ↁepravity. ⁽ ᵃᵘᵗᵒᵖˡᵃʸ ⁾

i found myself feeling relatively hollow taking a look at the arc that unfolded. not only because the story itself was ending, but because of the treatment of certain characters. i like shinobu ohtaka quite a bit, but i feel like there were obviously some publishers egging her on to finish the manga in a timely fashion. 

for a shōnen series that felt consciously untypical in scope and design, more in line with fate than say ... naruto (not a diss by any means), the ending felt muddled and unclear. the twists and turns, in an effort to be unpredictable, felt all too familiar, and the cast that we grew to love ultimately fell by the wayside in favor of the ‘central’ characters.

now, i know that the characters did eventually surface, but there wasn’t anything added to further define them. no satisfying conclusion for each character personally (excluding probably the original trio). as someone who’d been championing the series as this breath of fresh air, i felt it deserved better. that the cast deserved better, and that ohtaka deserved better.

       “I do not think you actually do,” comes the honest (and rather amused) reply. “I would in fact wager that you are so dim-witted and self-involved that you do not even remember my name. Tragic, really.” A hand to her chest, solemn as can be. “In fact, I am heartbroken, I truly am.”

      “Oh geez, Judar still exists? Man, and here I was thinking we’d finally gotten lucky.”

     “Hm? Do I know you from somewhere?” 

“I don’t use drugs, guy. I don’t even drink. Unless its like cherry soda or coffee. Or strawberry milk. I keep it clean and good and wholesome. Unlike you I’m sure.“

@rukhism

╰☆╮ “The solar eclipse was as weak as your game in life.”

A real waste of her precious time too.

Bitterness was the bond that brought them together, obviously.

“I met the grim reaper, we had nachos together. You ain’t the grim reaper, I bet you can’t even make a decent queso sauce.“ He shouted, raising up like a certain professional wrestler from death valley.

 “And I met my maker. Satan too! He kicked me out of hell for trying to scale a greater demon. I just wanted some barbecue! You ain’t got no jurisdiction, you’re a priest guy shouldn’t my maker be our maker? Unless you’re acknowledging there are in fact more then one buy guy in the sky. But wouldn’t that go against your dogma or something? CAUGHT YOU IN A RELIGIOUS PARADOX SUCKA!”

“That shop is the only one with my brand of sanitary items and chocolate.”

Usagi turned to face him, blue eyes narrowing a little bit, and a hand braced on her hip. She was in no mood to fiddle faddle about with the other, despite the power that was rolling off of him.  She didn’t want to get into a fight, she just wanted to stock up on lady items

Not that playing the role of the antagonist was a foreign concept to the mage, but this may have been a little different. Accosting the woman, who--based upon the flow of the Rukh--held some promise in power, along with a legitimate reason to want to go beyond the line, seemed particularly dickish.

“Hmph. Even here, there’s no shortage of fools, it would seem.”

Lord. Who was this fake, blonde version of himself? Clad in gold from top to bottom, Judar stared for several moments, looking the other up and down a few times before chuckling.

The pain was too much as he fell onto his back. Whatever black magic divinity stick he had was too much. This was beyond the power of good. This was dipped in chaotic discord. His free foot now kicking up, on the bottom of his shoe was what looks like old bubblegum or maybe dog poop. 

“You’re way of dress. Everybody know when you show your abs but cover your nips its a sign that you bend over for the gods. Your devil rod is cursed is what it is. Get your black magic away from me!”

Oh boy! How he fed off of the man’s pain and anguish. His giggling soon shifting to a devilish grin, further morphing into a bright, teeth-baring smile. Funnily enough, the other recognized that he was a magic user.

  “You’re right - I’m the grim reaper, twerp. You flunked my test, and now it’s time you pay ... with your life. Get ready to meet your maker!” 

“No.”

And Usagi simply wanders across the line, intent on getting her shopping done. Like heck she was letting a silly line stand between her and her shopping… and getting her stomach filled.

    《۞》⁓ Was she worth it? To kill or maim a stranger was mere child’s play to the tyrant, but would he opt to press forward He’d have to settle for a middling solution. Lifting several nearby barrels with the wave of his wand, he placed them all in front of the blonde.

“My leg! What in the hell you priest. I thought yall religious folks don’t condone violence? This is borderline a declaration of war. Did you spill blood? You spilled blood! My blood! “

So much for being a religious priest. The oracle praised no one but himself. Instead, he poked and prodded at the leg further, bursting into mocking laughter.

Goes over the line.

Proceeds to jab at Zack’s leg with his staff.