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wen-kexing-apologist · 1 year

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Characterization and OS2 x The Eclipse

I have been having many conversations with the clowns and it seems that we are all generally of the same mind re: complaints about characterization in Our Skyy 2 x The Eclipse. We’ve had very brilliant words and reflections from @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup. My words will not be brilliant but they will be.

So I am going to start by saying, bluntly, that P’Golf is beating us over the head with the messages they want us to take from these episodes. In fact I would have maybe critiqued the in-your-face, unsubtle nature of their messaging if I hadn’t seen such terrible takes on at least Episode 1 if not some about “green flag Ayan” for Episode 2. Clearly the message needs to be this straightforward in order for some of you to get it.

So at this point:

If you are choosing to complain about the characterizations of Akk and Ayan especially, but any of the characters, you are doing so in bad faith.

Why am I claiming it’s in bad faith? Because Akk and Ayan are completely in character the entire time and Golf hands us the central conflicts on a silver platter.

So what are the central conflicts of these Our Skyy 2 Episodes?

“What’s wrong with you, Golden Eagle?”

“There’s no need for me to answer your question, Red Eagle,”

Central Conflict One: Communication

Akk is not open about what is bothering him. This is extremely in character for Akk. Akk is a master of repression, and he will and has consistently, emphatically, and blatantly lied about his feelings at every given opportunity. Akk is excited about spending his birthday with his boyfriend, and he is upset that Aye seems to not remember his birthday. Does he say anything about it at all? No. He goes and retreats and sulks, but he refuses to bring up the thing that is bothering him.

Having Aye in this fantasy ask what is wrong is extremely in character and gives us a direct, explicit sentence of what Aye has been constantly trying to do, which is to have Akk communicate his needs. Aye is incredibly direct and explicit in checking in with people all the time. (As examples: “Can you tell me the truth, Akk?” from the beach scene in Episode 6, “How would you feel if Akk and I were more than friends?” to Akk’s parents in Episode 12, checking in with Kan and Thua, etc. etc.).

Having Akk in the fantasy respond that there is no need is extremely in character and gives us a direct, explicit sentence of what Akk’s potential conflict point will be, which is Akks refusal to communicate his needs. (As examples: *gestures wildly to the entirety of The Eclipse*)

And we are shown explicitly, time and time again throughout all of The Eclipse and throughout both Our Skyy 2 Episodes what happens when Akk does communicate.

We get a healthy and balanced relationship where our favorite war criminal and his rat bastard boyfriend get to be happy, dopey, in love, and frolic.

Frolic, I tell you!!

And we get declarations of love

And does it take Ayan a second to get there? Does he delay and tease, and annoy Akk by not saying it at first? Yes. Does he make Akk turn away and say “I don’t want to annoy you?” Yes. But Akk does get Aye’s love confession, and Akk similarly plays with Ayan, pretending like he isn’t going to say he loves him back…calling them friends in the first part of Episode 2. But ultimately he relents as well.

But what does Akk not do? Tell Aye that he is upset that Ayan seems to have forgotten his birthday. I’m not going to victim blame here and say that all of Akk’s upset, annoyance, despair, heartbreak, etc. is his fault. Ayan is very intentionally toying with Akk’s emotions, feigning ignorance, and hurting Akk here. Ayan’s idea of pretending not to remember his birthday is the spark that lights up this conflict between them. But it is not solely Ayan’s fault either. If Akk was open and honest and communicative about the ways in which he felt hurt by this. If he did what Ayan has been trying to get him to do throughout their entire relationship (and by relationship here I mean connection to one another from their first meeting until now and not exclusively their romantic relationship) which is to be honest about his feelings.

Ayan is not perfect, and honestly if I do have one actual criticism of this episode it is that I wish there had been less of a positive response from Akk after Aye’s surprise, just so that there was more of an opportunity for Akk to actually talk about how upset he had felt. But honestly, thinking about characterization, I am not sure if that would have been in character for these two either because their entire dynamic is built on the foundation and enjoyment of getting a rise out of each other.

To say that Akk and Ayan are not in character here is in bad faith. Their entire relationship in The Eclipse starts with them being antagonistic forces to one another. That competition, that light teasing and soft bullying that Aye does to Akk throughout The Eclipse is what usually gets Akk to break out of that repression and to admit his actual feelings. But Ayan constantly has to work to get there. Ayan knows why Akk is upset, and he isn’t pushing Akk on it too hard because he doesn’t need Akk to be honest with him. But Akk, similarly to what he did when he told Aye that he wasn’t thinking naughty thoughts when he wanted to make Aye sleep on the floor, or when he kept covering for Chadok and placing the blame solely on himself, has still not gotten comfortable expressing his needs.

And whoever said it earlier said it best, that when Akk tells Ayan that he’s changed, they are fairly certain Akk means that Aye has changed only over the last couple days/weeks while he has been planning this surprise party for Akk. Accurate.

So why is this communication conflict coming into play at all?

Because of who Akk and Ayan are as people.

Central Conflict Two: Perspectives

Akk believes that Ayan should care about other people more, and Ayan believes that Akk should care about other people less. These are two fundamentally different approaches and views of the world and what is important. Their conflict around communication comes from this same perspective, Aye is too busy thinking about how much fun he is having with these fights with Akk and how much he thinks Akk will eventually love the surprise to understand that he is currently really and sincerely hurting Akk’s feelings. Akk is too busy worrying about whether or not bringing up his own feelings about Aye not remembering his birthday will further strain their relationship or make Aye feel bad, that he never says anything about it. Akk doesn’t want his friends to feel bad for him or responsible for his emotional state so he lies to them about Ayan having wished him a happy birthday. He wants to make sure that Ayan isn’t stressed out so he encourages Ayan to go deal with the errands for his mother, regardless of the hurt it is causing Akk to let him go.

Because these perspectives are literally why and how Akk and Ayan work as a couple.

Akk was killing himself for Suppalo and for Chadok. Akk is so blinded by his concern for others that he is unable to understand the harm he has done to others, and the harm others have done to him until Ayan, who is fueled by his own personal vendetta, is able to remind Akk that he is a person who has been manipulated. Ayan’s narrow view of the situation at Suppalo, and his hatred of Chadok allows him to help Akk understand how deeply and badly he is being used. Ayan was able to get Akk to shed some of his responsibilities and focus on himself and the people he loves, one of the bigger examples being Akk going with Ayan on a coffee date instead of going to the protest to record names.

Ayan was killing himself for Dika. He was so blinded by his grief, that he was unable to see the ways in which he was neglecting Dika’s memory and harming the people Dika loved. Ayan wasn’t taking care of himself, and Ayan wasn’t even aware of the fear he was causing his mother that he might leave her too, and he was acting as an antagonistic force to Chadok who was also grieving the man he loved. And then Akk came along, and Ayan had another person to care about, and had someone that cared about him. Akk threw Ayan a life line when he was drowning in his own pain and sorrow, Ayan was constantly surprised by the fact that despite Akk’s antagonism towards him, Akk was also willing to step in to protect Ayan (interrupting Aye’s fight about uniforms with Teacher Waree to say he agreed with her). Eventually, Akk was able to care enough for Ayan, that Ayan was able to look around and see and care for other people over his own feelings. The biggest examples being telling his mother she wouldn’t lose him too, and offering Akk Dika’s necklace after he breaks the news to Akk about Dika’s suicide.

Ayan shouldered Akk’s pain and Akk shouldered Ayan’s, and Akk was allowed to be selfish and self-centered around Ayan and Ayan was allowed to care about Dika and care about Akk when he was around Akk.

Akk’s care for others harmed many people, The World Remembers especially and Ayan’s care for himself and the people he loves also harmed many people, The World Remembers especially. And all the hot takes I was seeing about why Thua is a bad person? Wrong. Sure Thua outed Akk and Ayan, but Ayan outed Thua first. But besides that Thua is the one to call out the fact that Ayan is being hypocritical, knowing that harm is being caused by Akk and allowing Akk to continue to hide away from taking responsibility because he cares about Akk’s feelings. This ultimately ends up hurting Akk further because of where and how the information is revealed.

—

Anyway, going back to Our Skyy 2, these perspectives are not something that Akk and Ayan are really able to change. Nor do we want them to. It is why they work as a couple and it is why the hug scene is so important.

Akk fundamentally is a person who will continue to value others above himself

Ayan is a person who will continue to value himself above others.

Individually these mentalities can cause harm to one another. As I previously mentioned, Akk not voicing his feelings about having his birthday forgotten and Ayan being too excited by the prospect of the surprise to really think critically about how bad Akk may actually be feeling. This strains their relationship.

But when they come together?

That’s where the magic happens. You need both a selfless and selfish perspective in life to find the proper balance. This extends politically as well, you have to consider both the needs of the collective and the needs of the individual.

Anyway, I know that @shortpplfedup has 5000 words coming about the hug so I will stop there. All this post really was was a way to say that Akk and Ayan are perfectly in character throughout the entirety of the show and their personal struggles are reflected in the very obvious messaging Golf gives us. Hopefully this was helpful in illuminating both the themes and how they related to consistent characterization of Suppalo’s Most Wanted, Akk and Ayan.

I loved the episodes and I will be watching them more than is a.) strictly necessary and b.) entirely healthy.

(tagging rest of clown server: @waitmyturtles, @lurkingshan, @ginnymoonbeam)

#the eclipse #the eclipse the series #our skyy 2 x the eclipse #our skyy 2 #firstkhao #akk x aye #akk x ayan #akkaye #akkayan #firstkhaotung #kan x thua

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