Literature / Divine Will

"My name is Shí Will Bea Trueman, and this is my story about the Age of Heroes; from first rising to final farewell: a story replete with horror and tragedy, fluctuating between science fiction and fantasy, punctuating continual metamorphosis and rebellion against grimdark."

DIVINE WILL『神様のウィル』《天石》《신의 윌》 is a webnovel created by Acosmic Otaku. The story is comprised of three different stories told in parallel, each with their own cast, genres, and settings.

Will's story follows a superhero and magical girl protecting the city of New Providence. Elden's story follows the story of an intersex metahuman who was scientifically augmented to pilot cyborgs to kill kaiju for a secret paramilitary NGO. Momo's story follows a youkai who kills devils in order to protect human beings.

It has been published on AO3, deviantart, pixiv, tumblr., royal road. It is currently only on it's 15th chapter.

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Divine Will contains examples of:

• AIGeneratedArtwork: Not the series itself, but Madison is revealed to be an animation hobbyist and content creator on Popom who uses AI programs to generate templates to complement, speed up, and enhance the creative processes. The AI in particular is Fight.ai, which is used to generate fight choreography, which she then breaks apart and recompiles so she can use as a rotoscoping template to redraw the entire thing.
• Action Girl: Shí Will Bea Trueman and Setagaya Momo are both powerful and capable heroines who engage in vigilantism and display impressive physical abilities.
• Age-Gap Romance: Ŋodhlin's betrothal prior to the death of her fiancé.
• The Ageless: The Neodei pilots.
• Amazonian Beauty: Elden seems to regard Mālhlin as such.
• Androids Are People, Too: apparently Turing machines can never be truly conscious, but can only emulate conscious, but wetware lovelace computers can have a soul.
• As the Good Book Says...: Elden, a Buddhist, quotes Genesis 1:27 when musing upon the complementarity of the sexes and to highlight the supernatural nature of her intersex condition.
• Body Horror: the descriptions of the injuries suffered by the victims of the G² Impact, the ASO patients, and the description of the Ama-Uma. Implied in the creation of the WARMASTERS.
• Call to Adventure: Will is presented with a call to adventure by Uriah and the other members of his team, urging them to join the fight against the looming threat of the Yōma. Will accepts the call, but rejects his methods, claiming they are recklessly endangering their own lives and are ill-equipped to fight supernatural threats. Hallvarðr invites Momo to adventure with the revelation about the threat of the Lich-Czar and the erosion of the veil between Otherworld and Earth.
• Cannibal Tribe: the Kyanonesians used to be this, and it was so proficient that even after abandoning the practice the majority of Kyanonesian decendants are immune to kuru.
• The Cape: exemplified by the Lolita Princess.
• Child by Rape: Ms. Breedlove's twins. Their fathers are unknown. Elden and Mrs. Chiba are, themselves, descendants of children conceived in rape.
• Child Soldiers: all of the Neodeus pilots in the USSDF are adolescents. Justified a compromise between the Neodei nature and human morals.
• Cliffhanger: many of the chapters end with one.
• Combat Sadomasochist: according to Elden, "combat addiction" is a risk among fighter.
• Combat Pragmatist:
• Coming-Out Story: Elden's internal conflict and uncertainty about revealing Mālhlin's proposal to her mother could potentially parallel someone grappling with disclosing their romantic relationship to others.
• Completely Different Title: The Chinese title is 《天石》, which literally means "Stone of Heaven". It follows a similar pattern to the English, Japanese, and Korean titles, but instead of incorporating the protagonist's given name it incorporates the protagonist's birth surname 石 and instead of directly translating God into 上帝, 真主, 天主, 天主, or even 神, the title uses 天. Something similar happens with the translation the author provided for Spanish, French, German, and the Semitic languages, which would be "Lolita de Dios" (lit. "Lolita of God"), Will de l'Éternel (lit. "Will of the Eternal One"), Truman von Gott (lit. "True man of God"), ويل بنت الله and ויל בת אלוהים (lit. "Will, daughter of God").
• Crossover Cosmology:
  • Abrahamic: Apparently, faeries have had encounters with angels, and their description is reminiscent of the Thomistic angelology.
  • Daoist: Immortals are confirmed to exist, and it is suggested that some have the ability to create their own pocket universes.
  • Japanese Mythology: Momo is 1/4th Oni and in chapter 11 she kills a Gashadokoro.
• Cryptic Conversation: Kauākṣara speaks in cryptic and enigmatic terms.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Ŋodhlin's traumatic backstory, mentioned in chapter 10. Also applies to all of the aliens salvaged in the Alien Salvaging Operation (ASO), which was designed to save people from an active genocide campaign. Chiba's disclosure about her family's history.
• Determinator: implied for WARMASTERS and USSDF pilots, given how torturous their training is.
• Developing Doomed Characters: The opening line promises that the story will end with the protagonist's death, and artwork by the author shows her depicted as an older, though still young, cephalophore.
• Divine Conflict: Theomachy, Titanomachy, Gigantomachy, the Æsir–Vanir War, and Xenotheomachy.
• Double Consciousness:
• Double-Meaning Title: The English title is a pun, as it can be understood to refer to the Will [i.e. intentionality] of God, or to Will as the servant of her God.
• Dreaming of Things to Come: Will, Elden, and Momo are all implied to have done this.
• Dream Weaver: The Worldbuilder makes contact with Will through her dreams.
• Eldritch Abomination: Kaijū, nouiformes, faeries, and even angels.
• Evil Stole My Faith: defied when Ŋodhlin explains “Much like how Ms. Breedlove’s Anglican faith is fortified when she encounters events of this nature, my beliefs as a Mohist are strengthened as well. On that day, I realized the existence of true evil, and if evil exists, then goodness must also exist, for evil is simply the privation of goodness. No degree of evil can shatter my faith in Heaven, for my monotheism finds reinforcement in the presence of evil.”
• Fantasy Kitchen Sink: this story incorporates elements from various genres, including superhero stories, kaijū films, super robot manga, xiānxiá novels, and more.
• Fish out of Water:
• Food as Bribe: a vampire bribed with blood porridge, specifically.
• Foreign Fanservice: Elden is understandably flustered by the breast-exposing fashion of the Kyanonesians.
• Foreshadowing:
• Genre Mashup:
• Glamour Failure: happens to Momo while she was asleep after helping with G² Impact humanitarian responses.
• Good Samaritan: the Lolita Princess helps the victims of the G² Impact for no other reason than they needed help.
• Gratuitous Foreign Language:
  • Gratuitous Chinese: Will says the Lord's Prayer in Mandarin, written with Pinyin, in the first chapter.
  • Gratuitous Japanese: the dialogue of Japanese people on untranslated video in the first five chapters of the story is in Japanese, but written with rōmaji.
  • Gratuitous Spanish: Each of the chapter names thus far comprise of "Capítulo [Spanish Number]: [Chapter name]"
• Hermaphrodite: Elden is explicitly stated to have a unique form of intersexuality. The Mao are a race of alien humans who are defined by an effeminate intersexuality. The Lan'ma are described as sequential hermaphrodites who alternate sexes cyclically.
• Half-Human Hybrid: apparently, faeries and humans can interbreed.
• Heroes Unlimited: even within the first 15 chapters, with each of the three protagonists only having 5 chapters introducing their stories, the cast has expanded rapidly.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Ŋodhlin's fiancé dies protecting her and her fellow loyalists before the story starts.
• Horror Struck: Elden, Hyechin, and Breedlove, upon seeing a drawing of one of Ŋodhlin's traumatic memories.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Exaggerated with Ŋodhlin's happily married parents. Her father is 244 cm (8 ft) tall and weighs 148.8 kgs (328 lbs), whereas her mother is only 109 cm (3 ft 7 in) tall and 22 kgs (48.5 lbs).
• Human Aliens: deconstructed. The various aliens encounted within the ranks of the GSSDO and salvaged through the ASO don't merely appear to be human. They really are human populations. Even the zoomorphic Moŋ, Sluŝ, and Ræ are human. There is no explanation yet as to how this arrangement occured.
• Human Sacrifice: Part of Mālhlin Ŋodhlin's backstory involves her witnessing the Gryphon Sacrifice, which involves the ritualist abuse and murder of a young boy and girl.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each of the chapter names thus far alludes to a song. So far this includes-
  • Capítulo Uno: Young God
  • Capítulo Dos: Monsters Exist
  • Capítulo Tres: Dust in the Wind
  • Capítulo Cuatro: It’s Been A While
  • Capítulo Cinco: Metacrisis Man
  • Capítulo Seis: Hermaphrodite
  • Capítulo Siete: Starman
  • Capítulo Ocho: I Feel Like I’m Drowning
  • Capítulo Nueve: I’ve Got No Strings
  • Capítulo Diez: Rape Me
  • Capítulo Once: I’m A Monster
  • Capítulo Doce: Weak and Powerless
  • Capítulo Trece: All This and Heaven Too
  • Capítulo Catorce: A Shoggoth on the Roof
  • Capítulo Quince: Brass Monkey
  • Capítulo Dieciséis: Joyride
  • Capítulo Diecisiete: Persecution of the Masses
  • Capítulo Dieciocho: don't be scared, dino
• Interspecies Adoption: the Demon Slayer is a full-blooded yōkai raised by full-blooded humans.
• Invincible Villain: the Author is explicitly stated to be an "invincible anti-God" in the series description.
• Language Barrier: Will expresses a desire to learn Japanese in order to overcome the communication impasse resulting from her not understanding the language. It is also a problem with the Alien Salvaging Operation, as the aliens salvaged do not speak any Earthly language.
• Marriage of Convenience: Ŋodhlin's proposal comes off as this, outlining multiple points of mutual advantage which her hypothetical union with Elden would have.
• Metafiction: Will's encounter with the Worldbuilder in her dream has her pass through the workspaces of several artists, from a writer, to a penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, storyboarder, animatic creator, inbetweeners, compositors, lighters, key-frame animator, sound designer, stop motion animator, etc. All of which seem to be working on adapting the story of Divine Will into different media.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Will's full name is Shí Will Bea Trueman, which, despite being a pun, is layered with meaning. Shí (石) is a Chinese surname meaning "Stone", and indicates her being half-Chinese. Trueman means "faithful one", and is a Germanic surname belonging to her adoptive family.
  • Elden Bunchûai, while not a pun, is also meaningful. Elden (ᡝᠯᡩ᠋ᠠᠨ) is Manchu for "light" and Bunchûai (บุญช่วย) is Thai for "assisting in merit", "assisting in virtue", or "assistance of a favorable outcome of a good deed in one's previous life". Together, her name can be interpreted as "light who assists merit", "light who assists virtue", and "favorable outcome of a good deed in one's previous life assisting light". A name which directly ties into the role she, as the narrator, gives herself in Capítulo Seis: Hermaphrodite. Moreover, her surname foreshadows her admixed heritage.
  • Elden's surname actually contains information regarding her heritage as well. The morpheme "Bun" (บุญ) derives from the Pali "puñña" (पुञ्ञ), and is an important term in Thai Buddhism, while the "Chûai" (ช่วย) morpheme not only has specific ties to Buddhism, but is also ultimately derived from the Middle Chinese word 助 (d͡ʒɨʌH). Moreover, the way it is integrated into her Sinitic name, 功德助 (Gōngdézhù), resembles a Japanese name [such as 木村助 (Kimurasuke), 井上助 (Inouesuke), 前田助 (Maedasuke), 吉田助 (Yoshidasuke), 鈴木助 (Suzukisuke), 佐藤助 (Satōsuke), 田中助 (Tanakasuke), 山田助 (Yamadasuke), 渡辺助 (Watanabesuke), 斎藤助 (Saitōsuke), 中島助 (Nakajimasuke), 伊藤助 (Itōsuke), 高橋助 (Takahashisuke), 山口助 (Yamaguchisuke), etc]. Again, hinting at the character being admixed with a heritage they are disconnected from.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: The Ama-Uma
• Mysterious Backer: The Worldbuilder, also known as the Author, is clearly interested in helping Will, even granting them the All-Slayer. Shishi is also clearly interested in helping Will, though the Worldbuilder and Shishi seem to be in opposition to each other.
• Mythopoeia:
• Naked on Arrival: Momo in chapter 14.
• Non-Malicious Monster: exaggerated with Hallvarðr and Momo, who, despite being a troll and a djinn/oni/succubus/vampire hybrid, are quite fond of and protective of humans.
• One-Gender Race: the Rei come from a planet where the human population is entirely female and reproduce parthenogenically.
• Our Angels Are Different: the angels, as described by Hallvarðr and Fukushi are based on a Thomistic understanding of angels. Hallvarðr describes them as existing in aloka (lit. "no world"): a state of being that transcends time and space. Their relationship to space is likened to that relationship the back of the board has to the field of play in chess. Not in the field of play itself, but equally close and distant to every square and intersection defining space. In fact, Hallvarðr goes out of his way to explain that their relationship to space is disanalogous to that of the player to the board, suggesting that their nature is not higher dimensional, but rather undimensional. He even directly states that angels are transcendent even to Devas, Immortals, and Buddhas who have manifested their own lokas, because the very nature of an angel makes it impossible to move further or closer to them even by manifesting your own spatial domains such as Brahmāloka (梵天界) or Viṣṇuloka (毘紐天界).
• Parental Abandonment: Multiple characters are lacking a parent for one reason or another. Will's biological parent and adoptive mother, Elden's father, and Momo's biological parents are all deceased.
• Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Implied by Mālhlin Ŋodhlin, recounting the heroic sacrifice of her late fiancé.
• Pose of Supplication:
• Rape as Backstory: This is particularly present in Elden's story, where Ms. Breedlove's beloved twins were conceived through rape, but she cannot remember the event at all. On the contrary, while Mālhlin Ŋodhlin was not herself raped, she was a coerced to witness the rape and murder of two adolescents. Elden herself is a descendant of a woman who was conceived by rape, as is Mrs. Chiba in Momo's story.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Elden and Hyechin, depite having suffered through the Drowning Pool and operating in an organization populated by literal genocide survivors and their descendants, are uniquely horrified by the images that plague Mālhlin Ŋodhlin's nightmares, which they discover originate from when she was coerced to witness the sadistic sexual abuse and ritual slaughter of a young girl and boy.
• Ritual Magic: The method through which Zleŋ‘ saved her countrymen from extermination, and how she saved foreigners in the first successful Alien Salvaging Operation (ASO).
• Second American Civil War: Apparently there was a "Cold Civil War" in the 2010s-2030s. What exactly this means has yet to be elaborated on.
• Secret Identity: The Lolita Princess maintains a secret identity as the 10-year-old, Shí Will Bea Trueman.
• Secret-Keeper: Sakurai and Chiba to Momo, and Madison to Will.
• Sekaikei Genre: Elden, as the narrator, explicitly assigns the genre of the story as Sekaikei, but with the caveat that it's not her relationship which will determine the fate of the world.
• Serial Rapist: The unidentified father of one of Ms. Breedlove's sons.
• [[ https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Shinigami Shinigami]]: Fukushi.
• Shipper on Deck: Hyechin is vicariously enthusiastic for Elden regarding Mālhlin's marriage proposal.
• Shout-Out: Several in the first five chapters.
  • Beowulf: mentioned by Will in chapter 5.
  • Zafarnamah: mentioned by Will in chapter 5.
  • Kamen America: read by Will in chapter 5.
  • Ava’s Demon: read by Will in chapter 5.
  • Robert J. Sawyer's Neanderthal Parallax is directly named in chapter 5.
  • Most of the alien races, according to this tweet, rescued in the Alien Salvaging Operation of chapter 7 are named after characters in other media.
    • The Gawr are named after Gawr Gura.
    • The Mao are named after Asakura Mao from Futabu! Mix by Bosshi.
    • The Sluŝ are named after one of Norasuko's characters.
    • The Ræ are named after Actually Rea.
    • The Lan’ma are named after Saotome Ranma.
    • The Rei are named after Ayanami Rei.
    • The Mai are named after Tokiha Mai
  • The Drowning Pool mentioned in chapter 8.
  • Days of Future Past: an oblique reference is made to it in chapter 14.
  • X-Men: “Protecting a world that hates and fears them” is directly quoted in chapter 5.
  • Momo Setagaya is named after the main character from the hentai manga Momo Hime by Gesundheit and Setagaya Mari from Vampire Vixen.
  • Pikamee is explicitly mentioned in chapter 17.
  • Chapter 17 explicitly mentions a number of lost media: King Kong (1933), Bulgasari (1962), Batman Fights Dracula (1967), Alam Ara (1931), Kalidas (1931), The Life of General Villa (1914), Young Griffo vs. Battling Charles Barnett (1895), Dingjun Mountain (1905), and the 97 lost episodes of Doctor Who.
• Small Parent, Huge Child: Exaggerated with Ŋodhlin's mother and sister. While her mother, Mews (妙), is only 109 cm (3 ft 7 in) tall, her sister, Plum (風), stands 220 cm (7 ft 2.6 in) tall.
• Super-Soldier: The WARMASTER Program involves an extreme level of augmentation.
  • Bio-Augmentation:
  • Super Serum:
  • Cyborg:
  • Super-Empowering: each WARMASTER obtains three unique superpowers. The specifics of which most WARMASTE Rs keep secret.
• Superhero Speciation: no two metahumans have yet had the same powers.
• Supernatural Aid: the Worldbuilder gives Will the All-Slayer.
• Superpower Lottery: both the Lolita Princess and Demon Slayer possess a wide range of superhuman abilities, including super strength, agility, enhanced senses, though their powers have limited application. Warmaster Jeż might have some of the most broken abilities shown thus far.
• Super-Strength: displayed by the Lolita Princess and Demon Slayer.
• Surreal Horror:
• Taken for Granite: the corpses of the two children killed in the Gryphon sacrifice are ritualistically petrified together.
• Training from Hell: a few instances. The WARMASTE Rs are implied to have undergone a particularly horrific take on this trope. The Drowning Pool, which the USSDF pilots have to undergo, also qualifies and is described in harrowing detail.
• Trauma Button: Ŋodhlin accidently triggers a panic attack in Ms. Breedlove when she drops a drawing of something in her traumatic past.
• Unfazed Everyman: Will' s father, John Trueman, is initially skeptical of the news reporting on Kaijū, but this skepticism is very quickly done away with.
• Urban Fantasy: The urban setting of New Providence serves as a backdrop for the fantastical events of the story, blending elements of fantasy with the modern world, characteristic of the urban fantasy genre. The Demon Slayer's escapades intersect with modern city life as well.
• Would Hurt a Child: the rite of initiation of the Savage Lands' king involves exceptionally cruel child sacrifice.