[Sentrovasi]

I'm only posting (signed up just to post my two cents on this topic, really) because episode 7 provoked me into doing so. The many theories about what might've happened are so remarkably diverse that anything I say can't do much harm. But I'll wrap spoiler tags around everything from here on down because I can't be sure if my ramblings will trundle too far in there or not... something which will inevitably happen anyway.

Spoiler for my impressions about sola.:

... Well damn if that wasn't unexpected. I'd expect the unexplained shard was an intended bit of "laziness"... it wouldn't nearly've been as surprising otherwise.

The feeling I'm getting from sola is that the Matsuri, Aono and Yorito in the flashbacks are not related in any way but a romantic one. I don't believe that they were siblings before, and that Aono fit herself into the present Yorito's life (depending on whether he's a reincarnated Yorito or... some other speculated thingy, her method would differ) as a sibling so that things would at least be unlike the unhappy ending that had resulted xxx years ago. And that Yorito would actually notice her.

I'm going for some kind of mind-wipe so that she would fit into his life; I'm thinking the chance meeting of Matsuri and Yorito (fates intertwined) might have been applied as easily to a meeting between Aono and Yorito. Aono, though, has both her memories and an understanding of the significance of their meeting, and so chooses to push herself into his life. The reason Yorito struggles to remember anything of his past with Aono is because there hadn't been one: Aono would only have to give him a faint recollection that he was her sister. Moving to a new town, a place where no one would realize Yorito hadn't a sister, would be an ideal thing to do as well. Of course, past that she was drained, so there you go.

Matsuri was surprised to learn that Yorito's sister was named Aono. I believe that if Aono had originally been Yorito's sister, Matsuri wouldn't have treated his reference to having a sister earlier on so casually. Her verification of Aono and Yorito's relationship is one that arises from her surprise: she would never have predicted that Aono, with her romantic obsessions towards Yorito, would have chosen a path in which coupling would become such a taboo.

I do believe that Aono controlled Yorito at some point at the end of episode 7, but I believe that it might've constituted a loss of control: Yorito's chosen Matsuri over her every single time, and the one time after the three whole months that she's known Yorito she gets to go out with him, Matsuri appears and he ignores her for Matsuri again. What she did, I believe was project all the negative emotions she was feeling (and Yaka have a lot, if you remember) into Yorito: the effect may have been completely unexpected (although from the way she was able to control the frog: it seemed to project her consciousness within it as well; I wouldn't bet money on it).

One thing I'm not sure anyone else's considered is that all Yaka may have different abilities. This theory would extend to cover the fact that all Yaka have different banes, that is to say, each Yaka has a specific ability and a specific weakness: Matsuri has her ability to effect both Life and Death (causing necrosis in human tissue, rusting metal, bringing people back to life), and her weakness is sunlight. Aono, on the other hand, can control inanimate beings with her blood (in fact, making Yorito her brother through ways I don't understand, she might have controlled him because they essentially have the same bloodline... although I might be reading too deeply into things) as well as alter memories (if these theories are anything like accurate, anyway). Her bane... well, she can stand the sun, if the flashback meant anything. Of course, she might really hate the sun as well (I haven't seen her out in the sun a single time but that flashback, if I remember correctly).

The evidence can point any way at the moment, really... it's pretty vague and I doubt any one theory would be able to encompass everything they've revealed so far. I'm hoping they'll be able to finish the story up cleanly (they should), but if one or two small inconsistencies are all we see, I'd, quite frankly, count us lucky.

... And that's all I have to add at the moment. I've probably got a few other loose thoughts at the back of my head, but those are likely more trivial.