Meet 弄, the kanji for that thing where you’re holding something in your hands and keep passing it back and forth and weaving it between your fingers and so on (I always liked that the verb もてあそぶ is basically a combination of もつ “hold” and あそぶ “play”. Handy!)
It’s also that thing where you toy with someone (or their feelings) as if they were that thing you’re holding in your hands. That too. Two meanings.
I believe いじる leans toward the “fiddle with a thing” type meaning (with a little hint of “tease someone” sometimes) and もてあそぶ does both the “play with an object” meaning and the “toy with a person” meaning.
According to my kanji dictionary, 弄 was originally a jewel 玉 with a picture of two arms together 廾 beneath it (the hands are holding the jewel and playing with it). But the 玉 lost its dot somewhere along the line so now it just looks like a king 王.
…Personally I kinda like that it’s a king and some hands now.
Mine was a theatre/opera crew AU and yes of course they’re doing Faust- Featuring Angel as a most uncooperative Johann, bashing their lead costume designer’s creativity…
(Note- the design Arthur is wearing actually belongs to Earl Staley of the Houston grand opera- it is, ironically, 100% something Arthur would wear if he dressed more like canon Mephisto)
One thing is being in the wrong place at the wrong time
And then there’s Yukio Okumura
Who manages to be in wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong weapon pointed to the wrong head in front of a very wrong live television crowd who’ll all think it was him
Just when you thought being possessed by Satan was as bad as it could get
When I watched Hazbin Hotel I had big urge to draw Mephisto in this art style! He would fit in this universe so well! He and Alastor gave the same vibe (ಥ◡ಥ) Also, I sketched some character designs in this art style, like… I wasn’t able to stop myself <’D
When I watched Hazbin Hotel I had big urge to draw Mephisto in this art style! He would fit in this universe so well! He and Alastor gave the same vibe (ಥ◡ಥ) Also, I sketched some character designs in this art style, like… I wasn’t able to stop myself <’D
We begin this month with Shiro stuck in fatherhood hell. He’s raising a crybaby and a demon baby. Baby Rin is apparently a beast with a rubber nipple and shits often with reckless abandon.
Shiro eventually gets himself settled at the monastery and starts to raise the boys. Shiro tries really hard to do right and be a good parent. He raises Yukio to be an exorcist because he had zero confidence and was afraid of Rin. He kept Rin at home and taught him to cook, because Rin seemed to enjoy it and Yukio enjoyed his cooking. He was trying to get the brothers to bond and trust each other.
HERE’S A BIG REVEAL : Yukio knows!!!
Yukio knew about Satan possessing Shiro. It wasn’t a secret. Shiro shared everything with Yukio, Yukio knows more than he’s been letting on in the story so far. Shiro is so comfortable talking with Yukio he’s joking around about it. He tells Yukio not to worry because good emotional health and physical health with help stop possessions. So eat up Yukio!!! You got the Satan eye too kiddo!!
This means that Yukio knows full well what’s happening to him in the future. He knows that Satan is peaking through his eye to spy on Rin. He did the same thing with Shiro.
Does this mean that Yukio ran away from Rin to save him from Satan? Interesting to consider! It would be fun to think that Yukio is playing Satan for a fool. Yukio is also playing us for fools!! I like it!!
So Satan uses Shiro’s body as a way back into Assiah to try and possess Rin. Satan then realizes that Rin isn’t strong enough and attempts to drag the boy into Gehenna. Shiro does the selfless thing and kills himself to save his son.
Another interesting reveal. The Koma sword is trapping Satan in Gehenna?
Satan says that the sword can’t contain him any longer. The sword can’t contain him? This entire time I thought that demon Rin was a part of his soul. But maybe he’s a version of Satan living inside of Rin instead. That means if Demon Rin is exorcised, Rin would continue being himself. I like that idea. So it stands to reason that when Rin draws the Koma sword he gives Satan access to his body in small increments? In the future the Koma sword was broken. Does that mean that Satan now has free reign in Rin’s body? Is that why Mephisto makes sure that Miwa takes the broken sword and scabbard together? The scabbard might still have the power to trap Satan back in Gehenna.
MEPH BEING CONTRARY…a lot!!
We then jump to the future. Meph is calmly eating some noodles and brings up the fact that so many people have died because of Rin.
It seems that he’s rubbing salt in Rin’s emotional wounds. But he’s not really, it’s just Meph being contrary again. He knows that Rin’s emotional stability is fucked right now. He’s testing out Rin’s feelings to see how Rin is handling it. Remember the advice from earlier in the chapter.
So Mephisto is testing Rin’s emotions. This is the part that gives me the creeps. Is he helping him or not? I’m not sure!!!!!
OPTION ONE: MEPH IS SETTING RIN UP
The heart is the key to demonic possession. Is Mephisto trying to help Satan take Rin’s body over by causing him to become emotional? By cracking his heart?
After Rin has his little heart-to-heart with Shiro he goes off in search of Yukio and his demon heart is hanging out!!
Who is going to notice that?
Satan of course!!!
(this is probably why Yukio left his brother’s side he doesn’t want Satan to spy on Rin)
LOOK HOW SHOCKED YUKIO IS.
IN HIS HEAD…HE’S LIKE RIN…YOU IDIOT!!
JUST A FLASHBACK
YUKIO WANTS TO BE STRONG ENOUGH TO HELP RIN
MEANWHILE RIN….CARES ABOUT FAMILY….BUT
MEPHISTO HAS WARNED RIN WHICH PATH TO TAKE
OPTION #2 IS MEPHISTO TRYING TO STRENGTHEN RIN’S HEART?
Rin goes into the past and realizes that Yuri and Shiro gave their lives to save their son. Regardless whether or not Rin should have been born, he was loved. That love makes him remember his love for Yukio. Maybe that is the event that stops demonRIn from possessing him. Shiro teaches Rin to cook because it helps him both mentally and physically. The lesson was to help stabilize his emotions.
DID RIN LEARN ANYTHING FROM SHIRO?
HERE’S HOPING!!
SO IS MEPHISTO LYING?
Mephisto claims that he doesn’t know what’s going to happen to Rin after he leaves with the Kamakushi key. This is another fib. Because Shiro totally recognized that Rin was his son.
Rin unlocked the front door with a key to get into the monastery. In the past Shiro gave the key to Rin. So he must have asked Mephisto for it. Mephisto is fully aware that this little meeting between Rin and daddy would happen.
Meph is waiting to see what Rin does
Rin must decide the future, Mephisto can’t force Rin into decisions. That part I believe is true. The human heart is a wild card that a demon can’t predict.
Rin is in charge of what happens next. Whether he wins or fails
Meph will decide whether to sacrifice Rin to Satan or use him as a weapon based on Rin’s decisions and emotions.
So this statement is entirely true. (strictly speaking neither….frankly speaking…well…that’s up for debate)
This was a long and super enjoyable chapter for me. So much bad Mephisto…! I’ll take Mephisto good or bad. Last month he was almost redeemable, this month he’s got big bad vibes again.
Chapter 119 So. Many. Questions.
Question #1. Is Yuri really human?
Do human souls wind up in Gehenna? Or is it just a place for demons? Is Yuri actually a half-demon. Here she is listening to the demon kings babble on about making bodies. Otherwise, Gehenna seems pretty desolate.
Regardless, Yuri’s spirit is stuck next to Satan in hell. Satan has forgotten everything he learned from Yuri about love. He’s just desperate to have a body to feel all warm and hot and stuff. He doesn’t care about emotional connections he just wants a body so he can smash. This guy is so basic. In this chapter, I’ve finally decided… I hate him.
Meanwhile, we see the aftermath of the blue knight, Myoda mourns Shima’s dad…(I mean his brother!) We see the black flame pass on to baby Shima. We catch a glimpse of Neuhaus picking up the remains of his wife and wander dejectedly down into the remains of section 13.
Todo tells his daughter that she’s inherited the same powers has her father. We see nothing but death and destruction around her. Her mother is dead. So that means that both Todos are now demon eaters, perhaps Homare does have an important use to Lucifer? A back-up body perhaps? It’s obvious that she loves the King of Light, is she going to sacrifice herself to save him? Or sacrifice herself for the cause? (women need to stop sacrificing themselves! Full Stop.)
Shemihaza has regrets over not stepping in sooner to stop all the carnage of the blue night. Meph is like…oh…but we had to wait. Wait for what? The birth of the twins and his side plan to ripen. The Grigori agencyshows up to gather up Lucifer’s body and Meph is like…”Ewww might get my hands dirty! Gotta go!” Shemihaza’s internal narrative probably: ”thanks, but no thanks, you arse.”
Mephisto and Shiro meet up to have an argument about who is going to be the daddy.Shiro informs Mephisto that he knew he was using him this entire time. Because he is the King of Time and that’s what he does. Shiro wants to leave the mess and tells Mephy he can come and visit. Because Shiro knows Mephy can’t stay away from his Shiro toy. Mephisto pipes up and informs him that he’s not going anywhere. He has lost a deal to the devil. Shiro is the new Paladin. (Mephisto’s dog…not the Vatican, not really.)
So basically. Shiro becomes the daddy of the twins. Mephisto is “Daddy” to Shiro. Mephisto for the win!!! Here’s your pacifier!
MEPHY WAGERS
You can’t outsmart Mephisto, he’s working more than one angle. If you make a deal with Mephisto, he owns your ass. Yuri made a deal with Mephisto too obviously, either to save Shiro or Satan or maybe both of them. She had an inkling that she knew this was going to happen. Meph set her up as a pawn. He used Yuri’s emotions against her to get what he wanted. He used Shiro’s wager for power to entrap him into a wager. Yuri failed….and so will Shiro.
Meph made a few other wagers. He made one with his evil, whiny father. He shows up in Gehenna and uses Satan’s children as pawns for another wager. He meanwhile, tells Shiro Rin and Yukio are weapons. I think he’s being honest with Shiro. Not because I think that Mephisto feels morally obligated to protect the babies, I think he wants to screw his dad over. Satan and Lucifer are his biggest threats to him losing his playground. He’s going to double-cross Satan. I think it’s still all about revenge. Satan keeps preferring Lucifer of Mephisto and I don’t think it’s going to work out for him. Meph doesn’t have brute power, but he has superior intelligence.
What happens next?
Shura is Mephisto’s next pawn. She knows she’s getting played too. Mephisto is trying to do everything in his power to manipulate her. He loves playing games with his toys. He needs Shura to agree to a wager but nothing is really enticing her.
Mephisto’s deals.
Shiro: Sexual desire, material desire. Meph grants his wishes.
Yuri: Love/desire
Lightning: Dude wanted knowledge….
He’s still trying to figure out how to manipulate Shura. She’s just as intelligent and feisty as Shiro, but she’s got some noticeable differences. She doesn’t give a shit about power.
She cares about RIn and Yukio with the same devotion that Yuri had for Satan and Shiro. But she won’t agree to one of his crappy wagers. It’s gotta be super difficult for him. He’s going to need to try something else to win.
Remember last week when I was exploring Shura’s emblem. How her world somehow becomes entangled with Mephisto’s. We see the mix of Meph’s colours two shades of purple mixed with Shura demonic yellow and pink colours. That weird arrow that shoots through Shura’s emblem is the same weird arrow thing that is part of Mephisto’s Gehenna form. Seriously, what the hell doesthat mean? The more I look at it..i felt so stupid. It’s not an arrow…it’s the hand of a clock. What does it all signifiy? Your guess is as good as mine. They get entangled...somehow.
