No time at all to really say anything (ahhh final exam is in two days I’m so behind on gradingggg) but:

This is a tiny little post but I’ll still put it under the read more because of spoilers:

– Wow, what a brutal end for Kugaha; I did not see that one coming.

– Holy shit, that Ebisu and Iwami scene ruined me. This is the stuff I read Noragami for. I can’t even man. I can’t even.

– I am in love with the idea that young Yato knew about Bishamon and admired her strength, what the heck!!

– I’ve been wanting a Yato and Kazuma team up since the original Bishamon arc, but YIKES, trust Adachitoka to give it to me in the most emotionally wrenching way! I actually wonder about this–would this be going too far? Bishamon can’t consent to this while she’s unconscious. Kazuma is clearly in a terrible state of mind. If Yato takes Kazuma and tries to use him against Father and Kazuma CAN’T stand up to Liberation, Kazuma’s death would be completely on Yato’s head. Yato’s friendship with Bishamon could NEVER survive that. Even though Kazuma is strongly pushing for it, I think that Yato taking Kazuma as a nora would be the absolute worst possible decision, and I wonder if Yato is really the type of person who would do this anymore? I feel like he might have felt it was okay to ask about Nana because she’s “different” than other shinki and he knows for sure she can survive Father. He also deliberately went and asked her god. Taking Kazuma without even being able to ask Bishamon… That feels like a big, big line to cross…

– Mizuchi’s missing names is a trap, absolutely. The amount of time it would have taken to beg that many gods to release her doesn’t add up with the story’s timeframe in the slightest, not to mention that she still had names from Takemikazuchi and Ebisu–Takemikazuchi would know her begging was a trap, and we actually see Ebisu in this chapter, busy not releasing her. THAT SAID, that doesn’t mean that everything she’s expressing to Yukine is a lie. The feelings of being an unwanted child might be completely real–those feelings are not mutually exclusive to being part of Father’s trap.

– Yukine is momentarily safe though. If Nora killed him, there would be nothing stopping Yato from mercilessly going after Father, so it’s more likely that Yukine is on the road to a kidnapping, to be used as a tool when Yato (and Kazuma?) come barrelling in for their big battle with Father. All the more reason not to take Kazuma, since Kazuma will not stop, even if Father uses Yukine as a hostage–or worse, a Nora.

I feel like everyone’s panicking, but I’m just over here with such a warm, pleased feeling. Adachitoka are good, guys. They’re just good storytellers. I have so much faith that they’re going to tell the best story with their characters that it is possible to tell, so I have zero fears. No matter what happens, it’s going to be for the best.