This took me two hours to type

[taotrooper]

laurus_nobilis was talking in her journal about Ashura-oh in TRC and RGV. Instead of commenting about it there, I'm making a post because I have some things to reflect on. Spoilers for the whole RG Veda manga.

Thing is, Ashura-oh wasn't what we would call evil, in a Bringing Death and Doom and Apocalypse sort of way. No, no, that was the son. Ashura-oh could control the thirst of destruction very well, and didn't want the Heavens to be smashed by his clan. Sure, he took some, um, peculiar measures to stop it from happening, and that brought lots of suffering to certain sectors, but... it was more like failing to see the consequences. Still not evil.

Now let's go to Taishaku-ten for a minute. Pre-emperor Taishaku wasn't really evil, either. Egoistic prat? Yes. Manipulator? Yes. Bisexual cannibal? HELL YES. But see, he wasn't good or evil in the premise at the time. He was just wanted his own satisfaction, and granting the wish of the man he loved, even if he had to go Generalisimo on Heaven's ass and fuck his lover's wife to get it done.

But is he evil? Well, according to the ending, he's not teh villain and ultimate eeevol because that was Dark Ashura. But still, he's more evil than Ashura-oh. Still, he wasn't a good ruler. He was still an egoistic bastard who killed a lot of innocent ones and exterminated clans just to fulfill his promise and still be in the throne as the dictator when Ashura goes after him. But no matter what CLAMP tell me, I can't be objective and say he's not evil when he fed the dogs with Karyobinga's body and tells Karura-oh to her face. He might be less batshit than Ashura, but damn!

Ashura-oh did serious damage to people when he made a pact with this guy. Was it really worth it, for the Heavens' sake? Pfft, who knows.

Laurus mentions Ashura-oh's wife had more balls. And you know, I suddenly found the phrase interesting in several layers.

Thing is, none of Shashi's sons resemble their corresponding father. Yes, I had to bring my boy in to the discussion. STFU. Neither of Ashura's personalities matches daddy's. One of them is too innocent, the other one is too evil. It's clashing. Meanwhile, Ten-oh is fair, shy, peaceful and mellow. He's so nice of a person, and his mom has such a horrid reputation, it's no surprise the court starts to doubt if Taishaku-ten is the prince's father.

So, I came to the conclusion, crazy as it is, the twins got their nature from their mother's side.

OKAY, WAIT. Before you shriek in horror and call me a lunatic for saying such a thing, listen to me. First, I said it comes from Shashi's side, not from SHASHI herself. Second, I know it's the upbringing and several external factors what shapes kid's personalities -and really, Shashi didn't raise those boys at all; not even the one she kept. However, the parallelism surprises me.

Because Shashi had a twin sister, Kara. And Kara was really sweet, the opposite of her sister. And if you recall the little bird incident: Shashi ripping the bird with her bare hands in front of a horrified and impotent Kara, who can't understand how her sister can be so cruel. Then, we have the parallelism of Ashura killing Shashi himself in front of a very frustrated Ten-oh. Of course, Ashura's thing is still way worst, but the symbolism of the bird and what it stands for remains.

Ten-oh's personality, from all his family, is closer to his aunt Kara's, while Dark Ashura's is more like Shashi's than Ashura-oh's. Of course, more exaggerated and with extra spicing of DOOM and BLOOD.

{So my little crack theory is, what if Ashura's evol comes from Shashi's womb? What if what triggers dark Ashura's psychotic nature is the Ashura clan's bloodthirst PLUS Shashi's poison he inherited? Of course, Ten-oh was conceived later, so then the poison was all sucked by Ashura's body, and nothing was left for him XDDD}

Okay, seriously, the crack theory isn't likely. However! I do believe Shashi could've had a lot of influence on the birth of Dark Ashura. The way she abandoned the baby, the words she said, the hatred he sensed... the memory stayed with him so long. And maybe, just maybe, that's what made Dark Ashura to be awakened in this king of the clan. I doubt the other kings of Ashura had to deal with such difficult first moments of life. This Ashura's dark side could've fed with Shashi's hate and putrid feelings. If his mother had... -well, let's not say "loved", because Shashi only loves herself and power- if she had kept him, would this Ashura still be the god of destruction?

We might never know.

But, if that was the case, Ashura-oh's mistake goes further than just having that son:
1. He chose that cold-blooded woman as the bearer of his child
2. He convinced Taishaku-ten to go viva la revolucion on Heaven
3. By 1 and 2, Shashi betrays the clan and sleeps with Taishaku
4. By 3, she gets pregnant with a more convenient son
5. By 2 and 3, all other Ashuras are killed and banned
6. By all of the above, she decides to keep the normal one and get rid of the other one, saying cruel words in the process
7. By all of the above, including 6, dark Ashura can appear

See the beautiful irony? He thought 2 was the solution to his problem -and perhaps 1, if he thought Ashura wouldn't kill his own mother and aunt, thus Shurato wouldn't be awaken-, but maybe it triggered his son's behavior much more.

Crack or not, we are aware CLAMP's idea of fate is so complex something this weird and incredibly stupid could be possible.

Comments

[laurus-nobilis.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, so Ten would be more like his aunt Kara. Why didn't I think of that before? It makes sense. I mean, we'll never know, but at least it proves not all his relatives are batshit.

I do believe Shashi could've had a lot of influence on the birth of Dark Ashura. The way she abandoned the baby, the words she said, the hatred he sensed... the memory stayed with him so long. And maybe, just maybe, that's what made Dark Ashura to be awakened in this king of the clan.

I think you have a really good point there, you know. Dark Ashura was pretty obsessed with killing Shashi in particular.

As for Ashura-oh, there are all the points you mentioned, and there is also something else: that although he convinced Taishaku to do whatever was necessary to stop Dark Ashura, he also convinced Yasha to do whatever was necessary to keep his child alive. And that is what drives me nuts about him and made him earn the COSMICALLY STUPID label, with capslocks and everything. Because he took the two most stubborn guys he knew and convinced them to do exactly the opposite from each other.

I don't blame him for having an OMGDestined! child or anything, since that's not really his fault, but... the "solutions" are what makes me go WTF on him.

[rainmage.livejournal.com]

Shit, I had forgotten about that part. The contradiction burrrrns. *shakes head in dismay*

I can't fucking figure this guy out. The plothole is worst than the one about Clow shipping Yukito/Sakura while he knew about alter!Sakura/Syaoran and their soulmate-ness. I give up on Ashura-oh, really.