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#sorry non proseka mutuals
violeaes · 10 months
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[id: a digital illustration of mizuki akiyama and mafuyu asahina. they are standing in place, looking at the viewer, wearing a black dress. part of the dress is see through, specifically the sleeves, that are also decorated with black flowers. mizuki is smiling whilst mafuyu has a surprised look on her face. The background behind them is white with brown splotches and sticks with fruit on them. end id].
hello everyone !! this is prolly one of my first analysis posts, at least on this acc. I’ll be using screenshots from the game to illustrate my points, and separate the post into sections, as well as providing image descriptions and plain text for low vision ppl!! I will also be using she/they for mizuki and he/she for mafuyu, so if u dont like that then shoo. they r transfem (mizuki) and transmasc (mfy) respectively. Also spoilers for most of the events so uhh u shouldnt be reading this if u didnt read all of the mfy or mizu focused events. without furtho ado, let’s start!
Hiding One’s True Self
[plain text: hiding one’s true self. end plain text].
this is kind of an obvious observation, and it’s ofc for diff reasons, but both mafuyu and mizuki hide aspects of themselves to both niigo and the world. mafuyu’s is more subconscious, while mizuki is (for the most part) aware that she hides herself, esp from niigo. they’re both in a situation where it’s difficult to get out of, mfy with her abusive mother, and how her mother pressures her to conform and mold to how everyone, including her classmates, wants her to be. he’s seen as the perfect daughter, the perfect student, with no interests, opinions, anything of his own. mizuki, on the other hand, is very clearly transfem which i am not accepting critique on, and because she goes to great lengths to express her gender identity, even going so far as to change from the male school uniform to the female school uniform, ppl ridicule them, which causes them to not have many friends, esp not ones to freely talk abt their gender with. mizu’s relationship to ena mirrors mafuyu’s relationship with kanade, and they both serve as support to mfy and mizuki respectively. they specifically focus on wanting mfy and mizu to become their true selves, with kanade going so far to try to “save” mafuyu (which i have a Lot of opinions on but thats another analysis for another day). in the song samsa, from the event immiscible discord, there are lines sung by mizuki and mfy at the same time which further highlight these similarities, and go into what’s going on in the narrative.
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[id: a screenshot of lyrics, several color coded text in front of a black background. Kaito’s lines are outlined in blue, mafuyu’s in purple, ena’s in beige, mizuki’s in pink, kanade’s in red. some colors are combined, such as mafuyu and mizuki, kanade and ena, and kaito, kanade and ena. The lyrics read: It throbs, throbs, throbs (I throb in pain)
It aches, aches, aches (it aches, aches)
It throbs, throbs, throbs (I throb in pain)
It throbs, throbs, it aches
Change...
Throbbing, throbbing, throbbing painfully
Everyone barely escapes with their souls
It throbs, throbs, throbs
Eaten away by all the pain and the wranglers–taratta
But even so, I wonder why it still
Throbs, throbs, throbs (throbbing painfully)
It's as if you're biting into the apple, Sa-sa-Samsa
end id].
as u can see, mizuki and mfy are the only ones who sing the lines “i throb in pain,” “it throbs, it throbs, it throbs,” and “but even so, i wonder why it still.” kaito also joins in with singing the line, “it’s as if you’re biting the apple, sa-sa-samsa.” kaito is a manifestation of someone who’s trying to tell mafuyu the truth of his mother’s intentions, which mirrors meiko’s role in the event my footprints, your destination. while this event was a kanade and mfy focus, i have every reason to believe the song also parallels mizuki’s issues. while mfy and mizuki have sought refuge in niigo, they still are unable to fully open up. mfy feels she’s unable to become her true self and stand up to her mother, while mizuki is unable to disclose her trans identity. which brings me to my next point. 
Refuge
[plain text: refuge. Plain text]. 
after a while of working with niigo, both mfy and mizu find a safe haven with kanade and ena, enough to be able to open up to them slightly. this is indicated in the videos of two events–and now, the ribbon is tied, and secret distance, two mizuki centric stories–that i’m about to share. it also shows how in a way, she relates to mfy’s struggle and feelings re: niigo. 
[ENG] And Now, the Ribbon is Tied - chapter 1 [Project Sekai event story]
when mfy mentions she feels at ease when working with niigo, mizuki takes note of it. she later says, near the end of the chapter, that they feel like they’re the same as mfy and think abt their past self. 
[Project Sekai] Event Story - Secret Distance [ENG Sub]
in this event, mizuki realizes that while they make music together, they don’t rlly know each other. so they set up an outing for the group to bond whilst stepping outside their comfort zone. after the outing, mizuki realizes how important they are to her, and how she finally feels like she’s found friends she feels comfortable with, enough to say she wants to do this next year. 
Relationship w/ School
[plain text: relationship with school. end plain text].
it’s said now and then that because of mizuki’s trauma, they consistently skip school. while mafuyu consistently goes to school unlike the rest of niigo, it’s clear he doesn’t like it and would rather make music with his friends and forge his own career path. when he had to go to cram school, he instead skipped school to be with her friends at fenilan. 
[ENG] Guiding a Lost Child to What Lies Beyond - chapter 5: The lost heart
Running From One’s Problems
[plain text: running from one’s problems. End plain text].
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[video description: the music video for kitty by niigo. Mizuki is wearing a black hat as well as an entirely black outfit, her hair down. Her fingers are curled like a cat’s claws. The layout looks like a camera on one’s phone, the options being mizuki, mafuyu, ena, len, and kanade. The video switches to mizuki’s current self and middle school self. Mizuki’s past self wears a red male school uniform, a pink ribbon, and her hands are on her cheeks, staring in horror. Mafuyu wears a ponytail with her bangs swayed, wearing a blue and red sweatshirt. Her child self has longer hair and holds a stuffed bunny. The video ends with len, who wears a sweatshirt and makes the same pose as mizuki. end video description].
before i get into that… lets take a break to see THIS part in kitty bc???? Oh my god??? 
okay anyway lets get into the most recent-ish (bc saying goodbye to my masked self has recently come out) event, our escape for survival. in this event, niigo is trying to find a way to help mfy and reach her as her laptop and synthesizer has been confiscated. throughout the story, mizuki compares her situation to mafuyu’s, and while it’s not the same, they still have similar while also having opposite issues. when they have a conversation with luka, she comes up with an idea to help mafuyu, as she does smth similar. during the hangout with mafuyu the next day, she tells him that it’s okay to run away, which ends up happening in goodbye to my masked self. while mizuki says that it doesn’t solve problems, i do feel like it mirrors mizuki’s situation, albeit in a different way. mizuki skips school and refuses to tell niigo abt their transness, just like mafuyu who initially couldn’t accept her mother being abusive, and chose to live in denial until kaito and the rest call her out. mizuki can’t accept the fact that others are able to love her for who she is, and so hides that aspect of herself. 
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[id: mizuki akiyama’s “the words i can only convey” untrained card, from the event our escape for survival. They look at the viewer, smiling whilst surrounded by lights and a crowd of people. End id].
Conclusion
[plain text: conclusion]. 
so yeah!! I feel like their dynamic is severely underappreciated and underwritten, and i’m so glad our escape for survival highlighted their parallels even more. i rlly hope that the game and the fandom thought abt them more, and not just in a ship sense, bc theyre a lot similar than u think. also purple and pink go so well together LMFAO also i love their area/side story convos. Like:
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[id: screenshot of “a moment of jest” second side story that reads: 
Mafuyu – “Amia. Why do you care so much about me? K promised to compose a song that will save me. But neither you nor Enanan have any reason to care about me that much. So... why?”
Mizuki – “Why, huh...? Don't be such a stranger. We're friends, aren't we?”
Mafuyu – “Friends? I thought we were only members of the same songmaking group?”
Mizuki – “Don't worry about it. I'm doing this because I want to. So you don't have to think too deeply into it.”
Mafuyu – “I see. I'll take your word for it, then.”
— "A Moment of Jest" second side story
End id].
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[id: screenshot of an area conversation in the empty sekai that reads: 
Mizuki – “Huh? What are you doing here in the afternoon? Don't you have school?”
Mafuyu – “We have tests all week, so we only have half days. What about you? Are you skipping class again?”
Mizuki – “No, I actually came to school today. Class was just super boring, so I decided to come here♪”
Mafuyu – “Hehe. In other words, you're skipping. Maybe I should let Miku know so she'll send you back.”
Mizuki – “Huh?! Oh, hey! How about we write some music together?! What do you think? Sounds fun, right?”
— Area Conversation in Empty SEKAI
 end id].
Yes i got this from the mizumafu shipping wiki don’t judge me fhdjkghfhj but yeah!! Lemme know what u think in the replies, i love discussion esp discussion of these characters. And if i missed anything pls let me know, i’m willing to correct/edit some things!! anyway byebye stan mafuyu and mizuki they r . transmasc transfem solidarity <3 (heart)
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