my theory on what it could be…
i think that Higuchi’s ability will be called “Takekurabe” (Growing Up/Child’s Play) after her most famous work, and i believe it might have something to do with reincarnation. here’s why…
in this official art she is featured with red spider lilies, which are symbolic of death, but are also thought of as a bridge between heaven & earth…a reminder of the “cyclical nature of life & death”
Takekurabe also explores themes such as how life is fleeting. & also abt being forced into a role that you didn’t want, or wouldn’t have chosen for yourself
(plus potential foreshadowing: in this official art, Higuchi is surrounded by pinwheels— which symbolize childhood, but also the cycle of life, & the buddhist teaching of reincarnation)
back to reincarnation…
after being told that Akutagawa may never wake up, she reached out to him & a glow appeared around her hand— like she was activating an ability— before pulling away bc she remembered that he didn’t want her (or anyone’s) help
but this means that she’s able to give help in this sort of situation
additionally, the fact that she almost always appears in official arts w Akutagawa indicates that she will probably use her ability on him at some point, which makes sense considering his terminal condition
(note the pulse in the background, his bright eyes, & her white suit)
because we have yet to see her use her ability, i’m assuming that she can only use it once, so she’d be giving up her life for Akutagawa’s (a life for a life— his reincarnation)
this would imitate irl Higuchi’s unfortunately short life— with her having died at only 25 years old. it also makes sense to give her such a powerful ability since irl Higuchi is such an important figure in japanese history— japan’s first professional woman writer of modern literature
i wonder if Higuchi’s sister has anything to do with her ability (in bsd she’s unnamed, but her irl sister’s name was Kuniko so that’s what we’ll call her)
according to Higuchi’s bungo episode, despite her literary genius, irl Higuchi was practically useless without her sister
Kuniko was the one who made what Higuchi did possible & kept things functional behind the scenes
so i think it’d be super interesting (& a cool irl reference) if Kuniko was involved in some way with Higuchi’s ability (i also just want to see more of her bc this sister duo is so cute :’))
bonus: when i watched this anime adaptation of Takekurabe, this was the ending scene & i wonder if it was harukawa’s inspiration for this official art 🥹
white lilies represent purity, & since they were off by the side of the road, they might have represented the character’s fleeting purity. white lilies are also used at funerals to represent a soul’s return to purity & its journey to the afterlife… which circles back to the reincarnation theme 👀
Sk8 does a really good job at differentiating between love vs. obsession with the way Adam and Langa’s connection to each other is portrayed vs. how their relationships with Tadashi and Reki are portrayed. Adam and Langa’s scenes together are so loud and dramatic, filled to the brim with over the top romance. Langa literally gets chest pains from skating with Adam, and Adam’s obsession is pretty self-explanatory
But every romantic Renga scene feels so…quiet, yk? Just the two of them, talking to each other very casually or tenderly. It feels way more personal. Even the Tadaai scenes feel very private, they don’t usually say much to each other but soooooooo much tension and emotional turmoil is packed into every line
Idk I just really like that the main relationships all feel so genuine. It’s never some high stakes soulmate connection, but rather two people who happen to be good for each other in all the right ways. That’s also why I like that they made Tadashi the Snake in Adam’s whole biblical metaphor rather than pulling some “he was Adam’s real Eve the whole time” thing
I don’t talk abt Matchablossom much but I feel this way about them too, Joe and Cherry are peak “couple that has been together way too long but don’t have any plans of breaking up any time soon” energy
sometimes I wonder why y'all are obsessed with specific characters and I'm like "why them" but then I remember that sometimes its literally not your choice you just look at them wrong and all of a sudden they're taking up your every thought forever
apollo looks at his boyfriend's performance
i need to buy a gun
Heavy love ^^ (or something like that...)
“Montresor never would have stayed with Will, it’s so out of character!”
Agreed! Montresor absolutely would not have stayed with Will, he would’ve thanked him for his service and then gotten tf out of there.
That’s why he was purposefully given a debilitating injury.
Monty has been shown in the past to have some amount of fucked up “care” for Will, that’s undeniable. It’s also undeniable that he’s a selfish bastard who would have probably abandoned Will the second he could.
WHICH IS WHY THE AUTHOR MADE IT SO HE CAN’T.
Monty’s not an idiot- despite everything he’s just not. He’d very clearly putting on a brave face about the extent his injury is disabling him, we see that as the audience. He also knows it’s serious, it’s why he humiliated himself by begging Annabel for help, he would have bled out and died on those steps because he can’t move.
Monty not leaving Will isn’t out of character because there is quite literally no logical reason for him to leave.
Let’s say he leaves Will behind. That gives him maybe a few seconds, even a minute let’s say, to escape from the Wild Hunt. This mythical beast they barely know shit about who’s essentially immune to the only defense these people have and who is laser-focused.
Montresor can’t stand up unassisted.
He can barely stand up at all.
He’s dead either way, he may as well stay with Will.
(Also, Monty is a cruel and careless piece of shit, but his words contradict his actions because his words aren’t reliable. He’s a liar and like Annabel says, he’s severely insecure. He’s very intentionally projecting the “I don’t care about anyone” mask; we see that especially in the new episode where he purposefully puts on an air to save that dog.)
attempt at coloring
《 It doesn't take a killer to murder,
《 It only takes a reason to kill.