#because i thought too hard about monzenbashi

[hikayunas]

monzenbashi's leader might, obviously, be a bat -- but ranka works really well as one, too. specifically, as a vampire bat (D. rotundus -- which, by the way, very great scientific name)

a large part of why ranka stayed so rooted in monzenbashi and underneath the bat is because she felt she had to -- was too weak to go out and fend for herself. she had to rely on another, stronger, more capable bat to keep her alive, because she had no other choice; god knows what would've happened to her if she didn't.

vampire bats do a very dangerous dance with death each night. they've got to eat practically every single evening, or else they just drop dead. and if they're incapable of going out for food themselves, for whatever reason, they've got to beg other, more capable bats, who could go out and find food, to feed them as well and keep them alive. because if they don't, even just one skipped blood meal will mean death. all because they were too weak to be able to go out and do things on their own.

with all of the metaphors of grief seeds as 'food' in futatsugi, it really just makes this all click together more. it's one hell of a coincidence, if it wasn't intentional 🦇