Acheron is thematically a sorta grim reaper/psychopomp, and suffering from a disease caught by touching the "shadows" of a void god, which also grants her powers. She basically has a foot in the grave, is good at killing, while ironically being immortal because she's one of the few who can weather the disease without fading away, at least yet. She lost her sense of taste, and has diffculty holding onto memories that aren't emotionally significant. She's also quite restrained with her power, repeatedly offering opponents mercy, and is devoted to helping others. And just sorta likes to observe and learn about places.
Also she's an expy to Mei, a character the company has iterated many times across their games.
Flowing in the narrow border between "existence" and "nothingness", the ice-cold tides eternally lap against the shores and bring all things to their final end.
In this place, the drowned ask for help, lament with songs, find their happiness, enjoy sweet moments, and suffer great agony… All these are reflected in the water. She cannot experience these, but she can feel them–
There are still many roads to walk, many sounds to listen to, and many things to change before she arrives at the end.
She reaches out and saves the drowning from the temptations of Nihility, and one mirage after another bursts apart behind her figure.
She keeps walking in this boundless world, all for an end that does not exist.
– And it's always raining here
Himeko is a follower of Akivili the Trailblaze, a dead god of discovery and travel who created the universe's roads, and whose death led to chaos. She repaired THEIR train, and now follows the path laid by THEM, assembling a crew along the way and repairing the universe's roads.
Stelle is the female version of the main character. She loves trashcans, is compared to a raccoon, is the nightmare of the police, and on each world ends up with a management minigame. @GreatWyrmGold is to thank for the detail of Stelle managing American railways, even if the joke didn't bear much on the plot.
Anyway, it's real funny. I had this idea before the epilogue was posted/seen by me, so I didn't know Lupin would canonically avoid the Saints after the Beasts get foiled.
I went through multiple plot ideas for this crossover, and eventually settled on "Lupin and Acheron slice of life misadventure", which is a contrast with the first plots, of an invasion by a faction, or a space bug infestation attacking the tree. Of course, I could have done a plot with the planet that follows a Christianity-like religion, and has an oppressive government that treats citizens as cogs in its business and rips out specific emotions alongside chunks of their memories so they fit in better, or don't try to escape in case of one scientist they ahd trapped. They even showed a religious mech in a recent trailer. And have a whole thing in its themes of truth, lies, dreams, and so on, which could've been interesting for Chiro.
Wanted to say GreatWyrmGold, I am loving your readthrough recaps. You pick up on a lot of stuff I didn't when I read this story. Especially that Avaritia's element is Metal - I think you're right but I was hesitant since Metal is pretty similar to Earth.
Man. Imagine how different the story could have turned out if Invidia talked about why she didn't trust Superbia Dragon instead of just quietly letting Avaritia assume it was just personal incompatability or something as she kept the two of them apart. Avaritia could use the perspective; for all the shitty Children of the Forest she knows, she probably didn't know anyone quite like C's dad.
Wanted to make a comment about this point, with some basis on my headcannon for the story and some one what other people have said.
I believe Avaritia actually does know people like C's dad, specifically Temperance's parents. Avaritia's issue is that she believes she saved Temperance by running away from the forest. Superbia is what Lupin and Temperance ran to, and found safety with. I think she's actually projecting Temperance onto C when she is ignoring why C doesn't like Superbia.
Furthermore, I think there's some clear parallels between Lupin and Superbia, and C and her dad. Like in chapter 17, when Avaritia is shocked that Superbia slapped away her helping hand. Just as C feels its incredibly important to stress that her dad isn't abusing her, Lupin feels the same way.
Overall, I think Lupin is in denial. "Running away to Superbia 'helped' Temperance, so why wouldn't it help C?" "Superbia isn't so bad, at least he's not as bad as the Children of the Forest" Ultimately, she doesn't want to admit that running away from a shitty situation doesn't automatically make the situation you're in good.
Wanted to say GreatWyrmGold, I am loving your readthrough recaps. You pick up on a lot of stuff I didn't when I read this story. Especially that Avaritia's element is Metal - I think you're right but I was hesitant since Metal is pretty similar to Earth.
I believe Avaritia actually does know people like C's dad, specifically Temperance's parents. Avaritia's issue is that she believes she saved Temperance by running away from the forest. Superbia is what Lupin and Temperance ran to, and found safety with. I think she's actually projecting Temperance onto C when she is ignoring why C doesn't like Superbia.
Furthermore, I think there's some clear parallels between Lupin and Superbia, and C and her dad. Like in chapter 17, when Avaritia is shocked that Superbia slapped away her helping hand. Just as C feels its incredibly important to stress that her dad isn't abusing her, Lupin feels the same way.
Overall, I think Lupin is in denial. "Running away to Superbia 'helped' Temperance, so why wouldn't it help C?" "Superbia isn't so bad, at least he's not as bad as the Children of the Forest" Ultimately, she doesn't want to admit that running away from a shitty situation doesn't automatically make the situation you're in good.
I genuinely can't tell whether I agree with you or not.
On one hand, I agree with a lot of the individual things you say, and I think I agree with your thesis. But you're framing Avaritia's mistake as thinking it's a good idea to run from bad situations, which is just...not true? It was good for em and Gula to run from the Children of the Forest, it was good for C to run from his dad. This is all pretty clear from the text.
The problem isn't that Avaritia and Gula and Invidia left their old, bad homes; it's that Superbia Dragon got to them. Avaritia's mistake is that ey don't recognize Superbia Dragon as another bad situation to run from. Plain and simple.
Avaritia sees things in a binary of eir old home or Superbia. Ey think the side of Virtue is always controlling and rejecting of em. And so eir only option is Superbia, that ey pretend stand for freedom, but does a lot of mental gymnastics for, aided by having the seed conditioning em from an young age.
I am Superbia Dragon, Beast of the Abyssal Forest! Viceroy of Sin
Pride
Superbia Snake
Superbia Dragon
Light
Black / Gold
Humilitas
Humility
Mr. Noir
A greedy greedy wolf like me won't let go once ey've sunk eir teeth into someone, you know? So run, run as far as you can and know that it won't stop Avaritia Wolf from finding you when I want.
Greed
Avaritia Wolf
Avaritia Fenrir
Metal
Purple
Caritas
Charity
Gauntlets
Lupin
Accepting as the night. Giving all a shelter to rest
With a jealous scream to shatter the night, Invidia Bat has arrived!
Envy
Invidia Bat
Invidia Vampire
Wind
Green
Humanitas
Kindness
Lyre
Chiro
Gentle as a spring breeze
Gluttony
Gula Shark
Gula Charybdis
Water
Blue
Temperantia
Temperance
Halberd
Temperance
Calm as still water. Biding until I strike like a tsunami
Lust
Luxuria Fox
Luxuria Kitsune
Fire
Red
Castitas
Chastity
Bow
Inessa
Cleansing evil with the flames of purity
Sloth
Acedia Bear
Acedia Onikuma
Earth
Yellow
Diligentia
Diligence
Shield
Ida
Steadfast as the earth! Persevering forward one step at a time
Wrath
Ira Weevil
Patientia
Patience
?? [Temperance]
So I've been compiling information on the Saint and Abyssal Beast, and wanted to make a table to summarize stuff. Edits will definetly need to be made, cause its probably super wrong.
Everything underlined is information that is highly likely, but not specifically confirmed in the story.
Everything in italics is stuff I made up, like my theory on empowered abyssal beast forms. I also added potential calls for Lupin as a saint, and a possible interpretation of Saint Patientia.
I also did something stupid and tried to plot the timeline of the whole series with dates and everything. Pre-series start events have estimated dates and chapter references for where I got my supporting evidence.
She shook her head, "Nah, my uncle can sometimes be a lot and I've been waiting out here for ages. Wanted to make sure that you weren't too overwhelmed or anything, especially since it sounds like you've gotten involved in, what, two monster attacks this week." The last was said with a coy innocence that made me wonder just what Lupin's angle was.
Ex. Above quote implies that C was involved in two monster attacks that week. Since Shocker attacked on Thursday, this implies an attack Monday - Wendsday
I ran into a tricky bit between chapter 11 and 12 since C is not specific with how long she is away before she rejoins school. We know for sure that Beaker Breaker takes place on a Friday, and in chapter 12 it says:
If the break took only one week, Saturday would fall on February 28th, which doesn't make sense. Therefore, I have assumed the break took at least two weeks. Furthermore, I assume the story doesn't take place during a leap year because I don't hate myself that much. Estimated dates are marked with a ~.
Month
Event
Chapter
8-9 years prior
C and Inessa meet and become friends when C is 9 years old (Chap 3)
3rd day of new school year
C's mom leaves (Chap 2). House has been unsafe space for C for a few years before this point (Chap 3)
Shortly before debut as Castitas
Inessa comes out? (Chap 3)
Early October (A few weeks before B-Baller)
Inessa debuts as Castitas (Chap 3)
Late October
Ida proves herself to be a Saint (Chap 4)
November
B-baller. C figures out Inessa is Castitas. Ida already a Saint (Chap 4)
Late November
Temperence joins the saints (Chap 1)
Jan 8 -12
First week back from winter break. C involved in a monster attack (Chap 2)
Monday, Jan 15 - Wendsday, Jan 17
C involved in another monster attack (Chap 1)
Thursday, Jan 18
Story Starts. 2nd week back to school. Shock Jock monster. C eats dinner with Inessa's family
1
Friday, Jan 19
C meets Mr. Noir
1
Saturday, Jan 20
Winter Rose monster
2
Weekend, Jan 20 - Jan 21
C's dad stays home with him.
2
Monday, Jan 22
2nd meeting with Mr. Noir
2
Tuesday, Jan 23
C pushes away Inessa. 3rd meeting with Mr. Noir
2
Wed Jan 24 and Thurs, Jan 25
More meetings with Mr. Noir. "Embrace your inner beast"
3
Friday, Jan 26
Fidget Spinner Monster Attack. No Mr. Noir meeting
3
Weekend, Jan, 27 - Jan,28
C's dad stays home with him.
3
Monday, Jan 29 (Lunch)
C meets with Mr. Noir in the mornings. Fights with Temperance during lunch
3
Monday, Jan 29 (Afternoon)
Lupin kidnaps C, meets with Superbia. C falls asleeps. Lupin gives C the seed of envy
4
Monday, Jan 29 (Evening)
Saints rescue C. Reveal that C knows Inessa's identity. C stays over at Inessa's house
4
Tuesday, Jan 30
C eats breakfast at Inessa's.Lupin starts being nice to C. Nightime debuts first appears of Dream Invidia
5
Wendsday, Jan 31 (Morning)
Inessa and C talk about Dream Invidia. C reveals that Mr. Noir is Superbia.
6
Wendsday, Jan 31 (Afternoon)
C meets Michael, and asks to become a magical girl. Ida reveals she wan't worthy initially either
6
Thursday, Feb 1 - Thursday, Feb 8
Return to new normal. C gets at least 2 "gifts" from lupin, Watercolor Paints and a Tennis Ball
6
Friday, Feb 9
Saints turned into kids. Temperance reveals she's trans. C helps Ida take care of Inessa and Temperance
7
Weekend, Feb 10 - Feb 11
Saints agree to let C be a support member
8
Sunday, Feb 11 (night)
Kopier Kat monster fight. C's second depicted dream of Invidia
8
Monday, Feb 12
C makes fun of Inessa for being "childish". Temperance is in the GSA. C and Inessa go shopping for valentines
8
Wendsday, Feb 14 (morning)
Valentine's day. Lupin rejects Inessa's chocolate, focuses on C instead. Lupin convinces C to skip school.
9
Wendsday, Feb 14 (afternoon)
Lupin buys C earings at the mall. Monster attack. Reveal that Lupin = Avaritia Wolf. Lupin and Inessa fight about C
9
Wendsday, Feb 14 (evening)
C's dad finds out he skipped school. Grounds him and takes phone
10
Thursday, Feb 15
C learns Temperance was Gula Shark. Saints fight at lunch about secrets
10
Friday, Feb 16
Saints called away to fight during the day. C stays late at school to make sure they're okay
10
Friday, Feb 16 (evening)
C breaks from the pattern. C's dad throws a bottle at C.
10
Friday, Feb 16 (night)
C runs away from home to park. Debates running away, but decides to stay at Inessa's house
10
Saturday, Feb 17
Lifeguard monster attack in the afternoon. C eats ice cream at Inessa's
10
Saturday, Feb 17 (night)
C as Dream Invidia fights the saints alone and rages at the world
10
Sunday, Feb 18 (morning)
C wakes up on the ground. **C is 18 at this point
10
Sunday, Feb 18
C embraces her vice and becomes Invidia Bat
10
Sunday, Feb 18
Avaritia brings C to the abyssal forest. Both meet with Superbia. First appearance of Uriel
11
Monday, Feb 19 -Thursday, Mar 1
C picks the name Chiroptera. C and Lupin go to the mall, come back early. Lupin shoplifts for clothes
11
Friday, Mar 2
Chiro starts school and meets the Saints. Chiro is revealed to Temperance.
12
Friday, Mar 2 (after school)
Beaker Breaker attack. Temperance has two hands. Chiro defeats Inessa
12
Saturday, Early March, Mar 3
Avaritia and Chiro go to the mall and learn more about sin. Superbia asks (tells) Avaritia to return to the Forest
13
Saturday, Early March, Mar 3 (evening)
Avaritia gives Count Fruitula to Chiro
13
Sunday, Mar 4
Avaritia fights the saints, but is distracted. Inessa can't transform
13
Monday, Mar 5
Temperance and Chiro talk about Avaritia. Temperance reveals she was going to be Ira
14
Monday, Mar 5 (evening)
Superbia ambushes Chiro in her room. Tells her to distract the saints that weekend.
14
Thursday, Mar 8
During lunch, Ida invites Chiro and Inessa to the hairdressers on Saturday
14
Tuesday, Mar 6 - Friday, Mar 9
Avaritia asigned to "other tasks". Chiro spends time with the saints
14
Saturday, Mar 10
Bad Cut monster atack. Chiro helps Inessa regain her transformation
14
Saturday, Mar 10 (evening)
Avaritia returns very injuired from the Forest. Superbia reveals his plan to have Uriel modify the seeds
15
Sunday, Mar 11 - Thursday, Mar 15 (lunch)
Uriel modifies the seed. Chiro doubts Superbia's plan due to collateral damage
15
Thursday, Mar 15 (afternoon)
Chiro makes Temperance follow her. Sprout of Sloth battle. Inessa wants to fight Chiro
15
Thursday, Mar 15 (evening)
Avaritia takes blame for their loss. Superbia punishes Avaritia. Chiro makes a deal with Superbia to capture Castitas
15
Friday, Mar 16 (afternoon)
Castitas versus Invidia. Inessa wins, and Chiro rejects Invidia Bat. Inessa is accidentally captured
16
Friday, Mar 16 (build-up)
Uriel talks with Chiro. Avaritia accepts Chiro's rejection and kisses her. Chiro gets a 2nd seed and stalls for time
17
Friday, Mar 16 (climax)
Ida and Temperance arrive to save Inessa. Chiro embraces her kindness. The saints defeat Superbia
17
Friday, Mar 16 (post-fight)
The saints are going to kill Superbia. Avaritia saves Superbia. Superbia rejects eir help. Both beasts flee, defeated
17
Friday, Mar 16 (evening)
Chiro is officially taken in by Inessa's family. Avaritia gives back Count Fruitula and the earings
17
One day in April
Chiro officially returns to school. Epilogue of the story
Epilogue
Edit:
Ira weevil has been added to the table as an referenced in the story, but not officially confirmed based on feedback from AriequineLunaire.
Shadell is awesome and has revealed the proper dates for the second half of the story! I have updated my table to reflect this new information.
So I've been compiling information on the Saint and Abyssal Beast, and wanted to make a table to summarize stuff. Edits will definetly need to be made, cause its probably super wrong.
Shadell also listed Ira Weevil for Wrath in an Author's Note, though this was likely a joke since weevils kinda look like Daleks. Temperance having been a Wrath candidate could also be listed in brackets or something
With regard to sins and beasts, I think the animal is connected to the person rather than the sin. If Temperance had gone for Wrath, she'd be Ira Shark rather than Gula Shark; if Superbia found a new Beast of Gluttony, they would be Gula Boar or Gula Python or something. The best canon evidence I have for this is the fact that sharks work about as well for wrath as gluttony, but I wouldn't expect it to come up in canon, and...it makes sense.
(It's also a convenient assumption if you're writing fanfic, because you don't have to explain that the character everyone calls Invidia Bat is in fact the other Beast of Envy, not Chiro, who is currently playing classical music at Invidia Bat.)
I genuinely can't tell whether I agree with you or not.
On one hand, I agree with a lot of the individual things you say, and I think I agree with your thesis. But you're framing Avaritia's mistake as thinking it's a good idea to run from bad situations, which is just...not true? It was good for em and Gula to run from the Children of the Forest, it was good for C to run from his dad. This is all pretty clear from the text.
The problem isn't that Avaritia and Gula and Invidia left their old, bad homes; it's that Superbia Dragon got to them. Avaritia's mistake is that ey don't recognize Superbia Dragon as another bad situation to run from. Plain and simple.
In terms of the Wuxing, I think that's a very valid interpretation. My only concern was that one of the five elements is traditionally wood, which would potentially clash with the concept of "seeds", "branches", and the "first tree". But you have highlighted some supportive elements in the text which makes me more prone to believe you're correct in you're interpretation of Lupin as Metal.
In terms of the second argument, I agree with you completely as well. I did not mean to frame Avaritia's mistake as thinking its a good idea to run from a toxic situation. I was simply trying to draw parallels between Avaritia's relationship with Superbia and C's relationship with her dad because I think it's a fantastic piece of writing by Shadell.
Shadell also listed Ira Weevil for Wrath in an Author's Note, though this was likely a joke since weevils kinda look like Daleks. Temperance having been a Wrath candidate could also be listed in brackets or something
Thank you! Ira Weevil, even if its a joke, has been added to the table. Since we have an actual candidate for Wrath, I have removed my interpretation of Patientia and replaced it with Temperance in brackets as per your suggestion.
Shadell, I absolutely love that I could read through your story and basically figure this out just based on dates and times of day. I have edited my original post updating it for correction.
I'm sort of disapointed that there was not a scene where Superbia demands that C embrace his dark side, that what is inside him that society brands as wicked should break free, to take his rightfull place.
And C unable to do anything but accept the darkness within, becomes a magical girl(and fights Superbia).
I wonder how much of this is Inessa being an archetypical magical girl protagonist, and how much is Inessa trying to be an archetypical magical girl protagonist.
And you aren't quite the kind of monster that could just coo at cute bat videos while that's happening.
I like that Chiro didn't even mention bats before her transformation, did a little research on them afterwards, and immediately developed a hyperfixation. Say what you will about the callous, all-consuming seeds of sin—they're good at figuring out what you'll like.thief
"—there's no better thief among the Beasts than Avaritia!"
Also the only thief. Chiro's too much of a goody-two-shoes to shoplift from a Wal-Mart and Superbia's too arrogant to bother with such petty crimes.
Beside his throne, a familiar gray robe watched silently. I'd seen them before, when I was reintroduced to Mr. Noir as Invidia, though I knew nothing about the person inside. The robe could have been empty for all I could tell.
"Umm, hi?" I stared awkwardly for a few moments, struggling to find the words to ask a sapient plushie that was allegedly an archangel, "Inessa just keeps you in her backpack all day?"
The plushie nodded, "It matters little where this vessel rests. Though," Michael glanced at Inessa, "It would be preferable were I not to be crushed by textbooks."
My interpretation of all of this (which I've been ruminating on for a while) is that angels are either immaterial spirits possessing mundane objects like plushies and robes, or sufficiently otherworldly that they can't manifest in our world (or the Abyssal Forest) and instead puppet mundane objects. They may or may not be limited to objects made out of cloth.
This is the kind of question that I sorta want answers to, but also I know that any answer I got would be less interesting than speculating about it.
Besides, self-righteously telling em what ey should be doing wouldn't get anywhere. Inessa had let slip her feelings on how to handle my dad enough, and I'd only ever retreated more into my shell. Avaritia was defined by eir greed, eir need to keep those they valued close, and nothing I could tell em would be something they hadn't already been ignoring emself.
...processing her feelings about her dad in a way that lets her implicitly acknowledge she should have done something, because she recognizes the parallels between him and Superbia and wishes Avaritia would do something about to "handle" Superbia.
...using her experiences in Avaritia's position to figure out how best handle eir situation.
"But you asked me to tell you when you were going too far," and now the seed prickled warningly against my bones. This was a step closer to the line.
"This is," once again, the vines of sin holding my facade together threatened to come undone. Once again I was subject to agony. I bit back a yelp and looked Avaritia in the eyes.
Ey turned and started to say something. I could feel the wrath lurking beneath the surface, the impotent rage dying to lash out at anything at all. Ey didn't voice the accusations they were dying to make.
"Maybe," ey finally admitted.
I could hardly believe ey'd said that out loud, for all that the word must have been agony.
So...yeah, it sounds like the Invidia seed is at least somewhat conscious of Chiro's actions and intent beyond envy/self-worth, and actively punishing her for expressing doubt in the Abyssal cause. And she thinks the Avaritia seed is doing the same.
Not good. But useful information for that fanfic I'm writing! (No promises on finishing it.)
He seemed dead to the world, and he radiated sin, a slow monotonous percussion, endlessly enacting itself and dead to the world.
I find it neat how each sin has its own distinct music to it, at least to Chiro's batty ears. I wish I'd been paying a little more attention to how each was described.
As strange and uncanny as the fruit had felt, the modified seed felt wrong on just as fundamental a level.
I wonder if this is related to the monsters the Saints mention fighting in the epilogue. Not in a "this seed makes those monsters" way; "this seed was modified using techniques involved in making those monsters" seems more likely.
Gently, I held up the seed and blew it toward him. He looked on, half-curious, as it landed in his chest and sunk in.
Another minor lore note: When trying to Abyssal-Beast-ify C, the Luxuria seed bounced off her forehead. I don't know what the symbolic significance of head vs. heart is for Beasts and Sprouts.
I tried to pull my hand back, but it was strangely stuck, sinking slowly into the bark of the tree. Frantically I tried to pull it away and I shouted something and then squeaked as something wrapped around my feet, pulling me up, rough branches growing around me in real time to pin me in place.
I find it darkly amusing that Superbia's (and possibly Uriel's) plan only served to endanger their own minion.
Frantically, she grabbed her bow with both hands and swung it at me, clubbing me in the side of the face and sending me astray.
"W-what!!! That's not how you're supposed to use that!" it wasn't fair! That wasn't a melee weapon! W-where was the dignity? The grace!? Starlight Princess Orion would never use her wand as some kind of club.
Yeah, right. You just wanna use the fight as a pretext to talk about your feelings.
"It was all my fault. I thought we could talk her back around into joining us if she saw how big this plan was…" Avaritia's tone was forcefully blase and ey even had the temerity to wink at me.
Superbia raised a hand. Terrible light descended, hammering Avaritia into the ground with the force of divine wrath.
This is so, so very. Avaritia knows what Superbia would do to Invidia if he knew what she did, so ey throw eirself under the bus for her. Maybe ey assumed that eir long history of loyalty would protect em from the worst of Superbia's wrath. Maybe ey were right and Superbia would've killed Invidia on the spot, or worse.
And after all of this, ey still went back to Superbia. Ey know he's like this, but ey can't bear to leave him alone, even if he kills em. It's so, so very.
Tune in for Episode 28: Decisive Showdown! Castitas vs. Invidia!
Imagine being a fan of Shining Virtue Angelic Heart. You watch an episode where Inessa almost properly confronts her friend-turned-villain. The episode ends, the conflict wraps up, and you find out that the real confrontation is next week! Man. I don't know if they'd be hyped or mad.
And, if I gave it my all, if I copied Castitas' fire until I burned out, and I still lost, then Superbia wouldn't have any choice but to release Avaritia, or do his own dirty work. Ey'd go free; I'd win.
"The perfect plan! If I win, Superbia lets Avaritia go. If I lose, Superbia has to let Avaritia go, and I won't have to deal with any of my problems!"
Sure would stink if Castitas decides to beat you without icing you. Which, considering her fire powers, seems unlikely.
I'd dashed out of school as soon as the bell rang, intent on trying to warn or chase everyone I could away before things started. With the park empty, I found myself sitting on a park bench as Chiro, failing again to steady myself for the upcoming fight.
"They were jealous of me, and I'd never even noticed. I thought I understood everything, thought we knew everything about each other and that I knew how to help and…" she sighed. "They lashed out and, well, I wonder if I was really helping at all. Even when I kept trying to approach them, they just got worse and worse. And now I can't even fight."
"Was that really how they felt?" I asked neutrally, "and, just because they reacted badly doesn't mean you did anything wrong. Maybe, deep down, they're just not someone that deserved saving; maybe you tried your best and that's okay and that just means you're a good person and they weren't."
Inessa shook her head furiously, her still-wet hair flopping around her.
"No, there's no one who doesn't deserve saving! But… if trying to help just made things worse, how am I supposed to fix things?"
I bit my lip, "Have you even asked?" I snapped.
"What?" she asked, taken off guard by my bitterness.
"Have you actually ever looked her properly in the eye and asked her if she wants you to save her? Does she want to go back to that status quo where she's always waiting on you to save her and can't take a single step forward for herself?" that wasn't fair, Inessa asked how I was doing all the time, "And if you didn't see she was jealous, have you ever really seen her at all?"
It's a bit more subtle than what Inessa said, but Chiro did slip up and refer to Inessa's friend with pronouns that Inessa didn't use. She/her pronouns, because 🥚.
ALV's fight scenes don't have complex tactics or choreography, but they're so evocative. And the fight scene is just a backdrop to the argument anyways.
"I'm nothing, just deception after deception, stacked on top of itself until I almost look like a real person!"
But what is a person, (throws wine glass), but a miserable little pile of deceptions? A set of lies we tell to each other and ourselves, either trying to simplify the infinite nuance of humanity into something that can be understood by a human or trying to convince everyone (especially ourselves) that we're closer to ideal than we are. It doesn't matter how close to perfection you are; there's always a voice in your head telling you you're not good enough, or one telling you you're even more impossibly awesome, depending on if you have a deficit or a surplus of self-esteem.
"But I'm weak," I glared at her. "And I couldn't just go back to wanting, not if it means pretending it's not impossible, not if it means that I have to risk being him again!"
Poor Chiro. She'd rather act like it's impossible for her situation to get better than hope she can improve and then fail again. Doomer mindset. Sad.
Also, 🥚.
"I suppose," he said as he looked at us both with begrudging amusement, "that I can acknowledge that you completed the plan even if you somehow seem even more pathetic than usual."
The seed went oddly quiet, almost as if was hibernating. Of course, I could still feel it deep inside, waiting to welcome me back as soon as I admitted that all my efforts to be better were just another masquerade.
Eventually they answered. "You may call me Uriel, if you must refer to me. It is rare to see a Beast reject their power."
...
"You may go do whatever it is you have to do," Uriel said dismissively. Whatever fey curiosity that had made them approach seemed satiated for the moment.
So, Uriel knows the bat rejected her power, and presumably the sin that came with it. But they then just let her walk away. They don't even care; it's just an interesting, uncommon event.
Uriel and Superbia are, I assume, not on the same page.
"Hiya Chiro," someone said, marching through my door with a breezy familiarity, as if nothing had changed, as if I still wore Inessa's face. It was so like my partner to cheerfully brush aside eir own torture and my obvious turn from sin.
"Avaritia! Are you okay?"
I turned to face em, a smile coming easily to my face for all that eir presence only made the situation marginally less hopeless. Ey deserved that much and more after what they'd endured.
At least Avaritia looked almost well, if I ignored the hitch in eir step as ey approached and the bags under eir eyes.
Avaritia just has to be cheerful. Even more than the magical girls, ey can't bear to express any of eir negativity.
Sure, vice sounds nice. Let everyone indulge desire and all. Except, well, we can see someone who wants things and needs things and doesn't quite fit in the right way. Superbia can be "prideful" while correcting Avaritia's behavior, can hurt em out of wrath to teach greed, you know. And even if you're someone who can make it through all that, it still breaks you a little inside, right? We need to be needed, to care, to aid.
Everything Avaritia wants to fight for, Superbia has set her against. Everything ey believe in has been twisted 180 degrees by his rhetoric. Every bit of trust and care ey give Superbia is weaponized against em and everyone ey care about.
But ey can't admit anything's wrong.
"It's okay," ey faked a grin. "A greedy greedy wolf like me won't let go once ey've sunk eir teeth into someone, you know? So run, run as far as you can and know that it won't stop Avaritia Wolf from finding you when I want."
"I'm greedy, so I'll be able to get you later. So it's not really being un-greedy if I let you go do what you want."
Whatever stops your seed from stabbing you in the heart, I guess.
"Welllll, you know, Avaritia is obviously the greatest thief among the Beasts. And I might have been a little tiny bit upset, so I might have maybe-sorta stolen one or two of the new seeds after Superbia let me go."
I swallowed.
"What? How?" Hadn't Uriel had those? It seemed improbable that Avaritia would have known to grab one or more.
The implication is that Uriel allowed or encouraged the theft, I think? Why would they do that? What is Uriel's game?
Questions for the fourth cour, perhaps.
I started to speak, only to find Avaritia's lips pressed against mine. Ey pulled me closer, pressing emself against me. Before I could even work myself around to process what was happening, Avaritia was already pulling away, eir teeth tugging at my lower lip for a moment as ey did.
Avaritia flashed me a particularly lupine grin and, before I could ask for an explanation or comment on it at all, eir claws tore a rift in the air and ey were gone.
Slowly, I raised my hand to touch my lips, feeling the phantom of an event I was half-sure I'd hallucinated. What had that been about? Was that a friendship thing?
A lot of people have already poked fun at Chiro for this. And they should; she's watched enough anime to get annoyed at dudes who are oblivious to signs of affection from the girls around them. Maybe she doesn't think those signs apply to girls, too?
I slapped my cheeks twice and shook my head clear.
Oh hey, Inessa did that last chapter. Right before she went to fight her best friend/future sister. And here's Chiro, doing that to psyche herself up for a similarly unpleasant confrontation.
Mr. Noir would never have believed the truth, that Inessa had pushed me to take a step toward being someone I couldn't yet envision. Mr. Noir would never understand that temptation, would never understand how something so fragile could push back the power of sin.
I think that's part of why Superbia misdiagnosed C's sin, way back when. The envy of hero worship is so small, too small to explain the weight of desire in "his" soul. But a desire to possess something so great, to use and defile it? That is something he understands. It's a grand desire, a grand sin.
I kinda wonder how Gula Shark's initiation went. Why Superbia accepted her as gluttonous.
Even my seed shook in its slumber, razor-thin vines scratching at the walls of my heart in protest.
A root pushed its way out, growing thick as it supped on my emotion, gently promising what I could still pretend to be if only I would abandon my pretensions of change.
I wonder what would happen to it if Chiro gave in to her temptation and used the new seed. Would it be subsumed into the new seed? Would both be present, two warring desires driving the new Invidia Bat? Would this be the upgrade thingy Avaritia was talking about, bringing about Invidia Vampire or whatever?
"Yes," Michael said with complete confidence. "Using a second seed carries grave risks. In your present condition, there would be permanent consequences Perhaps even your own destruction."
Alright, so it wouldn't just turn the old seed back on. But what would happen, and why might it destroy Chiro?
Another question that's more interesting to speculate about than to have answered, I think.
At last, it reached behind me, shaping itself into a pair of wings. I didn't have to look to know that next to Invidia's amazing, beautiful, and transcendentally perfect bat wings, these were merely the wings of an angel, and ones that barely deserved the name 'wings' at that.
This is a very silly sentiment for Chiro to have, especially at a time like this, but I think it's driving home a point about sin and virtue.
Invidia gave C what she wanted, pure, unfiltered. It "scoured" her old self away to fulfil her desires—the ones it could and wanted to, anyways.
Humanitas has a lighter touch. C doesn't have the wings she wants, but her wings are sufficient. And Chiro is still C, no selfish seed required.
My weapon took shape; the tool that would allow me to best use what virtues I could muster. Slowly, it descended into my hands. It was small and wooden and curved and, for all it wasn't what I'd have expected, I knew exactly what I had to do with it.
...
I raised my tool as high as I could. Then, with a hop and my loudest scream, I brought it down against the back of Superbia's head with every bit of strength I had. He stumbled forward and crashed into the ground, as much surprised as he was wounded.
Only then, as every eye turned toward me, did I announce myself. "Gentle as a spring breeze," I plucked at the strings of my lyre.
So, the first thing you "had to do with it" was—ah, how did you phrase it? Club Superbia in the side of the face, send him astray, "That's not how you're supposed to use that"? Something about it not being a melee weapon, not being fair or dignified or graceful?
Why'd you do that?
"A kindness to myself," I said, my voice laden with divine compassion.
He spent so many centuries stuck to a tree that he missed out on all sorts of basic facts his minions understand. Talking is a free action.
"Do it," Superbia said for us from his throne, the last proclamation of a broken monarch, the last vestiges of the pride he valued more than his own life.
It was as cruel as any of his demands. Superbia wasn't a resinner. He wouldn't go back to normal and become a better person from this. None of us were killers.
Yeah. What kind of monster would try to force Inessa specifically to kill her? How cruel that would be. At least Inessa doesn't have any pre-existing emotional connection to Superbia, that would make it even worse.
"M-maybe. I, umm, I don't want to be a guy. Maybe I don't like that at all, if I'm going to be a magical girl. And, umm, okay, so my body has definitely changed at least a little and we'll need to explain that, so, what I mean is that, if I'm going to try and become somebody new, maybe I could just…maybe I don't really like boys or being one. Maybe I want to be more of a, you know. And, like, if I'm faking being someone I want to be anyway, then, maybe, even if I'm not actually a trans girl or anything…"
Some invisible force tore the smile from Temperance's face. Her mouth dropped open in shock.
"Maybe I can just, you know, umm, fake being a girl instead? To, like, help explain everything to everyone." Was that allowed? It didn't feel right. And yet, when I imagined the person I wanted to be looking back in the mirror, she had to be a girl.
The world paused. Everyone stared at me, without so much as a blink.
Poor, batty Chiro. One day she'll realize she can be a trans girl without fitting the stereotypical ˚₊‧꒰აI always knew I was really a girl໒꒱ ‧₊˚ narrative.
But, well, finding out that the nice boy next door you thought of as the son you'd never had was apparently a girl who couldn't stop crying while she danced around the edge of admitting exactly how close to the end she'd actually come…
Somehow, my mind overflowed the blanks and came up with the mental image of a Chiro who, in the process of answering follow-up questions, is forced to admit that she kiiinda tried to trick one of those magical girls at school to kill her. Ideally while Inessa is in the room, trying to guess what someone who knows about Castitas but has coincidentally never been in the same room as her might think of her.
We made plans to sneak back into the Abyssal Forest of course. [...] Instead, the way was locked off, as if without the Beasts there was nothing to hold that gloomy castle together. Or perhaps Superbia had managed to recover enough to destroy it in a rage or Uriel had somehow hidden it away.
This passage brought up a lot of questions that I still don't know how to answer. What was the Abyssal Forest? What happened to it? I thought only the Abyssal Beasts could go there and that's (part of) why Avaritia needed to go and warn/help the Saints. Could the Saints go to the Abyssal Forest whenever they wanted? Where is Avaritia going to sleep now? Where will she put her wardrobe??
Even after refusing the offered hands, Avaritia was still helping, too hurt to come close, too greedy to ever cut ties.
I was the weird boy who'd vanished for a month and was now coming back with only weeks until graduation, trying to convince everyone he was actually a girl.
Man. Her grades must be pretty rough at this point. I wonder what the scholarship people will think of that. Or the bit where she kept getting kidnapped or transformed or whatever by monsters and then vanished for a month in an allegedly unrelated incident.
None of this was new. I'd done it as Chiro 1.0 all the time. And yet, somehow, every little bit of euphoria, rare as they'd become, felt so much more immediate and intense. Perhaps it was because this was a mask closer to my core. Even if I couldn't quite find a way to think of myself as a real girl, I was at least faking it as myself.
Something something, sin gave Chiro what she wants unfiltered (for a price), Virtue lets her be herself (but still gives her what she needs).
And sure, shortly after school someone at the GSA turned into one of the the new monsters and we had to rush to get there before it managed to get away from Temperantia. But that part was easy, for all Temperance seemed intensely determined to inform us that it absolutely wasn't her doing. I'd only teased her about it once, there was no need to be so insistent really.
Temperance exits the story as she'd exited it: Annoying closeted queer classmates until they turn into sin-monsters.
I'd heard a few students talking about Humanitas in the aftermath of the fight. No one seemed to have guessed she might be trans or whatever incomprehensible thing I actually was.
The perfect way to end this story. The adventure continues; Chiro and the Angelic Saints face new troubles and terrors. Who knows what they'll be? Who knows what they'll do? Only time will tell.
I'll probably read A Little Vice in the future; it's a good story, well told, and not absurdly long. I probably won't post like this again, just sharing random thoughts about what I read.
I was gonna make a joke about him claiming it's a CotF word the other players just haven't heard of and Avaritia, despite never having seen it either, rolling with that, but my brain proceeded to make a few jumps from subject to subject, and, uh, I realized something.
It's not that Avaritia is gullible in assuming Superbia's not lying, it's that ey're being overly generous when it comes to extending him the benefit of the doubt.
Edit: Just to be completely clear, I don't just mean in context of the joke, I mean in general.
Also, a cute animal fact since the protagonist of this story matches it, this is an obligatory reminder that vampire bats are known to build relationships with their kind and act altruistically, which includes sharing their own blood with comrades in need. Scary reputation, but surprisingly nice. I think that fits this story nicely
Fun fact! Some bats stress swim.
Here's how Temperance can still win!
So, I've been thinking. What kinda designs you all would give the angels in human or angel forms? Y'know, instead of a plush and a robe/something small in a robe.
Think Uriel would go for something that looks good, perhaps even formal, but a bit unkempt. As they present as a trustworthy advisor, but are also rather uncaring and distracted. For angel form, wheel covered in eyes, a torso with floating arms holding books, that seem always illuminated by non-existant candles. A view of the sky though the wheel.
Michael seems to care more about dignity. I imagine a suit, and a background aura of confidence combined with stress. For angel form, humanoid in beautiful armor, with bright glowing eyes. Multiple arms holding glowing crystal weapons, and a scale with a flame in the middle.
I intended the former to be more alien.
So, I've been thinking. What kinda designs you all would give the angels in human or angel forms? Y'know, instead of a plush and a robe/something small in a robe.
I mentioned this briefly, but I don't know whether I'd give the angels "angel forms". Their true forms seem to be either immaterial or in a distant realm; giving the immaterial form or bringing the otherworldly realm to the audience feel like they'd diminish the impact.
Human guises, though?
I'd probably put Michael in business casual attire, maybe with a cross necklace depending on how closely tied she is to "heaven". I'd probably give her an androgynous build and hairstyle, since Archangel Michael is classically depicted as masculine while this Michael is she/her. Depending on my mood when I designed her, I might give her the appearance of some marginalized group (e.g. a non-white apparent ethnicity or a physical disability), to signify her connection to and care for the marginalized. Whatever Avaritia might say about the virtuous, Michael's magical girl team is full of queer kids in an era of reactionary backlash against their existence.
Uriel is mysterious; we can only speculate on their true nature. That makes it hard to think of a guise that reflects their true nature. I imagine them as less scatterbrained and more working on something mysterious. So...I don't know whether this will make sense to anyone else, but maybe a Silicon Valley tech CEO sort of look? The kind of businessman you'd expect to gain capital from venture capitalists and then develop a product that may or may not be what they promised.
Uriel strikes me as one of those villains who makes an effort to look as bland and unassuming as possible until the time comes to reveal that he's already won. Intentionally generic-looking white guy, business suit or maybe a labcoat, glasses, ten dollar haircut. Close to what GWG said, or one of the more forgettable MCU villains.
Michael meanwhile definitely strikes me as "out of her depth but trying to keep cool social worker", if anyone else has a picture of that stock character in their mind like I somehow do. Mostly I'd agree with GWG entirely here.
I feel that uriel should have vibes of one of those people who claim to be totally fine with LGBT folks so long as they're not "loud about it".
Superficially more "progressive ", but actually doesn't give a shit and is more concerned with appearance than with actual actions, and in the end just as much part of the problem as more openly hateful types like superbia.
Fits with the fact that they're an angel, but definitely not one of the good guys. I know it's a stretch given how little we know, but personally I think it would be thematically on point.
You guys are right.
So guess Uriel is some unimportant seeming CEO of a company who actually has a lot of influence with other companies, or someone below te CEO who actually runs all the operations. Perfectly bland, seemingly friendly, but easy to overlook. And you may realize you learned pretty much nothing about them in your interactions, while they've learned a lot about you. And lots of things end up working for their benefit. Their friendliness is shallow and unoriginal. The avoidance of getting close making the persona crack less.
Michael would be genuinely friendly, but less "perfect" due to being genuine. Some cracks from worry, or just failling at some social interactions. Good suit. Bob cut hair? Wants the kids to think she's cool, knows she only succeeds half the time. And GreatWyrmGood already did a pretty great job at describing her
I don't fully understand why but my brain is connected Uriel with Sloth through the lens of apathy.
they barely noted when Chiro changed sides,
they didn't do anything when Avaritia stole the powered up seeds and how little they show up reads to me as apathy (Sloth).
When it comes to Uriel design I agree with @Nerdorama that they try to look as generic as possible but,
They have no idea what that means so they are totally wearing a cloak and
I imagine underneath the cloak is the most raggedy work clothes you ever seen they need to be thrown away not yesterday but 20 years
And I imagine with their angel form they still wear a cloak, underneath is what was once slightly fancy if not generic medieval Knight armor now
is the most Rusty thing you ever seen it is surprising it is not fully rusted
it has giant holes where the "true body" is poking out.
It looks like the equivalent of saying "I can still eat that."
to your sandwich that was turned into pure nuclear waste
Lmao. I'm not going with that version of Uriel, but loved this. Uriel: I'm a snack.
I think adding some occasional weirdness to Uriel "I'm normal/normal type" interpretation would fit? Occasional whims they have. Some weird actions they take sometimes, or ornaments/accessories they occasionally wear. People will just write it off.
Found a neat Tumblr post which vaguely reminded me of ALV (among many other things). Then there was a paragraph which reminded me of ALV very specifically.
Article:
The bodice-ripper romance novel, the rape fantasy, the forced feminization story are all operating on a similar premise: you are so wrapped in society's web, in your socially-dictated identity, that you cannot even acknowledge your desires on the level of conscious thought. When these things are enacted on your body, you will find yourself changed by the experience. You will love what has been done to you, and you remain blameless, since it's not as though you sought this out.
These are liberatory fantasies. The lack of consent is precisely what allows you to move beyond what is permitted you into something new.
