Someone pointed out to me that the fox statues get destroyed in the default ending for Silent Hill f. I get that it means Hinako's on a rampage and that her mind's falling apart, but I've also seen it interpreted as Hinako killing off Kotoyuki's family and beyond.
Given both worlds are kinda falling apart in the ending, kind of wondering if it means either the Water Dragon got unsealed and we're seeing the damage being done while teleporting, or Hinako's the one destroying the whole town like a monster gone loose.
ooo it could be a mix of both!
I always saw Ending 1 as having the most straightforward storyline, where it's Bride Hinako having a mental breakdown and fleeing the wedding out of desperation. She then killed off anyone who stood in her way, whether they were Tsuneki or her own friends and family.
But like you mentioned, the Water Dragon has been a threat lurking underneath Ebisugaoka the whole story.
The "Diary of Revenge" explains the history of Ebisugaoka's different religions best.
From what it says, the Water Dragon is THE most evil, malevolent force in the story and the original faith of Ebisugaoka, predating even the Divine Tree faith.
What's important to note is how the Water Dragon faith worked. The townsfolk did not worship the dragon out of reverance, but out of fear. There's nothing showing the dragon ever being benevolent to the townsfolk. It's always been linked to havoc and destruction, with its poison spreading only suffering. The townsfolk hoped by worshipping it, they could quell its anger and stop it from harming them but it doesn't seem to have ever worked.
This led to later factions using different means to contain the dragon, while gaining their own authority and utlilizing the human's power of belief to sustain them. Every faith in Ebisugaoka has its start by upsurping the previous one in some way.
The Divine Tree/Tsukumogami's method was the sacred sword, buried under the cedar tree. The sword originally belonged to the deceased leader of the Taira clan, the losing faction of the Genpei War. It was filled with the animosity of fallen warrior souls, making it extremely powerful, but also cursed and fueled by vengeful unrest.
The Divine Tree faith encouraged the townsfolk to worship the tree as a way to protect them from the dragon, but neglects to inform them that the source of its power is the animosity of equally wrathful spirits. Sakuko herself mentions the sword is cursed and steeped in evil energy in her diary, and can only be purified by specific means.
Since Hinako never obtains the sacred sword in the first run, Tsukumogami never gains control of the Water Dragon's wrath.
The Inari's method was both having "a sacrificial maiden every 8 years" and a sealing rock they named "Heaven's Benediction". The Inari faith essentially took on older traditions like the Divine Tree/Tsukumogami beliefs and recontextualized it as all originally being the deeds of the Inari. They thrived on altering history and taking others' achievement as solely belonging to them, and purging anyone who spoke otherwise.
The "sacrificial maiden every 8 years" most likely originates from the original myth of Yamata-no-Orochi, where the keywords of "maiden" and "eight" are repeated. The sealing stone possibly originates from the Tsukumogami faith using a physical object like the Divine Tree to act as a "seal of protection".
Since Hinako (presumably) kills the next head Kotoyuki and flees the wedding, "Heaven's Benediction" falls apart and the dragon is unleashed.
Tl;dr: In the first ending, both methods the Inari and Tsukumogami utilized to control or suppress the Water Dragon failed bc Hinako never interacts with them.
Considering Ending 1 is the path where Hinako "drowns in a bottomless pit of self-doubt", perhaps Hinako herself got possessed by the Water Dragon due to the red capsules/Kakura-makakura leaving her vulnerable to malevolent spirits.
Her last name "Shimizu" (深水) literally meaning "Deep Water" could also be a hint towards her connection to the dragon, but there's been no further evidence for this. (Maybe the manga will talk more about it?) The Water Dragon could also be a metaphorical representation of her fear and trauma taking hold of her. 🤔
So I think it's a huge possibility it was both Hinako and the Water Dragon who destroy everything in Ending 1. Hinako killed both her past and her future, falling into the depths of escapism. Both god factions lost control and the Water Dragon's wrath ensured everyone suffered once more. Ending 1 is where everyone loses, no one wins...
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Has just occurred to me that Sour Grapes got the cake for the cooking contest where Kiki Keylime is the judge DIRECTLY from her uncle. The cake she brings has Purple Pieman's symbol on it.
Ash: Guzma, take this only to mean that I love you, but my classmates and I all had a long, serious, hypothetical discussion about how far we could throw you/
Guzma:……………………..
Guzma: [tears of joy] Really?
Ash: Yeah, turns out it's pretty far! Lana says you're too soft to weigh much.
Idea in case the Ghostforce ever do manage to befriend all those they captured: a huge threat comes, we get the same thing as in the opening, except the ghosts protect the heroes and people instead.
(also the little things cheering when the Ghostforce does their "Booooooo-yah!" victory cry)
...Barodius being in Dan's head means Mag Mel can see whenever Anubias is making some poor attempt at impressing his crush rival hero. Am just imagining him just being all "...what." during the first days and facepalming at every botched attempt on Anubias' behalf.
"dad pls lemme have him"
"smh go back to work or get better, this rom-com is not my cup of tea."
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
For some reason I imagine Lilith and Eda (separately) giving advice to Amity in Owlet AU on how to approach Luz. Lilith because she's helped teaching Luz, and Eda because she has way more relationship experience. Meanwhile, Luz does the same with Belos.
yup and that works!
(but Luz doesn’t know Belos has a crush on Eda, she wants Eda and the Emperor to get along)
"I could no more hate him than I could hate the first fruit of the harvest." So basically, if you took a metaphorical bite at Ben, you might end up regret it and have fruit juice all over your face?
“Perhaps not so metaphorical, if he is Wildvine at the time.”
I did some amateurish digging here and there, found an interesting tidbit about the Nihon Shoki: in the water dragon myth, the sword that Susanoo no Mikoto used to kill the serpent, the kusanagi, was discovered directly from within the Orochi's coils, the sword embedded in it as if it was part of it. During the battle of Dan-no-ura, the kusanagi sword was stolen from the Minamoto Clan (which, interestingly enough, is also represented by a kudzu seal) by the Taira Clan, eventually tossing it into the sea.
I know the kanjis are different, and I am no genius on Japanese mythology, but think there's a possibility that the kusanagi and the Sacred Sword from Silent Hill F are one and the same?
The author of the Diary of Revenge mentions that the faith in Ebisugaoka has been mutilated countless times because of the ever-changing wills of its inhabitants. There's also a line for the Crimson Water Puzzle saying that without the water dragon, the Divine Tree "met a withering fate". It's to a point I kind of wonder if by merging faiths, the Water Dragon's head actually merged with the tree somehow. Be it the spirit of the tree using the Water Dragon as a tool for revenge, or the Water Dragon itself using the Divine Tree faith to make itself stronger and raise itself as a deity through the divine aspect of old things...
When fighting the Tsukumogami, it actually levitates water attacks and causes tidal waves for Hinako to dodge. I know most of its attack set and weapon symbolism is, as most Tsukumogamis, old items, but maybe in its unpurified state, the Sacred Sword still obeys its severed head and uses Hinako to spread its poison in Ebisugaoka after the dam exploded and the geysers started erupting. It has been figuratively poisoning the waters in Shimizu Hinako's mind, and perhaps by reclaiming the sword from the enemy, it could reclaim its former power until Hinako cleans it off to spiritually sever it for good.
What a great find! Thanks for sharing this!!
I think it's an interesting theory. The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi is one of the Three Imperial Regalia of Japan. However, the original sword has never been seen publicly due to its divinity, and the kusanagi swords used in official ceremonies are solely replicas.
I tried to see if there's any symbols on the Sacred Sword itself and these are what I could find. The Sacred Sword is indeed from the Taira clan, as it has the clan's "swallowtail butterfly" emblem on it. Nothing on it seems to show it originally being from the Minamoto clan. So rather than it being the original Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, maybe more of a rival sword...?
There's also this pattern on the sheath, but I'm not completely sure where it originates from... If anyone has any idea please let me know !!
There's also a line for the Crimson Water Puzzle saying that without the water dragon, the Divine Tree "met a withering fate". It's to a point I kind of wonder if by merging faiths, the Water Dragon's head actually merged with the tree somehow.
Oh that's right!! The Crimson Water puzzle also notes that the water dragon is "trapped under a great stone," so it might show how the source of both the Tsukumogami and Inari's power relies on the suppression of the Water Dragon, which explains why both their boss fights take place over water.
As you pointed out, the Tsukumogami utilizes water in its attacks much more than the Inari, due to the tree "sapping the evil from it." So the tree (actually the sword buried under the tree) did "sap up" traits of the Water Dragon. The Inari, however, never adopts the Dragon's powers. They instead "subdue" it and rely on the power of people's faith alone, which is why it doesn't have water attacks but can summon familiars.
It has been figuratively poisoning the waters in Shimizu Hinako's mind, and perhaps by reclaiming the sword from the enemy, it could reclaim its former power until Hinako cleans it off to spiritually sever it for good.
Well said! Perhaps Hinako has some special connection with the Water Dragon that allows her to utilize its power even beyond the Tsukumogami's reach. If the sword is more a controlled vessel of the Water Dragon, it could be another way to explain why the Tsukumogami had to wait until the end of FWIT to reclaim it, because by then Hinako no longer needs the tool and gives it up. This would then allow the Tuskumogami to reclaim it and unleash the geysers. A lot to think about.
