#houjo

[clambrulee]

Cute art from the inside cover of the gou anthology

[gabbyp09]

[liesweliveby]

TW FOR HIGURASHI-TYPICAL VIOLENCE (murder, maggots crawling out of wounds,etc)

wtc my beloved. my favorite visual novel series.

[witch-of-illusions]

So happy to see the entire club timeskip reuniting, even with new outfits! Wish their faces weren't hidden, but still...❣️

[crossoverheaven]

[minty-mewz]

The gay reaper sends frankenzombie rika to transylgaynia to get hitched with satokula

[animangabwedit]

Kumichou Musume to Sewagakari by Tsukiya

[ultraericthered]

The re-traumatization of Satoko Houjo

Following up from my last reblog, I want to really specify all the ways in which the Gou/Meguri manga has been doing far more justice to Satoko as a traumatized victim of abuse than the Gou/Sotsu anime, which just went for the stupid, cartoonish Enfant Terrible route with her. Most impressive is how for the most part, it’s all in the artwork.

Firstly, look at this part here:

The TREMBLE there as Satoko has bruised her own hand is telling. Bruises on her body are such an old, familiar sensation for her given how her aunt and uncle used to treat her. This is the first time in ages she’s felt it and while Looper Witch!Satoko finds it pleasurable, the traumatized human child she is deep inside is trembling with pain. And the choice of words, “appeal to uncle”, is interesting. Satoko understands how Teppei thinks and how physical violence is such a core part of who he is, even now. It wouldn’t be enough to just claim to him that she’d been hurt by bullies at school; her uncle would need to SEE the bruises, the aftereffect of violence that are so familiar to him, in order to be sold on the threat to his niece’s well-being. 

Then we have this part:

Method acting at it’s finest. Looper Witch!Satoko is pulling from not only the memories of human!Satoko (who the witch persona now looks at as simply a character she’s play-acting as for “the game” she’s in), but the emotions that accompany those memories which they may still evoke. She’s willing herself into the mindset of a child who has been horribly abused, traumatized, and wants to be saved. The child she was. The child she, way deep down, still is. (Also fuck Teppei, he is indeed repulsive and deserved that headshot he got.)

She actually fucking gags herself to bring out all the bile and vomit that was rising up in her thanks to her “acting technique.” The look on her face and in her eyes as she’s panting and going into a nervous breakdown, followed by the brief smirk and mad giggling, encapsulates the self-harming, masochistic nature of what Looper Witch!Satoko is doing and her own psychology towards it versus how it makes her feel on a subconscious human level. She hates it because it’s unpleasant, emotionally and mentally scarring and draining to be put through, but she loves it because herself on the brink of destruction makes her so pitiful and worrying to her dearest friends and found family in Hinamizawa, brings out a fierce desire to protect her and treat her with love and compassion. Satoko has long felt like she’s only deserving of love and warranting of her friend’s time and care when she’s an object of pity, a damsel in distress to be saved, a “tragic heroine”. Looper Witch!Satoko is that externalized.

This picture here really is worth a thousand words on what I just said:

Is it, Satoko? IS IT REALLY?

And then we see a specific reaction from her at two different points:

The FLINCH. First that, plus her horrified expression and trembling, is at the sound of her uncle roaring in rage, a sound that forever haunts her and shakes her to her core. Yeah, Teppei thinks he’s protecting his neice from bullies this time, but he’s applying the same wrath, intimidation techniques, and threat of violence he used to use on her in order to do so. The next time she flinches is when Rika is shouting encouragement to her to take her stand against her uncle, and brings up Satoshi. The talk of her brother who “always fought back” and “stood up against the abuse” is hitting Satoko different this time - because Satoko, deep down, recognizes that she’s once again suffering in silence and allowing her own abuse to be perpetuated, this time not by her aunt and/or uncle or even others in Hinamizawa, but by Eua and her own witch persona. She’s again lost in darkness.

Earlier into Rika’s phonecall, Satoko was smirking, so some who have a colored perception of Satoko at this point may have the interpretation that she’s faking everything and has her hand over her mouth to hold back laughter. But that’s not what ends up shown:

That clench. That squeeze. The deliberate artistic choice that, just as when she flinched back there, her upper face is darkened so that we cannot see her eyes. There is an internal struggle going on her. This is Satoko’s buried humanity acting up and trying to break back out to the surface, all while the witch persona tries to “get into character” without letting that “character” overtake her and mess up the whole performance she’d wanted to put on. Ultimately, we see the witch eyes and a smirk return to Satoko’s face, meaning the witch persona won out...except for one tiny detail. The tears. And had those tears stayed like that, it’d seem fake....but then Satoko cannot stop them.

Those tears are real, and the cry for help, those words “HELP ME!”, now ring true with an extra meaning. Satoko wants to be helped and saved from herself. She wants to leave the darkness of her warped psyche and subconscious and the metaphysical embodiment of her mental breakdown and the malevolent demon who empowered her with the looping ability all behind so that she can return to being the person she was, the person she needs to be, with the friends and family she needs to be with. And what really signifies that this is the inner human Satoko crying out from Satoko’s very subconscious? 

There’s the precedent established earlier. It’s happened before, when Satoko was not intending to really cry in the moment, yet still did because she’d been touched. She’d been reached. She’d been felt.

So this has been a great portrayal of a traumatized victim of child abuse who has willingly put herself on a self-destructive course by seeking comfort in her own trauma and stability in her would-be eternal childhood by controlling her own victimization and how the narrative of events and responses of others plays out from it, rather than seeking comfort, control and stability in what and who provided her the means for salvation and release from all that pain years ago.

(I will update this with reblogs as Satoko’s tragic tale continues.)

[minsarasarahair]

Kou Reishin & Ko Houjo (Kijin) > Head of Civil Affairs & Finance Department + their assistants

[jessu-uu]

「誰かの嘘がまた 誰かを傷つけ...」

[gabbyp09]

[crossoverheaven]

[mechaseraph]

Suddenly remembered Mighty Novel X and now I feel anvil on my head called "Houjo Emu feels" God, Ex Aid setting and characters truly peak at making me feel diseased (pun not intended, but ig fitting)

[vampirequeen019]

Finally the last chapter of this story. Hope you like it.

Tags for this story: Light Angst, sad themes, self-destructive tendencies, depression, symptoms of depression, happy ending.

Songs used in this chapter: "Dirty Thoughts" by: Gracie Abrams ft. Nationhaven. And "Eclipse (All Yours)" by Metric.

Art used in this story by my dear friends, @ivii20 and @daseindigital.

Second Date, Second Chance.

Chapter 6.

A Joyful moment waited by everyone.

       “Are you crazy, Kagome?! How could you accept to go on that date?!” What about Houjo? Ayame told her as she paced up and down Kagome’s dorm and Kagome watched her from her bed, sitting on it, and leaning against the wall.

      “Of course I’m not crazy, Aya,” she began calmly. “You know everything I’ve been through this past year as well as I do,” her voice turned pleading. “But understand that I have to do this, please. I have a right to know why he didn’t show up for the date. Why hasn’t he contacted me in all this time?

       Ayame stopped suddenly and walked over to Kagome’s bed. She sat on the edge of her bed watching her and took her hand. “Because I know, I’m telling you it’s not a good idea, Kags. What if what he tells you is not what you expected? If that makes you suffer again, I won’t be able to bear it.” A tear peeked out of her left eye.

       Kagome squeezed her hand trying to comfort her friend. “I know there’s a chance of that happening, Aya, but I still have to go. I want and need to know everything. I promise to speak to your aunt as soon as I return from the date. Please Aya, understand me.” She told her, while some tears rolled down her cheeks.

       Ayame took both of Kagome’s hands in hers and nodded. “He better tell you the whole truth or I swear I’ll kick his ass, even if he’s stronger than me, you hear?” She looked at Kagome and gave her a reassuring smile. While swearing to herself to beat Sesshomaru half to death if he hurt her best friend again.

~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~

       The sound of an incoming message notification snapped Kagome out of her thoughts. She sat on her bed and took the cell phone from her nightstand. She gave an annoyed sigh and checked the message, it was from Yuka, a classmate and friend of Houjo’s.

Yuka 😺:

<<<< How could you do this to Houjo?! What kind of person are you?! 🤬

[Received at 9:45 a.m.]

       Kagome just sighed. Yuka was the last one to send her a message. All the other friends of her ex-fiancé had already called her and sent hate messages for breaking her engagement with him. And frankly, she was getting tired of it.

       Ex fiancé. It was weird to refer to Houjo that way but that was who he was for her now. After all, he was the one who broke off his engagement with Kagome and not her, like all of his friends thought.

~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~

       When Kagome told Houjo about what happened with Sesshomaru, she thought that he would understand why she was doing all this. She apparently was wrong.

       At first Houjo seemed to understand the situation, but when Kagome finished re-counting what happened and told him that he would go to that date, he was silent for several minutes and then he burst out and reminded her of everything she had suffered because of Sesshomaru. And he told her that she couldn’t go to her date.

       “Excuse me, what? I think I didn’t hear you right. Could you repeat the last thing you said?” Kagome looked at him intently from across the table where they were sitting eating.

       “You will not go. You can’t go and meet with him. Not after everything that happened.” Houjo told her in a very serious tone. He didn’t raise his voice but Kagome felt as if he had yelled at her.

       “You are engaged to me and if you go, it would be the same as being unfaithful.” Kagome gaped at him. It was the first time Houjo had expressed himself like this.

       She took a deep breath to calm down and told him. “Houjo, I just want to know what happened, close cycles if necessary. It’s not like anything is going to happen between us. My psychologist told me that it’s important for me to close cycles if I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you, and I think she’s right. So yes, I will go.” She took his hand trying to comfort him but he immediately took it away.

       “If you insist on going on that damn date with him, you and I are done, do you understand? We’re done”. There was a note of finality to his voice.

       Kagome looked surprised at how Houjo was acting. Was this the real him and she hadn’t realized it? A chill ran down her spine just thinking about her future with him if his personality was truly like that.

       She took her purse and took out money to pay for her food portion. She got up and put it on the table with a loud bang. “So be it. You and I are done”. She walked with a sure step to the exit of the café and left.

~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~

       Just remembering it, she felt chills ran through her body. If that’s how he was when they were only engaged, what would it be like when they were married? Nope, no way would she allow it.

       She finished brushing her teeth and brushed her hair. Humming a song while she changed her clothes to go to the market. She texted Ayame good morning and silenced her cell phone, but not before assuring Ayame that she would be fine.

~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~

       Hours later, Kagome was walking to the entrance of the restaurant. She was glad when she knew it wouldn’t be the same place as the one from the previous failed date. It was one less thing to worry about.

       She entered the restaurant and approached the maître d’ station and was surprised by her familiar face. For a few moments she was transported back to the terrible failed event of last year. What if it happens again? What if Sesshomaru doesn’t show up again?

       She took a deep breath trying to calm herself as she walked towards her. When she arrived with the maître d’, she told her, “I have a reservation for two people under the name of Sesshomaru Taisho.”

       The maître d’ asked for her name to verify her reservation. Kagome clenched both hands on her wallet and braced herself in case the maître d’ told her there was no one waiting. The maître d’ smiled and told her that her party was waiting for her already, to which Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t realize when she held her breath.

       “One of our servers will escort you to your table,” the maître d’ told her, waving to one of the servers. “Please accompany the young lady to her table. She’ll be in the cherry blossoms private room.” The waiter nodded and asked Kagome to join him. “I hope you like our food. Enjoy your evening.”

       Kagome thanked her and followed the waiter. Her heart was beating rapidly and she was nervous. Sesshomaru was here. This time he did show up to the date. When she got to the room where their dinner would be, Kagome took another deep breath. She had to calm down, she couldn’t go in and see Sesshomaru feeling like that. When she was ready, she motioned for the waiter to open the door and went inside after thanking him.

       Sesshomaru was waiting for her, standing next to the table. He looked so elegant with what he was wearing. He was wearing a three-piece suit, all in black. Handsome and elegant. They were the two words Kagome used to describe Sesshomaru in her head.

       She moved closer to him and extended a hand in greeting but Sesshomaru instead of giving her a shake in greeting, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

       Kagome blushed when Sesshomaru told her, “You look as beautiful as the last day I saw you.” In his voice was reflected, could it be? Could she called it, yearning?

       Kagome felt her face burn. Her heart wouldn’t stop beating so fast that she thought it would crack her ribs and run out of her chest. But her hand was still raised in Sesshomaru’s, near his mouth.

       “And you too”. She told him, giving him a small smile. What else could she say? Her mind went blank as she felt Sesshomaru’s lips kiss her skin.

~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~

       When Sesshomaru saw Kagome walk in, he had to rest a hand on the table to keep from falling down. Kagome looked so beautiful in that strapless black dress and that low neckline. God, he wanted to run his tongue between her breasts and run her tongue all over her cleavage. Calm down Sesshomaru, it’s still too early for that.

       She wore her hair up and had a rhinestone choker on her neck. He wondered what material it was made of and if it would withstand him biting it off her neck. Control your thoughts Sesshomaru, it’s not time yet.

       Just looking at her made him have M- rated thoughts. It’s just that all her was beautiful no matter what she was wearing.

       When she took her hand in greeting, he felt that electric current again. He was even more determined, he would win Kagome’s heart no matter what. He would move heaven, sea and earth as long as Kagome accepted him. He would fight anyone to get her. If he had to kidnap her, he would. She was worth all that and more.

       God, it felt so good to touch her skin with his lips, he would have wanted to kiss her mouth at that moment but he would settle for kissing her hand for now. If all went well he might have the chance to kiss her on the cheek or on her mouth if he stole a kiss from her.

       As Kagome blushed, Sesshomaru felt his heart beating a mile a minute and when she smiled at him, he imagined for a moment that he was a puppy wagging his tail when his mistress gave it a little pat. He could almost feel himself rumbling.

       He cleared his throat and indicated her that they could sit down to begin the evening. He pulled out Kagome’s chair so she could sit down. When she did, he pulled her closer to the table. Kagome thanked him and he sat in his chair.

       The waiter in charge of them approached and offered them a glass of white wine to which they both nodded in response. He asked them if they wanted to order now or wait a little longer. They ordered at that moment and the waiter left to hand over their orders.

       When the two were left alone, Sesshomaru thought about where he should start his explanation. He chose to tell her everything from the beginning.

       He told her that he came from a military family. His grandfather had been a Colonel in the army and his father was a General Major in the army. And he himself, was a Master Sergeant in the army, under his father’s orders.

       He told her what he was doing at that party, about his half brother and his sister who was the one who organized the party for his half brother before he went to the army. He told her that he had arrived in the city two days back after being absent since he was stationed at another military base in another state.

       The waiter interrupted them when he opened the door and apologized for the delay. He put their food on the table and told them that if they needed anything else, to feel free to touch the little button on the wall and he would come immediately to serve them. He wished them bon appetite and he left.

       When they were alone again, Sesshomaru suggested to Kagome to eat something before he continued with the story. Kagome nodded and the two began to eat. From time to time, Kagome would turn to see Sesshomaru but when he felt her gaze and turned to look at her, she would turn to her food and continue eating. Sometimes it was the other way around, and Sesshomaru was the one who turned to see her and when Kagome felt her gaze and turned to see him, he kept his gaze fixed on her.

       “You are really beautiful Kagome.” Kagome blushed and thanked him. She took a sip from her wine and continued eating. When they were done, Sesshomaru continued with his story.

       He told her how he received a call from his father on that Friday night after he sent her the last message. His father came for him by helicopter and took him to the military base. During the helicopter ride, his father informed him of the situation and when they arrived at the military base, his father took his cell phone because he couldn’t risk someone hacking into their cell phones and finding out about the mission

       He told her everything he was allowed to say about the mission. He told her that several times he tried to get hold of a cell phone to talk to her, but they kept an eye on him so well that as soon as he had one in his possession, someone would block it and take it away, destroying it right then and there. He saw Kagome’s face change her expression as he explained.

~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~

       Hearing Sesshomaru’s explanation, Kagome felt a lot of anger but not towards him, but towards his father. If he’d just given Sesshomaru a few minutes to call her, she wouldn’t have suffered everything she’d suffered over the past year. Neither she would have been with another man.

       She would have waited for him as long as it took. And to think that she suffered so much because of just one person. But as the saying goes, if wishes were horses, so she would have to accept the fact that Sesshomaru was in the military if she wanted to be with him.

       Sesshomaru told her that he had a very difficult time being apart from her that year, and without him being able to contact her and explain what was happening. He felt so worthless not being able to do anything to reassure her that he hadn’t forgotten her and that he still thought of her every day.

       “God”. He ran a hand through her hair and said. “Kagome, I swear I never stopped thinking about you, not a single day went by that I didn’t think about you. On many occasions I asked my father to allow me to talk to you, that I wanted to assure you that I was fine and that I did not abandon you, but my father denied me permission to call you.”

       “It’s not his fault, because the mission required it. Although many times I blamed him.” He breathed out in frustration. “If only I had talked to you, you wouldn’t be engaged to another man right now. You would not be about to marry someone else and right now you would be in my arms.” His voice cracked at the end, as if he was on the verge of crying.

       “I’m not engaged”. She told him, but apparently Sesshomaru didn’t hear her because he kept talking. When he finally processed what she told him, he looked at her suddenly. “Wait, what?”

       Sesshomaru’s shocked face made Kagome laugh a little. “That I am no longer engaged. I am free to do and be with whoever I want.”

       Kagome watched as Sesshomaru pinched his arm and the face he made. “I am not dreaming. You’re really not engaged to him anymore.”

       She shook her head at the same time she said, “nope. Not anymore. I broke off my engagement with him just yesterday. We are no longer together.”

       She barely finished saying that when Sesshomaru got up and approached her, taking her by her hands, he helped her stand up and hugged her. His hug felt so good, it was better than she remembered. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes enjoying her closeness.

       God, he smelled so good that she wanted to know if his whole body smelled like that or it was just near her nose. Kagome pulled back a little to look at Sesshomaru, and he in turn looked down at her. They lost themselves in each other’s gazes for a few moments until Sesshomaru leaned in a little closer to kiss her.

       At first it was a slow kiss and a little shy, but the more they kissed, the more Kagome wanted. She opened her mouth to deepen the kiss and she felt Sesshomaru insert his tongue into hers to taste her better. That kiss turned wild, they fought to dominate the other and in the end Sesshomaru emerged victorious. He moved her until they were leaning against the wall.

       Kagome gladly allowed herself to be won. Sesshomaru kissed so well. His hands ran over her waist and back. Once her fingers brushed against the bottom of her breasts, and Kagome gasped in surprise, wanting him to touch her even more.

       How will his hands feel on my naked body? How will his tongue feel when he penetrates me with it? When he licks my clit? Oh my God, Kagome! What things are you thinking? She scolded herself for thinking that way. But she couldn’t help but think like  that when Sesshomaru caressed her and kissed her like that.

       Their kiss seemed endless and she was fine with it. She knew that she needed to breathe but at that moment she thought, who needs to breathe? That is overrated. She ran her hands behind his neck and continued to kiss him.

~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~

       Sesshomaru stopped the kiss for a moment and when he did, they both took a quick breath and kissed again, only this time, their kiss was wilder and hungrier. His manhood was growing and it was getting harder. Their hands went as far as they could. One of his hands ran down Kagome’s leg where the slit of her dress was. Her skin was so silky that he felt his manhood harden even more and she wanted Kagome to feel it too.

       So he lifted her leg that he was stroking and wrapped it around his waist, pulling Kagome closer to him, so that she could feel what she was doing to him.

~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~

       Kagome gasped in surprise, accompanied by a moan as Sesshomaru pulled her closer to his manhood. Heavens, he was so big she couldn’t help but imagine what it would feel like to have him inside her.

       Kagome did her best to feel closer to Sesshomaru. The difference in their height was proving that going through with it would be difficult. Her other leg barely touched the ground and her heels didn’t help much. Though she was sure Sesshomaru could easily find a way for them to keep doing it. She was not going to deny it, she wanted him so much at that moment, that if he asked her, she would let him make love to her right then and there.

       Sesshomaru lowered her leg to the ground again and focused on kissing her. Kagome felt Sesshomaru kiss her behind her ear and he lightly stopped on her neck. He tugged on her choker with what she assumed were his teeth, as if wanting to break it, but seeing that it didn’t budge, his mouth lowered to her shoulder, getting closer and closer to her chest. Kisses, small bites, and licks made their way on Kagome’s upper body. When she felt Sesshomaru reach the bottom of her cleavage, she held her breath, waiting for him to push the neckline of her dress out of the way and to the side of her so he could kiss her breasts.

~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~

       They completely forgot that they were in a public place, but the waiter reminded them when he walked in and saw them, one might say, busy with each other.

       He cleared his throat and that alerted them. They both separated quickly, their breaths still agitated by what they were doing just seconds before.

       They both apologized with their faces flushed, not because of what they did because they didn’t feel they did something wrong, but because they were caught red-handed.

       They thanked the waiter and left the place holding hands and chuckling, as if they were keeping some secret and only they knew.

~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~

       A year later on the WEXA radio station, a host of the most famous program of the moment was successfully celebrating his second year of winning the award for the most listened to program on primetime radio.

       A few small taps on the glass of the cabin alerted him to the entrance of his boss.

       “You have to read this. It is an email and it is addressed to the entire production team of our program, ”he told him while waving a sheet of paper with something written on it in his right hand. A huge smile was drawn on his face.

       Alex Santiago took the sheet of paper and began to read the email. As he read, a smile spread across his face, growing bigger the more he read.

       When he had finished reading it he began to laugh. “Oh my God! We have to read it on the show. The radio listeners will want to know the good news.”

       The producer agreed and left him to prepare for the show.

       Ten minutes later the program started.

*You are tuning in to WEXA. The most popular music station of the moment.*

       *And this is your program, “The Rhythm of Music”. A program specially made for people who like music regardless of its genre*.

       *I am your radio host Alex Santiago and today we have two very good news for you that I am sure will be to your entire liking.*

       *First news: as you know, we are celebrating another anniversary of the radio station and just yesterday we received the award for “The most listened to program”  on primetime radio for two years in a row. Thank you to all of our radio listeners for making this possible.*

       *And the second good news which I’m sure many of you have been waiting for a long time. And not only you, but also all of us in the production team of the program.*

       *Half an hour ago we received an email from one of our radio listeners and we want to share it with all of you.*

       *”Dear members of the production of the program “The Rhythm of Music”,  you may not remember us but we do remember you. Because thanks to you my fiancé and I were able to meet again and be happy.”*

        *”A year and a month ago, but who counts, right?”* Reading this, Alex laughs a little because he remembered very well where he had heard that.

       *”You accepted a call from a guy and helped him ask a girl, which he had left waiting for him in what would be their first date a year before last, and offered their help to talk to her and explain why he didn’t show up to their date.”*

       *”Well, let me tell you that that guy and that girl are us and thanks to your help is that we are now together. We are engaged and will be getting married in six months and the entire production team is invited to the wedding as a thank you for your help.”*

       *”Thank you again for what you did for us. We will be grateful to you for a lifetime. Sincerely, Kagome Higurashi and Sesshomaru Taisho.”*

       *There you have it, listening friends. The couple that all of you and we, wanted to know about sent us this email. Sesshomaru and Kagome, if you are listening to us right now, we want to say, congratulations on your engagement and your upcoming wedding. And thank you for making us part of this beautiful story. We will be delighted to attend your wedding. Feel free to send us your wedding invitation whenever you like.*

*And now, some messages from our sponsors and upon return, more music with the song “Dirty Thoughts” by Gracie Adams featuring Nationhaven and “Eclipse (All Yours)” by Metric.*

~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~•~~~•~~~~

The End.

Link to the previous chapter:

[ultraericthered]

Something else that’s really grinding my gears? This goddamn story arc currently running in the Higurashi Meguri manga, and that ran in the Higurashi Sotsu anime in 2021. I mean, questionable pervert-bait panels of underage Satoko aside, it seems strange to say this since I recently remarked on how well Meguri did with Teppei, and now with its recent update it’s continuing to do well with Ooishi too, and all throughout, our main star Satoko has just been an absolute delight, being very funny and endearing while also a deep, tragic character.

But those are all effective parts and pieces of a larger whole. In the anime, those parts being as surprisingly strong and effective as they were by Gou/Sotsu standards made Curse Revealing the highlight of Sotsu. In the Meguri manga, it and its earlier question arc are the weakest arcs in spite of the parts that work. In both versions, this question and answer arc pair falls short of full potential because they are, at the most fundamental level, not what they should’ve been.

It’s something I’d stated before: Again, neither version of this story arc got it 100% right, as it was doomed from the offset by being chained to callbacks to the original Curse Killing AND Massacre Chapters that have to be done twice and with a very, very gross and unsettling subversion at its core.

The “very, very gross and unsettling subversion” is, of course, the fact that Satoko, a canonical victim of child abuse from the OG story, is now lying about being abused to two separate parties who believe her and take the abuse/bullying allegations dead seriously and fight to protect her because they love and care about her so much...all set against a backdrop that mirrors the story arc from the OG story where the abuse was really happening to her and her friends really fought for her by rallying the entirety of Hinamizawa to the cause of helping her save herself from the abuse at the hands of her uncle, who in this new story is one of the many dupes Satoko is decieving.

It just does not work as a premise and is not only spitting in the face of Ryukishi07′s earlier (and far better) writing, but in the face of real life child abuse situations where the victim is suffering in silence, needs to speak out and needs to be believed, helped, and defended from their abuser. If you look at any such situation with the mindset of “well, what if the child is lying about getting abused and bullied so horribly and is just playing folks against each other for the lulzs?”, rescuing children from bullying and abuse that unreliable adults and systems enable and allow to befall them becomes that much harder.

For a “subversive take” on what went down for the bulk of the Massacre Chapter of OG Higurashi, this is all that was needed:

See, the latter is the reverse of the former, not a gross distortion of it. Satoko gets to lie and decieve and play others for suckers in her game against Rika while not having to rely on being dishonest about something that was very real and very serious in the original work.