the moment they no longer have a use to her. Ultimately I think she uses destiny as a crutch, as her way to cope with all of the suffering in the world. "I won't let you take my Destiny from me". You wonder how much it was about perfection and how much it was about her ability to change anything in the world she watched play the same tragedy over and over again. For the first 3 seasons she seems to be acting on destiny itself, she's the narrative our protagonists are running from. Then Embrace Your Destiny comes around, and you realize she was just as doomed by the narrative as anyone else. Doomed to a world of pain, unable to fix anything. The "to pain" scene is one of my favorite scenes, just in general. "Do you really still think the universe wants anything, from any of us?" "Don't you?" LBD and MK's foil is so fucking good. A delightful antagonist who they justify but don't victimize. Killed Spider Queen on screen. What more can I say.

Now Azure. Sweet Sweet Azure. The tragedy of Unckie Lion. Sincerely wanted to make the world a better place and was willing to sacrifice anything for it, just like LBD. I think about his scene with the Jade Emperor at least once a week. "How is it you come to stand before me today Azure, was there a point where you questioned it, or where you too oblivious in your own delusion to realize you were a mere piece in somebody else's game." Fucking insane. His abandonment issues are off the charts. He was gay for Wukong. He thought he could fix the world, and instead barely left it unbroken. He died with the power he couldn't use to change anything. He let himself become a pawn (continuing LMK's habit of manipulating royalty) thinking he could somehow avoid his fate. But the only way to win was to stop playing, and at every opportunity he had to stop he kept pushing. Moving forward. Just like LBD he was coping with the suffering of the world in his own way. It didn't work. Does it ever? Maybe MK will figure it out, maybe he'll leave the world better than he found it, but it's looking bleak. The 3 way foil between LBD, MK, and Azure haunts me.

And then maybe you realize every character in this show is just trying to cope with the world in their own way, and you stare at a wall for 3 hours about it.

Overall I think this image encapsulates it best:

[chaozsilhouette]

New Year, New Problems

They won. Spider Queen was defeated. Her mech in pieces. The people were cured of their unwanted transformations and blessed with free will once more. Even now he could hear civilians making up for lost time partying in between restoring the damaged parts of the city.

Everything was as it should be, yet the Monkey King still looked upon the city from his mountain with concern and fury.

I will rip the memory of you from this world.

He could not stop thinking about what she said. This had to be more than a simple revenge plot. It had to. She knew he could not die. He was protected by five different methods of immortality boosted by his insane natural powers. There had to be something he was not seeing. Something that could potentially destroy one’s connection to reality itself.

Okay, focus. When one cannot think of a potential path, go back to basics. What did he know about the Lady Bone Demon?

They first encountered the demon when they were passing through another dangerous mountain pass. She was notably powerful, enough that neither Zhu Bajie nor Sha Wujing could sense her true nature. Although he never put much faith in Zhu Bajie’s intuition. The fool was utterly useless when it came to a pretty face, no matter how suspicious. Leaving the Great Sage to soundly kick her ass three times before she got the message and supposedly died.

After the Journey was completed, he encountered her again, this time she had positioned herself as the chief advisor for a rising warmonger. She had been goading the ape demon into attacking temples and food supply carts. Overall, it was a sound plan, the region had been slowly withering as they were cut off from both food and the comfort of faith. He was able to kill the ape easy enough, but only after he left the army scattered and broken did he learn her true objective.

She had used the ape demon as an easy way to discern which of the humans truly possessed celestial blessings and holy connections from the rest. While the army feasted on soldiers and impure monks, she gorged herself on those who held true faith in their hearts. From a glance, he could tell her power had swelled immensely and the commotion allowed her to leave the failed conquest without a scratch.

He chased after her, foiling a multitude of her plans to gather more power by preying on the desperation and greed of weaker demons. Each time they met, she grew in power but also in cunning. The greatest change was in her increasing fixation on him. Slowly she had begun to visualize him as the source of all her problems, and to be fair she was not wrong, seeking a way to end his life when all others had failed.

Eventually, he was able to trap her in a casket and organized with the Celestial Realm to seal her deep within the earth in a sophisticated tomb covered in elaborate wards. He would have preferred to kill her, but he was rather pissed at all her manipulations, so he figured being trapped in a box with no light, no sound, no air, and no stimuli beyond her own mind was a fitting punishment. She was supposed to remain locked away for all eternity.

Clearly, that plan backfired.

However, he had no idea how she had been released from her tomb. He doubted anyone would be dumb enough to voluntarily free such a bitch, but in this world, one could never be certain about anything. Technically the skeleton key MK told him about could unlock the seals placed around her, but the artifact itself was far too weak to undo such a complex seal, much less one that was fueled by celestial energy.

He needed more information. Something about this demon was different than his standard opponent. She had a history, one she likely wanted no one to know about (okay technically that was true for most of his opponents, but that did not mean he actually cared). If he had any hope of ensuring MK’s survival and her permanent death, he needed to seek out the finer details.

A matter such as this required a quest. One that could take weeks if not months of careful research and interrogation, things he could not do if he was to remain teaching MK. He could leave a hair clone, but MK would see past the charade due to his growing experience and he doubted it would last long enough for him to complete his quest.

There really was no choice was there? He had to leave. He had to break his promise to trust and stand by his successor. He would gladly take the kid being angry with him so long as he did not have to deal with that mental case and be free to live a fulfilling life.

“Ma.” He called out is his senior marshal.

“Yes?” As expected, she appeared with barely a second passing.

“Gather the others, it seems I will be forced to go hunting.” He instructed not bothering to face her. He knew she would carry out his instructions swiftly, leaving him time to start planning his quest.

That left him starring at the carving of his master and brothers on the wall, depicting a time of such joy and freedom that felt as if it belonged to a past life. The serene expression of his master made him wish the monk was there to help him. He wished his family was still there. He wished for so many things.

It was funny, in a sad kind of way, how immortality quickly turned from a blessing to a curse when there was no one to share it with.

Hearing the footsteps of his Stalwart Generals, Wukong shoved those thoughts inside a chest deep inside his mind. Those thoughts had no place if he planned on taking action.

“Is this about the cold energy we sensed clinging to you after you returned?” Beng asked wanting to get the crux of the issue. They were never summoned as a group unless their king had something important to say.

It did not hurt that the Sun Court never followed traditional protocol. The Monkey King was far more forgiving and flexible than most forms of demonic authority. It made him easy to work with in the right situation, but unless one knew where to look it could be easy to misinterpret that he saw everything as a joke. Which was not true, he only saw half of existence as a joke that needed to be ruthlessly mocked the other half was to be dealt with passive-aggressive threats if provoked.

“Yes. It appears an old enemy has resurfaced, but unlike the Bull King, she is far more cautious in her approach. She never respected honorable combat, instead manipulating others to do her dirty work while she laughed in the shadows, just waiting to strike the final blow.” He still remembered their battle. Not once did she attempt a direct attack, instead favoring dirty tricks and sensory manipulation. When her blows did hit, he felt them but there was always a restriction to them as though she was ready to pull back at the slightest hint he would be able to intercept her. For an inexperienced fighter such as MK, who preferred the direct approach, she would be an absolute nightmare to fight.

“I will be leaving today to gather more information about her to ensure her inescapable death. I will tell MK I am off to visit old allies and you will monitor his progress when I regularly send lessons. Under no circumstances will you allow him to learn the true reason for my departure.” The King stated, making it clear his orders were meant to obeyed.

“Yeah, don’t you think it would be better if the kid knew why you were gone? I mean, surely he can respect your desire to protect him from that crazy bitch.” Liu commented

Releasing a heavy breath, the monkey king allowed his face to reflect his true exhaustion and worry. “No. I know him. He would want to help me. He would throw himself into the quest and it would only be a matter of time before his family followed him headfirst into unfathomable danger. None of them can know if they are to live.” He could not ask them to risk everything for a plan that had no guarantee of working. Plus, mortals tended to die on these types of quests unless a powerful individual was there to monitor them 24/7 and he could not do that if he planned to wrap this up before they welcomed another new year. “In this matter, ignorance is bliss.”

Sighing, the great sage steeled his gaze as he locked eyes with the most trusted members of his tribe. He adored and treasured them all, but it did not change the fact each one was a monkie with all the mischievous instincts that came with it. “Do you understand me?” Failure was not an option.

Seeing that their king could not be dissuaded, the four saluted and bowed to his wishes. “Yes.”

Liu could not help but add. “But not thrilled sire.” Which not even Ma attempted to criticize as not one of them could argue the emotion.

It did not matter either way as Wukong could not find it in him to come up with a proper comeback.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

“Monkey King Out!”

And with that, the king vanished, along with a good chunk of the cavern’s wall. The strangest sense of déjà vu washed over the onlookers, as though something horrible had been allowed to repeat itself. Something that did not need to happen, but would have terrible consequences due to their failure.

Growling, MK snarled at the empty skyline. “Fine! Just Leave! At least my friends will never abandon me!” He shouted, not bothering to hide the disappointment and betrayal he felt seeping into his soul.

Predictably there was no response. Only a crippling silence.

“Did any of you know about this?” MK asked, spinning around to face the generals who watched the entire exchange from the shadows.

“Not before today. But is this really surprising to you? Our King is hardly the most predictable of souls on a good day.” Beng said with a ridiculous amount of sass.

“But to just book out right after an invasion? Immediately after we swore to start this year off right?!” MK pointed out.

“Again, does this surprise you?” Liu followed, backing up his favorite brother.

“Augh…no.” Clutching his head in frustration, MK crossed his legs as he tried to make sense of it all. He was not ready. He’s still learning about all these abilities. He had not even managed to unlock the 72 transformations.

If Spider Queen returns, he’d be more likely to seize up instead of striking her down. The Bull family may be in hiding but it was only a matter of time before they would strike again more powerful than ever. Buddha forbid them from actually acting like a loving, supporting family or it will be all over for him. Yin and Jin seemed content acting like ill-thought-out tricksters, but there was no telling how long that would last or if their whole air of incompetence was part of a bigger trick. And there was no telling how many of the Monkey King’s old enemies will choose the start off the new year by attacking a student of the old trickster.

Ba walked over the sad lump of student and proceeded to gather him in her lap like the youngling he was. “There is no need to fret. We have full permission to aid in your instruction during his absence. You will not be alone.” She soothed as delicate claws passed through brown locks.

Mk unconsciously leaned into the grooming as his mind drifted into slightly less self-destructive territory.

“Perhaps you should return to your friends. Take some time to process all this. We can start tomorrow as we have no idea what that fool has planned for you.” Liu offered.

“Here are all our numbers. Feel free to contact us at any time.” Ma handed MK a piece of paper with four separate numbers written neatly under each of their names. “Mind you, we do not always have our phones on hand or check them every day, but we will get back to you. Eventually.”

“Wait, you all have phones?” Mk asked as he took the paper and began saving the numbers into his contact list. He chose not to comment on not receiving any way to contact the Monkey King. Either the monkie did not own a cell phone or if he wanted MK to call him he wanted to give him the number himself.

“Duh. Come on, what do you think this is, the dark ages?” Beng asked with a teasing grin. “You have raced the matchstick around the city on multiple occasions in transforming vehicles, why is it so weird for us to possess basic means of communication?”

“Plus, I know you and the little ones have binge-watched the first five seasons of the king’s animated series on his plasma screen,” Ma recalled, looking every bit the part of a disapproving mother.

“I regret nothing.” MK defiantly stated, followed by the faint sounds of monkeys laughing in the background.

Ba rolled her eyes at the support. Buddha knew the king had gotten half the tribe addicted to his series. The endless supply of peach chips did not hurt either.

Sleep Bug! Download it now from the Nav Store.

The tender moment was ruined by the reappearance of that insufferable add. Which was odd considering that MK threw his phone away and the generals had advanced, magically enhanced add blockers.

Groaning, MK separated from the tender embrace and stretched until he heard a satisfying pop. “I guess I’ll head back and complain to my friends. You guys take care.”

“That goes both ways, cub.” Ma reminded. If he did not take care of himself, they would know and would happily take steps to correct it.

They walked MK to the beach where he took out the staff to send him back towards the city, one leap at a time. While it was nowhere near as elegant as the nimbus cloud, the technique did look more entertaining.

“Do you really think it was wise to do that?” Ba asked.

“He needed proof that he was not alone, that we would not abandon him. Overall, one cannot deny it was a paltry peace offering.” Liu said. Sure, it was a way to go around the king, but at its core, the plan was designed to help the kid learn they could be trusted.

“Not complaining here, but do you think he would agree?” Beng asked. He did not deny that the cub needed a sign he was not left behind, but they always had to question whether the King would agree.

“If his highness has a problem with it, he can tell the kid to delete the numbers himself,” Ma stated. No matter what she would never feel regret for supporting a member of their tribe, especially one so young.

Sleep Bug! Download it now from the Nav Store.

“Okay, what is up with this stupid game?!” Ba yelled. This was the fifth time that stupid ad popped up within ten minutes.

“That’s it!” Liu shouted as he pulled his phone from his robes. He quickly opened the Nav Store’s app with the hope this nonsense would end. “Worthless, pain in my ass. At least it’s free.” He muttered as he began the download.

The screen turned a vibrant red as poorly formed boxes of green and purple glitched all over the screen in ill-timed succession.

His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he promptly fell face-first onto the ground.

“That boring huh?” The only response was a steady stream of snoring.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

Across the sea, the Demon Bull family had retreated to the residency of a trusted family member. As the winds howled, the royal family sat down for an enlightening and necessary conversation.

Macaque smoothly raised his tea to the deadly wind user. “It is so good to see you, honorable sister.”

The family matriarch followed the action with matching elegance. “You honor us with your hospitality, beloved brother.” Her expression dropped some of her normal stoicism in favor of relaxing alongside her adopted brother. “I apologize for appearing unannounced, but I believe you will find it was the proper course of action.”

“You would be right,” Macaque said before his eyes glowed with chaotic glee. Despite not being present, the Macaque King was fully aware of what transpired in Megalopolis during New Year’s, including DBK’s capture and Red Son’s hasty team up with the new pilgrims. “He still in the doghouse for getting caught by that weakling?” His comment drew all focus in the room towards the unquestionable slap burn on the Demon King’s face.

“Oh yes. Wishing to bridge the gap with our son is perfectly acceptable but being bested by that despicable harlot is unforgivable.” They had barely begun to reclaim the respect and fear they once held, they could allow nothing to interfere with their return to power. “He needs more time to recover as he well knows, he never should have been placed in such a position. Worst of all Red Son broke into the Celestial Realm.”

“I know. And he got out without facing an army of enraged deities? That’s quite impressive.” Macaque complimented the young sage as he flashed a proud smile in his direction.

Said youth sat a touch taller at the praise which did not go unnoticed.

“I agree, but you know it will have consequences.” Princess Iron Fan calmly stated belaying her frustration. The heir to the Iron Bull Court lowered his gaze at the unspoken disappointment. “You know that lot will never be satisfied until they erase any perceived slight against them and breaking in to steal prized artifacts is one of the most disrespectful acts he could have committed. I am still trying to figure out how he managed such a spell.” She could already hear whispers of greedy, ambitious fools trying to barter with her son for knowledge on the portal spell he crafted. This could be used to boost their status, but more likely would result in further retaliation from the Celestial Realm.

Laughing at how rightfully paranoid his sister was, Macaque savored his drink. “So, since your original plan blew up in your face, what’s next?” Naturally, they would return to their plans of conquest and domination, but that was in the long term. They needed to focus on themselves, to rebuild their kingdom, before they even thought of returning to ideas of large-scale war and revenge.

“We need more time to recuperate, and it is obvious we will not be able to do so in the Monkey King’s territory.” With that painful admittance out of the way, Iron Fan was able to focus on more pleasant aspects of their future.

DBK chose to chime in, seeing his beloved wife had reached her limit of submitting to the painful truth. He noticed that ever since he was released, she was constantly working to strangle any weakness into submission. Mind you she was always like that, but never to the point verging on madness. Now that he was willing to admit to his own failings, he could start to acknowledge hers. “After we complete our stay, we will be traversing to meet my brother Ruyi. We shall spend time training and regaining our power as a proper family.”

At that, Red Son masked his excited expression with his teacup.

Macaque blinked at his extended family’s words. To say he was shocked was an understatement. While it was obvious the family needed professional help, he never would have imagined his sister being willing to admit to her family’s poor state. For centuries, she refused to acknowledge any form of weakness out of fear that it would cost her everything she had left. Perhaps this was a sign that she was starting to open up again, that she truly wanted things to get better. Or that she realized simply hiding the problem with a sneer and a thin layer of power would only get her so far. Either way, he was proud of her.

“That actually sounds pretty healthy. I salute you for choosing to save your family. But what about the energy you said Red Son was analyzing? You never really explained what happened that day.”

The mood took a complete 180 as the family was consumed by memories of that dark day.

DBK talked about how he felt as though he had been walking through a freezing ocean. All around him he heard ghostly whispers in a female’s voice, it did not matter what she said only that it was all he could truly hear. The power that flooded his veins was intoxicating, he felt invincible. He abandoned proper technique in favor of animalistic strikes. When his body started to fail him, he did not even notice until he was lying helpless before his frightened family and the little thief.

The family’s matriarch noted from the instant her husband had sensed the energy, it was like he was transfixed by it. She practically had to pry him away from the unearthing process after Red Son confirmed its location. Only after they left the city to reconnect with their fellow members of royalty did he relax, yet his impatience increased tenfold when they returned. Iron Fan recalled how her husband had only grown more and more paranoid the longer he was bonded to that power. When he started attacking like some common animal, it was clear the one in the driver’s seat was not her husband.

Red Son brought up the scans he took, both before and after the power was released. While the energy appeared to be relatively consistent, its output would radically change in certain situations. In addition, he noticed that his microphones had picked up strange sounds centered around the energy. If he adjusted his instruments, he could make out a woman’s voice giving out orders. The more fervent the orders the more extreme the fluctuations. It was clear the energy was alive and sentient but that still left so many questions.

Macaque listened to each family member patiently. His expression never changed beyond calm interest. When everyone had said their part, Macaque stared directly at his precious sister with a sympathetic frown. “Sounds like your husband was possessed.”

“What did you say?” DBK halfheartedly asked. It made sense. He could not deny it perfectly matched what had happened to him, but to acknowledge it would be to admit another force had used him as a puppet. That he nearly killed his family by the will of another.

Sadly, Macaque did not care for the fragile illusions the family hid under. “Glowing eyes, erratic behavior, delusions seemingly spurred on by an imaginary voice. It sounds like your husband was the victim of a powerful demon with the power to enter and manipulate anyone of their choosing.” He was far more interested in the fallout.

“You were stationed in the quarry for over a hundred years, so why did the power reveal itself to you only after you had suffered defeat after defeat by Sun Wukong’s student? Someone wanted you desperate and mentally compromised.” He caressed the teacups’ edge as his shadow took on a vicious smile.

In a split second, the room was flooded with tension. A murderous miasma flooded the air leaving the guards and servants outside gasping for breath. Flames and wind alike danced to the hypnotic allure of pure malice as their masters grit their teeth in outrage.

“They will pay for this.”

As one the royal family swore revenge on the perpetrator of this insult. They swore to crush and slice and burn all who dared use them. This was a family of conquerors, only they had the right to devour the weak to serve their machinations.

“It appears you have another goal during your family bonding session.” Macaque chimed in, inhaling the deadly intent tainting the air like a fine bouquet. “Ah, nothing soothes the soul like the brutal mutilation of those that dare try to take advantage of what is yours.

As one the bull demon family indulged in smiles crafted with sadisms and righteous bloodlust.

“Indeed. Thank you, brother.” Iron Fan said. The wind swirled around her, the firm handle of her banana leaf fan just waiting to be called to action.

“Yes, your wisdom has been invaluable,” DBK commented. He could feel his claws extend and his fangs grow as the need to taste fresh blood slowly filled his consciousness.

“Would it be presumptuous of me to presume you suspect who the culprit is?” Red Son asked even as his mind had long since departed to the torture room. He was already evaluating which instruments he would use in which order to create a proper symphony to honor his troubled family.

“Not at all, my adorable sparkling. Unfortunately, I do not, but the number of demons who could possess DBK so completely without you already knowing is incredibly short.” Macaque easily stated. “I have my suspicions, but until I know I suggest you continue with your own search.” In all honestly, he already knew who was to blame, but he could not risk the family canceling their plans to rush into an act of hasty revenge. The rage needed to fester and grow until it cooled to razor’s edge that could carve that bitch to ribbons.

“You are a treasure, uncle.” The heir happily said.

“As are you, nephew,” Macaque said as he tenderly nuzzled the hot-blooded calf. “as are you.”

[badateverythingcoven]

Day of Unity Ramblings

What we know from Darius’s note to Raine:

The day of unity is a cover for a draining spell

The spell funnels magic through nine main coven heads.

Based on the number of figures drawn everyone in the islands will be expected to attend, divided by coven

“The Door” is being moved, possibly referring to the portal door

The eclipse is important to the plan

Darius believes that Eda can help foil Belos’s plan

Things mentioned about the Day of Unity in other episodes:

Young Blood, Old Souls- Belos says to Luz “You may think we want to invade the human realm, but the Titan’s will is not so boarish.”

Eda’s Requiem/Any Sport in the Storm-Belos is conducting raids to capture wild witches and is also ordering the coven heads to try to gain more recruits.

Hunting Palismen- Belos tells the coven heads that they need to get as many witches in their covens as possible because “the larger your covens grow, the more power we have to unite our realms”

Elsewhere and Elsewhen- In his diary Belos/Phillip says that he already has all the ingredients for the portal but he is still seeking out the collector who will tell him what he needs to “complete [his] mission” which presumably culminates in the Day of Unity. Also when Luz yells at Phillip she wants him to tell her how the thing he got related to the collector helps him build a portal and he says “Oh, no I need this for something else.” Luz focuses on the fact that he said no and not that the item related to the collector is not for the portal but for some other plan.

Reaching Out- Warden Wrath says that the gossip around the castle is that the Day of Unity is bad news. He says that the Day of Unity “is supposed to unite us with the Titan, but some of us don’t think this new world will be very inviting to magic-kind, wild or not.”

Questions we have:

What is Belos planning?

-To revive the Titan?

The ritual does take place in the Titan’s head, and in the glimpse of the plan that Belos shows the coven heads there is a light that radiates out of the Titan’s eye. He does also claim to be acting in the will of the Titan which we can pretty safely assume is just his will masked as a religious connection, a divine emperor kind of deal. The tarot card like image that pops up shows hands with different coven symbols reaching up to the head of the Titan, which could represent them relinquishing magic to the Titan, but it could also be to Belos.

-To go to the human realm?

In Hunting Palismen Belos talks to Hunter about the human realm and says “I look forward to seeing it again.” However in Elsewhere and Elsewhen younger Phllip says he already has the ingredients to the portal but he’s not done yet with his “mission” so I feel like he might want to do that and also something else.

-To combine the human and demon realms?

Belos does literally say “uniting our realms” which to me seems to suggest that he wants to erase the barrier between the human and demon realms. In Any Sport in a Storm he shows the coven heads “a glimpse into the future”. In that vision there is a flash of light and afterwards modern buildings and more human looking trees pop up. This also connects with the stealing or sealing magic theory because as we see in Young Blood, Old Souls, when Lilith and Luz go through the portal glyph magic does not work in the human realm but Lilith’s magic still does. Belos has to use glyph magic so he would be powerless in the human realm but witches wouldn’t and he can’t have that.

-To eliminate all wild magic or maybe all magic from the Boiling Isles?

Belos has cracked down on wild magic increasingly throughout his reign but it is hard to tell if that comes from a disdain of wild magic and a desire for control of magic or from a narrative to get more witches in covens. I’m going to go with both. Belos is jealous that he wasn’t born with magic and therefore wants to control and take a way magic from those who naturally have it. A classic case of “if I can’t have you, no one will”.

What will happen to the witches involved in the Day of Unity?

It seems likely to me that at least all those bound to the nine main covens if not all witch kind will be drained of their magic.

How does The Collector factor in?

We know so little about The Collector that there are so many ways this could go. We know they will appear in the series and that they have a sun and moon design motif. It is also likely due to the timing of the Day of Unity that their power is tied to both the moon and the sun. We also see in Knock Knock Knocking on Hooty’s door that The Collector captured the owl beast and sealed it in a scroll.

Maybe The Collector told Belos how to create a portal and this transfer of power is a sort of payment for that knowledge? In Elsewhere and Elsewhen the demons going after Philip mention that he has a debt with them and maybe that it is a hint at a bigger debt.

Maybe The Collector is responsible for Belos’s curse and this ritual is how he repays them or breaks the curse?

Maybe The Collector is necessary to the plan for some magical skill that they have that no one else does?

I for one would think it quite ironic if the scheming and callous Belos was tricked by the Collector. The Collector’s like, thanks for giving a ton of magic, you can fuck off now, the deal’s off. Then The Collector is the new big bad of season 3.

What does Belos mean by a chosen few inheriting a utopia?

I figured this was either the coven heads or more likely the emperor’s coven?

What role does Hunter play?

Assuming Hunter is a grimwalker is he a payment for a collector? Does being a grimwalker give him some other skill essential to the plan? In a diary page shown at the end of Knock Knock Knocking on Hooty’s Door there’s a note that says “What is in between?” Does between refer to the space that Luz enters when she makes her own door? Does a grimwalker have more power there, are they able to do something that regular witch or human could not?

What can the good guys do to stop it?

Since the eclipse is part of it and in Them’s the Breaks Kid Eda talks about the moon phase changing the ingredients needed for a spell it is possible that this spell is not doable unless there is an eclipse. If our heroes are able to delay the completion of the ritual until the eclipse passes will it fail?

The owl beast causes Eda’s magic not to work. It seems to directly counteract magic. Does this mean that by using the owl beast’s power Eda could some how counteract the spell?

We find out in Eclipse Lake that the veins of a Titan reflect magic. Gus put an illusion over a whole grave yard. With other witches contributing elements that Belos and co. could interact with physically could they be tricked into going into Eclipse Lake instead and the stolen magic would return to its users? Could they make a device using the Titan’s blood or the Titan’s blood itself to counteract the spell?

All the coven heads are needed for the spell. Could one of the coven heads sacrifice themselves? We know from Eda’s Requiem that Raine would be willing but I’d rather that not happen.

In Yesterday’s Lie Vee says that her fellow basilisks were captured and studied to see how they drain magic. Where they also captured so they couldn’t ruin the plan? Like lets say Belos plans to steal magic from all coven witches and then a basilisk consumes it. How much can they take? What would happen? When Luz defeats the basilisk at Hexside it releases the magic that it consumed back to its owners. Could a basilisk do that willingly to undo the magic being taken away?

Luz learned the petrification glyph combo in Thems the Breaks Kid so I’m not saying we turn Belos to stone but we turn Belos to stone. Considering how inhumane that was shown to be though it doesn’t really see like Luz’s style.

What happens if the good guys fail?

Luz’s companions are screwed, considering that draining a witch of their magic is essentially draining them of their life force. Besides maybe Lilith and Eda because they cannot use their magic already. Though Belos is claiming to get rid of wild magic so maybe glyphs won’t work anymore either.

If the two realms are combined what does that mean for the humans? Clearly they can survive on the boiling isles but are they all just supposed to be ok with magic being real and this old masked dude being their supreme leader now?

My personal best guesses/preferred outcomes for the season 2 finale and day of unity are:

1. Belos gets tricked and his lust for power backfires on him. He does complete the day of unity spell but it doesn’t go as planned. Either the collector takes advantage of all the magic gathered by the spell or reviving the Titan does work, but Belos cannot command it. In either case, an entity that Belos thought he could benefit from turns on him and they become the new big bad.

2. Doors and keys are repeating theme in the story and in Eclipse Lake we see a page that looks like the door plans. This includes the circular part we’ve already seen as long as another part that makes it look extremely like a key. The coded message for this season is seek the key, fear the lock. Belos aims to lock away magic on the isles, open the door to the human realm, or both.

Obviously there is more to see in upcoming episodes, and Hollow Mind will likely make large parts of this post age like milk but whatever happens, I don’t think we’ll be disappointed.

[undertaker1827]

Hello there dearest!!I just discovered your blog and I am soo in love with it!!!Could I request Sebastian getting in an argument with their s/o where it started as a joke and it ended with reader leaving from their shared bedroom and not talking for days ,and because the situation got a lil intense maybe the other servants and ciel noticed this and they like make a plan to close them in a room so they would get back together??♡

Aww thank you!! And absolutely!

Masterlist

-

You couldn’t help but grind your teeth together, a barely restrained snarl threatening to tear from your throat. You wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“I suppose you think you’re funny,” you spat, furiously, a glare unlike any Sebastian had seen from you before levelled at him unwaveringly. His chuckling died down almost immediately as did his grin, replaced with a concerned frown.

“My dear? What is wrong, have I upset y-”

“Don’t you dare.” A harsh scoff accompanied your words and you were practically trembling from your internal rage, a toxic scowl enveloping your features. “Just. Don’t.” With that, you spun away from him on your heel and stormed out of the sitting room you had been laughing together in just moments earlier, headed outside without the briefest mention of where you were going or how long you were going to be. In all honesty, you didn’t actually know the answer to either of those things, though you were quite likely to just wander around and blow off steam for a while, the possibly grab some coffee or something.

Needless to say when you returned to the manor several hours and two extra shot caffeine boosts later, you were still livid. You flew in through the back doors and took a route that would avoid Sebastian’s most likely locations (in other words, where Ciel was likely to be) and made your way to yours and Sebastian’s shared bedroom. It took all of a few minutes for you to gather up the things you needed - pyjamas, clothes and the like - which you stuffed into a large bag and then carted with you to one of many spare rooms, this one practically on the opposite side of the manor. You proceeded to lock yourself inside to have the best attempt at cooling down before you saw Sebastian again.

The demon, on the other hand, was incredibly confused. He had been over the conversation leading up to the argument multiple times in his head and couldn’t work out for the life of him what he’d said that had upset you so much. So preoccupied was he with you that he actually agreed to let Bardroy help him the Young Master’s dinner. Even the chef raised an eyebrow to that in spite of himself, though he was thrilled that Sebastian let him help. The butler’s preoccupied manner quickly became noticeable though despite his best efforts, though he claimed everything was fine when Bardroy inquired. He left quickly the Master’s food after that, and the chef made his quick way to Mey Rin and Finny so he could report what was going on.

-

“What about Y/N then?” Finny asked after much brainstorming late into the night. “I haven’t seen them around since this morning.”

“Neither have I, I haven’t,” Mey Rin contributed. Bardroy gave a thoughtful hum.

“Alright,” the chef concluded with an air of authority, “we’ll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings. If Y/N’s still not around, we’ll just have to nail Sebastian down to find out what’s going on. Right?”

“Right!”

-

Sebastian knew you weren’t going to be in your shared bedroom before he even opened the door at close to midnight after he finished his duties. He stuck his head in for a quick, cursory glance, just in case, then left immediately. He didn’t need to sleep anyway, and what was the point if you weren’t going to be there? That in mind and instead of searching the manor’s many rooms for you, the butler just got a head start on all the tasks he would need to do first thing in the morning. Once those were done, he went through the tasks of the other servants as well, mind whirring far too quickly for the time of night and every thought consumed with you.

Sebastian was heralded at five in the morning by the arrival of the other three servants, who were more than shocked to find their duties already done for them. That said, it gave them plenty of time to find out what exactly was going on.

“Nothing you need concern yourselves with,” was Sebastian’s smooth reply, but Bard at least was having none of it. He sat down heavily in the chair next to the butler’s with a sigh.

“Look Sebastian,” the chef started, “we know it’s none of our business an’ all, but we’re worried about you. And Y/N, of course, did something happen?” Sebastian deflected the question ingeniously then disappeared off with the excuse of more work needing to be done before any more questions could be asked. Mey Rin, Finny and Bard shared a concerned look, but there really wasn’t anything more they could do.

That was then. Now, a good three days later, you still hadn’t appeared willing to speak so much as a single word to your partner and Sebastian, although stellar as ever with regards to his work ethic, was far too often stuck in his own head for the other servants’ good. And for Ciel’s, apparently, who had asked to see the three without the butler’s presence to discuss what could be done.

“Well, we could try to lock them in a room together,” Finny suggested after a while of discussion.

“Then they would have to talk, they would!” Mey Rin agreed, nodding furiously. Bard gave his own nod of approval as well.

“Alright then,” Ciel said, “I will leave this matter to the three of you. See to it that this mess is sorted before the end of the day.”

“Yes, Young Master!”

-

How Sebastian had allowed himself to be foiled by such a foolhardy plan, he had no idea. Neither did you, quite frankly, yet here you both were locked in one of the much smaller library together. It consisted only of a single room, two armchairs with a coffee table between them and a fireplace, perfect for making up. Or once again tearing into each other, depending on just which words the suave butler chose to throw your way.

“Y/N, I am sorry. Truly, I had no intention of upsetting you though I can easily see that I choose a sore subject to attempt to make light of. I apologise sincerely, please forgive me.”

You swallowed. You wanted to remain upset, truly you did, but he was looking at you with such honesty and you could see in his beautiful amber eyes that he just wanted all of this to be over. It took you a few minutes, a tad of swallowing down your own pride as well, before you finally acquiesced.

“I… thank you. For that. I appreciate it.” He gave you a small smile.

“Does that mean you will come back to our room now?” A little chuckle escaped your lips before you could catch it.

“Yes, I think I will.”