#mish.debunks

What we know in canon from s2

DISCLAIMER: The following bullets are based on my memory. Would appreciate fact checks and screenshots. Will come back to update with screenshots when I find the evidence.

Hyde has mentioned in an earlier episode of s2, at the end of a chapter, that Darwick or, more broadly, the Institute, has a specific department or suborganization that is attempting to create anomalies.

Not just finding and capturing anomalies for study. I'm talking man-made anomalies, humans tampering with the supernatural, playing as God, mad scientist shit, etc ...

TASF (Tokyo Anomaly Survey Force?) is involved in creating anomalies. They leave behind documents about their experiments in s2 ep6 but also in s1 ep20 "unfathomable triangle"

My Prelim Theory

MC and the ghouls are part of the Institute/Darkwick's scheme to create anomalies. They and others have consistently used her to complete rituals - refer to that one vagastrom high school ep, the last ep of s1 when they tried to capture the kyklos at Lockburn, and now s2 ep6 ...

But what if her going on these missions is part of a bigger ritual? What if she is the anomaly they are trying to create and bring under their control?

What we know in canon:

MC gets cursed by a Kyklos (wrong place, wrong time, or as part of sinister plot?)

MC is coerced/forced to stay at Darkwick bc they're her best chance for a cure and bc she's now considered a threat to the general public (may eventually become a kyklos)

MC (coincidentally?) gets the Sage's Ring artifact, which she is physically unable to remove from her ring finger

The Sage's Ring was initially disguised as Hera's Snakes - a black veil

The Ring gives her the ability to enhance the stigmas of ghouls through physical contact

There is a prophecy about (a) champion(s) whose presence at the academy will "keep the world sheltered/safe", and it is a commonly accepted in-game theory that the champion(s) refers to the/a ghoul(s)

The Prophecy:

"The whisper of the new moon shall lead the champion to the Academy in the solitary isle. So long as the champion resides there, the world shall be sheltered from profound tragedy ..."

What we know in mythology:

In Greek mythology, Hera is the goddess of marriage, women, family, and childbirth, reigning as the Queen of the Gods alongside her husband Zeus, the King of the Gods

"Hera's Snakes" is most likely a reference to the time Hera sent snakes to kill infant Hercules (Zeus' child from cheating on Hera)

The wedding/marriage/bride motifs:

The ring's initial disguise as a veil, commonly worn by brides

Mention of Hera - goddess of marriage

The ring binding to MC's ring finger

How I think this all ties together:

In many cultures, marriage is a sacred/divine "pact" of lifelong commitment between two people

Whichever ghoul MC chooses/is closest to enters a pact with her, much like how they entered pacts with demons to gain their stigma

A pact (wedding/marriage; literal and/or symbolic) with MC will permanently enhance the champion's (chosen ghoul's) stigma without requiring constant physical contact and/or removing or decreasing the debuff that comes from overusing their stigma

Maybe there is something innate about MC that attracts anomalies to her, such as the kyklos, and this quality is also why the ring chooses her, empowering her to choose which anomalies (including ghouls) can get close to her

MC is set up by shadowy forces (the traitor(s)) to be a "sacrificial bride" / lamb to slaughter, symbolically or literally wedded/entered into a pact for "a greater purpose"

Sacrificial brides are a common trope across myth, folklore, and horror

Their shared status as (potentially) "dangerous" individuals means they cannot rely on the institutional stability Darkwick provides to its general students (none of the ghouls can really rely on/use DA save for a few exceptions, such as Jin, who is literally the son of DA's president). This positions them to rely on each other for stability.

Lyca's lack of embarrassment, which stems from his lack of social awareness on what others consider shameful, makes him unusually earnest and straightforward. MC's open-minded, non-judgemental nature meets that earnestness without ridicule or discomfort, enabling them both to be honest and vulnerable with each other about their respective circumstances.

Side tangent: MC's openness is also a form of resilience. Few people could "fight back" in her circumstances. Some may view her "going along with the flow" as passivity (ie. She's being swept along by circumstances beyond her control). In my opinion, it demonstrates her adaptability. She assesses what she can influence/realistically accomplish and works with what she's got. Her acceptance of her circumstances is a pragmatic coping mechanism for the very destabilizing experience she's going through.

Rui is cursed to kill anything he touches, yet he devotes himself to cultivating life. He tends to anomalous plants with a gentleness that his curse denies him in human contact.

In TKDB, death is not finality. Ghosts exist. Therefore, there is an afterlife or a different kind of "life" beyond death. Death transforms. It lingers, sometimes gently, sometimes grotesquely (as in the case of ghosts, vampires, zombies, and other anomalies).

Rui's curse makes him kind of a living ghost. Although he is visible and tangible, unlike Zenji, he and Zenji are both untouchable. Both of them are stuck in a weird limbo space where they are isolated among the living.

What must it be like for them both to be so close to life but not quite living life for themselves? Both are forced to witness the warmth of human connection just beyond reach. Both have been forced to watch their friends risk their lives but were unable to intervene.