passages that make you whisper "oh my god"
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passages that make you whisper "oh my god"
the similarities between ash lynx and river phoenix
i know akimi yoshida based ash on river a couple volumes into the manga but therers a ridiculous amount of similarities that id love to dive into. some are lose and some are super strong i just know way too fucking much about river phoenix and when i saw bf i lost my mind.
TW sexual assualt and rape, CSA, drug use, banana fish spoilers.
i'm not even that far into requiem of a rose king but i don't think anyone has truly lived until they see the drama that comes from a teenage boy, his wife, and his father (who he hates) all being in love with the same guy . In the midst of immense political drama partially caused by a gay breakup
Blue Exorcist Analysis #4
Why did Yukio shoot Rin? I think thereās a very simple explanation to this: related to the recent turn of events, he did it to deter him from going to rescue him from the Illuminati but, related to the bigger picture, Yukio took the chance to aim even higher: he also did it to āstopā Rin from feeling the need to come to his rescue all the time/help him out in general.
Premise: by now we know that having people claiming they want to help him, makes Yukio feel even more weak than he already considers himself to be.
Chapter 96 starts with a full page focused on a specific āquestionāā¦
ā¦as to "introduceā the āthemeā the following happenings will revolve around. I think itās safe to state that this is prolly what Yukioās been pondering while he was silent, until Rin shows up: āYukio! This is a rescue!ā And the next panel specifically focuses on Yukioās āreactionā:
I had doubts about this at first, but if I tie this to the above panels, Iām now pretty positive this can be read as the typical Yukioās ābugged reactionā to someone declaring they want to offer him help. āThis again? Gimme a break!ā
Yukio lets Rin escort him out of the building. He lets Rin help him. For the last time. And, once theyāre out, instead of keep following Rin, he just stands there. As in: āThis is as far as it goes. But it ends here.ā Yukio starts talking about something that looks like a question heās been thinking over and over for a long while. I assume he had more to say, but Shima shows up with an Illuminati helicopter and an offer.
Rin, obviously, takes for granted Yukio would never accept it. But, to his surprise, Yukio turns his back to him and sets to go. And hereās where it starts my analysis. This is where āit endsā.
Yukio, obviously, takes for granted Rin would try to stop him. He knows Rin that much. So he thinks of a first plan:
He starts by telling Rin what he learned about the Orderās secrets, their connection to the Illuminati and Shiroās true identity and what he thinks was his real purpose: to raise them to be weapons. Yukio tries to give Rin āreasonsā to justify his leaving. But, as soon as he brings Shiro up, Rin (of course) refuses to accept Yukioās insinuation. So Yukio plays along for a bit, taking the chance to confess to Rin how he felt about Shiro and the way he treated them and concludes: āWell⦠that doesnāt matter anymore.ā
But Rin canāt accept the fact his brother thinks so bad of himself neither and has him know. Yukio, again, concludes: āIt doesnāt matter.ā and this time adds: āI have no more ties to this place.āĀ As to say: āAs I just explained to you, the Order Iāve been working for is evil. The man who raised us was evil too. And, as you can guess by the fact Iām about to turn away from you: I donāt consider YOU a reason to stay here neither.ā
So far, Yukioās only been using harsh words, evil arguments to have Rin give up on trying to stop him. But, oc, he fails.
āAh⦠not good. So he STILL wonāt give up? Then Iāll have to try harder. Iāll have to make my point clearer for him to understand. Brutally clearer.ā
Time for plan B. Yukio grabs his gun, points it at Rin and proceeds to recreate a familiar scenario. Up to the words he used back then. The only difference will soon be clear to Rin: this time the bullets are real. This time itās ALL for real.
āDo you finally get it, brother? This (the fact that I donāt want you to help me, to rescue me, to stop me) is THAT important to me and THIS is how serious I am about it. So stop doing that.ā
Ending note: crushing Rinās perfect image of Yukio in this whole process Iām not sure it was meant to be "intentionalā or it happened by chance (as a ācollateral bonusā) but it helped too.
Yukio requires a lot of critical reading from the get go
And if you're only starting that critical reading once Satan bums a ride in his eye, you're much too late.
He also requires a willingness to acknowledge that sometimes the character that annoys you has reasons even if you don't like them, and sometimes you're too biased about your favorite character and boy oh boy has Rin gotten caught up in this lack of critical engagement to. The story is more complex than victim and abuser and that simplification robs the story and Rin and Yukio of their richness and complexity.
This is going to be several parts and will be taking deep dives into some of the most important Yukio interactions that explain his story and character and beats that I think get often overlooked or misunderstood entirely. It will be entirely manga based because the animes take a fairly anti-yukio stance in several instances and seem to intentionally pick paths to mangle his character. The first anime mostly. But man did it do that to a lot of characters. None so badly as Yukio though.
It's fine to dislike the character, but darn it he deserves you at least disliking the real him.
Bloody Fairy Tale - Part 1
At long last, Iāve defeated this little short story which really is tremendously long. Itās a fun one though, I hope everyone enjoys it!
This is a tale of a time when Shiro and a certain tagalong by the name of Johann wound up in a small little village in a corner of South Americaā¦
Keep reading
Ao no Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati-hen | Ep3 |Ā Rin. Thank you! I love you!
heck i never realized that meph holding everyone in his palm could be seen as a bad thing but i guess seeing shiro's fate that it is the case after all
Hello Anon! And yep, took me a while to admit it myself, because as much as we all love-hate Mephy, one canāt deny thatā¦
he serves his own interests which happen to coincide with Assiahās survival and which is exactly what the main cast is after.
Does it make Mephy a āgoodā character 100% honest to God, though? Wellā¦
Nope.
And as I mentioned previously, it shows up particularly through Shiro in my opinion, who so wanted to one day bite the Order back for all that they did to him:
but who eventually must have given up, possibly for the twinsā sake (because the only way to guarantee their survival was to vouch that they could be good weapons on the Orderās side), and who remained a chained pawn till his death.
So yeah, I loveĀ āMephisto as the big badā theory, not because heās a threat to Assiah (we know he isnāt), but because of the grip he has over everyone else in the story. So far, his interests are met but thatās all that matters to him: he does whatever he wants with whoever he needs, he leads them right where he wants them, because he knows whatās going to happenā¦
And even though some fight backā¦
so far, there was no success in metaphorically punching him in the face (Shura physically got close to that result after the Aomori arc, but nothing else).Ā
However, Mephy isnāt 100% unbeatable (otherwise he wouldnāt make a possible interesting big bad), as we saw recently when he was shot in ch94ā¦
because he canāt foresee everything all the time and thatās why there is a possibility for the twins to maybe tell him to back off at some point, gaining control of their own fate which was until now (in many timelines) in Mephistoās hands.Ā
I just would find it interesting to see it happen, is all: right now Mephisto is getting out of time, ironically enough, and even if it might be planned it means that there is a way around him controlling everything.Ā
Anyway, for sure Lucifer and Satan are presented as the biggest threats, because theyāre both a danger to Assiah, but their influence over the twins is ridiculous compared to the iron grip that Mephisto has over basically everyone.Ā
I mean, yeah Lucifer has Yukio where he wants him right now, but itās Mephisto (helped by Shima) who let Yukio reach this point of no return. Same for Rin: yeah Satan killed Shiro, but hoping to get Rin to become his vessel is pretty much not happening by simply waiting and asking.
Meanwhile Mephisto just fucks around with everyone in a very calculated way, all for his plans, and all we have isā¦
mostly Shura being fed up with that shit.
Just look at Yukio, how can we even see Mephisto in a good light when he let Yukio attempt suicide, even pushing him down that road from the very beginning? Nah, heās a manipulative asshole from head to toe, heart to tail, and he gets away with it because he doesnāt even bother to hide that āheās a demonā.Ā Except thatā¦
ā¦we can see heās way worse than most demons, since he can even manipulate his own kind just as much as humans.Ā
TL;DR the story (aka Sensei) could let Mephisto get away with all that shit heās constantly pulling because heās truly Assiahās ally, or the twins may find it in themselves to eventually fight him in order to gain control over their own fate. I donāt know, either possibility can happen (later).Ā
That being said, Mephisto isnāt a good guy and trying to justify that itās his nature because heās a demon doesnāt even begin to cover it.Ā
Personally I roll my eyes at Satan, I shrug at Lucifer, I love Rin but I canāt ever trust a single thing coming out of Mephistoās mouth, because Iām always dead scared that itāll bite me back later in the plot. xDD
My take on it. :) Sorry for rambling, have a nice day Anon!
this is a big read, and not a bad analysisĀ either! However, I disagree with Mephisto being the big bad, and here'sĀ why!
Meph in an essence is a concept born from Gehenna. Its a demon, and a powerful one at that. As such meph isnāt meant to be taken lightly nor can he be bested easy, a creature made from a dimension that mirrors the human world realizing this, he isnāt supposed to have human morals and part of all thatās being said in that ābad mephā analysis is not really mentioning thatā¦Ā
like the way im reading it, its as if they automatically expect Meph who is something no human can comprehend to understand human emotions 100%. yea sure he can feel to some extent how emotions feel but I feel likeĀ
Mephisto is⦠he is the Logical side to help balance out the humanās emotional side.Ā
like you ever get into a situation and freak out? your first instinct is to use your emotional thinking and go along with that, sometimes the results are good, most of the time they are not. If a train is coming and on one side you have 20 people strapped to the track, and the other side there is one doctor who has the cure for cancer and aids, a very important figure in helping humanity with their knowledgeā¦Ā
An emotional reaction is to pull the train to the Doctor, saving the 20 other lives. A logical one will save the doctor, but not the 20 peopleā¦because the end game result is the doctor will then save millions of lives in that process. Mephisto thinks like that, and all those kids and Rin and Yukio especially are emotional reactors.Ā
We saw already how Rin gets when he gets emotional⦠Mephisto is there to counter that. Not because the emotion in itself is bad but because the actions that happen after are bad. He comes off as cold and unfeeling.. he treated Shiro like that and all but in reality, heās trying to get him to think more logically. Shiro, when he was younger, was a selfish brat who only worried about getting himself free and as far away from section 13 as possible.
Ā Older Shiro learned to be more empathetic and thus took the twins in, helping to raise them into young men who will later, help finish this war. Sure, they may not have asked for this but I think even meph cant control who gets born into what family (we cant give him too much credit) and then inevitably, brought up into the world of demons and exorcistsā¦Ā
A soldier who reacts to emotions first is not a good soldier. A soldier who chose to fight for others must think for others first before themselves. Yukio at first was kinda okay⦠but he bottled up his emotions until he flipped his shit and defected⦠Mephisto needs the kids to learn how to tame their emotions on their own, otherwise, they would lose their world or get possessed easier.Ā
Thatās why Meph took Rin to see the past, he wants him to learn how to fight his emotionally racked demon half and take full control. Itās not one of the best methods, but humans tend to learn faster when they are thrown right into the water and forced to swim out. They will be scared, they will not be the same innocent beings, but they will grow and mature into fine exorcists.Ā
All those times that hes set them up to work together? He was seeing who needed their pacifier pulled out earlier. He needed them to suffer a tiny bit for the bettering of their own being, and after this war is finished im sure they can do whatever the fuck they want. Hell, they deserve it.
Ā And, if anything, whatās wrong with him having everyone in the palm of his hands if he is on their side? isnāt that like what a war general is? Isnāt that how real life works? we have actual humans who do this, boot camp training aint sunshine and rainbows. You answer to higher ups always, treated as despendable by the US government ALWAYS, because you chose to defend other people, JUST like the exorcists all chose tooā¦
that doesnāt make war generals bad, that doesnāt really make anyone bad because this is in every country⦠They are doing whatās best for everyone, the same as Mephisto.
The way I see it, individuality is somewhat sacrificed in the name of saving others. The exquires all knew that when they signed up, just like when you sign up to go to the front lines, arenāt you doing the same?
This thread gets me into very meta thinking. xD People of faith, close your eyes and scroll past, a heathen is about to blaspheme. As in⦠yeah, Mephisto tampers with these peopleās lives and puts them through terrible things. And we view it negatively because no human wants to have their freedom taken away. We view it as humans. While Mephisto is a demon and doesnāt get caught up in the perspective of personal happiness or well-being. He sees the much bigger picture, with global catastrophe looming at the periphery, and he does what needs to be done to prevent it. Do you know who else matches that description? God. Gods demanding people to leave everything they know and love and embark on perilous quests. Gods demanding humans to sacrifice their own lives for the greater good. Gods demanding humans to put the few through suffering so that the many may have a better life. It can be pertinent to remember that in myth and legend, it has been regarded as an honour, a privilege, to be chosen by the gods for greater things. Itās terrible for them, absolutely. Itās not fair to those who have to pay the price, itās not humane in any way, and the only justification we have for it is āgod said soā. God knows things humans donāt, has a perspective humans donāt; we trust god to use that to our benefit, we trust god to be good, even though the trials weāre put through indicate the opposite. Viewed through this lens, what Mephisto is doing now is no different from Jesus pulling his apostles-to-be out of their everyday lives like āsorry, I happen to need you, higher calling, most of you are gonna be martyred in gruesome ways and also have to watch me die and I know that doesnāt sound like a very good deal for you but hey - god commands it, humans wonāt understand, just trust me on thisā. Now, if gods and demons are the same in AnE, then what really makes the difference between Mephisto dictating peopleās fate and god doing it? If he is the bad guy for what he does, then what does that make our gods? Iād also like to comment on this frame:
It has been brought up before, but it was a while ago and I canāt remember by whom. Mephisto isnāt tossing on the dramatic villain cape here, he is furtively quoting Nietzsche and tossing on the dramatic villain cape. The quote is Nietzsche saying that humans have evolved from worms into men but that we fall laughably short of being done with our development. We have a lot of our nature still to overcome if we are to reach the highest peak of what we can be. That is what Mephisto is grooming these poor kids for. They are pathetic embryos of their true potential as they are right now, fit only to be toyed with by higher powers; but heās also saying that they can grow into truly worthy allies/enemies (depending on their attitudes to him) if they are prepared to climb that mountain and surpass themselves. Perhaps they can win their freedom? I would love to see the pawns try to overwhelm the player. But the path there will mean dancing to Mephistoās tune, and the growing pains will be severe. How else do you become powerful enough to defeat a god?
Ok, so, this is my second attempt. Tumblr digested my first post but I had the foresight to screen shot most of it soā¦ā¦.
Without further ado:
My reply to this reblog is CURSED! Holy crap, I have never had to just through so many frikin hoops to post to tumblr before!
Anyway, this reaction:
Ok, so hereās where I stopped screen shotting (like an idiot); just pretend this is delightfully nuanced and shit. Basically Iām going to paraphrase myselfā¦.badly.
Mephisto by his nature stands against entrophy, but Assiah is in a crap situation because the only way you can reverse entropy is by adding energy into the system. A closed system by its very nature is closed meaning you canāt add energy into the system.
But here is where the canonical cosmology of the Ao No Exorcist world comes into play.
Assiah and Gehenna are separate but mirrored realities; their interaction is limited and always involed a give and take or an exchange of energies. This way they maintain the integrity of their closed systems.
However, for Mephisto to be able to add energy to Assiah from the nearest source of energy (Gehenna) he needs a conduit that exists in Assiah and can channel energy from Gehenna.
To that end, it seems likely to me that the early Nephilium were a failed attempt to make this happen (they were only able to channel negligable ampunts of energy). Mephistoās ultimate goal with the cloning program may have have been an attempt to correct his failure with the earlier nephilium and the nudging of the energy of Gehenna towards manifest consciousness was not entirely accidental.
The birth of a nephilium of Satan, the conscious manifestation of Gehenna, is exactly what Mephisto needs. Even better he got two for one, twins, double the power assuming they donāt perfectly mirror each other and cancel each other out.
š¤ the question stands; how would Mephisto go about harnessing that power?
Ah, yes. The strife, struggle, trials and tribulations of Yukio and Rin.
So yes, while Mephisto is working toward the greater good, slowing the eventual heat death of the universe (Assiah) by introducing external energy from Gehenna, he is still the big bad in Yukio and Rinās story.
Yukio and Rin will save the universe (probably for about another 14 million years) but at great personal cost; the fact that they are essentially children and just the latest of a long series of lives destroyed for the sake of Mephistoās endgame, makes Mephistoās actions even more sinister from a alturistic, moral standpoint.
To be sure Mephistoās overall goal is a noble one, but ultimately it is in his own self interest, and while he is certainly powerful he is not omniscient.
DAD SAYS ITāS HIS TURN ON THE XBOX!
At the end of it all he is gambling on the outcome and he is thrilled with the prospect of things not going as expected, after all eternal existence is a bit boring in the long view.
In that way, while Mephisto is serving his greater nature, he is still a bit nihilistic.
This is as flaw that we, as fallible human beings, absolutely identify with.
*************************************************
[1] The Practice of Meaning in Nietzsche and Wittgenstein, M. J. Bowles, Journal of Nietzsche Studies, No. 26 (AUTUMN 2003), pp. 12-24 (13 pages),PublishedĀ by:Ā Penn State University Press, https://www.jstor.org/stable/20717817
Quote from Bella-gunn:Ā āHowever, for Mephisto to be able to add energy to Assiah from the nearest source of energy (Gehenna) he needs a conduit that exists in Assiah and can channel energy from Gehenna.ā
Maybe heās also responsible for the artificial Gehenna Gate? Or in the very least wants it to happen. Mephisto benefits from having Gehenna infiltrate Assiah in more ways than one. Having humans see demons would also increase the power of his own concept. He puts his vessel on the line to temporarily stop the gate, but I think his cooperation is just a part of another elaborate hustle. If Lucifer wants to obliterate Assiah he wouldnāt require this gate.
I think that humans being the weaker pawns or āwormsā in the equation will surprise Mephisto. He fully expects it and will find the outcome entertaining no matter what happens. Humans will continue to challenge his perception of them in all kinds of ways.
āBRAVO!!!ā
Hi! Non-native speaker, so I hope my English is not that bad. I really like your blog and especially your analyses on Mephisto. Fantastic!(read in his voice)
So my question.Have you read blue exorcist novel Bloody Fairy Tail? In the novel there is a part where little girl describes Mephisto as big void and the black wing towering over him. Do you think this could be a hint to his real form? Or perhaps his role as Angel of Death? Also there is part in the first chapters of the manga, when Mephisto meets with Amaimon and tells him that he took Rin under his wing. It might be just a translation though. Sorry for a long ask
After accidentally deleting this twice Iām going to try again! (New phone, still getting used to it)
I have not actually read the entire thing because finding any of the light novels in the US is really, really hard. Like, really hard. But I have actually read the part youāre talking about through fan pages here on Tumblr talking about that very thing! (And thanks to @facets-and-rainbows Iāve now been able to read more! Thank you.)
Hereās the thing: the only image that exists that depicts Mephistopheles in his pre-Goethe form is this one by Eugene Delacroix from the early 1800ās:
This version of Mephistopheles is from Marloweās 1616 version, The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. In it, (the B version) Mephistopheles is said to conjure wings in order to frighten the knights attacking him and Faustus, before turning said knights into demons (or animals in some translations) and giving them horns.
Mephistopheles is also a fallen angel, and uses that to both dissuade Faustus from forming a contract at the beginning, and later to help trick and torment the Pope in this version.
The inscription on it reads: De temps en temps jāaime aāvoir le vieux PĆ©re, Et me garde bien lui rompre en VisiĆ©re
Which roughly translates to (keeping in mind Iām still learning how to read older dialects of French) : āFrom time to time I like to see my old/winterly/ancient Father, and take care not to break off/sever with him in Person.ā The caption probably is talking about the Pope scene, or maybe Faustsusā separation from God, but to me it also speaks to the retribution of both.
Aaaaaanyway point is, itās very popular to depict Mephistopheles as having black, feathery wings, partly because no matter what version heās in heās still a fallen angel lamenting his separation from God, (which isnāt especially relevant but it IS interesting) and also because the wings are mentioned directly in the earliest published version of the play.
Whatās more, the original Mephistopheles from the late 1500ās (earliest record of the name was 1587) in the original Faustbuch was never a demon at all, but rather either an angel or a man that had been damned to serve Lucifer for all eternity by selling him his own soul, the reasons for which are never revealed. He does, however, from the very beginning, warn Faust about what heās doing, and what that will lead to, presumably because heās done the same thing and now regrets it. Fun stuff :)
As to whether I think it has anything to do with his true form, I would say yes, to a point. Samael is a shape-shifter after all, so not too many forms are out of bounds.
However, if he has wings (probable or at least possible) thereās some kind of reason why he doesnāt use them.
These are the closest we ever see to a demon form for him, and heās⦠pretty formless, broadly speaking.
He is kind of void-like, true, and warps the space around him. But, no visible wings.
In fact the only wings we see him with are not his own - theyāre that of his familiar, which is likely Kin of Azazel.
He can fly without any wings at all, (space timey levitation and all) so one would question why heād need a familiarās, never mind his own. Conservation of energy perhaps?
In any case I do think he CAN have wings, when he wants them, if that makes sense. Shape shifting is however tiresome, and flight requires a great deal of energy expenditure even if heās not working against gravity in the traditional sense. So I imagine that he could use his own wings, or turn into a bird, but he doesnāt do so unless practical because it eats up his stamina, which heās got little of comparatively.
Though honestly Iām more of the mind that he does shape shift all the time to observe things, (and what better form than a bird? Heās called The Raven too to boot) itās just that turning into anything like that is going to terrify people, and unless thatās his aim, itās not terribly reasonable. Similarly I am completely sure he has horns and a tail, but those things are very secretive to him, so he doesnāt show them hardly ever.
Why the girl sees wings may just be a reflection of her own fears; humans see what they want to, and fear-projecting wings into a creepy demonic aura would not be beyond a child.
As to why they might be secret, theyāre probably very identifiable. In his current incarnation he thrives on secrecy and keeping his name, and infamy, on the down-low. Heās not trying to give Lucifer any more shit to throw back in his face, and heās not trying to be a god and rule over people (not directly) heās just trying to be a chairman and an arc knight keeping the world from literally gong up in flames, but doing so as close to anonymously as possible for himself. He doesnāt want people to fear him in the same way they used to (except when he wants them to of course) he just wants to do his own thing, and pretty much be left alone.
Not to get too speculative here, but I think perhaps heās tired. Tired of being a god. Tired of being a demon. Tired of being Luciferās favorite scapegoat. (The irony of that) Tired of having to be a puppeteer and tired of having to serve the needs of others in order to just keep himself alive and sane. Tired of playing politics with Lucifer and tired of him never changing or being able to.
And who could blame him? Over and over and over and over. The monotony and pain are unimaginable. Perhaps thatās why Lucifer canāt understand him; surely if anyone could appreciate the suffering that comes from eternity and the pain of losing out over and over, it would be him, surely? Yet, Samael perseveres. He finds the smallest, most difficult things to cling to, like a desperate man panning for gold in a sea of sand, looking for specs of dust. He lives solely for those little moments, the butterfly wing that shapes a hurricane on the other side of the world. Itās monotonous, itās tedious and it sucks, but rarely, ever rarely, itās worth it. The world will never see perfection and he likes it that way - he doesnāt want perfection, only change.
And change is probably what drives his secrecy. He changes his face to suit the time, and in a time when demons supposedly donāt exist it makes sense to be discreet. Thereās also advantages to the relative anonymity; if he does have to ever throw his weight around, he has to do far less to make a deep impression.
Thanks for the ask. I enjoyed answering even if I went a little off topic lol.
How did I miss this? Found it online.
Famous last words.
Mephisto is entirely too pleased with himself here lol he Knows
Mephisto and Faust more notes.
You need Love, understanding and empathy to tame a demon.
And chapter 138 has me thinking.
So if demons need love, empathy, and understanding to be tamed.
Who tamed Mephisto?
Was it Faust?
Mephisto founded the knights of the True Cross during Medieval times. We know Mephisto most likely met Johann Georg Faust somewhere in Medieval Germany.
From Wikipedia.
For the year 1506, there is a record of Faust appearing as a performer of magical tricks and horoscopes inĀ Gelnhausen. Over the following 30 years, numerous similar records spread over southern Germany. Faust appeared as a physician, doctor of philosophy, alchemist, magician and astrologer and was often accused of fraud. The church denounced him as a blasphemer in league with the devil.
I also read somewhere that he dabbled in exorcism and had some magical texts, books of spells or grimoires attributed to him. The books outlined how to cast spells, divination, charms, amulets and talismans. Plus, ways to evoke angels, spirits, deities and demons.
Did Mephisto have a Shiro-like contract with Faust? Did he become so besotted with Faust that they joined into a new hybrid creature? Instead of Faust giving up his soul, they decided to co-exist in one body?
Mephisto teams up with a charlatan magician and finds the entire experience so fucking entertaining that he literally becomes the guy. The thought of Faust tricking Mephisto into a relationship would be a manga I'd die to read.
Remember this panel? Ha....
Without demon powers, Mephisto's default is a terrible magician. Faust is totally in there.
So basically Mephisto went to Japan when the Holy Roman Empire fell. He said he is there since 200 years if I remember correctly. And it plays in the early 2000. So at the beginning of 1800s the Holy Roman Empire collapsed.
And it was also the time when Goethe published Faust. So he was like āLet me help this dude write my story and then Iāll be out of hereā.
Understandable tbh.
Also imagine how strange it is to adapt to human customs. For years and years the customs stayed the same. Now he has to adapt to everything at a much faster rate. Maybe thatās why he seems like he has fallen out of time with his mannerisms? Since he is old, time is not something that he perceives the same as humans. In one chapter he explains that 10 human years is like one second to him. Adapting to societal changes that quickly is probably the only sports he does.
Regarding the fashion senseā¦he has one, itās just 500 years behind
Hi! Non-native speaker, so I hope my English is not that bad. I really like your blog and especially your analyses on Mephisto. Fantastic!(read in his voice)
So my question.Have you read blue exorcist novel Bloody Fairy Tail? In the novel there is a part where little girl describes Mephisto as big void and the black wing towering over him. Do you think this could be a hint to his real form? Or perhaps his role as Angel of Death? Also there is part in the first chapters of the manga, when Mephisto meets with Amaimon and tells him that he took Rin under his wing. It might be just a translation though. Sorry for a long ask
After accidentally deleting this twice Iām going to try again! (New phone, still getting used to it)
I have not actually read the entire thing because finding any of the light novels in the US is really, really hard. Like, really hard. But I have actually read the part youāre talking about through fan pages here on Tumblr talking about that very thing! (And thanks to @facets-and-rainbows Iāve now been able to read more! Thank you.)
Hereās the thing: the only image that exists that depicts Mephistopheles in his pre-Goethe form is this one by Eugene Delacroix from the early 1800ās:
This version of Mephistopheles is from Marloweās 1616 version, The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. In it, (the B version) Mephistopheles is said to conjure wings in order to frighten the knights attacking him and Faustus, before turning said knights into demons (or animals in some translations) and giving them horns.
Mephistopheles is also a fallen angel, and uses that to both dissuade Faustus from forming a contract at the beginning, and later to help trick and torment the Pope in this version.
The inscription on it reads: De temps en temps jāaime aāvoir le vieux PĆ©re, Et me garde bien lui rompre en VisiĆ©re
Which roughly translates to (keeping in mind Iām still learning how to read older dialects of French) : āFrom time to time I like to see my old/winterly/ancient Father, and take care not to break off/sever with him in Person.ā The caption probably is talking about the Pope scene, or maybe Faustsusā separation from God, but to me it also speaks to the retribution of both.
Aaaaaanyway point is, itās very popular to depict Mephistopheles as having black, feathery wings, partly because no matter what version heās in heās still a fallen angel lamenting his separation from God, (which isnāt especially relevant but it IS interesting) and also because the wings are mentioned directly in the earliest published version of the play.
Whatās more, the original Mephistopheles from the late 1500ās (earliest record of the name was 1587) in the original Faustbuch was never a demon at all, but rather either an angel or a man that had been damned to serve Lucifer for all eternity by selling him his own soul, the reasons for which are never revealed. He does, however, from the very beginning, warn Faust about what heās doing, and what that will lead to, presumably because heās done the same thing and now regrets it. Fun stuff :)
As to whether I think it has anything to do with his true form, I would say yes, to a point. Samael is a shape-shifter after all, so not too many forms are out of bounds.
However, if he has wings (probable or at least possible) thereās some kind of reason why he doesnāt use them.
These are the closest we ever see to a demon form for him, and heās⦠pretty formless, broadly speaking.
He is kind of void-like, true, and warps the space around him. But, no visible wings.
In fact the only wings we see him with are not his own - theyāre that of his familiar, which is likely Kin of Azazel.
He can fly without any wings at all, (space timey levitation and all) so one would question why heād need a familiarās, never mind his own. Conservation of energy perhaps?
In any case I do think he CAN have wings, when he wants them, if that makes sense. Shape shifting is however tiresome, and flight requires a great deal of energy expenditure even if heās not working against gravity in the traditional sense. So I imagine that he could use his own wings, or turn into a bird, but he doesnāt do so unless practical because it eats up his stamina, which heās got little of comparatively.
Though honestly Iām more of the mind that he does shape shift all the time to observe things, (and what better form than a bird? Heās called The Raven too to boot) itās just that turning into anything like that is going to terrify people, and unless thatās his aim, itās not terribly reasonable. Similarly I am completely sure he has horns and a tail, but those things are very secretive to him, so he doesnāt show them hardly ever.
Why the girl sees wings may just be a reflection of her own fears; humans see what they want to, and fear-projecting wings into a creepy demonic aura would not be beyond a child.
As to why they might be secret, theyāre probably very identifiable. In his current incarnation he thrives on secrecy and keeping his name, and infamy, on the down-low. Heās not trying to give Lucifer any more shit to throw back in his face, and heās not trying to be a god and rule over people (not directly) heās just trying to be a chairman and an arc knight keeping the world from literally gong up in flames, but doing so as close to anonymously as possible for himself. He doesnāt want people to fear him in the same way they used to (except when he wants them to of course) he just wants to do his own thing, and pretty much be left alone.
Not to get too speculative here, but I think perhaps heās tired. Tired of being a god. Tired of being a demon. Tired of being Luciferās favorite scapegoat. (The irony of that) Tired of having to be a puppeteer and tired of having to serve the needs of others in order to just keep himself alive and sane. Tired of playing politics with Lucifer and tired of him never changing or being able to.
And who could blame him? Over and over and over and over. The monotony and pain are unimaginable. Perhaps thatās why Lucifer canāt understand him; surely if anyone could appreciate the suffering that comes from eternity and the pain of losing out over and over, it would be him, surely? Yet, Samael perseveres. He finds the smallest, most difficult things to cling to, like a desperate man panning for gold in a sea of sand, looking for specs of dust. He lives solely for those little moments, the butterfly wing that shapes a hurricane on the other side of the world. Itās monotonous, itās tedious and it sucks, but rarely, ever rarely, itās worth it. The world will never see perfection and he likes it that way - he doesnāt want perfection, only change.
And change is probably what drives his secrecy. He changes his face to suit the time, and in a time when demons supposedly donāt exist it makes sense to be discreet. Thereās also advantages to the relative anonymity; if he does have to ever throw his weight around, he has to do far less to make a deep impression.
Thanks for the ask. I enjoyed answering even if I went a little off topic lol.
Blue Exorcist Novel Masterlist
Iāve been going crazy looking for some of these post on my tags, so to make life easier for myself at least, Iām compiling a masterlist of the novels. Eventually, Iāll do the same for the character guidebook which⦠is still a WIP lol. tagging @silveryogiā and @facets-and-rainbowsā here for their hard work!
Weekend Hero - all of these have been translated by silveryogi! <ā this links leads to their masterlist!
Weekend Hero
I Want to Dance the Tango with you
Troubled Monk
Okumura Rin Rescue Team
Sir Phelesā Beautiful Day
Home Sweet Home
Home Sweet HomeĀ [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]Ā [7]
Snake and Poison (Part 1 - Part 2)
Once Upon a Merry Christmas (Part 1Ā - Part 2 Ā - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5)
With Love, from the King of Earth (Here)
Bloody Fairy Tale
Drunk Angel (Part 1 - to be continued�) [Summary Post]
Bloody Fairy Tale (Part 1 &Ā Part 2Ā by facets! ā„) & also the completed version here, of which you want to start at Part 2 if youāve read the previous version before: (Part 1 - Part 2Ā -Ā Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5)
Money Money Money
Character Question Corner
Spy Game
Spy Game (sneak peak) (WIP)
The Fundoshi Festival for Men
Kin-nii Leaves Home (Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3)
Yukio in Wonderland (Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5)
Downpour (Here)
Blue Exorcist Movie
Yukio and Liu-centric Short Story (WIP)
Iāll continue to edit this list consistently. If thereās more that has been translated already that Iām not aware of please let me know so I can update this! <3Ā
Oh thank god at least you guys were organized lol
look say what you will about VOLN's pacing choices but it is VITALLY IMPORTANT TO THIS ARC to have a studio that's at least a little horny about the demon eyes
Is this an indirect roast towards Lucifer?
āTo be born on top of many corpsesā
Lucifer being incarnated, probably an ego like Satan. Killed a bunch.
āWhile longing for the heavensā
King of Light, doomed to stay in Gehenna
āAnd creep a life of shameā
Being a bitch about everything and complaining non stop, trying to kill all humans because he is too strong. That is shameful. Instead of finding a solution like Mephisto or Azazel, Lucifer bitches. Shameful behavior.
Second option, more probable:
Humans from the western world, exploiting other countries, being born into privileged, wanting more, being greedy and then being shameful because they would do ANYTHING for money. Even dance weird TikTok dances while your own son is dying next to you (I hope you know what video I meant. And I know that this was written before TikTok was a thing. But itās the best example)
Mephisto makes it very clear that he is keeping the role of the antagonist, the original Satan. He loves humans, because they canāt coexist with him. He knows that. He uses them and he loves it. Mephisto is an antagonist because he only helps humans to keep Assiah a shithole. Thatās where he lives and where he wants to stay. The chaos, the murder and worse: thatās his domain and he wants to keep the role of SamƤel. Lucifer wanting to destroy Assiah would make that impossible to fulfill. He is basically doing Godās work. Keep everything balanced, keep Lucifer suffering like God (El) intended and keep his own role as THE Satan (which Satan ironically took from him. That surely bugs him).
Indeed, thereās quite a few layers imbedded in this line.
Itās a direct reference to Berserk, specifically to Griffiths transformation hallucination:
But Iām not here to fan-geek over that, per se, but rather to point out a double entendre.
You see, Griffiths whole Schtick is that heās sacrificed many, many lives to serve his own ambitions. (And he feels immense guilt about it) Heās built a mountain of corpses, which in the dream/hallucination he must climb, in order to reach the castle, a castle in which he is King.
Lucifer is much the same. Heās built and devastated entire empires, used people both human and demon as pawns to serve his own ends, but itās never enough.
His pile of corpses never stops - he is already a god among gods, a king of his own castle; heās built his own heaven in the sky, and he alone rules it. But thatās not where it stops for him, because it never stops. He longs for a heaven that simply doesnāt exist. (Same theme as Berserk). A perfect world where no one ever suffers or dies in vain. He thinks adding more corpses to the pile, sacrificing more people, and making the mountain taller will get him there - to draw another parallel, Luciferās intent to sacrifice Assiah is tantamount to Griffithās sacrifice during the Eclipse - except that Lucifer is already a god, already a king, and thereās no higher power that can truly grant his wish.
Named-Satan is stronger than him, yes, and thatās precisely why Lucifer clings to him so - heās the first and only chance Lucifer has ever had to appeal to āGodā, to ask someone else whoās stronger than he is to help him in his endeavor. He thinks that it will help, that it will āsaveā him; but he is wrong, and doesnāt even know it.
Samael does know it - he knows from living at the bottom of the mountain that the higher it is, the more ground it covers, choking out the life underneath. He knows thereās no such thing as utopia, and that attempts to make it are always doomed to fail. He also knows Lucifer very very well; when, inevitably, Lucifer has to make do with near-perfect, he will grow bored of it eventually and discard the whole thing. Where does that leave the demons in this new world? Where does that leave anybody? Luciferās ideals are backing him into a corner thereās no way for anybody to get out of. Heās condemning the entire world to hell on a very pernicious whim and not thinking about the consequences.
But I also agree with your take: humans are ambitious little fuckers that rise and fall like the tide. Lucifer didnāt have to climb the mountain - it was already there. He just took advantage of what humans have always done, using their ambition to fuel his own. He doesnāt just build the pile, he was created from it; Heās the concept of light, of the sun and stars and sky; heās the very symbol of ambition, of status, of godhood. He was made in manās image, as all demons are, and the image they painted for him was: you must rise above everything. (As the sun does)
Samael, conversely, is a concept built in the image of some of manās greatest fears - aging, dying, and failure to accomplish their goals in time to the abatement of either. Heās the vast unknown of the wilds in ancient times; heās the symbol of progress, and also of failure to progress. Heās the symbol of the hopeful future, but also the fearful past. Heās the embodiment of we donāt know, and we want to know and those things arenāt always congruent.
Point is, nothing, nothing foils a manās ambitions like the passage of time. Nothing spurs regrets like realizing that the ambition you had to rise to the top has died with the creaking of your knees. So, it makes sense that theyād be ideologically opposed to each other on a fundamental level, but itās also true that without failure, thereās no progress.
Without oneās ambition dying, another couldnāt rise to replace it. Without conflict, without disease, without death, there can be nothing new, nothing changes. Lucifer thinks this would be ideal; he loathes change, and fears failure. Heās a quintessential nobleman that doesnāt want to lose his power because he thinks heās worked so hard for it, even when he was basically born with a silver spoon.
Thatās not to say he hasnāt had to struggle, or that he doesnāt know suffering; but because heās always been a god, because heās always been the highest being, always been divine, heās always been held at a distance. Heās always been removed from the norm, removed from the very picture of what human suffering is. He has suffered, he has endured, but heās unaware (deliberately so) that his suffering is similar to anyone elseās because in the beginning he very likely wasnāt considered capable of suffering. Humans are cruel, as he repeatedly acknowledges; they never cared that he knew pain, only that he was useful to them.
Samael has known the same, but understands that his suffering is not in isolation. Heās lived among man, and separate from them. Heās seen both sides of the aisle, and knows that the fundamental success of an ecosystem, of life, is dependent on its diversity. Different things must coexist; there must be competition in order to drive innovation and growth. Life does not evolve if itās environment never makes it, and species whos environment never changes canāt survive when it inevitably does. It is in the best interests of not only man, then, but all life upon which demons fundamentally depend that discrepancy and diversity drives change.
As to the commentary about creeping about a life of shame - Lucifer is fundamentally a coward. He has lofty ideals but no courage to take matters into his own hands; heād prefer to sit on his throne looking pretty and claiming purity while others do his dirty work. Heās also got a serious complex, as youāve pointed out. He loves to complain about how everything sucks, but expects everyone else to change it - but at the same time he hates it when things change, so heās always standing there to crow about how change is only ever good if itās his idea, and it always was his idea donāt you know? Lol.
I freakin love these twoās dynamics, theyāre very very interesting.
AO NO EXORCIST: SHIMANE ILLUMINATI-HEN (2024) ā“ MEPHISTO PHELES created by katou kazue
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