Duality is key

I'll start.

"...and then I'm coming back. I won't leave you on your own."

So funny and cute at the same time !

Archangel Aziraphale (Good Omens) - Tribute to @dyleeart 's animatic

(My journey with a Graphic Tablet Pad: Day 34)

I wanted so much to start posting here with this one!

I CRUSHED so bad on Good Omens, and while I was trying to cope with the season 2 finale, I had the pleasure to discover this animatic made by @dyleeart. So much hidden details, so wonderful to watch! (and please take your time and read their "Little details+commentary" comment, they put real dedication and love for GO in this animated piece of art).

Their animated Aziraphale, bowing in the end, greatly inspired me (so strong as he is sacrificing his life on Earth, and yet so humble... and sad, yes). I tried to draw my own Aziraphale in the same spirit, and I had a lot of blood tears fun with his SIX wings.

Like Dragulescu's reason to betray the order makes sense due to the dude being obsessed with his research and ambition, so he wanting to continue helping Lucifer makes a lot of sense because he is a mad scientist (like Shiro described him) and that's his life work

But Jeremiah's betrayal being aligned with him wanting to actually help Lucifer does not make sense to me because there is no moment during the flashback that he sees Lucifer as a leader or smth, he actually begs him to spare the children because the order bust their asses to help him get a body

So I think that he wanting to help Luci getting a body is not because he wants him to win, but because he knows that a body is what he always wanted and the second he gets one, he will stop threatening Assiah and humans.

It seems the garden has a long-awaited visitor today.

She can hear Shiemi’s pattering footsteps even from inside the shop as they race down the small path of stones. Soon enough, the door to the shop opens, followed by the crisp ring of the bell.

She fills the teapot without haste, sitting down at the farther side of the table to keep the garden in her view.

“Are you here for supplies?” she prompts.

The floor creaks. “Nope. I just thought I’d visit.”

“You keep bringing him here,” she says without looking up. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

Shiro smiles with a sort of weary fondness, sighing as he braces a hand on the table to sit down. “They’re a good influence on each other.”

I can't recommand it enough. It perfectly fits the canon, and is so well written.

If you happen to be born powerful, you can't have a human body to enjoy the fruits of Assiah. No, you get to rot slowly and painfully from inside out for years until your body crumbles. People can keep you alive, but you'll be in agony every second you're conscious and you know they're only doing this for themselves. This isn't any life, and if you were human they'd have euthanized you ages ago, but you're a demon, and they don't care. You're just a ticking bomb and they would rather see you cough blood every day forever than have you end it all. Life in Assiah is hell, and Gehenna is likewise. The only way out is the only death you can imagine, but they don't care. They don't love you.

You crave human attachments and love but you also don't. You know, logically, that those feelings make you weak. They make you malliable, like clay, and you'll do things you know will bite you later, for creatures so much weaker than you. And you'll get hurt, betrayed, humiliated. Even that one person, that one person you thought you could trust and love purely, turned their back on you. But nobody is really stupid enough to love a demon. A demon should not love.

Love is an illusion, he says. But then openly acknowledged Shiro and his love for Yuri. He isn't so dense he can't understand love - unlike his older brother - but to Samael I think, love exists for other people.

Like yes, chemicals and hormones that make love exist are real, bonding is real, and with his propensity for knowledge how could he not know that? Which is why he doesn't deny it or disregard it when other people feel it. In fact his awareness of it goes all the way out to a subtle recognition of its capacities to get in the way, such as telling Shura not to intervene and mocking her attachments to the twins. He knows she loves them, and that love compells people, especially humans, to do dumb things sometimes.

I'm not entirely sure it's all negative to him - love can be useful, when other people have it. Love can be protective, nurturing, positive. He knows that. He returned Rin and Yukio to their mother - he knows love is powerful and real.

Hell yeah! Absolutely! It's one of my favorite headcanons/theories and me and my good friend @revlischarm have talked about it a lot!

So there are quite a few reasons I have this headcanon, and some are a bit more of a reach than others, so I'll just stick with the main ones that have some explicit canon backing.

So like I said in the original post, if Lewin is indeed a nephilim, I think he's a third generation nephilim, so it would have been one of his grandparents that actually had Azazel for a parent. This matches up with what we know of his parents and siblings having a "normal life."

(Also can I get a yeehaw for Texan Lewin, I wonder if we were from the same area lmao). But anyways, by that point, the demonic blood could have become diluted enough that it was easy to ignore and allowed his family to live normally, even if Lewin decided on a different path. But there are subtle ways that the demonic heritage is evident.

He’s also expressed that during his childhood he was comparable to a “demon” himself (very similar to how Rin was treated as a child). 

There’s also the fact that he’s so friendly with demons, and doesn’t explicitly view them as something that needs to be eradicated, which is unusual for an exorcist. Especially a high ranking one like himself. And speaking of how high ranking he is, there’s the fact that he can summon multiple extremely powerful familiars, without even using full incantations. And we know that nephilim can have strong and unusual abilities due to their demonic blood and Lewin’s skill with familiars is... odd, especially in comparison to other tamers we’ve seen. 

There aren’t really many physical tells regarding if he would be a nephilim. Except his eyes. Obviously his eyes are hidden by his hair more often than not, but when we see them, they’re always drawn... differently than all the other characters. Like Kazue puts more effort into making them unnerving, including an oddly shaped pupil

If he’s a third generation nephilim (or even a second), it makes sense that most of the physical traits would have vanished by that point, and that it would only be one or two small things to set him apart, such as his eyes. It could also be a reason that he tends to go out of his way to cover them. 

Another odd thing is that during the flashbacks when we learn about Rin and Yukio’s birth, we see a very young Lewin with Azazel. It seems strange that someone as young and inexperienced as him would be with such high ranking exorcists for no reason, (especially considering everything going on at that point in time) regardless of the fact that he was likely already considered some kind of prodigy due to his tamer abilities. 

It just seems strange that he would be with Azazel for no reason, there has to be some kind of connection. 

And then finally, this translation of Lewin calling Azazel “Gramps”

His abilities: remember when he forcefully removed his anti-magic menacles:

Menacles should be enough to imprison a human being and their anti-magic properties should have kept him from invoking any demon. Clearly, his own colleagues were not expecting Lightening to be able to free himself. They underestimated him gravely: Lightening was much more powerful than they thought.

Vayu and Indra are some of Azazel’s most powerful servants, so I don’t see them obey an ordinary human. They are the type of demons who would answer only their own king... or his descendants.

More significative, there is the moment when Lightning tries to kill Satan’s vessel. First, he tries to behead him using a sylphid, but the second tries almost succeeded, but this time I don’t have the impression he is using a demon:

Normal exorcist exorcist can’t use magic by themselves. The only other characters we saw doing that in the manga are Shiemi and Rin, respectively Nephilim of Shimihaza and of Satan. Plus, when the attack fails because of the Seraphim, Lightning coughs. Exactly like Lucifer when he overuses his body.

Finally, the most interesting point is Mephisto’s attitude toward Lightning:

He, the mighty king of Time, is acting as if he is weary of Lightning, letting him go away with almost-agressions that would be undoubtedly very humiliating for a demon king. The only other person we saw Mephisto treat with that weird respect is Shiemi’s (our Shiemi) grandmother, also a powerful Nephilim.

As a bonus, there are also all the crazy plots Lightning came with to track down and beat Illuminati, like purposedly putting Yukio under a contract of Morinah before sending him to them. Totally worthy of a demon, even thought he is only partly one.

My personal theory, is that he is like Shiemi ! A descendant of the Grigori, except he is a descendant of the Armumahel's bloodline, a Nephilim with actual power.

That would explain why he said to Rin and the others he was much more powerful than them without having ever received any exorcist training. And like Shiemi, the only way to access his mansion is Mephisto's keys like the one he gave to Izumo. Pretty sure it will be used later, if Izumo in a dreadful situation needs to run to safety.

I bet he was put in the same class as Rin (and Shiemi !) in order to keep an eye on him and be able stop him if he became a danger for the other students, as we know Armumahel's power is effective against Rin. He was an insurance.

And it explains why the black flames of Yamantaka did not hurt him at all during the fight with Renzo. As Todo explained to Yukio, when two forces of the same nature fight, the stronger one absorbs the other. I guess a Nephilim of Armumahel is much more powerful than a demon servant.

PS : "Nemu" means sleep, and we suspect sleep might be associated to Armumahel.

But I really like that detail of the demon kings who are on the human side (and the neutral ones who also are on mephisto's side) are all kings related to living and mortal things, while the ones who want to kill all humanity are related to things that are more related to death and like not living stuff ahsjsh (Like more towards elements than living beings)

Like idk I just think it makes it more personal, because Mephy as king of time probably finds humans fascinating because of their mortality and how they live with it, Azazel is related to spirits and he probably is the one who feels more connected and close with the human soul while Amaimon who even if he doesn't like humans, feels connected to plants and nature (just like Shemihaza) and Beelzebub with insects, all the things that will probably get killed if Satan destroys Assiah

The new chapter threw a heck of a lot of stuff at us at once, raising a hundred questions for the few it answers.

We're given a brief synopsis of Amaimon's history with Shemihaza, a relationship that has been hinted at in previous chapters, and the nature of Shiemi's final challenge: to "subjugate" Amaimon, as Shemihaza and all other 'successors' before her.

Shiemi's grandmother instructed her in such a way to make a violent battle between Shiemi and Amaimon inevitable, and Amaimon himself solidified this inevitability by deriding the strength of her abilities, implying a respect for Shemihaza's - whom he serves in a as-yet unexplained way. He may serve Shemihaza, but he is not servile to her, nor is he compelled to respect or serve her successors. Shiemi must prove herself worthy in the power department.

However, I believe that the long-term solution to her and Amaimon's respective barriers will require a change in approach to those before her. Even Shemihaza.

Well, let's say it's not the final battle.

This is going to be a rewind folks.

It goes back to the relationship between Satan, Shiro and Yuri.

Yuri believes that demons and humans can coexist.

Shiro only wants to kill demons because all demons are evil and vile.

In a way, Shiro was partially responsible for Satan's evilness. He goaded Satan when they played games. Satan soon realized that there was a lot at stake. It wasn't an innocent game, Yuri's love was the prize. He started a quest for knowledge and power to win Yuri. But once Satan got a taste of his incredible power he even forgot about her. Satan became unreasonable and uncontrollable as absolute power corrupts absolutely. Satan's competition with Shiro was the catalyst to a dark road that headed in only one direction.

Shiro, was very much like Satan in some ways, violent, selfish and harsh. It wasn't until Yuri died that Shiro finally realized what he'd done. How would things have been different? What if he told Yuri he loved her? What if he hadn't been such a dick to Satan? Would things had turned out differently?

Shiro's worldview was forever changed from that moment on. He raised Rin and Yukio. Raised a human and demon as loving brothers.

Despite Rin being a half-demon, Shiro loved him and treated him like a son. He understands what Yuri was attempting to do with Satan and doesn't make the same mistake with Rin.

Demons can co-exist with humans, but only if they are loved and have attachments. Strong family attachments keep them grounded. An unloved demon can and will destroy the world. I know it sounds sappy....but Mephisto knows. A demon's rage needs to be tamed and tempered. (Check out Amaimon in the last chapter....)

A demon's power and rage need to be tempered. Rin is the child that can build a bridge of understanding between two worlds. That's what Mephisto wants from Rin. He's hoping that somehow Rin can reach Satan and reason with him. To pick up where Yuri failed.

It's a crazy idea....right?

It might be...but Rin can't do it alone. He needs Yukio's help. The problem is, Yukio is like a young Shiro. He hates demons. At one point he was terrified of what Rin was and willing to kill his own brother. But Rin fought hard to prove to Yukio that he loved him. And he finally got Yukio to understand, releasing his hate. Now RIn and Yukio are united. The two pieces of the puzzle that somehow bind Satan.

The problem is.....they still got it wrong. Kicking Satan's ass isn't going to work. They need to reason with him, connect with him and find a way to compromise. They need to tame Satan and seal his powers. in a way..isn't that what Satan really wants? To feel love? To be like a human? Isn't that why all the demon kings are so angry? A body is the closest thing they have to be human, and they never get to fully experience the joy of it, the joys of Assiah. Despite Mephisto's denials, it's something that demon kings long for with every ounce of their being.

All the demon kings are all connected. Light, time, earth, spirit. All the demon kings are fragments of Satan. If Satan dies...the world falls out of balance. Everyone dies, the world is still obliterated.

That's why Mephisto drops his poker face in chapter 130. He was so close to getting it right. But not yet...

He loses his composure when everyone starts ranting about kicking Satan's ass. Mephisto is briefly devastated because he's gotta go back and try again. (Fuck...man...I'm starting to feel sorry for him...like it must be torture to keep trying to save the world over and over)

Everyday I think how fucking scary Lucifer actually is and that's what makes him my favourite villain (antagonist?) in this manga

Because you have Satan who is like pure evil but you kinda know what to expect of him

But Lucifer is so unpredictable and predictable at the same time that is scary, we all know his plans and his goals but at the same time, when things don't go the way he wants, he does unexpected things that just make the situation worse (for example, when he burned Satan's head and made him believe it was Yuri's fault)

He is literally a man child that thinks that everyone is at fault for his own problems and if he suffers, everyone must do it too and then he hides all of that with pretty words and manipulation (just like Shemihaza said to him), I would say he is even worse than Mephisto in that (manipulation I mean) because at least Mephisto does it for a good reason and purpose that will be good on the long run and when he has to be honest, he just says it

But Lucifer uses manipulation to doom everyone around him and he doesn't even recognize it as manipulation, he just thinks that everyone agrees with him and that's it.

I always think that he is like that (a man child I mean) because his ego never sprouted completely (idk if that's the word ahsjsh), Mephisto explained that a demon's ego starts doing that when they experiment the five senses and emotions and all that stuff that comes with a body, but Lucifer who always had his bodies in a really bad condition and they can't survive longer than a decade probably never fully experienced those and he lived his life full on pain

because of that, he thinks that ALL demons with a body are going through that, including his brothers, when he is actually the only one who has this problem (because even if his brothers are not in the best condition either, they are FAR better than him) and instead of looking for a solution (which he tried tho), he wants to kill everyone and be reborn on a "gentle and kind" world

Another thing that I noticed (and maybe is what is influencing him to not find a solution) is that Lucifer is REALLY EASY TO MANIPULATE, like, he is a master manipulator but at the same time, he puts too much confidence in people he should not (like a child) and because of that he was manipulated twice in the manga

First with Mephisto and all the section 13 thing which was never meant to help him, they just wanted to pacify his anger so he wouldn't explode and kill everyone

And the second one with Yukio because he read him wrong and he thought his only motivation was becoming strong when it wasn't like that.

What I mean, is that Lucifer being constantly manipulated maybe kinda influenced to find a permanent solution and not keep trying with the clones, because he lost his hope on others and doesn't see them as worthy to survive so he just wants to end it

Demon kings want to live in Assiah. They love what it feels like to be human and they crave it. The problem is, bodies don't last too long and demons are forced back into hell. Demons want what humans have, if they don't get it, they suffer a full-on uncontrollable rage.

The only way to get rid of this rage, allow demons to live in Assiah and have human experiences. In order for this to happen, they need to bind their powers.

What tamed Mephisto?

Well, I think he was horny and that helped! He's attracted to everything human and can't stay away from them.

Mephisto had so many Nephilium that his children took on bits and pieces of his power. Nephilim is one of the secrets for his long life in Assiah. Mephisto has his heart and power spread out all over the place, he has a family. Mephisto also hides his power in Horcruxes like swords and scabbards. Mephisto realized long ago if you can't beat them...join them.

That's why certain demon kings chose the side of humans. Humans gave them the life they wanted, and in essence, tamed them by taking on the power they can't handle.

Amaimon isn't tamed but imprisoned. He hates humans

He's just subjugated. The burning rage is still there, other Shemihazas haven't gotten to the root of the problem.

Shemihaza was forced to crystalize her body in order to trap Amaimon. Amaimon uses up his body faster than the other demon kings because he's so angry. He hates humans because he can't be one, he also calls them weak most likely out of jealousy. He thinks he's above humans and wouldn't lower himself to have a relationship with one, let alone a family. He hasn't got any Nephilim and is therefore out of balance in Assiah.

Maybe Shiemi can use her kind heart to somehow help him understand? Beating down Amaimon isn't the way to go, but loving him might be.

Lucifer isn't tamed at all. He also hates humans.

Lucifer has no outlets for his power, Homare is the only chance Assiah has to tame Lucifer. She has to either make him fall in love with her and have Nephilim. (Which we know he wouldn't do. He considers Nephilium impure.)

OR

Get him to agree to a contract to share Homare's body, and bind his powers. She's a demon-eater, after all. She can do it.

Satan is already partially tamed.

He has Nephilim. Rin and Yukio.

Part of Satan's powers is already watered down. Rin and Yukio no doubt have the power to bind him as well.

Satan has the potential to live with humans.

How do demons get bodies in the first place?

it's probably better to have a willing human. And think about it, wouldn't that be the closest thing to love for a demon? To have a human agree to become part of them? When Satan was dying, he went looking for Yuri. He wanted Yuri to save him, and it didn't happen. Satan was fucking raging after that. She denied his love. He spent years by her side, and when he needed her, she was gone.

How much of the human lives on after they give themselves over to a demon king? Is Samael actually like Faust? Does he still converse with him? Is it a slow process that takes years of acclimation, where eventually the human dies naturally and gives his demon mate a body?