Summery Time. But before I start let me just put a couple things out there. Soul's POV. No OCs. But some OOC action (not that I intended changing characters, it's just hard to stay completely true to personalities)…sigh, umm, more things: I don't own anything (not Soul Eater, not any of the quotes. Just story plot and my own writing), AU obviously. It would be pretty boring if I just chewed up the plot and spit it back out at you. I feel like I'm trying to sell myself on an online dating service…I like moonlight walks on the beach, armature photography and Italian food… ha, ha…no…This is SoMa obviously. Adventure/Romance stuff. Sorry for any continuity errors and/or scenes that may, in some weird way, insult you. I try and keep this non-religious and I think I do a pretty good job at stripping Angels and Demons of their intended connotations. But, just in case, I'd like to pre-apologies. Take everything that is said with a grain of salt, and know that it is not my intention to spread any sort of belief. Just some good secular fun. There should be around 31 chapters, with the addition of three more (Prelude, Interlude, and Postlude). I'm going to use foot notes; it's an idea that makes me look pretty full of myself but, hey, might as well, right? Plus there are a couple things I changed for the sake of story line that I'd like to defend. Just trust me. And eventually all will be crystal clear. There are a few references that I'm fairly proud of and would enjoy pointing out, even though I know most of you will skip over them, like you have just skipped over this entire massive paragraph, and I can't blame you…Most importantly of all, enjoy.
This was started for my good friend TW, Happy Birthday.
Maka Albarn is an Angel, born into the most prominent family in all of Heaven City. Smart and beautiful she is the heart throb of any self respecting bachelor who's ever laid eyes on her. Of course none of this matters to a Demon, especially not one Soul Eater Evans, who has his own things to worry about besides her mysterious disappearance. But when a strange new kid shows up in school, coupled with a spontaneous power outage and taunting clues from a pink haired basket case that seems to know one too many secret, Soul finds himself on a desperate mission to rescue said damsel in distress. She just may not be as much of an Angel as everyone seems to think.
I start with a quote from one of my favorite writers, Neil Giamen:
"None of this can actually be happening. If it makes you more comfortable, you could simply think if it as metaphor. Religions are, by definition, metaphors, after all: God is a dream, a hope, a woman, an ironist, a father, a city, a house of many rooms, a watchmaker who left his prize chronometer in the desert, someone who loves you - even, perhaps, against all evidence, a celestial being whose only interest is to make sure your football team, army, business, or marriage thrives, prospers and triumphs overall opposition. Religions are places to stand and look and act, vantage points from which to view the world. So none of this is happening. Such things could not occur. Never a word of it is literally true. Even so, the next thing that happened, happened like this:" – American Gods.
In the beginning God created the Heavens. He created the Earth. And he created all the extraterrestrial wonder of everything in between. How insensitive of me. That of course is only one way of looking at things, and I am not one to step clumsily on the toes of anyone who thinks differently. I'm not here to insult your religious beliefs. Though, I'm afraid that if I do not remain neutral this entire time, I inevitably will. So, if it helps, think of this as a joke. On hilarious joke, that shouldn't be taken seriously at any point or in any aspect. I myself do not take this with any credence.
But, I will say this. Whether or not you practice and believe Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Wiccan, something entirely different, nothing at all, or having no clue whatsoever - you have a soul. I know, I know, how dare I say such a thing! It's okay if you don't believe me and I apologize if I've insulted you greatly. But you do, and when your body leaves and you enter the star struck world beyond, something will have to be done to help that soul get there.
Before we get to that, thought, let me note, God did not create Hell. Which I fear was a bit of an over sight. Good cannot exist without Evil. Heaven cannot exist without Hell.
Nevertheless, soon malevolence was created, and the treacherous cherubs were cast down...down… down …below humans, animals and the other creatures of Earth, all the way to the fiery rubble beneath their feet. Demons, the Angels beneath the floor boards.
And, then when the Gods of Death awoke into consciousness - their only purpose to guide the Souls of the Dead - they were faced with the prospect of where the portals to the next state of being would be located. They act simply as the Guards of Gates, The Gates to the Realm of Souls. And what better places for those gates than two polar opposites. Balance was always key. So it was decided on one in Heaven, and one in Hell.
Angels were a peaceful sort, never experiencing the amoral wreck that Demons were known for from day one. Their society was everything you'd expect from the divine messenger of the Gods. They were skilled in the arts, excelling in areas of logic, technology, and ethics when the world was just slowing its spin. They were innocent and beautiful. The most vivid contrast to the ugly, stupid, sin of Demons.
They took the news with pride. The ever respectable Shinigami's were more than welcome in their homes and councils. The prospect of work was great and one the Angels had not entertained in a while. Of course, that wasn't the only reason. It didn't take a genius to know that denying something with that amount of power would result in consequences. Negative consequences. Everything has alterative motives.
So the problem was never the Angels. It was the Demons that posed a threat to the operation.
The original seven Kings of Hell quickly dissolved in a sea of violent wars and bloodshed. Empire after empire fell. And in the end only one dictator reigned over the stinking closed off cesspool which was this hellhole. It really wasn't surprising that when the Shinigami's wanted cooperation, they took it by force. Conquer with an iron fist of unbridled destruction. Fighting fire with fire. And then in the smoking wreckage of their profit they would develop a society worth ruling over.
Unfortunately for the Death Gods, the Shinigami they put in charge of Hell's Gate was easily corrupted by the sheer power of the souls on the other side. The culmination of energy that just one human soul gives the consumer is enough to crush nations, move mountains, change the tide of the ocean…let alone billions upon billions of them.
Long story short, The God Asura was tainted by his lust, his greed, his fear…The man went insane and slaughtered everyone appointed to run the new order before burning up in the wavelengths protecting the next plane. It was as gruesome as the rest of *Helvetti's history. It was Hell, and it wasn't about to become a tame, Disneyified city overnight.
Today the gates are completely shut off.
Both Angels and Demons run their own independent governments, far from the dregs that their civilizations once were. Order is maintained by the Shinigami's who still act as big brother to the two nations. Trained Angels and Demons work with the Gods to maintain the stability of peace and checked control that the two cultures have achieved.
To prepare young men and women for the prospect of maintaining order alongside their counterparts, two schools were set up in each capitol. The Demon West and Mary's Angels. A division of the Spartoi Plan. Schools were set, government maintained, and rules regulated.
…But I guess the following really isn't about Good and Evil, though it does have that. It's not really about balance, Heaven and Hell, though that's definitely there too. It's not about Angels and Demons, though if you don't find some of those then you're obviously not paying attention. No. It's more about me. And her. And our journey through Purgatorio, and Paradiso, and my dear, dear hometown Inferno.
*Helvetti is Finnish for Hell. I was just using that word Hell a lot….. And so it begins. Chapter one will be up tomorrow. My editor is slow…so I'll cross my fingers. Please ask questions if you have no idea what's going on, but try and be nice as not to hurt my delicate ego.
- Peace and Love, Andy k.