#a very interesting parallel to aqua too
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chapter 146 thoughts
This chapter (and thus this chapter review) contains discussion of abuse, suicidal ideation and CSA, so if you're not in the headspace for that, skip this one and I'll see you next time.
we are so oshi no back
After last chapter left me fighting for my life to come up with literally anything to say about it, this was one of those chapters where I ended up having more and more to say about it the more I turned it over in my head. It still feels a bit disjointed and has that same issue of ripping through the events of the movie way too fucking fast that the arc as a whole has been having lately but this chapter was such a breath of fresh air I can't bring myself to care.
The chapter itself is more or less split in two, with one half dedicated to 15 Year Lie's in-universe events and the other focusing a bit on Aqua and Kana for, tbh, the first time in way too long. Admittedly, my enthusiasm for 15YL has waned given the reveal of just how much of it is completely made up but like. I'm still gonna over analyze this stuff. Sunk cost fallacy, don't fail me now!!!!
I joke, but the 15YL section of this chapter was legitimately bone chilling. That barrage of cuts following Uehara's attack on Airi…. fuuuuuuuck, man.
Airi herself is pure fucking poison this chapter too and I mean it in the best way. I continue to be incredibly impressed with how OnK understands the motivations of a person like Airi what her abuse of Hikaru is really about. When discussing this in 141, Miyako points out just how often victims of abuse can themselves go on to perpetuate their own pain out of a need to try and regain their dignity, but I think what Airi seeks in her abuse of Hikaru is control. We see how often she wields her power over him while pretending that he has as much agency as she does in their """relationship""" and it's repeated here, too; she throws the results of her own sexual abuse of him in his face as a way of permanently chaining the two of them together, all while tearing down his worth as a person as if to 'prove' he deserves to be trapped in her grasp. I've said before that Akasaka is unsettlingly good at writing toxic mothers but I think Airi has made it pretty clear that Akasaka understands and is thus excellent at writing abuse and abusers in general, and for someone like me who counts that as one of their favourite Themes (tm) in fiction, I feel quite well fed.
The abuse Airi hurls at him is also interesting from a perspective of paralleling Hikaru even further with Ai. We saw snippets of this in 140, of Hikaru characterizing himself as someone desperately trying to construct a version of himself that can be loved by others the same way Ai creates 'Ai of B-Komachi', a version of herself who can give and receive love in the way she thinks her authentic self is unable to. Airi puts this into more explicit words; Hikaru must construct this fake version of himself because there is no 'real' him and thus, he is inherently unlovable. Jesus Christ.
Knowing those words were swimming around in his head, it makes the HKAI scene that follows even more of a gutpunch than it already is. It's the most wonderful kind of miscommunication tragedy - with their respective traumas, there is basically no other way a talk like that could have gone and yet it's agonizing to see it play out. Ai's innocent cruelty in the face of Hikaru's pain and her suffocating smile… the worst part is, while I completely understand why this was so shattering for Hikaru, it's impossible to miss that this was, in a way, an expression of love from Ai; it was honesty, an admission of vulnerability. She herself even says she doesn't want to lie to him. But to Hikaru, what else could that have sounded like but a confirmation of his most godawful fear?
that said. the timeline here is very confusing. this seems to imply hkai were still dating all the way up to the murder-suicide, which seemed to be just before the dome concert but did the breakup really seem that recent during their phone call?? this whole timeline is penised beyond repair.
The art in this chapter in general is incredibly good but something in particular I want to highlight is how much and how often Aqua-as-Hikaru looks like Ai in these panels. I can't put my finger on what it is, but that similarity always makes me feel so warm and sad whenever I see it. For as much as he struggles with his relationship to her, Aqua really is his mother's son through and through.
and. man. what even is there to say about that scene in the rain and everything that follows. I was't sure if the murder/suicide was going to be featured in the movie but even the brief snippet of it that we got and that barrage of scene titles and Kamiki's silent scream… whoof. shit like this makes me really hope we get to see mengo illustrate a horror manga someday because i think she would absolutely kill it.
We cut back to reality to see Aqua reading the script and in perhaps the most interesting swerve in this chapter, we see that he has once again reverted to his double black hoshigans. And uh, am I going to sound like a terrible person if I say I'm really glad for this? LOL.
Obviously I would rather Aqua not be experiencing Suicidal Ideation (Bass Boosted) 24/7, but it's kind of a relief to see that one single conversation wasn't enough to totally shake Aqua out of that headspace. I've talked a lot about how frustrating I find it that 'Ruby finds out Aqua is Gorou' is treated as the finale to her black hoshigan arc and every ongoing thread, internal and external, attached to it was dropped like a rock with no further interrogation. It robbed Ruby of the opportunity for some really important growth and, imo, was just shitty for Kana and Memcho who were treated extremely poorly by her and got no apology for it. I was really worried this would be the case for Aqua as well and that his own dip into that rancid headspace would end on a wet fart which would really sting given just how little insight we've gotten into him this arc. But this chapter makes it clear that while some cracks have started to form in his armor, he's not in the clear just yet.
i mean, even if he was permanently back to one white star, aqua is such a little freak regardless………………………….
What this means in the long term is a little hard to pin down, both because we've had so little insight into Aqua's headspace this arc and because the exact nature of black hoshigan as a symbol has always been a little Calvinballed, but in this context and for Aqua specifically, I think we can read this as his conviction in the messy endgame of his revenge play being shaken up. I, personally, have been reading the black hoshigan as of late as an expression of the sort of futureless despair that can become suicidal ideation, at least for Aqua; since immediately after Ai's death, we have gotten incredibly strong hints that Aqua is suicidal, his guilt-fueled desire to die and his desperate want to experience a happy future at war within him. He more or less explicitly says as such in 106, expressing that this break in their relationship is necessary for Ruby to be able to live on 'after he's gone' - which strongly implies that Aqua's revenge play is intended to end with his death.
Knowing that Ruby is Sarina wasn't quite enough to shake his conviction, but their talk in 143 was. I do think Ruby just giving him some straightforward affirmation was a good starting point but I also can't help but wonder, with the context that his white stars were not indicative of a permanent change, if hearing just how deeply Ruby still relies on 'Gorou's' presence in her life struck a nerve for him. Paraphrasing her from 143, she straight up says Gorou is the one who gives her life meaning. And if that's how it is, what exactly will happen if he's gone again..?
Obviously this is all still speculation because even when I am begging on hand and knee Akasaka is refusing to give us Aqua introspection but at this point I have to make a guess at SOMETHING if i am going to say anything remotely coherent about aqua in this arc, so
ANYWAY!! AQUA AND KANA HAVING A NORMAL ASS CONVERSATION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN GOD KNOWS HOW LONG!!! Ngl, it did give me a bit of a chuckle to see Kana voice the question of whether Aqua was getting too immersed in his role, given that people were accusing her of that back during the first round of the RBKN conflict.
I was also really surprised to see Aqua just outright say that yeah, he is at least flirting with suicidal ideation. Like - that's the first time he's said that out loud, to anybody??? In 143 he voices the less damning but still not great sentiment that he feels guilty for being alive but this is to my knowledge the first time Aqua has expressed his suicidal ideation out loud, let alone to anyone else. And… fuck, man! That's an absolutely terrifying thing to hear a friend say. No wonder Kana reacts like she does.
Because of my powers of Claire-voyance (read: basic pattern recognition and being in fandoms for 15+ years), I'm pretty sure people are going to be Very Mean to Kana about the way she chooses to respond to Aqua here but honestly? Not only did this tough love response feel very IC for her, but the clumsiness of it felt very honest to me. I think a lot of people in fandom lately just want characters to talk like fucking therapists all the time and have the Correct And Unproblematic Response to… well, situations like this. But Kana is an 18 year old girl who has her own share of issues and her friend she knows is dealing with his own huge amount of baggage just casually dropped an "i wanna kms" on her. All things considered, I think she handles it surprisingly well.
Because like… look at what Kana really says to Aqua here. She gives him some of their usual banter to diffuse the tension but then makes herself very clear: she does not want Aqua to hurt himself and makes him promise that he won't. It's clumsy and rough in the way Kana often is, but I think the important part - her sincere care for Aqua as her friend - really does shine through.
also cute that other people caught: Kana squishing Aqua's face seems to be an intentional callback to one of their on-stage interactions in Tokyo Blade, right down to Aqua making a identical scrunchyface to Kana. Extremely cute. I love it when Aqua is cute <3
Kana also being a person able to shake Aqua out of his black hoshigans also leans into something I've been hoping is going to pay off for a while now; the idea that Aqua's salvation is not going to come from any one, singular character but from the many different people who Aqua has built relationships with coming together when he needs them to support him. One of the things OnK has continually highlighted is the way isolation and lacking support systems warp and damage people's mental health and I think it would play excellently into that theme to have Aqua's support net, so to speak, to be wide enough to catch him no matter where he falls.
the product placement was very stupid but i did laugh pretty hard at it and then immediately go buy myself some potato chips so i guess it worked. genius mangaka aka akasaka.
All jokes aside, the note their talk ended off on was so lovely too. Aqua being honest enough to admit that being with Kana is fun and Kana getting all dokidoki and then quietly admitting she feels the same when she's alone… cute! But more than that, it highlights something about the AQKN dynamic I think is really important, regardless of whether their relationship is romantic, platonic, in laws, mlm/wlw hostility or whatever else; Kana is his friend and he can just be a normal boy and have normal fun with her without any ulterior motives. It's something Aqua doesn't really have in any of his other relationships so getting a reminder of that and what it means to Aqua was really good.
honestly i think i am just so starved of nice things happening to my son that seeing him opening up to one of his friends and admitting he has fun (HIS LAUGH!!!!!!) was like a shot of heavenly ambrosia for me. please can hoshino aqua have just one nice day.
OR UH… BASED ON THAT LAST PAGE…. PROBABLY NOT ANYTIME SOON….!!!
this is what i mean about this chapter giving me 5000000 things to talk about. kamiki is TALKING TO RUBY IN THE FLESH FOR THE FIRST TIME and i almost completely forgor.
why is he dressed like a dad about to take her out on a fishing trip, though
Ruby looks unusually solemn while she's praying, which is interesting. She's been pretty bright and high energy since 141ish so I'm curious what has her looking so comparatively dour. She's praying at a shrine, too, which means there's probably something on her mind. Nik (@akane-kurokawa) theorized that she's anxious about the upcoming scenes in the movie (LIKE, YOU KNOW, HER MOM'S DEATH) and until we get further insight on that, that's what I'm gonna assume too.
putting aside how Shrimptresting it is that Kamiki turned up out of nowhere like that, I can't help but note a certain horrible parallel between Uehara meeting young Hikaru in the rain with a black umbrella and Kamiki doing the same for his daughter…
cannot wait for that entire talk to get offscreened. lol.
break next week……………………………
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Love, Lies, and Romance: The 3 Ships of Oshi no Ko and 3 Thematic Resolutions
Oshi no Ko is a series deeply concerned with what it means to love and be loved. Ai's wish to love is what starts off the series; her love for her children, and their love for her in return, form the emotional fulcrum upon which the whole manga turns.
Romantic love, too, is a type of love. Aqua's three possible romantic relationships each represent three different interpretations of how to love, and how those relationships are treated is a reflection of how the series views those kinds of love.
For organization's sake, I'll go down the list in order of what I judge as least to most likely to occur in the manga itself.
Ruby - Love is Lies
I've already written a longer meta about this, but to summarize the relevant parts: Ruby, as depicted in chapters 77 to 142, doesn't understand Aqua, nor Gorou. She instead loves him for the image she's constructed of him in her head, for the way he makes her feel - but this has very little to do with the man himself. Her view on Aqua is, in my opinion, a direct parallel to Aqua's view of Ai - she puts him on a pedestal, idolizes him, but that same impetus is what has her mentally keeping a distance from his real self. You can see this all the way back in chapter 77. When she thinks of him, she first thinks of how he made her feel:
Now, this isn't on it's own a red flag, but it is contrasted directly afterward: when asked to predict his own actions and feelings, she's hilariously off:
I think many readers kind of wrote this off as a joke at the time, but this kind of thing lines up perfectly with her behavior in the movie arc. Not only is she inventing a backstory for him (does Gorou ever show romantic interest at all? Why would she assume he was in trouble with girls?) but more importantly she interprets his kind rejection as a tease, and his care to a friend and patient as romantic intent.
A version of the story in which Ruby is Aqua's love interest would literally validate Ai's famous quote, that lies are love - that the person doesn't matter, only how they make them feel does. And that is directly contrasted by, uh. The whole rest of the manga. But to pick a specific scene, see C9:
The kind of love where one person projects on another, the manga has shown us again and again, the kind of love that is lies, results in this. It cannot end happily, for anybody. If Ruby and Aqua end up dating for real, my next bet is that the story ends in tragedy, because that's the only end for that kind of love in Oshi no Ko.
Akane - Love is Lying
To Akane, love is an act - a lie. But hear me out, this is markedly different from Ruby's position. Akane, I think, is actually the closest of the main characters to Ai's mindset. She doesn't feel that she understands love, but she wants it, so she actively cultivates an image of herself that can show love. We know this well, of course, given her actions at the end of LoveNow. She creates a persona of love in chapter 28, much like Ai describes in 4.
And believes that regardless of the artificiality of it, she can keep up the act forever: to earn love through the act is to earn it in reality.
So you may be asking: what is the difference between what Akane is doing, and what Ruby is doing? Well, the difference is in the intention. It is not the lies that are the important part, but the lying - neither Akane nor Ai felt they knew how to love, but their desire to love, their care for others, that was all real love. The performance they put on for others was not an impersonal pedestal, but an active effort done for another's sake. It may be lying, but it is an act of love nonetheless.
If Aqua/Akane was the endgame ship of Oshi no Ko, it would be a simultaneous validation and rejection of Ai's worldview. Yes, if you care enough, lying can be love, if you are willing to forge that connection. But, in this paradigm, Ai's mistake was lying one-sidedly, to a faceless crowd. The crowd cannot return your love, not in a way other than idolization, and we discussed how that turns out in Ruby's entry. Akane's relationship, on the other hand, is much less one-sided and unhealthy, because she lies for Aqua's sake alone, and doesn't hide that she's doing it. As such, her performance can be recognized and appreciated as such, and he can reach back and return her love.
As such, while the lying is a performance, their relationship isn't a lie. The two of them start to see each other's real selves. The dynamic of two people who don't really understand love or how to love, performing a relationship together until they can learn how to do it together, is a sweet one. I could actually totally see this as the main relationship of Oshi no Ko.
But the actions of the characters make clear what the issue is in this kind of love. The seeds of this breakdown are set in chapter 72, which is ironically one of the ones that sets the dynamic up - even as they are trying to create an equal relationship, Akane decides to lie to him for his own good. After all, their relationship has already been established on the basis of lies. To lie for someone else's sake is inherently a one sided choice, and while in chapter 28 we can see it as a cute start to a relationship, it comes back around in a much more harmful way here:
which pays off in their grand breakup in chapter 98. Akane is willing to one-sidedly make the choice to kill Hikaru for Aqua's sake. Aqua, in return, refuses to let her make that choice, tracking her position, then stopping her and cutting her off for her own safety. While Akane is the one who calls him out for this, neither of them are treating the other as someone with agency, and both are making choices for the other. As such, in Oshi no Ko, lying cannot be love - you cannot impose your love on another.
Kana - Love is Sincerity
Kana, differently than Ruby and Akane, is defined in her moments of honesty and sincerity. She is an actress, yes, but even her acting is a kind that emphasizes her true self. There's too many pages to post here, but chapters 60-63 talk all about this directly - her modern acting is about hiding herself in order to aid others, but her best acting is when she ignores everybody else and acts to her heart's desire.
This same sincerity is what forms the basis of the Aqua/Kana ship. Unlike the two above ships, which are on some level founded on artifice, many of the moments between Kana and Aqua are focused on moments where they are each acting as their truest selves. Chapters where they interact, like 30 and 117, show that they both have an easy rapport, acting thoughtlessly and honestly. Chapter 40 points this out directly: Kana has the ability to draw Aqua out of his depressed and overthinking mindset, letting him be his unrestrained self.
This is similar to Ai's own actions in chapter 4. Though she normally puts on a facade and acts out love for the cameras and crowds, the one moment that she is truly recognized as smiling is the moment she accidentally lets slip, and shows true love for her children:
As such, Aqua/Kana serves as a complete repudiation of Ai's mindset. She was wrong that one can lie to love. The only way to love is to be honest, the only time she was able to honestly express love was the moment she died, when she was able to tell her children she loved them. If you aren't sure how to love, you must reach out honestly and you will find it. No act or performance can be love, no matter how well meant.
If this is the ship the manga ends on, which it could be, the message would be that love is in baring oneself to others. Hiding from others with lies, even when well intentioned, like Aqua does to Kana before chapter 107, is a mistake, and to love truly you need to face up to your own feelings and see the other person directly.
Finale
So, what does this all mean? It means that the romantic love demonstrated in the three ships are unavoidably intertwined with the story's ideas about love as a whole. However, his isn't necessarily a foolproof prediction of what the author plans to do next, or what ship the story endorses. Though obviously I think some of these are much more supported by the series than others, until we reach the end it is still possible that things will change, and it could go with any of these, or none of them. This is merely the lens in which I interpret the romantic interactions in the text.
In fact, it's entirely possible that the series ends with no romantic resolution at all, rejecting all three above views on love. After all, while the romantic relationships are undeniably important to the narrative, the love that started this whole story was Ai's familial love for her children - thus, I wouldn't be surprised if platonic love between family and friends will be the most important in resolving it. In any case, the question of how to love is a key part of the series, and will have to be resolved by the story's end.
#oshi no ko#ruby hoshino#akane kurokawa#kana arima#ai hoshino#aqua hoshino#step.effortpost#step.animanga#step.blogger
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Kairi is Xehanort's 14th Darkness
Now before I go into this, I must deeply express I will not put up with any Kairi negativity in the tags. This is not meant to demonize her or put anyone else on a pedestal in her place. Literally everyone in this series has been manipulated by Xehanort to some extent and Kairi is not exempt from that. We need to get past all these preconceived notions of who Kairi is supposed to be and see her for the complex character that she truly is. And this is a part of that.
Now let's get started.
Xehanort's intentions from day one were to reenact the Keyblade War. In Dark Road, it's revealed that he's interested in the Darkness that survived by disguising itself as an ally of light. It's possible that he thinks Vanitas is this since he hid himself inside of Ventus but that's all...in the eyes of the beholder. It could be anyone. But Xehanort would take this information either way and use it in his reenactment.
But you may ask: Why would he have a fourteenth? Didn't he intend to use thirteen? That was very clear throughout the series. Well, you'll need to watch Dark Road if you still think this. He left out a little something in the other games when describing his plan.
He wanted ANOTHER vessel to experience the world afterwards. Yes, he's incredibly extra as always. We are used to this by now, I hope..
But why is that vessel Kairi?
(dude's literally telling her what role she's to play even if it probably wouldn't make any sense to someone her age lmao)
As far back as the first game, something never truly added up. Kairi isn't given the role to hold back the darkness with the other princesses. She's paralleled to Wendy who is very explicitly stated to NOT be one of the princesses. Her "power" is never utilized a single time after KH1 either...nor is it brought up until briefly in KH3.
And you know...remember that little thing about how the X tells Xehanort where you are at all times? X marks the spot, they say!
And Xehanort REALLY loved making the X wearers into his vessels, didn't he? Kairi had been wearing it as early as BBS.
Kairi was the one who finished this drawing.
Red flags...red flags, everywhere!
By the way, wasn't Kairi's meeting with Aqua a little...TOO perfect?
Why...it's almost like...it was staged!
Kairi already had the flowers she supposedly picked for her. But why would Xehanort want Kairi to meet Aqua and have her be fond of Kairi?
Two reasons as far as I can see.
1.) Aqua is well attuned to the fine art of spells.
Sound familiar?
2.) Receiving a Keyblade
When Kairi runs to Aqua, she touches her Keyblade. This has been compared to the passing of power like Terra with Riku. Personally, I have no idea if it's as simple as this without the whole ceremony but I don't think this would be shown without reason.
And with this, her role truly started. Kairi was to become the new darkness disguised as a guardian of light. She would befriend and become close with a Keyblade wielder and they would strive to keep her safe so she would survive for the world after.
But *record scratch* how is she a darkness already by the time of BBS and how is she able to hide? Before that, let's discuss the princess she took the place of in KH1. You know, the elephant in the room.
Ariel.
Part Two
#kingdom hearts#kairinort#kh kairi#kh xehanort#kairi#xehanort#kh meta#kairi is the 14th darkness theory#text
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Have they ever actually explained what the whole anti-sora form thing is all about? I always assumed it was a weird side effect from him being a heartless for a bit
Is anti-form originated from when Sora got turned into a Heartless?
Nomura: Story-wise, yes. Drives are very strong so anti-form exists as a side-effect of using too much power. System-wise, I wanted to create something strong but troublesome.
...is what Nomura said in a 2006 interview.
iirc the fandom speculation is that since Anti-form happens if you use other drives too much. It might be that Sora "uses up" too much light at once and thus the darkness in him takes over for a moment, something along those lines. It's almost like Sora is more easily susceptible to the darkness after being turned into a heartless, and even Kairi's POH power couldn't remedy that.
With the appearance of Anti-Aqua in KH3 it also has the implication that Sora loses hope/succumbs to the darkness during a tough fight. And while we are on the KH3 topic:
There's a form that appears called "Rage Form," which reminds us of the "Anti Form" from KH2. What is the setup behind that?
Nomura: The forms in this title are very different from that of KH2, so we decided to change all the names. Rage does indeed have characteristics that are reminiscent of Anti, but it's basically a separate thing setup wise. Anti is based on Sora getting completely stained in darkness, but Rage doesn't go quite that far. It's based on him going into a rampage state, controlled by feelings of anger.
from a 2019 interview.
Interesting that even though Sora has a shorter fuse and is angrier in KH2 (idr if it has been confirmed or if it's fanon speculation that it's due to Roxas in his heart influencing him and his heart remembering the pain and anger of CoM), it is only in KH3 where he is shouldering so much he snaps into a literal rage, specifically if he is damaged enough. He doesn't lose hope (yet), he gets pissed.
Considering the implications that there could be a part of Vanitas still in Sora it is currently hard to say if that rage stems purely from him or if Vanitas is feeding into it in some way.
It is actually one of the things I am hoping for the most in KH4. The build up has been going on for a long time, both through these forms and through his companions saying hurtful things to Sora repeatedly (it's often in a playful manner but that doesn't mean...it isn't mean. And KH3 really hammers this home.) and Sora's "Without my friends, I am nothing." may have scratched the surface but there's so much more to it.
Sora has a lot of pent up hurt inside him, Aqua being a direct parallel ingame. Aqua eventually succumbed to it because she was alone for so long. And now... Sora is alone, possibly missing memories or heart connections he needs to hold himself together. Yeah Strelitzia is there but that might not be enough. But let's stop here I could go on for hours.
#sora kh#anti-form#kingdom hearts#rage form#kh talk#kh#ask#rainbowmateria#this got a bit long but cant discuss anti without rage now#could go even more indepth into how those forms manifest (like rage form having bloody steps) but lets leave it at that#hope this helped!
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I just recently noticed the similarities between Aqua and Akane's relationship to Hikaru and Ai
This isn't really a new profound theory as I found it on some obscure part of the Internet but I'd like to share some light on it because I just noticed it all of a sudden.
Ruby is usually the go to when people describe someone similar as Ai, after all she is a spitting image of her but blonde, has that similar charisma that draws in people to her, and eventually in traditional Hoshino fashion uses lies as a means to an end.
However, Ruby isn't the only one with similarities to Ai, Aqua too is also similar to his mother, at least when it comes to some aspect of his love life lol but even if they aren't physically similar Aqua too has similarities with his mother, in which they use lies as an expression of their love (The difference being Ai yearns for love while Aqua feels like he doesn't deserved to be loved) wouldn't be her son at all if they don't share anything in common after all!
The parallels so far are mostly on how their love lives are similar:
Both are entertainers who got entangled with Lala Lai Theatre Troupe members for a specific goal in mind
Eventually they started to get romantically involved with one another
They both then experienced a fallout for different reasons (Aqua can't bring himself to have Akane be involved for her safety while Ai started falling out due to the pregnancy, though further details might reveal more on their fallout because ain't no way it's just because of that)
They then started to oppose each other (Akane is actively planning to stop Aqua from self-destructing while REDACTED for reasons unknown went back to murdering again and killed his lover)
That's where the similarities end and where the differences start within this parallel.
In the case of Ai she was the older one, while in the case of Aqua he was the younger one lol (if we don't include his past life that is)
REDACTED opposes Ai but his motives are out of malice (unless Ai did something so bad to him that warrants murder and more murders following that, he is an evil piece of crap for ruining the lives of his children and many others), Akane opposes Aqua but her motives are pure, which is to save him from self-destructing (I personally don't think Akane wants Aqua to not chase after REDACTED as someone as smart as she is knows how dangerous he is, she's probably trying to stop him from destroying himself and find a much "healthier" way to stop him.)
The romance between Ai and REDACTED ended in a very bitter note to the point of Ai getting murdered by him. The fate of Aqua and Akane is still uncertain.
Aqua who is compared to "Ai" is the "bad guy" while Akane who is REDACTED is the "good guy" opposite to how REDACTED and Ai was, though further details of their relationship might shed more light on how they are.
Now the question stand, do these parallels mean anything? Maybe or maybe not, I just found the observation to pique my interest and considering I can't predict the current journey of the story, I'll leave all of this as me speculating.
If it were true though, I suppose these parallels are a way for the author to allude the trajectory of how their relationship might go. A lot of dark things are currently happening within the OnK-verse but I don't see this series to have a downer end, it'll probably be a light after dark ending where after all the shit that the characters have been through, they all will live knowing that they've won against their struggles.
Using this Tokyo Blade panel as a complement to this observation, I suppose if Ai and REDACTED's relationship concluded in a horrible note (but at least Ai managed to die knowing she was capable of "real love) then Aqua and Akane might succeed where their predecessors failed, by making amends and loving for real.
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Sora was a big neurodivergent mood in KH3 specifically and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it
It's most prominent towards the beginning of the game, where Sora is asked to follow his heart to open the new world portals, and we see him struggle to do so not once, but twice. (With the same posturing, even)
Like he genuinely cannot think of where to go or what it is in his heart that he's supposed to be following, which is really interesting to me because I don't think we've seen this behavior from him before. But at the same time, it makes sense, because he's basically being asked to use his intuition, which is... pretty difficult to do on command
The two scenes are different in one way though, in that what triggers Sora deciding where to go is different each time. The first time, his subconscious is clearly telling him to visit Olympus, as shown by the way he flexes his muscles like three different times upon hearing the word "hero"
But for one reason or another, it just doesn't fully click with him until Goofy brings up the "may your heart be your guiding key" line. I don't know what exactly is blocking his brain from realizing he wants to go to Olympus but there's definitely Something going on there and I'm endlessly fascinated by it
The second time, he arguably doesn't follow "his" heart at all; he follows Roxas's.
Which yeah this is still him following his own desire to bring Roxas back, but it's interesting how he doesn't keep the focus on himself for very long if he can help it
Though it's not too hard to imagine why considering Donald and Goofy's reactions to his struggles
Acting like he isn't taking things seriously, noting that this particular struggle is becoming routine... like I said, major parallels to what a lot of neurodivergent folk go through.
In general, there's a lot of people thinking Sora should just Know Things without being given clear instructions, and then he tries to get clearer instructions on what to do and he's kinda just given a shrug.
And while Sora does eventually figure this all out, it's without any direct input from the others. It also doesn't help that they spend a lot of the game telling Sora not to follow his heart (which is telling him to help Riku save Aqua) because it would be too dangerous, while also... telling him to follow his heart. But only to accomplish what they need him to do.
Yeah it's no wonder he's still stuck wondering what "following his heart" is supposed to mean by Re:Mind, AKA after he's already defeated Xehanort
Sora is trying so hard in this game to be what people want from him and they're making that super complicated by being unclear on what exactly it is they want him to do. That's not entirely their fault since they don't actually have all the answers, especially Donald and Goofy, but it's clearly affecting Sora regardless.
(Probably unrelated/unintended but the Heartbinder is also odd to me? It's meant to make his "inherent gifts" stronger, the gift in this case being... connecting with others?? I know it's just there as a summoning mechanic but is there a reason Sora needs extra help with this, or a reason Yen Sid thinks he does? Is it because of how he lost his powers?? Does that make it a parallel to a disability aid???)
Also worth noting, though not directly a neurodivergent parallel, Sora's confusion over romantic love in this game (expanded upon in the novels) also falls into the category of "things everyone else just Understands inherently that Sora doesn't"
Quoiromantic Sora my beloved
In conclusion Sora is neurodivergent and it became a lot more apparent in KH3, where he has arguably the vaguest instructions and overall least suitable conditions for him to thrive
#kingdom hearts#kh3#kh sora#analysis#meta#Personally I'd argue he has autism or ADHD#but I also know that the traits he displays are broad enough to apply to a lot of neurodivergencies and I'm not an expert on any of these#So I just used 'neurodivergent' as a blanket term to encompass more possibilities
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Queen Alyssa Velaryon's Crown
Alyssa Velaryon was an interesting woman for sure, one of the most important women of Westeros and even in the Essosi continent.
Mother of two dynasties and a warrior till the end no matter what others say about her.
Alyssa was the granddaughter of the famous Daemon Velaryon who had helped in the Conquest and was friends with the Conquerors, Alyssa was the daughter of the powerful Aethan Velaryon with his wife Alarra Massey - who presumably had a Targaryen mother as that would explain why the Masseys chose to side with the Targaryens instead of Argilac or Harren, also Fire and Blood, AWOIAF, and Rise of the Dragon mention Alyssa having Targaryen blood-.
Alyssa Velaryon having Targaryen and Velaryon blood gave her a unique status which made her get married to Aenys, she was considered lovely and smart and we see her children having those traits as Rhaena, Jaehaerys and Alysanne (Aegon was as well and surely Viserys too but we got too little time with them) and also her willfulness got to Alysanne who due to Alyssa's mother Alarra Massey who is certainly the daughter of a Targaryen woman, had honey hair and clear blue eyes, and very probably her son Viserys and last daughter with Aenys, Vaella as well.
Her aqua blue crown represents her "blue-blooded" Valyrian blood, and the beginning of an era in which the Velaryons were the second most powerful House in the realm as they dominated the seas and the silver details the silver coins the Velaryons had, also it would be beautiful to parallel the curves of the crown with those of waves.
Alyssa was so brave, determined and focused on her and her family surviving that she helped establish her son Jaehaerys' reign and now, even if her Targaryen descendants are fighting for the crown - Daenerys and Jon too even if he doesn't know it-; she still has descendants spread around Westeros through her daughter Jocelyn Baratheon's great granddaughters Baela and Rhaena's own descendants, and probably Houses from the Reach and Marcher Houses as well.
She went from being the daughter of the Lord of the Tides to Queen Consort and Regent to Lady of Storm's End.
Alyssa Velaryon deserves more recognition for her hard work as queen, mother and person.
Alyssa herself anointed her son Aegon as the Prince of Dragonstone and championed for him to be declared king, and she was the one who always knew Aegon was way stronger than his father Aenys.
Alyssa had to make the hard decision of potentially risking the life of her son Viserys in order to save her youngest children, she rose in rebellion against Maegor even if it risked her granddaughter Aerea because this is the heritage for which her son Aegon the Prince of Dragonstone died fighting and the very same dynasty her family had helped build as both the Velaryons and Masseys (due to Alarra being the daughter of a Targaryen lady) played a pivotal role in the Conquest, the realm that her husband Aenys even if unsuccessfully tried to keep together.
Alyssa always defended her children and her goal was for them to be safe, live and have the inheritance that belonged to them, because Alyssa had Targaryen and Velaryon blood and she knew it was a coup what they were doing to her and her children.
Alyssa could not vouch for Rhaena's claim because Rhaena had been held captive and forcefully wed to Maegor, if Alyssa tried to do it, Maegor would not doubt in killing the three of them: Rhaena, Aerea and Rhaella.
Everything Alyssa did was to protect all that was left and that she at least could be sure could still be saved.
Alyssa became stronger with time, and as the Lady Consort of Storm's End she raised her son Boremund to be fair and kind (sadly Borros was overly fool) and to be loyal to his siblings, she commanded the Stormlands well enough for her to gain respect and had Alyssa survived she would have loved Jocelyn and counseled her on how to be ready to become a Royal Consort and the future Queen of Westeros; Alyssa could have also been there for the wife of Boremund (my headcanon is that Boremund married a Velaryon as well) and help raise Borros.
Alyssa's tiara as the Lady Baratheon would have been passed to the wife of Boremund and then to the future Ladies of Storm's End.
...
Had Aegon III wed his cousin Jaehaera to Rickon Stark (the son of Cregan Stark), Jaehaera could have been similar to her Ancestor Alyssa Velaryon in doing the best out of her situation as the Lady of Winterfell just like Alyssa Velaryon did as the Lady of Storm's End.
Jaehaera could have lived and her daughters Sansa and Serena being heiresses wed to their Stark half-uncles in order to keep Winterfell would be more poetic.
#house targaryen#house velaryon#alyssa velaryon#queen alyssa velaryon#the old the true the brave#valyrianscrolls#valyrianladies#jaehaera x rickon#rickon x jaehaera#jaehaera targaryen x rickon stark#rickon stark x jaehaera targaryen#jaehaera and rickon#rickon and jaehaera#alyssa velaryon lady of storm's end#jaehaera should have married rickon stark and be happy in winterfell#sansa and serena stark being jaehaera's daughters would have more impact and sense#queen alyssa
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In the spirit of positivity, what are some things you appreciate about the portrayal of female characters in KH? I like that the male protagonists are respectful of the female protagonists. They're good boys who don't talk down to them or objectify them. And while that's to be expected from a disney property, we know some other media in similar genres lack those positives. I also like that even though there are romances and potentially implied romances, there are also male-female friendships.
I like that most of them either have a big involvement in the plot and/or have a screen presence that is very memorable.
Aqua, Kairi, Namine, and Xion have the most impact out of all the female characters, where Aqua is the 3rd leading character in the entire series behind Sora and Riku in terms of gameplay, where Kairi is our 3rd lead in terms of plot, of finding her place here and there for the numbered titles (+thematically for CoM) + Melody of Memory, Namine is the broken support character at pivotal moments, and Xion has a compelling story that, some have argued, "steals the show" from Roxas (I don't agree, but that says a lot in terms of the story presence she was given in Days). Despite the intentional parallels between, well, all of them (coughwatercough), all four are VASTLY different from each other, even Kairi and Xion.
As far as I'm concerned, Larxene was always considered one of the more notable Org XIII members since CoM, by her personality alone, and despite being the only female until Xion, this ironically made her stand out even more. In CoM, her personality gave her just as much presence in the organization as Axel and Marluxia—way more than the others at Castle Oblivion, and she came across as more antagonistic than either Axel or Marluxia. This counts for KH3 in retrospect to a handful of them as well. And if she wasn't done there, now she's also linked to deeper truths of the Dandelions and being a Keyblader. She has a cemented spot in the story to play a role again.
Speaking of which, all the ones from Chi/Union Cross: Ava, Invi, Skuld, Strelitzia—Ava and Skuld being the leading ones here, they all find their importance and expression too. And all of them have a returning presence on screen pending as the plot moving forward demands it—straightforwardly we see where Strelitzia is placed, but we know Ava, Invi, and Skuld will have to come back too.
And I thought Vor and Urd were interesting as well, as short as Dark Road is, plus the other female classmates. Olette is on-par with the same importance as Hayner and Pence.
For all of them—yeah, there's a lot of different relationship types among them, and they all have vastly different roles and impacts to the story, as opposed to all playing the same thing. The only thing that could be called out for this is basically that out of 4 trios—Destiny, Wayfinder, Sea Salt, Twilight), the schematic of 1 F + 2 M didn't change at all. Could've had at least one be 2 F + 1 M, but it is what it is.
If we're just playing a number game, sure, there are more male characters than female characters. That fact has nothing to do with the quality that can be sought out for ANYONE—never minding the fact that, in comparison to how many original male characters we have, there's a very limited number of original male characters that are as interesting as the female characters imo.
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(not the same anon who sent the ask about twitter but using it as a starting point) what you said about the oshi no ko fanbase on twitter is why I don’t really like searching up akane and even less so, anything related to akane and aqua because it would basically be the same takes over and over
On a previous tag on a different post you mentioned how akane and aqua are presented and set up discouraged actually thinking too deeply about it the first time, and I really felt that. I read through the manga a few weeks back, saw everyone’s takes on (mostly) twitter and reddit and kind of just nodded along, but there was also a part of me that felt that aqua and akane’s relationship was *genuine* (but tbh I’ve sucked at analyzing this manga LOL)
I think your analyses on Akane’s and Aqua’s relationship have really explained why I had that feeling after finishing off at what at the time was chapter 115. And all of your OnK analyses have made up for the time I’ve spent looking at twitter
You're absolutely right anon. The worst part is that I'd usually avoid the Twitter search, but seeing anime-onlys react to Akane is so much fun 😭
Right?? When I binged the manga, I didn't even care. I wasn't particularly interested in Aqua as a character, so it didn't really bother me that Aka's intended engame seemed like such a forgone conclusion. But the more I look at his scenes with Akane, and the more I think that it's a shame that people are so quick to dismiss them, because they've got a whole lot of parallels and nuance and good stuff that's worth talking about.
Sometimes it's about the road and not the destination, and I very much feel like this is one of those times.
And all of your OnK analyses have made up for the time I’ve spent looking at twitter
I'm honored 😭 Thank you so much anon!
#onk asks convos#like chapter 97 and 98 for example#I feel like there's A LOT to say about those but I hardly see discussion about aqua's and akane's phone call
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Hi! Would you like to explain how my portrayal of vsynths contrasts with Heron? I personally can’t figure out what makes it so interesting, since when I make Heron interact with other vsynths I rarely have a good idea of how they’ll work in mind, and just wing it.
hihi! i'd been meaning to get to this, so sure thing! for now i'll only focus on a few main ones that came to mind (i don't have a lot of brainpower atm 😔✌️) but i hope this is alright
mild disclaimer that some of this is based off information in older posts so i am aware that those prior details contained in them may no longer be canon. also again this just how i thought of/interpreted certain things, i'm obv not the og creator (you) so ultimately feel free to take this w/ a grain of salt since this might've not been the og intention.
also this is all under this cut here b/c it ended up being rly fckin long, sorry in advance if my explanations aren't very good 😭
so lets start w/ fukase; some of his character traits in your portrayal of him do seem to line up with some popular interpretations of him: silly guy/wisecracker who makes a lot of jokes, sometimes at the expense of others. also a he's a bit overdramatic ahdksjg. despite his sorta skewed goals, though, and behind that sassy attitude, he does really seem to care about people important to him. they're both very expressive characters (well in general everyone is depicted as very expressive in your art but thats an aside) but i think the way that is conveyed makes for an interesting contrast. fukase seems to show a lot more of his personality through his speech, while heron's personality is shown more through some of his actions. that's not to say heron is completely silent, but he does seem to save his words for more important occasions (or if he just really really feels like speaking his mind); whether that's because he's still a bit shy and/or just a quiet person in general, i'm not sure, but a lot more things with him seem to be conveyed through thoughts or external third-person commentary rather than him outright saying it. its definitely the opposite of fukase, who seems way more chatty and social. visually too there's a pretty neat contrast between them: aside from the height difference that sets them apart, both have limited color palettes that combine some neutral colors (fukase's off-white, black, and brown, heron's greys, muted teal, and tans) with a brighter color to pop out (fukase's bright red, heron's aqua seen on his collar + headphones).
flower and heron's relationship has previously been described as somewhat sibling-like, and it does definitely come off that way: there might be disagreements and rivalry but there's some calm nice/silly moments and genuine care & concern. they share a lot of similarities, but one could note how their relationship parallels that of heron & makarov's - flower occasionally takes on the more cheery and bubbly role in comparison to heron sometimes being the more serious and quiet one, which is seen reversed with the brothers. in spite of quarreling over small, petty little things sometimes, heron and flower seem to make up much easier and not hold any long-lasting resentment towards each other. i ofc know the heron & makarov situation is more complicated and it would make sense for it to be more strained given all that's happened, even in spite of heron forgiving his brother. but i do also wonder if it's been difficult for flower to try and calm heron down on certain occasions, seeing how he's also prone to spirals of his own thoughts that are hard to pull him out of, in a way very similar to his own brother. something sorta ironic there maybe
piko's interesting, pretty much the wild card here. his characterization does seem to vary quite a bit: he can be very playful and cutesy but also kind of a downer, as well as an angry little guy and a bit more ominous/spooky at times. there was a noteworthy point mentioned in this post though regarding how piko sees heron: heron reminds him of his younger self and wants to spare him of the pain that comes with getting your naive dreams of fame and popularity crushed. they're both very similar to each other, from the moodiness to being drawn—sometimes together—in a lot of pieces w/ similar subject matter (both have a fair share of lighthearted doodles as well as darker ones, more so in specific comparison with other characters), and taking the previously mentioned piko thoughts on heron, makes things a little bit sadder... maybe piko's current passive-aggressive and somewhat angry attitude is a mask he's developed over the years to protect himself from getting hurt more, though you can get to his nicer side if he trusts you enough. heron sometimes seems like a slight, cruel opposite of this: being nice and trusting others a bit too easily, but then breaking down emotionally in realizing his choices and impulsive actions, which might scare some people away. i want them to be happy kajhskj but i do wonder if, in spite of how much heron might look up to him, piko really feels the same way. i'm sure he does care about him, but... feelings is complicated. also i wasn't gonna touch on too much of this since i'm aware its not canon, but there's also the whole tall piko thing and how that version of piko specifically interacts with heron. that relationship in particular seems to represent an idealization: some sort of true happiness that'll come once there's an acceptance of the self, and a real willingness to accept help and be vulnerable to allow oneself to be healed... but again that's not canon and might not ever happen so, rip
and of course... there's len. i touched upon this in that original headcanon post but i did still wanna bring it up a little here. something i thought was interesting in looking back at a lot of your art was that most times, len is depicted in group settings; he's rarely seen alone and almost always interacting with someone else in some way. and generally he seems quite concerned, even more so in his interactions w/ heron. aside from the obvious fear of getting mauled to death probably lmao, he also seems to genuinely care about heron and worries about him. i think its worth noting that len is the first person heron sees after "waking up" here, and how he's the only one actually putting a hand on heron there in second-to-last panel. but again, even if len does have good intentions it is clear heron doesn't seem to be on the best terms with him. this piece has always been particularly intriguing to me, pairing what we see happening with the title. makes me think heron's blaming len for what happened to him, that it's len's fault somehow he ended up like this. a big thing also that's part of the len getting mauled thing is... len getting dismembered and eaten. i'm not gonna say too too much b/c i'm sure nobody wants to hear my cannibalism rambling but symbolically... "you are what you eat" yk? as mentioned with piko, heron seems to look up to a lot of the well-known vsynths and wants to achieve a status like them. and ofc len's arguably one of the most popular vocaloids with lot of fame and recognition. heron's design itself is said to take some inspo from len's outfit, and in general (like i mentioned in the original hc post), just wanting to be so much like someone, wanting what they have but not getting it, that might understandably drive someone to rage, and the mauling/dismembering/eating is the violent culmination of those feelings of envy. one last bonus point in terms of visuals too: yellow is the complimentary color to blue (ok ik heron's blues lean more towards blue-grey or aqua but shhhh), the literal opposite of it on the color wheel.
overall i feel heron honestly fits right in with the memesquad; everyone's personalities sort of compliment and mesh well with each other, which creates a fun dynamic that's really sweet to see. i think its really cool how you managed to make him fit in so well and how a lot of his interactions with the others make a lot of sense and are interesting to see, in happy moments as well as more serious/sad ones. sometimes i do really forget he's not a vsynth [yet?] so its surreal. ur doing a really good job tho, keep heronposting we love to see it
#ask#sorry this took so long to answer shkjghskjg 😭😭 a lot has been going on lately#i realize now this is more character relationships/comparisons and stuff rather than contrasts necessarily... oops.#i apologize in general if this makes like no fuckin sense 😭😭😭 my lit analysis shit always sounds better in my head than irl#there's more i could've put here but i was already struggling on how to phrase certain things properly so we'll leave it here for now#tho tbh: fucking around and not really knowing what youre doing will honestly lead you to some of the greatest shit youve made#<- thats a really weird fucking art/writing tip that ive learned over the years and it still fucks me up everytime but fr sometimes.#some of the best shit ppl have come up w/ was born purely out of messing around and improvising so. winging it is a solid development tip
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chapter 141 thoughts!
The usual reminder: because of the content of this arc, I will unavoidably have to discuss CSA and topics related to it in this & future chapter reviews. I do not discuss them in great detail, but if you very understandably just aren't in the headspace for that, no hard feelings - look after yourself and I'll see you next time.
This chapter starts us off on the note of answering something I've been wondering for a while and confirming that Ai did, in fact, know that Hikaru was being abused by Airi. On the one hand, this feels like it should go without saying, since it answers the question of where Aqua would have gotten some of this info, but it feels strange to have this dropped on us in such a matter of fact way.
In general, I continue to be both baffled and impressed by Oshi no Ko's dedication to never showing characters learning or reacting to huge, status-quo altering pieces of information on screen lol. I think this is more a case of the movie's framing than the manga's - hard cutting from the HKAI exchange at the end of last chapter to the Ai & Airi confrontation is very cinematically appropriate - but it does bother me regardless. In isolation, I think it's fine and we get more than enough information about Ai's thoughts and feelings on the situation in the confrontation but it's nevertheless part of a pattern that's been going on for a long while now of important reveals and reactions to really huge pieces of information are happening entirely offscreen and are only told to the viewer in retrospect, or are backfilled into the story once Akasaka wants to make use of it. It's not a world-ending flaw or anything but I'm noticing it more and more and I think it's been harming the series more than it's helping.
That said, I do really like this confrontation Ai has with Airi. It definitely feels more like Ai speaking for Aqua than it does Ai herself speaking - the cold, straightforward way she addresses Airi pretty clearly mirrors the way Aqua spoke to the director on Akane's behalf back in LoveNow. Whether this is a case of Aqua using Ai as a mouthpiece or their similarities as mother and son coming out in a moment like this, I think it's interesting either way. Given what we learned about Ai's own abuse and her own history with narrowly avoided CSA, it makes total sense that upon learning someone she cares about was being similarly exploited by an adult that she would have some very strong feelings about it.
Airi's meltdown in response is also something I have mixed feelings on. As a piece of characterization in isolation, it's fascinating and I think it provides some important insight into how and why Airi was able to rationalize and justify her abuse of Hikaru to herself, even though she clearly knows it was objectively wrong. I honestly can't help but see parallels in the way she centers her own feelings and pain and uses that as justification for her actions with Ayumi, Ai's mother, who had a more subdued but emotionally similar breakdown when talking about her history with her daughter.
Ultimately, I do feel it adds more than it takes away - I would much rather see the story continue to humanize characters who could otherwise have just been left as uncomplicatedly black and white Evil People Doing Bad Things. People very rarely begin acting in cruel, exploitative or antisocial ways out of nowhere and I think the manga's story is better for highlighting that this is the case.
H O W E V E R. . . where my feelings become more negative is the talk that follows, but I have like a million things to say about that so I'll put a pin in it for now to not derail too badly.
Given how Airi responds here, I'm also suddenly very curious as to if this direct confrontation was what put an end to her abuse of Hikaru. It's hard for me to imagine her going back to it after being so directly called out and if that's the case, I can't help but wonder if this was the trigger for the HKAI romance. I already talked last chapter that there's some imagery already implying Hikaru views Ai as his light, which OnK thematically associates with the role of a savior in someone's life. If Ai really did manage to intervene and protect Hikaru from Airi's abuse, then that would have intensified those feelings one hundredfold.
holy shit akane AND miyako are back! wow, isn't it totally crazy that across the arcs where they could have contributed to and potentially resolved the conflicts at play they were just totally absent but now they're just reappearing without comment or reaction to any of that other shit!
As I mentioned before, I have really mixed feelings on this scene with Miyako and the others. In isolation, I do like it and I think it kind of brings into explicit text something that had been just floating around as vibes before, which is how absolutely symbiotic with misogyny and sexual exploitation the entertainment industry is. The way misogyny played into Ai's exploration was always a really fascinating part of her arc to me, but given that Akasaka at least publicly presents as a person without that sort of lived experience, I was curious as to how much was intentional and how much was accidental, just because of how surprising it was to see a man centering this sort of thing so thoroughly in his writing. This scene with Miyako makes it clear that it's something Akasaka absolutely wants to highlight and discuss in Oshi no Ko, to the point of him being willing to call out even likable and sympathetic characters like Taiki for casually taking part in and perpetuating it.
THAT SAID… I really don't like that this scene, accidentally or otherwise, ends up centering and discussing Airi's victimhood over Hikaru's. His story has always been an indictment of the way children, specifically, are at risk in the entertainment industry not just in terms of being exploited as workers, but in the ways that adults in power can and will use their positions of authority to do exactly what Airi has done. That is what needed to be discussed here; the way that Hikaru's abuse is in no way an isolated incident and how people like Airi will continue to get away with hurting children so long as the industry - and society at large - treats children like second-class citizens at best and commodities at worst. I do think this scene is trying to use Airi and Miyako's experiences as a jumping off point to talk about exploitation in general and the way a person's ability to say 'no' can be compromised by outside pressures but it talks so much and so exclusively about the experiences of young girls and adult women specifically that it's hard not to read it as the story placing more value - at least for now - in exploring Airi's perspective over Hikaru's and that just feels kind of grody to me.
The timeline of this chapter is also just… really weird? Given Frill's, uh, appearance at the end of the chapter I have to assume it's taking place right after she films her scene with Aqua last chapter but that makes no sense given where the Ai and Airi confrontation is placed…? My best guess is that the scene we get at the start is some kind of visualization of the script by the characters who are reading it but it's all still very needlessly confusing lol
frill just barging in with her tits out when she knew rbkn were waiting for her was so fucking funny though i gotta admit. weird ass lizard woman.
Her mentioning it was her own decision to do the scene like that is also shrimptresting because it seems to implicitly confirm that there is, thank god, SOME kind of intimacy coordinator on set that the cast are talking about these scenes with. I actually also think the level of trust and comfort between Aqua and Frill this implies is also really interesting…? In general, I've always really like the idea of AQFR friendship, so this is kind of making me daydream a bit about seeing more of one…
As for the ending… man, it's such transparent reaction bait that I can't really summon the energy to get annoyed LOL. At least we won't have to wait a whole extra week to see what it amounts to.
Weary as I am with the reaction bait cliffhangers, I am at least glad to see the story coming around to finally addressing the elephant in the room here. As the chapter end text points out in the Japanese versions of this chapter, a scene like this was an inevitability of playing Ai and Hikaru and it's been where I've expected to see the underlying tension that's been floating around AQRB's relationship since the past life reveal finally get drawn out and addressed. Given its placement in the story (ch 142 is only the second chapter of its corresponding volume) and the framing of that last page as more of a gag/punchline than a serious dramatic beat, I don't things are quite going to play out like Ruby seems to want, but I'm nevertheless curious as to wtf is even going to happen
Honestly, at this point, I kind of just want Akasaka to shit or get off the pot. If he's going to bring a topic like incest to the table, then I want him to actually have something to say about it that isn't just Ruby going 'kyaa oniichan' and acting like a fanservice imouto character from a harem anime. If we're going to have something like 'Ruby falls in love with her brother' actually happen in story, then I want to see how she feels about this, how she rationalizes it, how she expects this to play out when she and Aqua live in a society that by and large condemns incest and treats it as taboo. At the very least, give me something to dig into and examine and chew on that wouldn't have already felt dated during the mid 2010s little sister boom.
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Oh, no, actually the appearance was what seemed strange to me, but your explanation makes sense. As you say, the parallels speak for themselves, but if you want to add something else I will be happy to read your explanation. Thanks for the reply!
No problem! I guess I could explain why Roxas gets feelings that he’s been places (aside from potential Ventus body memory) where Sora has been is that pieces of Sora’s heart are sleeping inside Roxas. Data Riku was chosen to house Sora’s memories of his first adventure inside while Roxas held onto Xion’s memories. The heart and memory are deeply connected. Roxas even has a similar reaction to Riku talking to Sora within him as Sora when Vanitas speaks to Ventus within him and then there’s Sora when Roxas speaks to Xion from within him.
Sora also is effected by Ventus wanting to help Aqua and Roxas feeling at home in Twilight Town in KH3. Kairi can feel things that Namine feels from within her that don’t apply to her and seems to have body memory from Xion in the KH2 novel. She states it feels like Axel has helped her a bunch of times and Namine hadn’t joined her yet nor does it accurately describe that relationship which is more like depression sitting together.
(My thoughts from this are difficult because how can a Replica return body memory to someone if they aren’t their Nobody by association? There was no hint of this from Replica Riku who at least had Riku’s BODY.
Kairi->Sora->Xion
Ventus->Riku->Roxas)
Roxas says to Axel that he doesn’t have any of HIS memories even though he’s been experiencing weird sensations due to Sora’s heart. But then experiences his worst case of flight from Riku’s memory hitting him because it feels too real.
Another fun fact is Riku feels “welcome” in Twilight Town in the COM novel and the fact that it even shows up on his side of COM is VERY suspicious.
So yeah…just some memory and heart stuff I find interesting!
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KH: The Foreteller’s Animal Masks
This is half fun facts / half theory but basically it’s a list of which Sins/Foretellers are associated with which animals AND where the inspirations for the animal associations came from, since there’s actually a few different sources!
The first would be the Ancrene Wisse, which was a sort of field guidebook for Anchoresses (Female Abbesses/Monks/Nuns basically) containing rules of conduct and behavior
https://www.hermitary.com/articles/ancrene.html
This goes into many things that honestly have cool thematic ties with symbolism for stuff in Kingdom Hearts, which I could honestly make a whole post in it’s own for tbh, but for here were focusing on one passage:
“The wilderness is the solitary life of the anchoress's dwelling, for just as in the wilderness there are all the wild beasts, and they will not endure men coming near but flee when they hear them, so should anchorites, above all other women, be wild in this way, and then they will be desirable, above other women, to Our Lord.
In this wilderness are many evil beasts: the lion of pride, the snake of poisonous envy, the unicorn of anger, the bear of dead sloth, the fox of covetousness, the sow of gluttony, the scorpion with the tail of stinging lechery, that is, lust.”
So, we start out with a nice base for some of the Sin/Foretellers:
Ira - Wrath - Unicorn - Unicornis
Avaritia - Greed - Fox - Vulpes
Acedia - Sloth - Bear - Ursus
Invidia - Envy - Snake - Anguis
but then wait, here Gula/Gluttony is a Sow, a Pig, but in KH it’s a Leopard
As well as recently in KH, they’ve made it clear that Luxu/Luxuria is a Goat, not a Scorpion (As cool as a Scorpion would have been for Luxu’s emblem, but a bit too on the nose I suppose haha)
Well, interestingly enough, did you know that back when the 7 deadly sins was actually more like the 8 Evil Things once? And that they were also grouped into a Trio of their own?
(Despair as Tristitia being the 8th one, because it’s essentially the sin of falling to sorrow/sadness or giving up, of blinding yourself to other’s troubles and causing sorrow in return or being too sorrowful to act, later it was folded into Sloth as a lack of diligence)
But the 3 Major sin groupings was essentially the three Reasons that people would sin the deadly sins
Incontinence: Doing wrong because they couldn't help it. Or sinning from a lack of moderation or self-control.
Violence: Doing wrong because of anger, revenge or retaliation. Or sinning from by trying to force your will externally
Fraud/Corruption: Doing wrong on purpose in order to hurt other's. Or sinning from betrayal, lies and manipulation.
These three things form a sort of Unholy Trinity in opposition with the Divine trinity of Father-Son-Holy Spirit
And, very famously, Dante’s Inferno links these three groupings to three creatures from a famous bible verse describing the destruction of humanity via it's own nature:
Jeremiah 5:6 - “Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, and a wolf from the desert shall destroy them. A leopard is watching against their cities, every one who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great.”
A Lion, A Leopard and A Wolf.
Now based on Dante’s actual writing which grouping with which animal and which sins is often debated, but usually it’s roughly as follows:
Leopard of Incontinence: Gluttony, Greed, Luxuria (from Immoderation, Extravagance, Wastefulness)
Lion of Violence: Wrath, Pride (from Murder, Suicide, Squandering, Blasphemy)
Wolf of Fraud/Corruption: Envy, Sloth, Sorrow/Despair (Tristitia) (from Corruption, Thievery, Falsifier, Betrayal) (yeah... old timey people did indeed view what was essentially depression as a “willful” sin aka something people did on purpose to hurt themselves, like they drown in their sorrows willingly because of a refusal to heal themselves or as a willing corruption of their soul, nowadays if it existed would definitely be thought of a Leopard sin I’d think)
So here it’s very easy to see where Leopardos and Gula get tied together, because in KH the sin of Gluttony is lifted above the other’s in the group, which makes sense because being gluttonous for money is greed, being gluttonous for luxuries was Luxuria (or sex for lust)
And here also, the Sin of Pride/Superbia is again associated with the Lion as it is in the Ancrene Wisse (though it’s also associated with Wrath strongly as well, so no wonder MoM chose Ira to be the next leader after he was gone)
So in all likelihood, this means that the symbol of the Master of Masters is most likely a Lion of Pride, Superbia (and if he had his own union, it might be something like Leo or Panthera)
But honestly the biggest thing that definitely makes MoM the Lion of Pride is the passage in the Ancrene Wisse that elaborates upon the Lion of Pride, describing it as having “many cubs”:
“But the author continues the animal analogies, enumerating a classification of the sins. "The lion of pride has very many cubs," he states, and enumerates them: vainglory, indignation, hypocrisy, presumption, disobedience, loquacity, blasphemy, impatience, contumacy, contention, "airs and graces." “
Reminds me of both MoM’s many apprentices or Master Xehanort’s collection in the organization
Though the REAL reason is also because did you know when KH was still being thought of and designed, Nomura actually wanted to make Sora a Half-Lion Chainsaw Wielder and we all know Sora is secretly the MoM right lol
But anyway, that explains Gula being a Leopard
So then where did all this talk of Luxu being a Goat come from?
Well one reason could be that later on as the deadly sins got solidified as just the seven of them, and as their meanings changed from umbrella terms to more specific sins, their animal interpretations also started to differ:
Avarice/Greed = Toad/Frog
Invidia/Envy = Snake
Ira/Wrath = Lion
Acedia/Sloth = Snail
Gula/Gluttony = Pig
Luxuria/Lust = Goat
Superbia/Pride = Peacock
Also Ira with a Lion mask would be cool but can you imagine a Snail Aced or a Froggy Ava? lol
But it IS Cool to think that these “Modernized” animals could then become the emblems of the Union Leaders that inherited Ava’s legacy, since they are the newer versions of those Unions, obviously there’s no one to Inherit MoM’s legacy
But you could easily think of Ventus as the “Traitor” aka the scapeGoated 6th for the new group, leaving Frogs, Snakes, Lions, Snails and Pigs for the other five
(I wonder who I’d put with who... Ephemer, Skuld, Lauriam, Strelitzia and Brain... the only sin associated with Death would be Wrath (As Suicide) and the “Ira” position appears to be the one who inherits the leader, and it’s theorized Strelitzia was the circled name supposed to get the Book of Prophecies
So Strelitzia = Lion/Wrath
Ephemer and Ava always seemed to be the closest and he was the one who seemed to inherit her Legacy the most so he can get Frogs/Greed
Brain is similar to Gula in how they calmly investigate issues and try to uncover the truth and got extra information than the others, so Pigs/Gluttony for him
Lauriam was the poster boy for temptation into darkness, which is what Darkness was intended when his sister Strelitzia was killed, for him to be the first to fall to rage and grief, nice Aced parallel as the one everyone suspected of falling to darkness first so he gets Snails/Sloth, fitting for the flower elemental lol
and that leave Skuld and Invi which also makes sense as the parallel for the person who tries to intervene in conflicts and mediate for the group, so Skuld gets Snake/Envy
Neat!
But anyway back to Luxu, I think Luxu is represented by the Goat not just because of the above modern listings, but also because of the special place of evil that Christian religions tend to place on Goat itself
If the Lamb is the most common symbol of Jesus Christ, the Goat has always been a symbol of the Evil of Lucifer. Sheep and Goats, despite being so similar, have always been seen as this symbolic duo. Sheep and Lambs being submissive, complacent, docile, while Goats are crazy, willful, destructive and etc likely because since they are so close in nature, they are basically seen as the Good and Evil version of the same animal, a Goat is essentially a heretical false Lamb
They are very commonly associated with the Devil/Lucifer himself and goats have always gotten the short end of stick, all the way back to the old tradition of using goats as well, scape-goats literally. The practice of singling out a particular creature or person and placing all the sin and blame onto it, and then driving it away
Luxu is singled out from the group, likely given the role of “Traitor” amongst the six of them and then is forced into essentially exile to the future by MoM where he can do nothing but watch and wait, never able to interfere or meddle with anything
And this reasoning of the Goat fits Luxu above all others.
So there we have it, finally at the end:
Ira/Wrath - Unicorn/Unicornis
Avaritia/Greed - Fox/Vulpes
Acedia/Sloth - Bear/Ursus
Invidia/Envy - Snake/Anguis
Gula/Gluttony - Leopard/Leopardus
and if Luxu and MoM had union names, (which seem to be just be taken from the genus of the animal directly) they’d likely be:
Luxuria/Lust - Goat/Caprini
Superbia/Pride - Lion/Panthera
But I think the Most Interesting Thing to glean from all of this, is going back to the 3 Groupings for the 8 evil things, can you imagine if KH ever decides to give MoM a little backstory, and a figure based on the Wolf of Fraud/Corruption, emblem of Despair came into the picture somewhere?
Something that might look a little like this?
Hey that’s interesting, isn’t this the special secret boss Dark Hide from Aqua’s Fragmentary Passage? Y’know, that journey all about Aqua falling into the pits of Despair where she then ends up fighting The First Real Pureblood Heartless she ever faces in the Realm of Darkness? Something that Aqua felt was Willfully and Intentionally Stalking her through the depths, instead of mindlessly attacking her?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQGONhqs0mU
Isn’t that interesting how all of things, they give this boss the opportunity for the player to see through it’s eyes, something very unique, and how it initially appears as a formless Darkness
And isn’t Darkness itself, given a will and a personality, now a figure in KHUX Dark Road, that has specific ties to the MoM, as Luxu describes as being a fellow student and/or old friend of MoM?
Could the Will of Despair manifested from darkness come to be a secret 8th apprentice of MoM?
Who knows, but it’s interesting how that symbolism lines up isn’t it?
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The History of the Swimsuit By Constance Cherise
In 1907, Australian born competitive swimmer, women's advocate and world record breaker Annette Kellerman was arrested for indecent exposure on Revere Beach in Massachusetts. She wore a fitted bathing suit that exposed her arms, legs and neck. And although she was jailed, her audacious stance would prove to be a pivotal point in the evolution of freeing the female form. However, in order to understand why Kellerman's conduct was so scandalous, we have to review the past.
Hygiene in the 19th century was questionable to say the least and beach-going was not a typical activity. Known as “bathing costumes,” swimwear of the late 1800s were cumbersome, unflattering and uncomfortable. Victorian fashion, stocked with bustles, corsets and multiple layers of clothing, were phasing out as a result of increased intrigue to the newest social sporting activity, bicycling. In order to participate, women’s voluminous garments had to be stripped down to manageable practicality. Women, who now had the same access to this new freedom of transportation as men, wore bloomers, taking part in the sport and experiencing autonomy, which fed the blossoming suffragette movement.
Bathing costumes consisted of oversize dark-colored tops made of wool or flannel, bloomers or short pants, and stockings. Weights were sewn into the hemlines of the costume tops, to prevent floating once submerged. Bathing boots were generally worn as means of further concealment; however, they were also used pragmatically as protection against foreign debris underfoot.
The beginning of the 20th century ushered in the wasp-waist, pigeon-breasted “S” shape silhouette of the Edwardian era. As concern with hygienic health grew, the privileged class (compelled by the modern theory of saltwater’s healing capabilities) began to gravitate to the seaside. Naturally beach-going would work itself into the mainstream. The use of bathing machines became prevalent. Women would change into their bathing costumes inside of a horse-drawn (or at times manpower was used) wooden room that would transport them to the water, where a woman could then discretely bathe.
For the free-spirited revolutionist, Kellerman stitched hosiery onto her controversial one-piece bathing suit in order to arrive at a resolution with the court. This resulted in a number of women exchanging their ill-fitting costumes for increasingly comfortable bathing suits. Kellerman's story was depicted in the splashy MGM aqua-musical film, MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID (‘52) starring swimming mega-star, Esther Williams.
Before Kellerman's career was over, she starred on vaudeville, became an author and silent movie star, appearing in over eight films, and is credited as having the first nude scene in a feature-length film as seen in A DAUGHTER OF THE GODS ('16). Although she was the catalyst for measurable advancement, ironically, Kellerman was not an avid fan of the bikini. In a 1953 Boston Globe interview, she stated, “The Bikini bathing suit is a mistake. Only two women in a million can wear it. And it’s a very big mistake to try." As a parallel to the free-flowing jazz age of the 1920s and the flapper fashion of the era, more flesh was revealed as legs were shown to approximately the mid-thigh in the newer style bathing suits. Necklines lowered and arm holes became larger. Still, beachgoers had to contend with the “swimwear police” who measured skirt lengths in the interest of modesty.
The 1930s experienced The Great Depression. In an effort to offer a respite of escapism, Hollywood churned out opulent fantasy films, in which the clinging satin feminine line returned. The two main styles of swimsuits were the Dressmaker, a less fitted top with an A-line skirt, famously worn by Grace Kelly in HIGH SOCIETY (‘56), and the Maillot where the top half was a fitted swimsuit and the bottom half was basically boy shorts, as seen on Claudette Colbert in BLUEBEARD’S EIGHTH WIFE (‘38).
With the 1940s came WWII, The Good Neighbor policy, bolder prints and the birth of the pinup. It brought sweetheart necklines and ruched fabrics that were also reflective in swimwear. The two-piece bathing suit which showed the midriff (bottoms of which always covered the belly button) made its debut in the 1930s but came into prominence in the 1940s. The Andy Hardy series, with its bevy of young starlets, were ideal examples of ‘40s swimwear. Likely, the most famous bathing suit of the decade was undoubtedly Betty Grable’s iconic one-piece pin-up swimsuit. In 1946, French engineer Louis Réard would introduce the bikini. Wracked with scandal, Réard hired Micheline Bernardini, a burlesque performer and the only woman who would agree to model the shocking swimsuit in public.
The early 50s would see a variety of swimsuit styles including the Empire waist, princess and baby-doll swimsuits. The female curve was back with a vengeance as the ideal body style was that of the hourglass-shaped bombshell, reflected in fashion and prominently on screen with a series of the implausibly spectacular bacchanalia of Berkeley's aqua-musicals (in Technicolor no less), starring Esther Williams. The bikini continued to gain popularity through the 1960s (how could it not)? In America, production companies took full advantage of the pop song “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie” by Brian Hyland, which upon its release in 1960 catapulted the sale of the bathing suit. In response, studios pumped out an onslaught of California teen beach party films. Annette Funicello, became the epitome of the 60s bikini teen idol, starring alongside Frankie Avalon in such films as BEACH BLANKET BINGO (‘65), BEACH PARTY (‘63) and BIKINI BEACH (‘64).
Beginning with Bohemia and ending with disco, the ‘70s saw an array of fashion styles, and the bathing suit was no exception. The Pill came into prominence and along with it, the new wave of soul surrendering euphoric dance music: disco. An authentic representation of ‘70s swimwear appeared in the film JAWS (‘75), as well as a myriad of television shows, including Fantasy Island, starring the sensual and suave classic film actor Ricardo Montalbán. Halters, tie fronts, keyhole cut-outs, backless, and of course Farah Fawcett's deep v-cut one-piece swimwear style of the 1970s seemed endless. Bright, brighter and the brightest colors dominated the excessive “Me Generation” of the 1980s aesthetic. A mashup of style, it wouldn't take too much effort for a keen eye to trace each of the prior decade’s influences. Thongs, which were introduced by Brazil during the ‘70s, and high cut, V-hips monopolized the decade, especially reflective in the music videos of the new, iconic cable television station MTV.
During the ‘90s, the high-cut waist and bikinis of the ‘80s remained, and glamorous designer swimsuits graced the runway. Tankinis came back into fashion as a nod to the ‘40s. Still, the red one-piece bathing suit, popularized by Pamela Anderson of the ‘90s television show Baywatch captured the decade. The 2000s (and beyond) brought mix-and-match suits and offered multiple choices of varying options including the Burkini. The rise of positive body image injected a necessary confidence boost to women who did not fit the stereotypical, force-fed, beauty standard.
#Swimsuits#bathing suits#bikini#fashion#history#mermaid#TCM#Turner Classic Movies#style#Constance Cherise#beach
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About the new Dark Road characters
Before we get into each individual character, here is some random thoughts
Disappointed that Yen Sid didn’t make it, but part of me admits that that had a low chance of happening due to him being a Disney character and all.
Part of me is also sad that they added more characters into the mix, because we lose the whole Eraqus and Xehanort growing as the only apprentices (with maybe Yen Sid added in) dynamic. At the same time, the idea that these two spent so much time with each other that no one wanted to be in their general vicinity while they were in a chess match and generally only cared about each other to the point that Xehanort only talks about Eraqus in his reports, is a hilarious idea that really adds fuel to the shipping fire for fans. Fun.
There is six apprentices in total, just like in UX (Unions plus Luxu). If we add whatever master they have in, its seven. Just like the guardians. Since Eraqus (And maybe the new characters) are part of the “blueblood” line of Keyblade Wielders, this makes a lot of sense, since Keyblade Wielders are defenders of the light and all.
This also adds credibility of why Xehanort was allowed to go on a world tour but Eraqus wasn’t- It’s hard to keep track of so many children, plus while Eraqus wasn’t allowed to go at the moment, their master could simply tell Eraqus to go with someone else in a later date
I swear, if MoM is their master (extremely doubtful, please don’t do this)
Or maybe even Luxu, since we saw No Name hanging in the wall in kh3
I severely expect everyone to give up their keyblade and go into hiding or die.
If everyone else minus Xehanort is part of a Keyblade lineage minus him, it would add a lot of depth to how he acted the way he did. Just like I brought up in some previous posts, it makes sense that an outsider would break so many rules or use questionable methods/use said methods to try to stand out. If he is the only one out, this makes it worse than if it was just Eraqus, Yen Sid and him.
To add to my previous bullet point, he is standing on a throne, just like Sora in promotional material. He is the only one sitting and the center of the shot. Just like Sora, Xehanort obtained his Keyblade (If my memory is correct, its been a year since I touched kh after all) due to outside influence, just like Sora did. This would be an excellent time for Sora parallels, Nomura
Ok, now I’ll get to the actual new characters
My first reaction (Posted in my discord) was “Urd reminds me of Aqua. Please do not make her a love interest”
She looks like she is making an OwO face
She does remind of Aqua, but a little bit more mischievous.
I’ve seen people say Bragi could be Luxu but honestly I also have suspicions Urd is up to something. Merely because she has silver hair and yellow eyes.
I always think silver haired people are more important that they turn out to be due to Riku having silver hair. We also don’t know Riku’s parents, unlike Sora and Kairi. We know Sora has a mom and a dad with a boat, and we know who adopted Kairi. But Riku? nothing. I’m curious exactly who introduced the silver hair gene in destiny islands. Is it a common trait? Xehanort has it. Riku has it. I need to see the family trees, please Nomura. How tf do they get their hair color im dying please-
She stands between Eraqus and Xehanort but behind them. Im sure this will be important later on. Until then though, i cannot say much.
She does have the Recusant’s sigil though, which once again reminds me of the fact that Keyblade Wielders have inbuilt trackers in their clothes. Im sure thats very useful for when they get lost in a random world.
My first reaction to Vor: She looks innocent but she would totally stab me in the back in an alleyway if given the opportunity.
Look at her. She looks like a tiny evil gremlin.
As a short people I can attest that short people will not hesitate to set your house on fire in Minecraft if given the chance. The world is too tall for us so we shall burn it until it is at eye level
Look im approximately 5ft tall, im short
I like her color scheme, very eye pleasing
People have pointed out her name is one letter away from Vore. Thanks guys, I so did not need that
People theorize this is Kairi’s grandma. I can see why, but I shall remain neutral on the subject
Probably the youngest
kinda reminds me of Ava
She is in the front, along with our main duo, maybe this will mean something
Will probably be a mix between Aqua and Ventus in term of gameplay. Speedy or magic main.
My first reaction to Bragi was: he looks so smug. He gives me a bastard vibe but that has to be seen. Or he is a troll.
People theorize he is Luxu because his name can be rearranged to Braig. Considering Nomura’s love for anagrams, it makes sense.
I wanna punch him in the face, he looks like he knows more than me
Reminds me of Axel. Hahahaha the idea of Axel and him having a connexion of some kind would be. Hilarious. Honestly the idea of anyone in this group having a relation to anyone in the present era would be hilarious because Xehanort grew up with these people so it would be like “Oh shit my coworkers had kids?!?!”
Could they be old enough to have kids? I mean, bbs Xehanort was like, 80 years old so it could be a possibility.
Fire user. I take no criticism.
Or he is a status user. He would spam like, 50 status spells and just kick your ass without having to move. Look, someone in these series has to see the potential of status spells, I can’t be the only one
Imagine that instead of him being luxu, its the master. I would laugh so much at y’all’s reactions.
My first reaction to Hermod: he looks like the oldest and older brother vibes but that might be because he’s tall.
He gives me vibes of trying to be responsible like Aqua but rolls his eyes fondly at everyone else’s shenanigans.
Has a sense of humor
In terms of placement, he stands more or less on the center, which might reflect on his personality. Peacekeeper? Probably tries to be neutral.
Tries to keep Bragi in line.
Tries not to pick favorites.
The idea of him trying to talk to Vor is hilarious. What is he gonna do, stand in his knees? He is just too tall.
Maybe Xehanort is taller than him, and thats the only thing I shall accept
Senior apprentice
In terms of gameplay, he might be like Terra, a heavy hitter.
Gives good hugs
TLDR; at some point I went from analysis to simply listing off random thought, just as all my posts turn out at some point. We do not know enough about them. The fact that the last kh themed new character we had was Strelizia is insane. New blood! I’m excited for yet another mobile game I can lord over my siblings because I know the timeline and they don’t. Posible candidate for the Disney Plus series? doubtful but still a strong possibility. It is 9:08 PM and I have not beta read this.
#dark road#subject: dark road#urd#subject: young xehanort#Eraqus#Hermod#Vor#Bragi#young xehanort#kh#kingdom hearts
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Essay Part 2: The Deepest Relationship
Now that I have explained how Riku is a strong character with is OWN development and his OWN personanity, I can talk about his relationship with Sora. Sora is also a developed character, even if his evolution is less spectacular than Riku's. I'm not here to talk about Sora so I'll probably give you links to wonderful analysis I've read.
If I mention that, it's because I want to point at something which is very important in terms of writing. To write a relationship between two characters (or more, but here it's two), the two characters involved must be developed. That's important to understand the dynamics between them, why they like each other, why their relationship exists and why it works. And this rule applies to all kinds of relationships.
Indeed, those conditions are filled with Sora and Riku's relationship.
Actually, the producer himself admits that their relationship is the very heart of the series:
"The fact is that the main focus of the series is Sora and Riku; how their friendship develops, but also how they grow up."
Now, let's see how their relationship works. Because it works. Whether you see it as friendly or romantic doesn't matter, it works the same.
The two of them were childhood friends. It is told in BBS and KH: they used to spend all their time together, inventing stories and dreaming about adventures. They kind of promised to protect each other at the really early age of 4 and 5.
Aqua: Sora, do you like Riku?
Sora: Of course I like him, he's my best friend!
Aqua: Good. So then, if something happens, and Riku is about to get lost--or say, he starts wandering down a dark path alone--you make sure to stay with him and keep him safe. That's your job, Sora, and I'm counting on you to do it, okay?
*Sora nods*
As they grew up, a distance has settled between them. I have already talked about what caused that distance. KH is not the best moment of their friendship but, believe it or not, it is essential to its development. Both guilt and love pushed Riku to seek to make amends with Sora, to protect him:
Sora, on his side, wasn't resentful against Riku at all -all he wanted was to find his friend back and make things the way they were before.
But it soon became clear to them that such a thing was impossible. Too many things had changed due to Riku's actions and the hardships they had to face. They had to stick the pieces back, and tried their best to do so. Sora tried to find back Riku during CoM and KH2.
Sora (beginning of KH2): Well, I'm gonna go look for Riku. Then he and I can go back to the islands together.
Riku tried to help Sora recover his memories and he watched his friend during his sleep.
And it didn't mattered to them that one year has passed, their goal never changed. When Sora woke up, Riku kept on protecting him, Sora kept on searching for him. Both of them wanted to recover something that mattered to them - that is to say, their best friend. Is it forced? No. It follow the events of KH. It is the consequence of what happened before.
When they finally find each other during the events of KH2, the feelings expressed by Sora (happiness, relief) and by Riku (shame, doubt) underline how much they care about each other.
Sora: Why didn't you let me know you were okay?
That's not like Sora's and Kairi's reunions, where all we can see is a promise - something that Sora and Riku also share - and mere relief, joy. I don't say Sora is not happy to be reunited with Kairi and vice-versa. It's just that when they do, the poor development Kairi is given prevents these scenes from being as powerful as Sora's and Riku's reunion(s).
Indeed, when they found each other in KH2, after a rough fight with Xemnas, what is the first thing that happens between them?
A heart-to-heart conversation.
That is sweet, and illustrates that, yes, they share a special bond. But what I like the most with this scene in the Dark Margin, is that it's the undeniable proof of what I've said before.
Those boys are trying to line the scattered pieces of their frienship up - and the way they do it is simple, touching. They are just being honest with each other while talking about their past feelings for each other - and also the one they experience in the present moment:
Riku: What I said back there...about thinking I was better at stuff than you... To tell you the truth, Sora... I was jealous of you.
Sora: What for?
Riku: I wished I could live life the way you do. Just following my heart.
Sora: Yeah, well, I've got my share of problems, too.
Riku: Like what?
Sora: Like...wanting to be like you.
Riku: Well, there is one advantage to being me... Something you could never imitate.
Sora: Really? What's that?
Riku: Having you for a friend.
Sora: Then I guess...I'm okay the way I am. I've got something you could never imitate too.
That is so sincere that I don't get why people keep on saying that their relation is forced.
Their story, however, is not over yet. Dream Drop Distance is the the highlight for the writing of their common story. I have already written a post about their bonds in KH3D, so I'll resume what I said, and add new elements. DDD is pretty smart because it depicts the link between Sora and Riku even though they're separated during almost the whole game.
At the beginning of the game, Riku and Sora are at Master Yen Sid's Tower, and he says that they have to pass the Mark of Mastery Exam. It is really important to Riku, but for Sora, it is quite useless. Still, Sora decides to pass the exam with Riku in order to motivate and support him.
Sora: But that's a formality, right? I already proved myself. Me and the king, and Riku--we can take on anything. Right, Riku?
Riku: I don't know. I think that in my heart, darkness still has a hold. Walking that path changed me. I'm not sure if I'm ready to wield a Keyblade. Maybe I do need to be tested.
Sora: Riku... Then count me in. Put me through the test! Just watch--me and Riku will pass with flying colors!
This element shows that the two of them trust each other. Which is the proof that their conversation on that dark beach has definitely recovered their bonds - their trust in each other, the fact that they can rely on each other no matter what.
That is an evolution, not just a "return to the way it was before". Because the dynamic between them has changed. Sora is the one Riku rely on. Sora is the one "in advance". Sora is the one confident and cool. (at least in Riku's eyes). But Riku is not jealous anymore. That's different.
The game has also a lot of interesting scenes. In Traverse Town, for instance, we """learn""" (in case it wasn't clear until that moment...) that Sora is Riku's most important person.
Beat: I just...wanna protect the one person who matters.
Riku: I know the feeling.
On Sora's side, by his own words, they are always together, even when they are separated:
Sora: Don't worry. He's with me--even when it might seem like he's not.
In La Cité des Cloches, the Quasimodo/Riku parallel shows that Riku his still holding back stuff inside of him.
Quasimodo: Master Frollo--he made me live inside the bell tower, but the real walls were the ones I built around my heart. You helped me see that, Riku.
Riku: I was...speaking from...personal experience.
Given the context, it is clear that it is a reference to Riku's feelings for Sora, especially if we take a look at Quasimodo's feelings for Esmeralda, and Esmeralda's and Phœbus words.
In Monstro, Riku says that Sora is his conscience, and even talks about "his stupid grin", what's.. extremely tender?!
Jiminy: You must have somebody--a friend you can talk to?
Riku: Yeah...actually, I do. That stupid grin he's always wearing--he's the best teacher I could ever have.
The Symphony Of Sorcery is also full of elements, like the fact that Sora considers that Riku is always there for him...
Sora: Don't worry. I've got a friend out there who will help. He's always picking up the slack for me.
...which was actually proved in game:
So yeah, the game does not only say that Riku is here for Sora, it actually shows that. And the fact that they share a "heart song" is purposely here to illustrate how strong their relationship is.
Mickey: It's like each of you is holding on to a little part of the other. Your hearts are always in tune, so they're free to sing.
Mickey even says that, when they're together, their heart are "free to sing". And it is true: they can be their true selves together, they know they can trust each other, they are comfortable with each other.
Riku being Sora's Dream Eater is a major point in his character but ALSO another proof that he cares really much about Sora and that it is instinctive, natural - he doesn't even realize it until someone points out this """detail""".
Another scene that, for me, is important to proove that their relationship is NOT forced is the moment when Riku is named Master. Sora is not upset, he's sincerely happy for Riku:
Sora: I knew you were gonna pass with flying colors. This is just so awesome!
Watching his reactions, it's easy to see that he knew how important it was to Riku:
And finally, KH3 is the consequence of this development. Riku and Sora have achieved a balance together, between trust in each other and independence. In this game, Sora wants to protect Riku, Riku wants to protect Sora - and he actually found the strenght to do it. Riku cheers Sora up, believes in him, the same way Sora did for him before:
In the end, Riku is, once again, the one who's saving Sora. In fact, I would say they constantly save each other - sometimes save and being saved is the same thing.
So, yeah, I don't know if it was clear... but what I meant is that every single KH game where those boys are present - that is to say the large majority of them - shows how they both evolve individualy but also how their relationship evolves to become something better, something greater. The way it is written follows a perfect logic, a dynamic that corresponds to the state of the two characters and the context in which the action takes place.
Once again, regarding the care that is taken to tell their story, it is unfair to say that their relationship is forced. ESPECIALLY if it is compared to Sora's relation to Kairi. It is simply incomparable.
Intro • Part 1
#kh#kingdom hearts#sora#riku#soriku#sora and riku#sora x riku#riku x sora#soriku analysis#first essay#my essay#kingdom hearts essay#kh analysis#kingdom hearts analysis#kh sora#riku kh#kh riku#sora kh#kingdom hearts sora#riku kingdom hearts#kingdom hearts riku#sora kingdom hearts#ship analysis#square enix#disney#writing#my thoughts#thoughts#my writing
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