Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-26269911-20160211232053/@comment-28615538-20180813053720

DivaNox wrote: Do you think it may be possible that it is both their instinct to kill eachother? Maybe it's part of the genetic code of the Queens of the species. Possible, but personally I don't think so. In the last episode we see Diva's twins getting along perfectly happily, like normal children, and in the book they have a close relationship.

In fact, if you take this further, neither Diva nor Saya hated each other or truly wanted to kill each other. Saya thought it was her duty to do so, because she'd 'unleashed' Diva and therefore felt it was her responsibility to kill her because Saya had inadvertently caused so many deaths. Diva was manipulated all along, really, and mostly acted in (severely screwed-up, the majority of the time) self-defense.

But when it finally did come to that final fight, they sparred some, and then, at some unspoken point, decided to die together--I can only assume that Diva thought it would be the best way to protect her children. No more of Saya's blood, no way to kill her twins; her remaining chevaliers could raise them, and she has an enormous maternal instinct (this, I think, may be genetically wired into their DNA, as it would only be logical for the species' overall survival. The reason Saya doesn't want children may be because she planned to die all along). When Diva starts to crumble, Saya becomes hysterical, tries to put her back together, begs her to take her with her (Diva's reaction to this is telling too); Diva shows vulnerability, calls out to her in clear fear, a cry for help. The sobbing and heartwrenching scream Saya lets out after Diva has died speaks for itself.

Diva only wanted a family. She says herself they were raised as complete opposites; Saya in a life of luxury, Diva the lonely experiment in the tower. When Saya states her intention to kill Diva, she asks if there is no other way. I'm a pretty big Diva defender in the sense that she was the antagonist, yes, but not the actual villain: that was Amshel, the one who manipulated Diva from birth and, with Joel's help, turned her into the twisted being, unable to comprehend basic morals, that she became. You can't blame a child for not being able to separate good from evil if they were never taught as much; if their head was always messed with and they had no proper contact with the outside world.

So, no, I don't think they're genetically wired to kill each other at all. I do think Kai should tell the twins from a very early age on that blood contact? IS A HUGE NO. Disregarding bycicle accidents and the like, there's the trope of children who are close sometimes making a childhood promise and 'sealing' that with a bit of blood. Would lead to... a rather devastating surprise in their case (or does that only kick in after they've made a chevalier? It's been a while since I watched the entire series). I still haven't been able to read the book (damn kanji), but it seems to me that if they've reached that age, they should know of their heritage by now.