Feet shuffled down the main street of Gehenna while bodyguards carried bags with books inside as they made their way to their next destination. It was the crafting studio. This was a place where residents could go to create and sell things for either practical or decorative use. They even had their own wooden benches outside that were made and intricately carved in that very place.
"It has lions on it." pointed out Mateo as they walked by. "There were lions in the last building, too."
"He said they like their lions." noted Brenda, stepping through the door as one of the subordinates held it open.
Once inside, there were even more lions as well as other things. There were sculptures, paintings, and other items like cups and utensils all over the place. There was a woman behind a desk in the room next to a large door. The sounds of sawing could be heard from behind it. Politely, the woman waved, earning a wave back, due to her more "human-like" appearance.
"This is the craft studio." Alois informed while ushering the tourists inside, snapping them back to attention. "This is where people come to make things as well as sell them. Through those doors, magic is being made. Mostly furniture and stuff, though."
"Is everything in this room for sale?" questioned the leader of BIGFOOT.
"Everything that isn't nailed down." proudly stated the blonde. "Everything in here was made by someone. It's all very elaborate and well-made. Why, we even commissioned a desk from this place before, and it is probably the most beautiful piece of furniture I have ever seen. Please, look around at your leisure."
The group was naturally curious about the items in here, as this is what was used to furnish and decorate homes in this place. Needless to say, it was all very impressive. Thoughts of how much time and effort went into each piece came to mind, but also about the importance of some.
"Hey, it's that guy again." Karl Struming pointed out, turning attention to a shelf of statues of the same man over and over again in various poses, styles, and sizes. He had been seen at the entrance of every building they had been into thus far, including this one. The massive amount of the character on the shelf was also curious, as he seemed to be popular.
"That's Saint Christopher." answered Alois, reaching over and picking up a small statue. "In the early middle ages, he was sometimes depicted as a cynocephallus. Humans believe this to be due to a translation error, but the people of Gehenna believe this depiction to be the 'correct' one."
"Haha, that's cute..." Struming continued. "He's even carrying the infant Christ on his back."
"They know the story. I think there's a tradition of wearing uh… pendants, or at least carrying them, with Saint Christopher on them."
"Yes, but they're made of silver." the German replied. "Wouldn't that be a problem, though?"
"They aren't made out of silver here. They're made out of wood." Ciel chimed in to explain. "Silver is not only harmful to some residents, but also is expensive and hard to come by. So, they use wood or clay. There should actually be some of those charms here."
"I want to see them."
"As you wish."
"That's so interesting." spoke the leader of NAITAKA. She adopted a very serious and sincere tone to her voice and expression as the made her observation. "They have basically created their own culture right here. They have their own version of Christianity and have their own norms. It's really, really fascinating."
"I did notice a couple of goatmen walking by wearing skirts." Margaret added. "At least I think they were men. I guess that kind of thing is normal, here."
"I wondered about that too when I first came to this place." stated the menace with a chuckle. "When I asked, they said that it was because it's hard to put on pants when you have goat legs!"
"Oh! That makes sense!"
"Speaking of culture, there is also a printing press next door." informed the Watchdog, gesturing to the side with his hand. "They sell books there that are written by people who live here in addition to printing them."
"Are we going to see those next?"
"If you like." answered Ciel. "But it seems like not everyone is done here yet."
They spent quite a while here, as the artwork was very curious. There were paintings of various parts of town and sculptures of cultural significance in addition to fun. There were practical objects, too, like furniture, kitchenware, decorations, instruments, and even toys. In fact, the leaders would rest while sitting on benches made at the shop, discussing their findings as they waited on the others to finish. Once again, the bodygaurds were left carrying more items in the bags they carried, as the group could not resist. Surely there would be more at the bookstore when they arrived.
It was fascinating. It was truly fascinating! Never before had they seen supernaturals make things or create their own culture. This society had made quite a difference in their behavior, causing them to act as ordinary as a regular human you would pass by on the street. These leaders of the organizations who handled supernaturals in their own respective countries were deeply interested in what more there was, here. It had come to their attention that these people were more than they could ever have imagined.
This became more and more evident with each stop. At this rate, they were going to be out and about all day! The Duo's guests wanted to stay and read every single book in the print shop, but all they could manage was to struggle over what book they were each going to purchase and bring with them. Even Ciel wanted to buy a book or two, but decided it would be best to wait. It wasn't every day that one got to read books about supernatural beings from the perspective of one such person. Some of the things they spoke of were in fact the possibility of new places they could go to, imagining what lies beyond the small world that has been designated for them.
After books came treats as they stopped by the bakery. Not very suspiciously, most of the baked goods tasted like most things that one could find outside of Gehenna, as cookbooks were often used, but the fact that one could purchase pre-prepared food here was amazing. The witch who made them seemed proud, as the others tried her food. She was proud of her restaurant and proud of the fact that it was important enough to be on the tour. Without a single doubt, she would be talking about this for a while.
Next door was the clothing store that they had heard about, Andrea's. Contrary to their assumption, it was not owned by anyone by that name and was instead owned by Kristopherson Miles. The shop was actually named after his mother, who helped design some of the patterns for supernatural clothing. Both of them were proud of this shop, but no one was more happy with it than Kristopherson.
The man sat at the front counter, sewing together what looked like a rather strange doll. The tourists were rather surprised to see him, as he was prim, proper, and oddly styled, even to their standards. When they walked through the door, he looked up at them and stood, putting his doll and sewing supplies down with a smile.
"This is Andrea's, the go-to place for clothing in Gehenna." Alois said, holding the door open for his group. "That man right there with the weird goatee is the owner and my personal friend, Kristpherson Miles."
"Hello." the wolfman greeted. "Welcome to Andrea's. We sell clothes and everything to make them with."
"So it's also a sewing store. That's very useful." noted Hachioji while her eyes wandered. Eventually, she set her sights on the odd toy on the counter top. "What's this?"
"Oh, it's just a design I'm working on. I'm making sure the pattern actually works right." Kristopherson answered. "I'm not sure if I want to sell them yet, though."
"May I?" the woman asked.
"Of course."
With permission, she picked the doll up and smiled. "It's a werewolf, isn't it?"
"Yes, but I haven't sewed clothes for him yet." answered Kristopherson bashfully.
"Oh? You make clothes in that size too?"
"I make clothes in most sizes, miss."
The woman took a few moments to stare at the doll again, completely oblivious to the others looking around the store behind her. Then, she turned to her companion and suddenly let out a laugh. Her bodygaurd looked confused for a moment before finally she explained her thoughts.
"Well, I suppose that if a fox can wear a suit, a wolf can, too!" she laughed, causing her associate to groan and roll his eyes. The others looked on curiously, unsure of what she was talking about, despite her confirming the duo's suspicion that the bodygaurd was some kind of supernatural being.
Time went on like this, and the group marveled at the largeness of some of the clothes in the store, wondering what kind of being could possibly wear them. Their curiosity also wandered into guessing amoung themselves as to what the true identity of the owner is as well. He looked completely human, but if he was here, there was no way that he was.
"Me?" Kristopherson asked once the question was finally out. "I'm a werewolf. I was bitten just last year, actually."
"Bitten? More like mauled..." added the menace at his friend's statement.
"Have you been adjusting well?" Mateo questioned.
"It was really hard at first, but now it doesn't seem like as much of a big deal." answered the wolfman. "My family was really supportive. Transforming still hurts, though. I usually have to take the day off after a full moon. I keep it marked on the door so customers always know when it will be. I don't have anyone else to run the counter yet, so I have to close."
"I can't imagine..."
"It's a payoff. I feel great the rest of the time. Regeneration is amazing."
"Still wouldn't want to be in the same boat." Said the OBPSSI leader. "Sorry."
"It's not for everyone. I get it."
The conversations continued this way for a while until the group was content in moving on. They talked about lycanthropy and the shop for a while. They also looked at its wares. The wolfman was friendly and very, very, "human", so he appealed heavily to the group. Still, they couldn't stay with him forever. When it was time to go, they politely said their goodbyes before heading off to their final destination.
Church was an odd thing for this town to have, these humans thought. They wanted to know more about it, so they piled back up into the truck and went. On the way, they would look at murals and at more storefronts as well as homes. People stood at bus stops and walked down the street like in any other city. It was incredible to these new faces. "It's Saint Christopher!" they would point out as they saw a mural of the character. "Look! A lion!"
The church was nothing impressive. It was a good size. It wasn't too big or two little with modest decorations. There were carvings in the woodwork and paintings, naturally, but for the most part, the place could be considered sparse by the standards of these tourists aside from the seating. It suited it's purpose, however, and that is all that mattered.
Naturally, the idea of a vampiric nun was a fright, but there Sister Dorothy was to greet them. Her smile was just as friendly and calming as ever. Some found her difficult to accept at first, while the rest warmed up to her right away. As she explained it, she was a nun before and her faith was not so fragile that it would be shaken by "something so small." She enjoyed life here in Gehenna. She enjoyed holding mass and helping to make everyone's lives better. This was her mission in life, and she explained it to those who were skeptical with confidence and clarity. She wanted to make sure that there were no mistakes about her intentions.
Sister Dorothy impressed, making an excellent impression on the leaders of these armies. Perhaps it was an even better one than the menace instilled. Either way, the leaders walked away with a good impression of the town when everything was all said and done. After driving back to their hotels, they would have the entire afternoon and evening to ponder what they had seen. The next day, they would talk to Sir Integra about a new location to house everyone. Meanwhile, the demons were left emotionally exhausted, trudging through the front door of their home with jackets over their arms and ties loosened before they could put them away. Their job was done. All they had to do now was wait and see about the results of their hard work.
A/N: UGH. I came back from my first day of school. I forgot how many kids there are the first couple weeks in the fall. It's awful. There's so many people. And they're all in the way...
Ah... I rushed the end of this chapter. You know how it is. It happens. Kind of lame, actually. But, it's not the end of this, though. It's just the beginning of something bigger.
What else.. what else... ah... Some of the bodyguards have names. Two of them do. The bodyguard for Takamimchi Hachioji is named "Ryutarou", and one of Margret Seward's is named "Allison". The more you know.
I also can't decide on a design for Mateo. Sometimes, he's an older guy, sometimes, he's a younger guy... I can't choose. I feel like I should just flip a coin...
What else... what else?
Oh! I got a question!
"You've probably been asked many times over but.. how do you like, gather the courage, energy and inspiration to like, write your shit? I'm trying to write a story, and I have ideas, but I need to write the third chapter. It's hard to have like, motivation when you just feel like your work sucks... I feel like the like, 5 readers I'll end up having are gonna hate it." by raynaheart23
I never really know how to answer this question. Like, ever. I'll do my best, though! Basically, all I do is read and listen. Anything can become inspiration. Anything. The idea to have all of these different organizations actually came from a conversation with my dad about different kinds of armies, uniforms, and combat techniques. Y'know. Typical father/daughter stuff. (I did get your message about the OSACA, by the way. I just saw it too late for this chapter!) Sometimes, I draw inspiration from other series as well. For example: Blackwood's character is based on Susumu Nakoshi from the manga "Homunculus". The idea was "I can do this character, but better" because the idea was so cool, but toward the end, the dude wasn't even good as a character and I was just waiting for him to be offed. I was disappointed, so I was determined to "fix" it. Sometimes, I just see something and go "that was cool. I want it" It's just that simple. No matter what I do or see, I can relate it back to DLTD/P somehow. That's the kind of thing you want to learn how to do.
When it comes to getting inspired, I suggest you narrow down what interests you, and run with it. Do research about it. I got obsessed with looking at cryptids for several days while working on this arc, and I didn't even use that information. It just got me excited. I can always use it later. If you think space is interesting, research and write about space. If you think supernatural beings are interesting, research and write about that. Gangsters? Militias? Relationships? Psychology? Social issues? What do you care about? Go with that. Combine genres and ideas, too. You'll ALWAYS have something to write about that way. Look at your favourite characters. Why do you like them? Make characters like that. If it interests you, it'll interest somebody.
People are always afraid that they won't make a hit. That's not the point. You don't make a hit by pandering to other people's interests. In fact, the quality of DLTD went up after I started doing whatever the hell I want. If someone writes something really passionately and whole-heartedly, people notice that. Be sincere. Your story is your signature. No one else can replicate it. I can't tell you a sure-fire formula. I do have tips, but they're not 100% certain to get you views. Maybe I'll write them down sometime... I think I should... Next time, probably, if people want them. This is getting a bit long...
Anyway, the absolute, most important thing about writing fanfiction ever is that I just made the fanfiction I was dying for. Other people just happened to agree with me. I like monsters, I like cop shows and murder mysteries, I like looking at how people relate to each other, I like all kinds of things. So, I made the ultimate fanfiction for myself. I'm my main audience. So focus on yourself when writing, not anyone else. I know that's easier said than done, but it you're sincere, people appreciate that. It doesn't matter if it's completely unique. I don't believe for a second that this shit is. I've seen "x is brought back to life" fics, I've seen highschool AUs, I've seen OCs, I've seen Demon AUs. It's the same shit, I just packaged it in a way that suits me. Just have fun. Develop your own style. Roll with it. Cram it full of everything you enjoy. Get excited about creating this world. You can do literally anything you want with it. I made a fucking supernatural city in the middle of London and I'm STILL losing my mind over it! You can't go wrong.
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
