On the power of names, our blog nicknames and a great series

By giving out your name, you are giving them the ability to take your soul. By giving out your birthday, you have given over the control of your whole life. ~Yuuko Ichihara, xxxholic, ch1 p16

In stories where the supernatural rules, including our childhood fairy tales, names appear to yield a special power. In Natsume Yuujinchou the names of the spirits ,which she won in fun games, were written down on a paper and collected in a book by Reiko and this gave her the ability to control them. Thus, since Natsume appears again in the region the spirits try either to steal this powerful book or have their names back. The significance of a name is stressed again in a later episode in the second season where a girl, Saki, saw a malevolent spirit by accident and in order not to be eaten she should find it again within a year's time. In the meantime, the last 13 people ,whose names she would utter, they would share the same fate as her. It's also very common that some shounen or mahou shoujo heroes/-ines before lounching their special attack, they would say out loud its name.

It seems that this power stems from the fact that name gives an individual an identity or defines this identity as unique. Name also signifies an emotional bond. That's why we name our pets, that's why we call our loved one somehow else than the rest of the people. Ierarchy is also defined by names, e.g. the surname of women is in many countries the surname of their father or their husband and that is a remnant of the strong patriarchy which demanded women to submit to men as lower in compare to them.

If you have something to add, I'd be glad to hear. I'm open to other interpretations as well.

But let's go on with our nicknames :) As you can see on the header and the 'about me' section there are pictures of spice and wolf. I totally LOVE this series for a numerous reasons, but the greatest one of all :HORO. Ok, and Lawrence :P AND their chemistry! Can you make a connection?

I know, I know...Horo is a wolf. But really with such red fur, it's hard for me to believe. So I stick with the 'kitsune'. Kitsune are told to be quite intelligent and tricky as well. And they transform in beautiful women.

By the way, I've changed my name a bit, so that there won't be any misunderstanding with Kitsune from Kitsune's thoughts.

So...I'll rumble a little more on Horo and kitsune, before continuing with my Neko :)

About the kitsune part some days ago I found this in wikipedia:

The full etymology is unknown. [...]Tanikawa Kotosuga in Wakun no Shiori (1777–1887) suggests that ki means "yellow", tsu is a possessive particle, and ne is related to neko, the word for cat. [...]One of the oldest surviving kitsune tales provides a widely known folk etymology of the word kitsune; the story is now known to be false. Unlike most tales of kitsune who become human and marry human males, this one does not end tragically:

Ono, an inhabitant of Mino (says an ancient Japanese legend of A.D. 545), spent the seasons longing for his ideal of female beauty. He met her one evening on a vast moor and married her. Simultaneously with the birth of their son, Ono's dog was delivered of a pup which as it grew up became more and more hostile to the lady of the moors. She begged her husband to kill it, but he refused. At last one day the dog attacked her so furiously that she lost courage, resumed vulpine shape, leaped over a fence and fled.

"You may be a fox," Ono called after her, "but you are the mother of my son and I love you. Come back when you please; you will always be welcome."

So every evening she stole back and slept in his arms.

Because the fox returns to her husband each night as a woman but leaves each morning as a fox, she is called Kitsune. In classical Japanese, kitsu-ne means come and sleep, and ki-tsune means always comes.

Now I can't believe this was just a coincidence. I am my cat's fox indeed, hehe :)

Anyway, no cheesiness here. I'll restrain myself. Back to Horo. She's the epitome of a female. Actually she's THE female. She is whimsical, at times capricious, playing word games with Lawrence, teasing him to no end, she's clever and wise due to her age and when the situation demands it, she's got a plan in her sleeve. Horo is strong and a dynamic woman, her sexiness stemming not only from her outer but also her inner beauty. Yet having such a long lifespan, has made her also fragile. The fear and sentiment of loneliness is her vulnerable point. This makes her more humane. To sum up she's a WONDERFUL creature with much assets ;)

Well, there are surely differences between me and her: I'm not a strong cup or someone who eats a lot. Plus it's easy for me to blush. Horo rarely does so.

As for Lawrence, he's cunning when it comes to trading, but unfortunately not that much when it's about women...poor Lawrence. You're being teased so much! Neko-kun isn't dense, thank goodness, at such matters. But he blushes and he's sooo cute and 'soft-hearted' like Lawrence :D And you'll say now why neko, right? Look this picture and you'll understand why...hihi

Yes, he loves sleep:P

Plus they way he and Horo met, by chance or fate if you prefer, resembles our meeting. We couldn't ever think we'll get to know each other like this. It's a secret though ;) Besides, there's this special interaction between us, like those two.

Can you resist this smile? It melts the hardest ice...kyaaah~~~
Lawrence, when you have this determined look, I'm sure Horo's libido goes wild ;)

Aren't they a cute and perfect couple? Horo and Lawrence FTW!

Speaking solely of the series: it rocks! The protagonist are the ones who make it shine plus the witty dialogues plus the adventure especially in the second season. Let's not forget about the music either. Openings and endings as well as soundtracks create a nostalgic and medieval atmosphere. They also underline the agony or the carefree-ness. I pray for a third even fourth season.