Abandoning The Crest Of The Demon King, Bellion Is Confronted By Meliodas. Promising To Protect Others

abandoning the crest of the demon king, bellion is confronted by meliodas. promising to protect others rather than seek revenge, he settles in a village of humans & acts to fight off other demons that attack. he falls in love with the most unlikely person, ellatte, a celestial. from time to time, meliodas checks up on him to see if his promise was true … 

not pictured, the dead albion falling on bellion because he looked away for a moment … “when your crush shows up & you try to play it cool but instead end up with a very bruised ego” … meliodas absolutely bursts out laughing … 

anyway, u bet i referenced the prisoners of the sky side story for 2 bellion panels lmao because it worked out. @asteriskheart  im tagging u in thsi because i just mentioned it on discord

Some things about Radiant Garden

01.   RG used to be Scala ad Caelum. Or at the very least, an event happened in Scala that caused the world to fracture, with one part becoming RG and the remnants possibly being where Mickey is supposed to head. Link to my original post about it here.

02.   Known for being the city of light, RG is built into a circular and layered pattern that makes it easy to divide the city into segmented districts. Structured much like Midgar  ( sans the stacking a city atop another city and excessive environmental damage ), it is much bigger than it looks from in game traversal. There’s also a few more rural settlements along the coast bordering RG that you can see in BBS, but they were completely destroyed when the world was reduced to being Hollow Bastion.

03.   RG is quite eclectic. The culture’s a mix of many sources, carrying over shreds of old customs from when it both was Daybreak Town and Scala, and the traditions of various new settlers. It used to be a hotspot of activity among worlds when it was recovering from Scala tearing apart. This is the reason you can find inhabitants of varying ethnicities, skin tones, and name origins. However, after Scala was finished being rebuilt into RG, it ended up completely closed off to the rest of the worlds until Terranort opened RG's Door and shattered it's dimensional barrier again.

04.   This is Zack, Beatrix, Seifer, Rai, and Fuu, and Sephiroth's homeworld. Zack left at a young age to become a hero like Sephiroth a few months prior to the events of BBS, eventually winding up in the Coliseum. The head of the royal guard is Beatrix. She is still alive but doesn't yet know that Radiant Garden has been restored. Seifer, Rai, and Fuu are supposed to be the same age as Leon, but when RG collapsed they found themselves in Twilight Town. A world with a completely different time zone, far slower compared to RG. While Leon aged the full 12 years in universal standard time and is 25, this trio only aged a couple years, clocking in at about 18. If Seifer ever runs into Leon again, he likely won’t be happy about discovering his rival suddenly being 7 years his senior.

05.   Sephiroth... was one of those cases. Human experimentation definitely has it’s black mark in RG’s history and he too was experimented on by the head scientist at the time, Hojo, who had delved into research about various aspects of the heart to uncover it’s mysteries. Needless to say,  after seeing the man hanging around coliseums to beat up 14 year old kids and proclaiming himself as Cloud’s darkness, it didn't go so well. The incident is why Terranort gets stonewalled by Ansem when he proposes doing the same thing years later.

06.   Ansem and Kairi are related, part of the same royal family. He's not her father or grandfather or anything, he's her uncle. Kairi's parents weren't in the picture at some point, so Ansem took over ruling RG. Kairi is the actual crown princess. However, she doesn't see herself as a royalty in any sense of the word. She does not consider the world her home, and has no real attachment to it, outside of brief, very fleeting instances of nostalgia. Destiny Islands is where she grew up, where she formed the majority of her memories, and where her friends and dad call home. She would like to know what happened to her grandmother though, the only family she can recollect before she was sent away.

07.   Post KH3 Ansem is not in a position of real leadership. It'd be hard for him to resume that role seamlessly after he returns. Terranort, posing as him, secretly abducted a ton of people to use as subjects. The townsfolk were all under the presumption that he betrayed them and caused the world to fall into darkness. Although that isn't the case, there's the question of his whereabouts for the last decade. What had he been doing while the residents were fighting to restore the world ?  Being trapped in the darkness and getting consumed by hatred over his apprentices ? Off singlemindedly focused on getting revenge, damn the consequences and who gets affected ?  No. RG runs much like it did in KH2 under the restoration committee. Ansem is in a position dedicated to research, one devoid of legitimate power, and he's under supervision. Ansem acquiesces because he wants to atone for the tragedies he set in motion with his apprentices and the harm he himself caused as DiZ.

08.   Xehanort experimented on Kairi before he ever threw her in the lifeboat and tossed her into the Lanes Between. Her surviving what turned most into Heartless lead to him theorizing her having a heart free of darkness and made her viable for his plans: to lead him to a key bearer and the other scheme hinted at as of Melody of Memory, wanting Kairi to arrive in a world of neither light or darkness. Given how young she was and going off the nature of the things Xehanort was doing from the Ansem reports, she has repressed most of it.  Her heart’s light had been acting as a stop gap to keep the rising darkness in check. When Kairi left the world, the strain put on it was too much. That’s when the Heartless surged forth and overwhelmed RG, plunging it into chaos.

WISTFUL HOPE           ﹂ Those flowers pinned in your hair... are they the gentle blooms of the immortal wisterias or the fleeting red petals of the spider lilies ?

During the fall of Khaenri'ah, the Raiden Shogun  ( the first Electro Archon ), and her kagemusha participated in the conflict. There are several contributing factors for the decision, but the most prevalent at the forefront of her mind was preserving the safety of the people of Inazuma. Tragedy befell all sides, and amidst the many casualties was Makoto herself.

Despite being shaken by the death, Ei inherits both her gnosis and Musou Isshin, assuming her sister's position as the Shogunate and member of The Seven with an ideal of Eternity. Makoto's body is buried beneath the Sacred Sakura, the final resting place of Ei's original body from which the great tree sprouted during the Archon War. Thunder Sakura are then formed from branches of the Sacred Sakura and parts of Makoto's own spirit lingering within the empty shell that eventually becomes one with the tree. The first incarnations of the siblings forever defend Inazuma together, cleansing the land of its impurity.

Yet the flame of a divine will is not something so easy to extinguish. The physical form perished, yes, but the purity of memories are a powerful thing.

In a dark place, a woman finds herself awakening many years after the Cataclysm with naught but her stray thoughts and the barest snippets of a forgotten memory. Cognizant of the world around her, yet unable interact with it, lacking the ability to freely move. She has no mouth, but desires to speak. Over time, the woman acquires self-awareness and remembers who she is bit by bit along with pieces of events prior. As this self perception expands, it formulates a mental domain, a plane reflecting her existence. One steadfast yet ephemeral. Upon it's completion, the woman realizes what has taken place.

Rather than experiencing the same fate that some did upon their passing, Makoto had come back into existence, revived in the image of her final imprint upon the world instead of manifesting in a new, separate entity like so many others. It took an extended amount of time to coalesce her energies and form them back into what she was  ( an archon / a divine being )  due to the strains placed on her, and the nature of her destruction. There was but one caveat. Her body had long since been consumed by the Sacred Sakura. In the same technique known to Miko and Ei, her consciousness and the remnants of her spirit not yet absorbed into the tree had to latch onto the one object untouched by the erosion of time: the ornate hairpin worn at the moment of her death.

Post realization, Makoto is left to ponder the state of the world beyond her grave. How long has it been ?  Is Inazuma still safe, enjoying the peace she wished for ?  What was the state of her sister, Ei ?  All questions she couldn't seek answers for.

One day during her meditations, a light breaks into the periphery of her enclosed world, illuminating the small shrine enclosed within the space. Apparently she'd been residing in a cave and bandits came knocking. They waste no time pocketing any treasures to be found, including the hairpin, certain a high price would be fetched from the incredible haul. During transit to pawn off the goods, forces led by Kujou Sara blindside the group and swiftly capture them, taking them into custody. However, the ornate box housing the hairpin was in lost in the skirmish, knocked into a nearby river and carried off by the currents. Unbeknownst to Makoto, the treasure hoarders were subsequently brought before the Raiden Shogun and personally executed for the unforgivable transgression of defiling her sister's sacred resting place.

Following this, some time passes before another discovers the box, fishing it from the bottom of a river in Chinju. A young girl named Chika, hailing from a small rural village hidden from most on the outskirts of the forest. Elated, Chika takes to wearing the hairpin everywhere in her daily life. Through her, Makoto silently observes the changes in this part of modern day Inazuma.

Then, news of the vision hunt decree reaches the village. Most carry on with their lives, unaffected as none of them bear a vision. The sole exception is one resident unseen to the rest. The land closing it's borders ?  Countless visions being seized for the almighty Shogun ?  Unsettled and apprehensive about what such acts indicated of both the world at large and her sister, Makoto can only watch over Chika.

More months trickle by. During a standard chore of delivering goods, in her haste Chika accidentally strays off the beaten path and winds up cornered by a pack of hilichurls led by a Mitachurl. Defenseless to the threat, she flees and missteps, the ground crumbling away beneath her feet and caving in. Falling through the cracks of the hole, she's knocked unconscious. When she comes to, Chika is laying in a patch of soft grass a safe distance from the pit she was certain she collapsed into, not a hilichurl in sight. Only the charred husks of singed weapons and the crisp smell of ozone thick in the air remained. No one can explain the sound of rolling thunder that echoed within the forest that day.

Shortly after, Makoto makes an effort to speak to Chika. It's done sparingly, but the girl takes it in stride, happy to talk to the voice. When asked of her name, there's a pause before the response comes.

❝ You may call me Setsuna. ❞

Most write off Chika's 'one-sided' conversations as overactive imaginations at work. After all, it's nothing more than a child spinning up a pretend friend to play with, right ?

Extra Notes

Her twin used a technique to specifically craft an automaton after a lot of trial and error over the course of years. An artificial vessel designed to seamlessly accommodate Ei and she's had hundreds of years to adjust. Makoto's process was not so meticulously constructed, so she's still learning in a number of different things.

Unlike Ei, who can and will communicate directly through the puppet to share her thoughts, Makoto prefers to mentally speak to the holder of the hairpin she resides in. Chika is her default but there can be situations where others get their hands on the hairpin.

As her new repertoire expands, Makoto devises another method of interaction. By gathering enough elemental energy she projects an image of herself into the world, like a type of hologram. She can't touch anything and is bound to staying with a certain distance of the hairpin.

She can circumvent these restrictions by creating a physical clone out of elemental energy, splitting her consciousness in half. This is what happened when she saved Chika from the hilichurls. It's not that different from when she created Ei's body anew or from when Azhdaha made an avatar to spy on the people of the surface, but without a gnosis she can never make a full, permanent replacement like before. This technique requires a large expenditure of energy and the construct is fragile compared to her original body. Her full powers can't be used in this state. It's powered by the energy used to make it but it can't be replenished, and the longer it's active the more taxing it is to maintain, so Makoto limits usage as much as possible.

When Makoto saved Chika she manifested a new sword that she stores within her hairpin, the Setsunai Kibō / Wistful Hope.

It's possible for her to channel some of her own power through the holder and assume control over the body. They become a conduit, an avatar. An extension of the former Shogun. A change in eye color to Makoto's own signifies this. Taken one step farther, she can alter the holder's outward appearance to the point they entirely mirror her original image. Essentially a full possession where she can use her full strength. She does not do this unless she has a sufficient bond with the holder and their express permission.

In time, she can bring others directly into her Ephemeral Plane and speak to them face to face. It has the appearance of an idylic field with a sakura tree at the center of it.

everything about the princesses of heart is so strange. twenty years and we still know only crumbs about them, despite supposedly being incredibly pivotal to the lore of the game. they have strong hearts with no darkness, they helped rebuild the world after it fell apart  ( an insane feat in context. they essentially serve as a stand in for kingdom hearts ), and kairi occasionally just breaks the rules of the universe when she’s allowed to feature in a game. that’s all we have. nothing else. how much it affects them or what it means to them is all up in the air. none of them ever talk about it. we don’t even know what “passing on their power” really entails because of how little is known about it.

i’m sorry but you can just “choose” to give up such a power or accept it at a later point in your life? it’s an obvious move to bring in more contemporary princesses, but marketing aside how did they even know to do this in game? being pure of heart is different from having a heart made up of only light. it’s kinda implied with an extremely vague passing mention that it might have been a conscious choice ( kairi’s the only one who kept hers ) but who knows. it's more or less established that having a heart of pure light is an extremely rare occurrence, and clearly they aren't ejecting their hearts - a core, fundamental part of their existence - to give to someone else. what happens to the remaining original six then? you can only have seven pure lights. are they susceptible to having darkness in their hearts now? if a heartless gets them or they fall to darkness can they create normal nobodies like anyone else now?

what about the new princesses? with all the fuss larxene made about elsa choosing between light and dark, they do not have a heart of pure light from the start like their predecessors did. is the “light” floating around waiting for the right host? is their darkness just removed in order for them to fit the criteria now? do we have a ven / sora / vanitas situation going on, they artificially become pure lights, and they’re just unaware of the change? there’s a lot of lore lacking in kh but this is one of the most severely underutilized and unexplained segments.

@wynsm​ asked; 👤 + arthur / for merlin uwu

►  ❪  CHARACTER MUSINGS  //  accepting  ❫

         ❝ He is a curious but very kind young boy, you know. A unique individual, like you. However, it would do him well to focus less about what others think of him. ❞  

         Exhaustion, ever present, tugging at her bones with a sickening weight, taut as it catching on lungs, but this much... this much she can allow herself say, within the confines of this quiet interlude alone. The beat of silence jumped into the air, hovering longer than initially intended, before eyes settled on the sky beyond the window pane.

         ❝ I could tell from the moment I met him, he would have an incredible destiny. ❞  Hearing that, one could say  ( that level of foresight / premonition / attained knowledge )  Merlin was using him. A valid assessment, as it was true. Plans set in motion all those years ago would be seen carried out to complete regardless of new bonds forged in the interim, though somewhere along the way... 

         ❝ Arthur was the son of Uther Pendragon, Camelot's king before him, but he was adopted into another family instead. However, you know that nothing lasts. When he was left destitute, I took him in as my student. I deigned to teach him how to read, and then to write. I even brushed up on my old sword skills to try and help him learn a thing or two in that field, although it's not my expertise. And from there I supported him as a mage. For years, I have watched over him and was... happy to see him grow and flourish, becoming a wonderful king in his own right despite only recently taking the throne. ❞

         (  as his new teacher, it's best to dismiss these encroaching doubts here and now. amber locks onto purple, confidence palpable as a pledge is heard, hand squeezing his shoulder, her presence in his life now as real and as cemented as that touch.  ❝ i don't care if people think you're a disappointment. i swear i will always help you out. if there’s one thing you should take away from this, it’s that no matter the situation, you won’t ever be forsaken by me. ❞  )

         She'd never be a mother — too riddled with cracks and holes to properly care for a child as her own, heart set on the chaos looming beyond. But... Merlin supposed Arthur was what she imagined having a son could've been like.

         ❝ He’s something that I’ve been lacking for a very long time. He is my hope. ❞

*strums 'i can go the distance' on a ukelele* another day, another session of fighting with ps to make refs. at the rate i’m going i will end up coding this man into the game itself.

PERSONALS DO NOT REBLOG.

bonus constellation image under the cut bc i didn’t feel like making the whole page