Tsukihime: Blue Blue Glass Moon, Under the Crimson Air
Without any dispute, Arcueid's path was the one starting the motion. We all know there are two aspects of the VN, Near Side of the Moon (i.e. Arc and Ciel) and Far Side of the Moon (Akiha, Hisui, and Kohaku). Both ends explore the meaning of life, but with individual twists. FSotM is all about personal emotions affecting the lives of others around Shiki, NSotM on the other hand is exploring life via the biggest question: What does it mean to live forever?
In this sense, FSotM should be viewed as a gaiden (i.e. side story in Nihon-go). As for NSotM, it's the real deal b/c be it Ciel or Arc, everything is all about eternity and fragility, life and death. For Ciel, eternity had always been a curse, her greatest enemy rather than Roa himself. Life to her is something secondary, death merely means an acceptable end. No, make that the only acceptable end. So what about fragility? I believe this is the only theme common amongst every heroine's path. Fragility of emotions (i.e. FSotM's main focus) and the fragility of life (NSotM's main focus).
Which now comes to... *drum rolls*
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| No, this ain't the real Arc unless we're talking abt the past... |
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| This is the actual Arc in current timeline |
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| Remake ver. Prefer old school ver tho... P.S: Nasu Kinoko-san, pls do another F/SN Realta Nua for her... ONEIGAI?????? |
Arcueid Brunestud (or informally known as Arc) was anything, but normal. Normal not as in the human sense, but rather as a vampire. We all know Edward Cullen can sparkle, but a True Ancestor he is not. Now before I go anywhere further, let me just warn any and every Twi-hard: THIS IS NOT ABT SPARKLING VAMPIRES DAMMIT B/C ARC CAN'T ****ING SPARKLE!!!!!! GEDDIT????????
Okay, rabiem ex nihilo mode finish liao. iirc I don't have any problems with Twilight, so rest assure. That is so long as no one tells me straight in the face that he/she knows who is Edward Cullen, but not this BA mofo, everyone is safe.*
*Okay, technically that's a lie. I never had the time and $$$ to buy/read any of Anne Rice's books. However, I must also apologize to the great authoress for pulling off my China Dime.
Not enough, still got some more jerkass proof
Now the True Ancestors were quite obviously OP and imba (yes, me speaking in cool kids jargon cum terminology). However, there's no purpose behind their existence since their main worry was mainly the Demon Lords (i.e. True Ancestors who have gone nutcase irreversible). Granted they're accounted as Beasts of Gaia, yet given how the universe had panned out (most notably after the Age of Gods and during the Age of Man), there's not much usage for them anyway (that is unless any stupid human beings attempt dangerous stunts surpassing stupidity... then it's our grave, bruh).
And therein lies the oxymoron named Arcueid Brunestud. Supposedly the most powerful out of any/every true Ancestors, she was materialized due to one lagi baliao reason: to create the strongest True Apostle ever. Ofc given the batshit crazy spike in Demon Lords, this entire vampiric race actually found a use for her. iirc we all know that they won't give a two hoots shit abt the world, Arc could **** the world and make it a shittier place for you, me, and the entire human race for all they care (okay, first statement was a half-assed hyperbole since the world is technically abt BOTH Gaia and Alaya. My apologies).
So where is the oxymoron factor, you might ask. Firstly, there wasn't any reason behind Arc's existence because there wasn't any reason behind all the other TA's decision. Every action must demand a relevant motivation, but for the TAs there's none at all. Even if you're certified insane, there HAS to be a delusional factor somewhere! As we'll know very soon, said paradox was to be Arc's focal development throughout.
Oh, and one more thing (aka my self-insurance of truth)-Above statement shouldn't be seen as a disparaging remark towards the mentally ill. I know there's too many media bs demonizing such burdened folks, trust me when I say my classmates used to treat me as siao during secondary school (and even then, I still end up encountering people calling me that at times).
Hence, disaster struck
Originally, the TAs assumed Arc to be impervious against the Vampiric Impulses afflicting them permanently. Yet as one of my superiors enjoyed saying in the past, breaking down "assume" means making an "ass" out of "u" and "me".
Point 1. Arcueid didn't understand that even w/o any Vampiric Impulses, it's still possible to become a Demon Lord via drinking blood.
Point 2. Arcueid indeed went bousou modal due to Roa tricking her to drink his blood.
Point 3. Vast majority of TAs got perm wiped by bousou Arc as a result.
Point 4. Remaining TAs got perm wiped by the Dead Apostles.
Point 5. Roa actually tricked Arc in drinking his blood, hence this ular Michael Jackson=the reason behind Tsukihime's plot legitimacy. No, I'm serious on the MJ part since I'm sure Nasu doesn't listen much to Bieber.
Proof shown as below:
Why then, did Roa desire to be a vampire? The TAs don't need to drink blood in order to survive. Rather it's a matter of temptation brought about by physical flaws. We must understand that like every magus, Roa wanted to reach Akasha. Better known as the Root, Akasha is a primordial force even earlier than Gaia (maybe even all the planets combined as well, who knows?). Those seeking a path to the Root desires total knowledge, yet none could actually understand the price demanded. It's truly a Pandora's Box in every sense of the term (and to showcase my half-assed knowledge gleaned throughout the years, Pandora's Box do exist in the form of Greek mythology). Those who reached Akasha will never return, all managing to do so were quintessentially REMOVED from the living world.
A wee bit on Dead Apostles
Those who got their blood sucked by TAs become Dead Apostles. Even though the DAs are the closest thing to Bram Stoker Dracula, the only reason behind such heinous acts is survival. Just as how we humans require food and water to stay alive, likewise blood is every DA's food and water source both rolled into one.
Oh, and remember point 4? Well, they say irony is the greatest minstrel ever lived.
A/N-In a bid to up this entire ante, let me repeat that True Ancestors do not require blood to stay alive, they only see it as the ultimate temptation.
The cold sad truth about Arcueid Brunestud
Sufficient to say, Arc was born to be forever alone. Not b/c she's some ugly geek, but due to the fact that Arcuied Brunestud is indeed TOO perfect. Every person desires perfection, we all know this is something 100% unattainable, no matter which aspect we chose to see. And therein lies another oxymoron: this flawless femme fatale was created for absolutely no reason at all (rhetorical statement, yes; pointless statement, no).
Before exacting her twisted genocide as a Demon Lord, Arcueid's only reason to exist lies in destroying whatever Demon Lord on the loose. Understanding that eternity means nothing, being the pinnacle of perfection only compounds to her own emptiness. We all know vampires tend to be stereotyped as undead blood sucking monsters, but only Arcueid qualifies as a 100% living dead rather than merely undead. This is also why her only solace lies in infinite slumber within the Millennium Castle Brunestud. Sadly, if any innocuous gesture can be seen as unwitting mockery, it would be the True Apostles treating Arcueid as a member of royalty (note-the kanji for Tsukihime literally means "moon princess").
How an irrelevant commoner's boy changed a princess' life
After constant prattling on Arc's sad lonely life, we now come to Shiki. Obviously the two didn't really hit it off albeit the cause should be seen in a one way traffic light. Shiki ended up going stalker mode upon noticing Arc. Not in a sexual sense, but rather an impulse to mutilate and kill. Before anybody starts playing the judge, we must know the Nanaya blood in him was to blame. Naturally inclined to kill any and all beings not human, the Nanayas possessed an uncontrollable urge to murder once they detected a nearby quarry. In this sense, the Nanayas were more identical to the Tohnos at their irrepressible worst.
Now contrary to what you see in the anime (which is bs anyway), Arcueid wasn't hunted down. Shiki accomplished his dastardly deed via brutal assassination technique, end of story. Which is a no-brainer given the Nanayas being specialized assassins.
Ofc since it would take more than just cutting the lines to kill a True Ancestor of her level, Arcueid got merely sliced in little pieces. After a few days, she popped up in front of a shell shocked Shiki. Granted our heroic boy only discovered what he'd done after the deed, one can easily imagine this greatest wtf horror show.
Suffice to say, escape is not an option, Arcueid could have easily repaid the favour (something which she ended up doing in Shiki's dream in Kagetsu no Tohya). Yet, she chose NOT to. Why? Because she felt curious towards Shiki. No one had ever done to her what Shiki accomplished without breaking a sweat, that's why she saw him as a valuable ally and pawn. Yes, she only saw him as a pawn against Nero Chaos, her immediate nemesis. And 'tis where romance bloomed between the two most unlikely love birds.
Differences in purpose, eternity and perfection finally mocked
Who is Tohno Shiki that the white princess from the moon must have loved him so much? Before meeting Shiki, the only thing she understood was eternity and perfection. She never felt any joy in being some literal goddess, the only legitimate heir to name Brunestud could only shut herself away. Jaime Lannister once famously subscribed the whole "go away inside" mentality, Arc's psychological situation was nowhere better nor different. Ser Kingslayer was forced to escape from himself, Arcueid Brunestud chose not to understand why she desired such an escape.
I believe it's down to Arc feeling that no matter what, the world can never accept her. Yes, everything about the living world is fragile, flawed, and doomed to crumble away while Arcueid was the exact antithesis. 'Tis humane to pursue perfection, yet where will we stand after we reached this goal? Satisfaction? Or maybe just isolation? Mayhap there's a certain truth behind the old Chinese cliche: a hero is doomed to walk alone [英雄永远是孤独的].
What is flawless can never be accepted by the flawed, all which lasts forever cannot exist within limitations.
Tohno Shiki, however, would have nothing of that. To him, Arcueid was never some beautiful freak.
Total perfection will only bring about lack in any real purposes, eternal life without goals is the greatest curse.
Flaws and limitation beckons motivation, all things with eternal value are considered so because they are meant to be temporary and frail.
This was a notion alien to Arc, 'tis also the only thing bestowing her a purpose apart from hunting down Roa.
Roa and perceived weakness
Arc's image color has always been white, Nasu and Takeuchi both felt this should be her ideal symbol. Anti-stereotypical, yes. However, the color white is anything but daylight. Vampires wear black because they are creatures belonging to the night and darkness, Arcueid's image color is there to highlight her purity in terms of appearance and personality.
Appearance because of her perfection, personality because said perfection prevented her from understanding the world.
It's NOT a good thing, I can assure you that. The former case caused the world to isolate her (passive nature), the latter restraining all she rightfully deserves (active nature).
Roa's answer?
Yes, Roa wasn't amused at what he regarded as aesthetic degeneration. To him, Arcueid's eternal perfection was the reason why he was so besotted with the white princess. But did he truly love Arc? Hell no! If I am to love a girl, I SHOULD be loving her for who she really is! Why must I love someone incapable of being true to herself? To love someone wearing a masque can be tiring, spending your life with a person hiding behind a facade smacks of self-betrayal.
Yes, Roa knows NOTHING. Nothing about Arc's struggles, nothing about her pain. He's merely a selfish bastard who happened to forget who he really is. Michael Roa Valdamjong might have found a way to cheat death indefinitely, but he's already dying without knowing what and where went wrong! So what if you can live forever? Does it matter a shit if you end up living like a dead person?
But Shiki is different from Roa. His given name in kanji literally means "noble will". Put it more accurately however and you'll get "noble conviction" [note: Shiki=志貴]. Shiki showed the first traces of his noble character when he took SHIKI's fatal blow originally intended for Akiha, Aoko-sensei taught him how to be a splendid man worthy to be loved.
Shiki's ability in perceiving the truly superficial actually boils down living a constant life surrounded by death. On the first glance, he's a yolo proponent. However, his brand of yolo is anything, but mainstream. Others believe you only live once, Shiki believes you only love once. If you only live once, it means your youth only lasts this long. If you only love once, however, it means there can only be one focal point in your life. Shiki's focal point is death. Not in terms of the actual dots perceived, but the fact that death comes to all.
Tonight, I'm typing this post. Come few weeks later, who knows?
A fairy tale without happily ever after, the fair princess could only dream forever
I really hate this part. Why? Because unless you want to deceive yourself, Arc's True Ending=/=her Good Ending. No matter what, Roa got offed, that's the only happy part (hey, we all enjoy egging St George on, no?). Unfortunately, Arc got mortally wounded as a result. Even though she's able to revive herself due to Roa's power returning back to her, but it's not enough to suppress her bloodlust. (note-don't have much space time, let's just say Roa deliberately stole a good portion of her powers in order to attain his goal of reaching Akasha. Refer back to what I've said on Arc gone bousou)
Shiki offered to let her drink his blood, but Arc refused because she didn't want to wreck his life. Being a Dead Apostle will only cause Shiki to harm people, this wasn't what Arc had in mind.
Shiki loves Arcueid, it's because he couldn't accept, let alone understand, why Arc must live like a doll (hauntingly reminiscent of Kohaku).
Arcueid loves Shiki, that's why more oft than not, letting go is the best evidence of love.
Surely Shiki had given Arc a reason to live, definitely Arc's courage belongs to Shiki.
END OF A JOURNEY
A DREAM REMAINING TRUE
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