#me writes

He’s looking down at her with kind patience, rough fingers coming up to brush the tears away from her cheeks. She leans into his hand. My beautiful wife, he whispers and his lips touch her forehead. Why do you weep?

She breathes him in, a shaky inhale and the knot in her chest loosens. But then she reaches up to cradle his head. She touches soft and wet and cold.

Did you think I was immortal?

She wakes crying.

・・・・・

They don’t want to let her see him but she does anyway.

He lies in the middle of the chamber, hands folded over his chest. The ugly wound unseen. There is a dragon on his breast, red on black, embroidery like a thousand little pomegranate seeds spilling over him.

She walks to the bier, lowers to the floor by his head. The ground is ice cold beneath her knees and so is his hand when she brings it to her lips. She doesn’t have strength in her to cry no more.

She doesn’t turn when she hears someone approach. His hand is warm on her shoulder and he says something she doesn’t hear.

The two painted stones, blue and black, are ice in her hand when she takes them. She frowns. Why did you leave them so? He’s a dragon, he shall burn and take to the winds like a dragon. She lays them carefully on the ground, not to make a sound.

There, my love, you’re just sleeping.

Maekar falls to his knees by her side then. He’s shaking, she feels, like a little white rabbit on her shoulder. She doesn’t push him away and she feels his tears salt her unbraided hair. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. She doesn’t answer, and cradles her husband’s hand to her chest.

・・・・・

The wind carries the ash into her face, black snowflakes over the fresh spring grass. There is a dark veil covering her face. She lifts it up. It’s the last time you’ll ever touch me.

The pyre isn’t grand, but the king preferred it this way. And yet, she thinks, what pyre could be grand enough to send Baelor Breakspear into the dark. It is childish, mayhaps, but she laid flowers around his head.

Begone, Sir Duncan, she hears her son speak. Her son, if not by blood by duty then. Her eyes tear away from the fire for the first time. The hedge knight is standing, holding the crutch as awkwardly as he held his sword and shield the first time she saw him. He looks at her, but he doesn’t approach. There is guilt in that boyish face and he has to look away.

She feels someone’s hand take hold of hers, a hand much smaller than her good-brother’s. Aegon is the only one of Maeker’s sons that comes to the funeral. I will not have your killer here.

She chases the thought away. I shall not poison the last day we have, my love. After it's over, she stays and watches the silent sisters gather the ashes.

・・・・・

So, this led me down a whole other rabbit hole in an attempt to explain all of this. to summarize what we know about the Moon and its significance in the story and world of CRK by now, is that it holds mysterious arcane powers that both Witches and Wizards used, but Wizards went a step further and began using moonlight in their baking of cookies. They did so seeking to explore the World of Dreams, given that it is a realm where anything is possible and theorizing that "at the intersection of the night, the moon, and the dream, magic unbound by all limits is born" So they created Moonlight Cookie, whom they call "the moon reborn in the form of a cookie" to fulfil that goal.

Obviously this is a post exploring CRK's Moon magics, but the Wizards and Moonlight Cookie are hardly relevant here. I am bringing this up as a source for Witches having used the Moon Magics, plus the fact that the Moon appears to be a source of a very powerful and diverse magic that can even allow cookies to travel dreams as though they are real places, as the Dream Express and Eternal City of Wizards chapters establish.

But the cookies use the magic of the Moon too. There is the Dark Moon magic that triggered me writing this post (im so intrigued by it i made an OC based on it, hence i NEED to research this). But, and im pretty cure this isn't stated directly in-game, but White Magic, of which the only confirmed user is Pure Vanilla Cookie, is said to draw its power from celesitial bodies, including - gasp! - the full moon! And the promo image in question specfically says "FULL moon", which is interesting to me.

While the Crème Republic paladins, namely, Financier, Madeleine and Kouignn-Amann, are famous for drawing their powers from the Light, and said to be blessed by the Divine Light, or simply the Divines, even worshipping it. Neither White Magic, nor the full Moon, come up in any stories involving them, which makes me think that their magic and religion based around the Light is different from the White Magic that PV uses, even if it has similar roots (these cookies originating from the Vanila Kingdom and all).

Ther's nothing saying that White Magic originated from the Vanilla Kingdom, as far as im aware, but it appears to have been at the forefront of education in this school of magic, as the artbook states this:

So now we know that Pure Vanilla is an expert in the matters of White Magic, the healing magic that draws its powers on the full moon... It's not that far out there to say he would be aware of the dark side of this magic as well, maybe even very familiar with it. Interestingly, PV appears to match the aesthetics of White Magic in everything: his main colors being white and gold, the colors featured on the White Magic image, and cyan (or rather, light blue), which is the color of PV's (and SM's 👀) Soul Jam, as well as the closed eye motif; all except that White Magic is described as being "cold and pristine". Pristine is very much a word you could use to describe PV, it's even a synonym for Pure, which is in his name. But "cold"? PV is anything but cold, in fact, he is regularly described as warm: the description of his stained glass guild relic says "warm and peaceful", his soulstone description says "warm and reassuring", a buff in his original skill says "gentle and warm", and I'm sure that there is more. Now, obviously, PV isn't some sorta incarantion or personalization of White Magic, he's literally Just A Guy who became this knowledgeable, powerful and important through his own efforts. But I just think it's curious how this is THE ONLY contradiction here.

Now let's turn our attention to the Dark Moon magic.

First and foremost, this school of magic is described as very dangerous, and Wizard Cookie in the Hall of Enlightenment chapter states that it is forbidden. Secondly, White Magic and Dark Moon magic are said to "form an interdependent energetic cycle", suggesting they are somewhat similar to the Yin and Yang of the cookie universe (or maybe just Earthbread. you know). While they are seen and presented as opposites (even having inverted color schemes, white and gold and black and blue respectively), they are both described as "cold". Not much is known about this school of magic or the Dark Side of the Moon, likely because it is forbidden, though, if we turn our attention back to the Nightsky Moonstone guild relic, it says "even the keenest know more than the fact its source lies on the dark side of the moon", suggesting that it is unexplored and full of mystery to this day. But I have reasons to think that there is a cookie who knows more about it than anyone on Earthbread.

It's hard not to notice the resembalance between White Magic and PV and Dark Moon Magic and SM. I say that these 4 are 100% connected and all the design choices are deliberate. Pure Vanilla is an adept of the healing White Magic, white and gold and featuring details of light blue as well as closed eye motifs, and Shadow Milk claims to live on the Dark Side of the Moon, where Dark Moon magic draws its powers from, the treacherous magic associated with black and dark blue, with elements of gold, and open eye motifs. The color accents are especially interesting. Think back to me comparing these two magics to Yin and Yang. In that philosophy, there's a bit of white in the black and a bit of black in the white, representing the balance of the universe. Similarly, you can say that the blue elements in PV's design call back to SM and Dark Moon Magic, while the elements of gold in SM call back to PV and White Magic, which is further supported by Truthless Recluse gaining more blue in his color pallette and the Sage of Truth gaining more gold. With the context of the latest Beast-Yeast chapters 7-8, it becomes all the more clear how these two characters are intended to be "two sides of the same coin" both in design and in story. I'm not gonna go full analysis of the BY chapters tho cuz this post would never end + it's not all too relevant + i'm sure you already know all there is to know about how intertwined these two are. And also that story, to my dissapointment, did not touch on the Moon magics at all.

And this is a shame, because in BY chapter 2, Theater of Lies, Shadow Milk says this:

And with SM there is always a 99% chance he's spouting bullshit, but he doesn't lie for no reason. And as long a swe can trace the reason, we can fairly accurately assume which parts are lies and which are truths. In this case, his intent is to intimidate PV, so he is likely either lying or exaggerating things. That said, he doesn't bring up the Dark Side of the Moon for no reason. It's a place that nobody knows anything about, where the most dangerous known form of magic draws its power from. SM calling it "his home" would mean that he doesn't just know a lot about it, he's very very familiar with it. He uses this to flex his knowledge and power.

So, is it true that he is from the Dark Side of the Moon? I doubt it. I mean, he was sealed in a fricking tree. Which is on Earthbread, and punishment very much did reach him, as he only has a half of his former Soul Jam. That said, the Fount of Knowledge... Wouldn't you say that, if there is or was anyone who knew all there is to know about the Dark Side of the Moon and Dark Moon Magic, it would be the demi-god cookie who embodies the virtue of Knowledge?

I just went through all of SM's quotes, including the Sage of Truth, and sadly there is NO more references or mentions of the Moon by Shadow Milk Cookie. There are little bits in ep 7-8 and i don't think they are anything relevant but let's take a quick looksie at them anyway.

The first mention of the moon is in episode 7, where White Lily and Pure Vanilla solve the towerkeeper's riddle, which turns out to be about the sun and the moon, but i fail to see how this is relevant at all so im ignoring it :P

The second is in PV's dream, where SM talks to him pretending to be the Light of Truth. PV himself says that the place he sees is the Dark Side of the Moon, which is the same background as when SM first says that it is his home, which makes me think that this is the reason PV thinks it is indeed the Dark Side. It may or may not be, but the next time this same image shows up, PV calls it the other-realm? For which we only have speculation, but it appears to be some sort of alternate dimension that SM has control over, as he mentions in Wind, Vanquisher of Darkness: "Phew, thank creators I know how to bend the other-space to do my bidding. My friends and colleagues do not have that luxury at their disposal…" where he also calls it the "other-space" (other-realm really has a better ring to it doesn't it? now lemme check what it's called in Korean) For you it's instant, but after 5 minutes or so, i think the word SM uses in both instances is the same in Korean, translating to "sub-space", which gives me a different impression. Other-space or other-realm makes me think of a completely different dimension, while sub-space makes me think of a layer of reality that exists right under or side by side to the reality that we live. Think blanket and a blanket cover, the cover of the book and its pages, the outside and inside layers of a winter coat - you get the gist. It's like two sides of the same coin, but in a literal sense - a 2d being living on one of the planes has no way to get to the other side or even know it exists, but a 3d being like us can see and freely manipulate both sides. Am i implying that Shadow Milk has the capabilities of a 4d being? Perhaps. But that is all just my thoughts and theories as for what the other-realm is. It makes sense, i think. Does it have anything to do with the Dark Side of the Moon? Idk. I've gotten so off-track lmao

Umm anyway. Making a very sharp U-turn back to the actual topic of the post 😭 I wanna talk about whatever the Crescent Moon is again. Afaik, it is only mentioned twice: by Pome accusing PV of using this forbidden magic (which I am presuming she meant Dark Moon magic, and the JP translators must've thought so as well) and in the Guild Relic description. I'm putting this image here again bc i showed it a while ago on the post and nobody wants to scroll up again

From my brief search of the fandom wiki, here are a few more relevant mentions of a (not the) crescent moon: there is a crescent moon symbol alongside a star on the Vanilla Kingdom flag, likely representing White Magic, which draws its power upon celestial bodies (with the full moon that we discussed earlier only being an example); Cream Puff Cookie in one of her quotes states, "Crescent Moon Magic is dangerous…!"; in this video (linked with a timestamp), the narrator states that the battle of the Ancient Heroes and Dark Enchantress happened on the night of the crescent moon, showing a full moon turning black; the animation cutscene in the prologue, which shows PV fighting DE with what's left of his power, shows this moment, where a crescent moon id, i would say very deliberately, is in the very center of the frame

And lastly, there's a bond story about Sea Fairy and Moonlight, but i think it's hardly relevant for a few reasons. Still, I'm going to briefly summarize it before moving onto the next big thing. Now, this is a costume set and those, especially with legendary costumes, tend to write about alternate universes of sorts, something that could potentially happen, but not something that did or is canon to the overall story. And I think that The Sea and the Dark Side of the Moon is one of those AUs. It tells about Moonlight Cookie, specifically her Crescent Guardian costume, and meeting Sea Fairy Cookie in her Rippling Moonlight costume. Sea Fairy becomes entranced with Moonlight, abandoning her elemental guardian duties as she does in canon. But in this story, Moonlight reciprocates, it is implied she takes Sea Fairy with her to the moon, as the last line of the story states, "Instead, a new legend surfaced: the dark side of the moon held an ocean." Just like with the parallels between White Magic and Dark Moon Magic and PV and SM, Moonlight and Sea Fairy's legendary costumes parallel in a similar way. one being primarily white and gold with a bit of blue and the other being mostly black and blue (although more white...) and gold details. It is possible but inlikely that they have much to do with these two schools of magic.

So let's get back to the Crescent Moon Magic. The one Cream Puf says is dangerous, the one Pome calls forbidden, and the one she claims PV had used against DE. The most interesting to me is the moment in the story video where a full moon turns black. Now, obviously, the "dark side of the moon", or, rather, the side facing away from Earth, doesn't magically show up whenever the moon waxes and wanes. It's just a shadow from our planet. But is this the same way for Earthbread? If it isn't, then the shadow that appears may well be the Dark Side of the Moon the name of which im sorta sick of capitalizing (count how many times i typed this name T_T). One possibility is that the way Earthbread's moon rotates makes it so its "dark side" actually faces the planet sometimes, creating the crescent moon. The other is that it doesn't, but rather, the moon doesn't function like our Earth's moon AT ALL, which allows for a magical possibility that the shadow which creates the shape of a crescent IS the Dark Side of the Moon. Im struggling to explain the differences here. But in variant 1, the Dark Side of the Moon is an actual place on the moon that can be visible to Earthbread sometimes. And in variant 2, there is no Dark Side of the Moon as a place, rather, the shadow itself is that Dark Side. 1: the shadow is the Dark Side. 2: the Dark Side is a shadow. If it makes sense.

Whether it's one or the other, one thing becomes clear: that is that, while White Magic draws its power from the FULL Moon, the Dark Moon Magic draws its power from the Dark Side of the Moon, which shows up when there is a crescent moon. Meaning that, on the night of the battle of the Ancient Heroes and Dark Enchantress, PV noticed that it was the night of the crescent moon and seized the opportunity to use Dark Moon Magic, otherwise known as Crescent Moon Magic, to defeat the villainess, ala water and fire benders in ATLA with the moon and the comet respectively.

Aaaand boom! I wish I knew how much time it took me to write this post. If i had lunch somewhere between 2 and 3 and its 5:30 rn, that would mean?? 2-3 hours?? damn. The announcement for the new update came out but i can't watch it until i finish this. We have our explanation for the 2 magic schools that use the Moon's power, the difference between them, their relation to PV and SM and even ML and SF, and we learned how Dark Moon Magic and Crescent Moon Magic are essentially two sides of the same coin (i think this is the 3rd time i use this phrase). This theory fits extremely well with the idea of White Magic and Dark Moon Magic being a part of the same interdependent cycle; after all, there's only one Moon, and it holds the power of both at different times. The power of light and the power of dark; the power of healing and the power of destruction; the power of truth and the power of lies; the state of knowledge and the state of ignorance; dark shadow and pure light; the depth of the sea and the light of the moon. As well as that, this aligns neatly with my idea of the other-realm, which i described as the other side to the same dimension, or even the 4th dimension, if you will (or the 3rd if we think of the CRK world as being 2d).

There is still lots to think about, and lots of opportunities of the CRK writers disproving this theory in some future story update. That said, i think this could very well be canon as it fits rather nicely. I wanna hear you people's thoughts too!!! Whatever you thought or theorized on this topic, or any additional bits and pieces you'd like to share, please do, because i like this part of CRK soooo much. It's magical! You know!!!

NOW I GOTTA WATCH THE NEW UPDATE VID THE NEW COOKIES ARE GORGEOUS BYE BYEEEEEE

Personally, I started playing the game first, and only saw the anime after (this was somewhere before I started Chapter 2 or halfway, i think). First thing that came to mind for me about Kazuki the Anime vs Kazuki the game:

“wow, he’s an asshole!”

However, his arc in the anime seems to be from being this guide that Minato helplessly follows, he watches the games and he orders them to act. In a way, he’s right when he says Minato are just pawns for him to manipulate. That changes when his motivation is revealed— from a fucking MUPPET SHOW no less (ily sonoda).

His motivation appears revenge driven at first, how could it be interpreted otherwise? Ojiro, his childhood best friend, BROKE HIS ARM. Any logical extrapolation would be that Kazuki is trying to get back at the Chiyodas through the most powerful tribe.

Then you hear the full reason from Kazuki himself once the Ota tribe fight is settled. The full reason: he wants to save Ojiro from Tenshin’s brainwashing, from the shackles of being the best and being alone. Something I found especially tragic is that Tenshin likely intended for Kazuki to be the next heir to the Otori throne.

Kazuki, in the way, would be a better XB player than Ojiro because of one thing: he is able to communicate with and understand people. Albeit in the anime, it’s mostly him bossing the other members using his vast knowledge of XB (even knowing just how far he can push the rules, evidenced by the oil spill trick).

This isn’t to say his brains are his only asset: having to hit a ball with your non-dominant arm while the dominant arm is injured, , the speed he runs at and the ease he disarms his opponent, it is clear he hasn’t lost his XB edge. Tribe Nine likes to push home the idea that no matter how powerful, pushing away cooperation will not let you win. Ichinose gets cooked trying to do just that. Ojiro fights with a team during the climax of the anime. And only Zero, who is basically an almost god-like figure, fights alone, but he is tortured by boredom, which is why he sets up Yo’s saga in the first place.

You could say that this speech he gives is something he gives to every child that fails to live up to his expectations, but then look at how he addresses Ojiro.

He doesn’t even see the children as children, just as a number. A potential asset to the Otori name. Kazuki was just a little ahead, having the privilege to be referred to by name. Of the two, Ojiro has been presented as this unfeeling, bloodthirsty juggernaut player of XB who dominates, his pitch being so powerful it can cause internal bleeding to his opponents.

kThe fact Ojiro says this while his back is turned to Kazuki, its almost like he doesn’t believe those words himself, it’s just what he tells himself to keep moving.)

It becomes clear that Ojiro’s motivation behind becoming the best at XB is not driven by winning, otherwise, the rule-breaking tech would be appealing to him (as it was to Tenshin). In the end, it was the horrors of having to best the other children at XB, or risk being eliminated (implied to be killed). Such an upbringing is no doubt scarring. This is very clear with Ojiro, with how he’s juxtaposed with his child self.

A quieter, meeker boy who just wants to be with his friend. He doesn’t care about being first.

And then we have Kazuki, someone who has dreams and wants to make them come true. Cocky, even. It also seems apparent that Ojiro cared less about XB than Kazuki does, this can be seen in the scene they first receive their gear. Kazuki exclaims in wonder, while Ojiro just smiles.

However, it’s a lot subtler with Kazuki. Kazuki’s debut episode starts with him questioning the Minato members for remaining on their high horse while trying to win against Adachi to save Arisugawa. They either win dirty or they risk losing her, to him, there is no ideal way to win, only the optimal one. Would a big dreamer come up with this? Heck, when Arisugawa busts herself out, he’s the one who points out they can stop playing because there’s no rationale behind playing if their goal’s achieved. Would someone who wants to “beat everyone else” be so easily swayed to move on?

We don’t see how Ojiro becomes Q, and how Kazuki matures from a cocky pawn-controller to the competent leader of Trash Tribe. In a way, it feels like they’re returning to embrace their inner child’s wishes. Q gets to be by Kazuki’s side, and vice versa. It gives them happier voices to be around. For Kazuki, he is far more helpful towards the Trash Tribe members than he was to Minato in the anime. Q, on the other hand, goes from a emotionless killing machine to……

Look at his profile picture, a cute penguin. And this chat is just him being completely and utterly afraid of rats. Rats! From this man who killed Shun, who was also portrayed as a juggernaut, the reason for Minato’s success. This can also be seen by the Chiyoda siblings’ almost fanatic worship of him.

(Hina, i love you but his eng dub VA is literally Corpse Husband.)

Initially Chapter 3 threw me off, because the secret of Ojiro being Q was basically immediately spilled. It confused me, especially since Q revealed this under no pressure. Then you get to the very end of Chapter 3. Yo is completely entranced by Magata’s promises. Trash Tribe only has one way to win: defeat Magata at XG (become a bigger streamer) and reveal the truth.

(Perhaps Kazuki is hyperaware that there are no ideal solutions, he is the one most guarded against Magata’s promises of utopia)

Q’s entire character in the game is basically an edgelord who wants to atone for his crimes as Lord Ojiro. This was the best time to do so, in the thick of territory of people who despise the Otori family to the point of injuring random people who even have the surname of Otori. Perhaps, the only way to atone is to save the whole of the city, just as how he doomed them in the past. He saves them by breaking them free of the practical cult that Magata has enslaved the citizens of Chiyoda. Then he saves them again by stopping U-DX, at the cost of his life. Then he is revived by Zero, with a catch. An almost devastating catch.

To Q, it is as if his character arc never happened. Q becomes the introverted, quiet person he has always been, except it is no longer a facade, it is all he has left after his memories of Ojiro has left.

Imagine being Kazuki in this moment, his childhood friend, the man he grew up with, the man who abandoned him in a struggle to survive, the man he fought tooth and nail to save from a horrible fate. The man who he fulfilled his childhood dreams with.

All of that is now gone.

It’s a crazy risky choice that the writers made. Erase a powerful arc that just happened. Why does it work? To me, even though the internal change is gone, the external change stays, no memory loss can change that. No memory loss can erase the fact that Ojiro atoned for his sins.

Just look at Kazuki’s reaction. Even in Chapter 2, where Kazuki talks of the suffering caused by the XG rules, the most emotion we get is a slightly down tone. Then look at him after finding out Q no longer remembers his time as Ojiro.

The man of logic and reason’s first reaction is to run out and look for the antagonistic god-figure on his own to demand just what happened. Kazuki, in the game, has always been cool and collected. Nowhere in the game does Kazuki have such wide-eyed, horrified expressions, and nowhere in the game has he ever screamed with such pain. Kazuki in the game is someone people turn to when the situation is bleak, he has the most XB experience out of all of the Trash Tribe members, and he is their leader. But no experience and no leadership skills can allow one to know what to do when the person you’ve cared for the most in your whole life is gone. He’s not dead, but he’s not the same person anymore. Can Kazuki look at Q and recognise his childhood friend? I doubt so.

The rest of Trash Tribe doesn’t get the chance to know that Q lost his memories. Kazuki has to lose his childhood friend after fighting to get him back. We don’t know how much Q has lost, after all, he still rushes to Kazuki first, but we know he’s lost too much to carry the bloody legacy of Ojiro Otori, and he should not have to anymore. In a way, it’s a good thing for Q, to be free of the pain of knowing what a horrible person he used to be. But it’s not good for him as a character. Kazuki said it best: “He carried the weight of that name and was tortured by guilt… He had to change his appearance and his name, and had to run from his past. But for the sake of this city and his friends, he chose to face his past! Do you have any idea how much it takes to make that decision, Zero?!”

And all the resilience. The courage. The determination to be honest and face his past. It’s gone, because Q doesn’t have the memory of making that choice. Kazuki has to carry this all on his own, with no one who shares the memories that he values so dearly. In a way, to Kazuki, Ojiro died. Yet he can’t just say that, because Q is still alive, and Q has to be Ojiro, even if only physically. This is truly the doomed yaoi.

Chat, this is only Chapter 3. Especially with how they set up Yo to be a toxic main character? We might be cooked. Very cooked.