Are we in a weird parallel universe? [New novel detail.]

[sj4iy]

It isn't an attitude he develops over time- it really is just a passing thought from what I can remember. And Kaname starts acting the way she does when Leonard tells her Sousuke's a murderer- that's when she changes her attitude towards him- it goes all the way back to COMO for that. That's why she tells him she's scared of him. She still cares about him and everything, but she sees what he's doing for her- killing people, etc- and she doesn't want him to.

[JelliCelli]

I don't blame Sousuke for momentarily pondering an alternative to his current situation (trying to forget about Kaname and Amalgam). If anything, I think it shows a very human emotion. If you are put through a constant amount of stress over an extended period of time it's very hard to keep your chin up. I'm sure that some of us can identify with this; I know I certainly do. However, ultimately wanting to push on in spite of the odds in very admirable. I think the same can be said for Chidori as well.

[sj4iy]

Okay, so to clarify on the Sousuke forgetting Kaname part:

[ecs]Not true...at least, not in the way people think. While he's fighting in the arena battles, he starts thinking to himself "What am I doing?"...meaning that he's wondering why he's fighting these meaningless fights. Then he thinks about the fact that it's all he can do at the moment, that it's a stepping stone to get to the real battle far away.

Unless it's been changed in the actual novel, that's all that I can find to allude to that part.[/ecs]

[Weltall Elite]

Hmm. Sounds like either that summary was way off or there's something different in the novel. I'd like to believe the former, but I doubt whoever wrote that summary could have been THAT far off the mark, so I'd say the latter is more likely. Though I certainly hope not.

[justin]

i take it this is the end of BOMF?

wow, things are really starting to get interesting!!!


all these spoilers you give me are great

[Weltall Elite]

I think that's closer to the middle or beginning of BOMF.

[sj4iy]

Well, I can only say what I read in the magazines. But of course, any questions will be cleared up when the translations come out.

[axephil]

If you want the opinion of a french citizen, I really think that 'Lemon' corresponds to 'Raymond' or a substitute of this surname. I check all the surnames with 'french' prununciation: that's the only possibility. This surname was very popular in the middle of the last century in my country. But now its completely outdated.

[sj4iy]

So, I got the actual book today, and to revise my statement about Sousuke's feelings:

[ecs]There are a lot of changes from the magazines...I did find the part that was spoken of in the summary (it was definitely not in the original of the story in the magazines). It seems Sousuke's confused about how he feels...he knows he likes Nami, and wonders what he would say if Nami asked him the same thing that Tessa asked him on the boat -do you like her (Kaname) more than me?- He finds he can't remember Kaname's features- her smiling face, the color of the ribbon in her hair, etc.

I think this change was made to reinforce the fact that at the end, he does remember Kaname...that's all he remembers. There's a change in the end where it talks about how the face that he gradually forgot while he was in Nam Sak came back to him vividly. He also realizes that even though he had thought it might have been a good life there with Nami, he never truly believed it.

So, it's basically reinforcing the fact that he loves Kaname...and that he was just lying to himself about his feelings.

As a side note: the author states that the next book will revisit the De Danaan, and that we are going to reach the climax...he doesn't say how much is left, though.[/ecs]

[Weltall Elite]

Hmm...

Hmmmm...

I have mixed feelings on this. I think I'd best not say anything.

[Anysia]

I have mixed feelings on this. I think I'd best not say anything.

Took the words right out of my mouth, Weltall. Except that someone's eventually going to have to say something or we won't have much of a thread. All I'll say is that something like that makes my opinion of Sousuke slide down a bit, assuming that it's just out-of-the-blue. I mean, I could see Sousuke beginning to give up and considering taking the easy way out, and that being an example of the more negative side of his "becoming more human", but...

Huh. I think I just answered my own question there.

[sj4iy]

Bah, Sousuke's human, so he can act human, IMO. He would have only dropped in my estimation had he ever acted on his feelings. But he doesn't. And he realizes later that he was only lying to himself. I mean, what better way to increase the drama than by making the characters have emotional conflicts? Plus, the whole book would have been pretty boring if he didn't have some kind of internal conflict- considering the whole book is centered on him.

[ricerocket]

actually i think it's not just his inner struggle as a human being but... well... as you've all read the "whispered conversation" between nami and kaname at the end of the book, and i think there's a, how do i put it, supernatural connection between nami and kaname, and like nami said herself "he is supposed to be mine" or something like that... so maybe in an alternated universe nami and sousuke are supposed to be a couple, instead of sousuke and kaname, which might be the reason why sousuke's having the mixed feeling and forgetting stuff about kaname... of course this is just a wild theory until gatou gives us more info on what it really means to be a whispered

btw, is that conversation between wraith and some guy about the new AS really in the book? i still haven't gotten mine yet orz

[Weltall Elite]

Alright, I guess I'll say something after all. I think that if anyone but Gatoh had written something like this, I'd have said it was a mischaracterization being used to force a dramatic plot element. Drama and tension is all well and good, but I just don't see Sousuke developing this attitude. I said before that I would be disappointed in Sousuke if this was an attitude that he'd allowed himself to develop over time. And it turns out that that's the case. But not only did he start to give up on Kaname, but he was letting himself get drawn to another woman. Even if it's just temporary, I can't seem to reconsile it. And if he did it with Sousuke, I think there's a good chance he'll do it with Kaname too. In fact, I wouldn't doubt that him doing that with Sousuke was just an excuse to justify doing the same thing with Kaname. And when that happens, my respect for her will drop too.

Yes, the way you describe it sounds touching and dramatic at all, and maybe he did it in a way that somehow fits the character and when I read it, I'll see that. But right now, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I mean, put it in context. I know you say it's human and all, but what if your parents or children or spouse or someone close to you were kidnapped by terrorists? How far would you go to get them back? Would you ever even consider giving up on them? I couldn't fathom the idea.

[KashimArbalestAS]

Uh-oh.
Problem-Rising Action-CLIMAX-Resolution-Conclusion

Now its going to start going downhill as in FMP's ending.

The thing about Kaname dimming in Sousuke's mind and then coming back blazing hot when it counted is something I want to see.