AHHHH THE NEW CHAP 8 WAS SO GOOOD😭
It got me emotional when kikyo started reminiscing about when her babies were little lmao also I smell some kind of unrequited love hmm🤨 could literally smell the sus on calypsa like c'mon ALSO THEY BETTER BE NICE TO BABY ALLUKA! I feel like kikyo would have been so happy to have a daughter after all these boys although I have honestly no idea if Alluka is biologically a boy or a girl
Anon!!! Thank you so much!!!! I worked so long on this chapter, constantly edited it, and was really worried over it, so I'm really glad that all my hard work payed off and you enjoyed it ❤️
Being a mother and having a big family was always Kikyo's dream. Her children will always be her babies, no matter how many years pass. Though Kikyo's love can be twisted and smothering, it is also undeniable that her love for her children is unparalleled and she will do anything for them, and anything to ensure their happiness. (At least, what she thinks their happiness should be.)
Alluka is canonically a trans girl. Even though we hear Silva refer to Alluka as an evil thing (because they fear Nanika) and basically dehumanize his own child, imprison, and disown her from the family, I don't think we really have a narrative from Kikyo's perspective, in the present timeline of the manga. I believe Kikyo's love for Alluka never diminished, despite fearing yet striving to learn more about Nanika and its powers. But Kikyo and everyone else in Kukuroo Mountain are living under the current Zoldyck head's thumb and rules, which would be Silva's….but she doesn’t give up on her babies. Alluka’s situation is never what she envisioned for her child and she laments the future that Alluka lost (under the assumption that if Nanika can’t be controlled then Alluka will stay trapped) I eventually want to explore how Kikyo tried to help Alluka, like first seeing if it was possible for Nanika to be exorcised from Alluka by nen exorcists, etc. (not possible) and then try other training and grounding methods for Alluka to remain in the front and have greater control over Nanika and its spontaneous requests (that worked only a little) Alluka didn’t go into complete isolation until she made requests on illumi and he had to give her everything she asked for☠️ They learned that family was not exempt from Nanika’s requests—whims and for no particular reasons — and it was a frightening moment for them all (That’s why Alluka has some of illumi’s bones stuffed in a plush doll in her room. When she gets lonely and wants her big brother, she will hug it. It makes her a little less sad and eases her loneliness🥲) However, Illumi still has nightmares and sleep paralysis because of this. Nanika actually loves Illumi and that terrifies him! 100% nightmare fuel lol He literally has one fear 😂Illumi also uses that moment to justify his feelings regarding Alluka, but there is a lot of hidden trauma that Illumi suffered and doesn’t remember, and unfairly shouldered a lot of blame on Alluka. Kalluto ends up adopting that same mentality as well. It really pains Kikyo to see her family fractured like this 😭 I will also go more in depth on how Kikyo went to great lengths to try to help Illumi when he went through a pivotal moment in his life. And more into Alluka and Illumi’s relationship, a lot needs to be said and unpacked! Kikyo can definitely be controlling and high-strung at times, but she is always rooting for and defending her children!
It was awesome getting to write more about Kikyo and Calypsa's backstory, as they both grew up together in Meteor City. You have every right to be suspicious of Calypsa :) Calypsa is very much in love with Kikyo, and obsessed with her. After Calypsa was kidnapped, she clung to her memories of Kikyo and never stopped thinking about her. Kikyo was her life raft. Kikyo saved her life, even if only in thought. And then years later when they finally reunited again, it felt like fate to Calypsa! But Kikyo was married to Silva, and had the big family she always dreamed of. Calypsa vowed to never lose Kikyo again, so she had to find a way to stay forever in Kikyo's life, without disrupting Kikyo’s happiness. Her obsession never faded, it just extended to Kikyo's son---Illumi. Illumi is the spitting image of his mother, and if Calypsa couldn’t have Kikyo then one of her daughters will have him :) Problem solved lol she was definitely using psyche as a pawn for very selfish and manipulative reasons Ofc, but there are other reasons why Calypsa wants this marriage to work (her family is being targeted by some powerful people in New Bledel City, so having the Zoldyck's protection will tremendously help them)