#Hikari rambles

[hikaririnku-blog]

Hikari MID Rambles #1

I've been thinking random thoughts about MID, some additions/reinterpretations that can just be put into one post. This is also gonna help me with a rewrite I'd be planning because I am dedicated asf LMAO. So, feedback and additional thoughts are welcome! Daemos Society: The many times I've rewatched MID and how much we get within the castle is a great start, but other than where the last human soul was held and some smaller flashbacks with Daemos, we don't exactly have much on the outside of the castle. Discussing it with some other friends that have watched it, I thought of an idea that, with how absolutely brutal Daemos can be towards their own kind ⁽*ᶜᵒᵘᵍʰ* ᴬˢᶜʰ'ˢ ᴰᵉᵃᵈᵇᵉᵃᵗ ᴰᵃᵈ *ᶜᵒᵘᵍʰ*⁾, maybe there were a little more interconnected to keep the most powerful close, and the least powerful contained. Maybe, instead of villages outside of a castle town, the kingdom has sectors for living, some sectors closer to the actual castle where uncommon knowledge is withheld, and even powerful Daemos reside there (basically, their version of "rich" people, since it is implied they do not have currency, at least in an actual money sort of way), hence the rarely spoken "ranking" system they have. The farther away the sectors, the weaker Daemos residents are, and are kept that way through boarder control. Only way to move up in living and in power is through your hard-working efforts. This also may help explain how Bish ended up recognized by and married to Rhal, and how Noi managed to be a knight despite his lowest rank. It doesn't mean they won't be looked down upon as seen by Noi's fellow comrades and Lady Grandma towards Bish, but they still more than likely shown more than enough effort to be where they're at now. With it also being in separate sectors, the current ruler for the sake of instilling fear and sending a message can absolutely ruin, if not fully destroy, a sector, if they so pleased, or help it. Hair: Partly inspired by @load-theloading-artist 's thoughts on hair styles (link to their post here), I do imagine very similarly Daemos have different hairstyles to hide vulnerability and/or show confidence, but also have ideas of some hairstyles that are more combat-ready as well. A lot of those that fight either have shorter hair or have longer hair that is tied back to help them within said combat, and more of your regal, non-fighters will assume some more "fashionable" hair (i.e. braids, buns, half-up, etc.) With that being said, though, it can show status as well, like the ones that are more modest and are your run-of-the-mill civilians may care less for their hair, or if they do, they may get sneered at by (in their own terms) "weaker" Daemos that assume they're trying for nothing, or they'll be like the rest of the more powerful Daemos that just forgets about them or be cruel to them and will avoid them; either way it'll look and feel like an insult. Other teachings: I'd assume there'd be more teachings in Daemos society other than just the combat. Medical fields to help injured soldiers (prioritizing healing magic for those able, and have subcategories of physical treatment, herbal remedies, etc.) would be great within this time of magic crisis, and some lighter teachings for the civilians. With how dystopian the world of the Daemos feels, some history may be hidden, either within the mystical library of the kingdom, or even in forbidden areas (this may be due to Asch's Dad to keep his power longer in my mind's eye, he just seems a kind of monarch that would Do That), and maybe there's even a way to restore magic without human souls. The history teachings would be in rebel groups that are super lowkey and underground. Language teachings, to help read, write, and speak in other languages other than the Daemos's home language (probably is useful for Daemos that only speak a certain language and was once used to communicate with humans a long time ago before they were eradicated for magic usage.) (Continuing in next post!)

[a-champion-of-stars]

OwO

Hihi!

Opinions on time travel!

🍃 ( @between-void-and-time )

Whass time travel? :0

[randomminty]

Five billion octopath 2 scribbles i feel sick

[radioapple-heathen]

As much as I love the "drags Alastor kicking and screaming into a romantic entanglement with Lucifer where he inevitably accepts that he's in love with dear ol' King of Hell", I really need some fics where he's like, 'Hm. Well, alright, you'll do, I guess. I suppose if I am going to be with someone in this way, it's an unfathomably powerful entity/king.'

Just like so aware of himself/his sense of self that he's like, no point in denying the inevitable, sigh. Take me out to dinner then. Somewhere nice in Cannibal Town, only the best for me.

Or even better, he's fucking smitten from the get go -- tail wagging, ears twitching, like, yes I'm gonna make that blinking-one-eye-at-a-time king mine.

I just need HIM to be the pursuer. Desperately.

[quinowskie]

kinda salty that kikoru's still stuck at 5th in the recent character popularity poll so heres a kn8 ladies appreciation post <<<

they all deserve better sigh

[wormsical]

First summer

[viridiave]

ot2 is about overcoming despair (the overview)

Below is a list of disjointed topics tryna tackle the overall themes of Octopath Traveler 2 in an attempt to salvage all the notes I lost while trying to write the Temenos essay

MIGHT become a masterlist once they're filled with substance EITHER WAY YOU'RE GETTING HIT WITH SPOILERS

edit: it's. probably better to view this on a blog I really hate Tumblr editing sometimes.

edit 2: i gave up. I really hate Tumblr editing.

OCHETTE

CASTTI FLORENZ

THRONE ANGUIS

OSVALD V. VANSTEIN

PARTITIO YELLOWIL

AGNEA BRISTARNI

TEMENOS MISTRAL

HIKARI KU

[miragethecat]

I’m hilarious

[comicalcarnival]

I read Running Up That Hill by @dunedragon and I ADORE it. If you're a battle network fan, I reccomend checking it out. It takes the lore and makes a REALLY compelling narrative involving Lan & Mega getting role swapped and adjusting to their new roles while trying to solve a mystery to get switched back. It's really good food.

So of course I had to do my usual thing and make plushies of them.

[sly-s-n0nfusion]

Sly's personal ✨Octopath rankings✨

So I've been into Octopath since the year it came out as a franchise basically and I recently finished the second game so I felt like ranking both games' characters and stories based on my likings. Remember that all opinions are valid and if I didn't enjoy your favorite character or story as much as you did it's fine :) also, there aren’t characters or stories I actually disliked with two exceptions so I’m mostly being kind- but honest.

May do spoilers so I'll put them under a cut

Ot1

Stories

Olberic - His story has to be my favorite because of its impeccably functional structure and climax. I am a sucker for redemption stories and I think they nailed every chapter of it. They even made me like the arena chapter even though I'm not a fan of tournament arcs. It's a very well-executed emotional story and it had me hooked since the beginning (also loving the “plot twist” that his final chapter boss is NOT Erhardt, which is what everyone is expecting since chapter 1)

Cyrus - A compelling mystery story with some plot twist I liked and actually interesting pieces of lore in it. What I liked the most about it (if we ignore Therese's blatant deus ex machina moment in his ch3) is that you can't really tell what will happen when you go into one of his chapters. Also has probably the best ch4 with some of the rawest lines ever against Lucia

Alfyn - Loved his chapter 3 to death because of the moral ambiguity and also has one of the best side characters (Ogen). Golden boy has to doubt everything he knew in his life and I love that. Has kind of a slow start though

Ophilia - While I think ch2 could be executed much better and made less boring, the circular structure and moral of her story is amazing. The emotional ch4 almost made me tear up

H'aanit - Cute interpretation of a "pupil has to find his mentor" story and has some epic moments like chapter 3. Not much more than that but it was still really enjoyable (bonus mention for Susanna, one of the best npcs)

Primrose - Kinda compelling revenge tale, except that it ends in the most unsatisfying way possible. Has some nice ideas but I felt so empty and broken at the end of her ch4 because she too is empty and broken

Tressa - Not a fan of the "coming of age stories" but I enjoyed her rivalry with Ali and her friendship with Noa, as well as Leon's backstory. No hate, just the more lighthearted stories are not really my cup of tea. Apart from those, it found it pretty boring and probably has the most anticlimactic final boss ever

Therion - The one story I really didn't like because of... many reasons. Like, it really had potential with the whole Dragonstones thing and everything but they executed it in the worst way possible. Also I hate how they tried to make him trust people again thanks to some questionable people like Cordelia and Heathcote... it just didn't feel right and left me asking myself but why though so many times

Characters

Cyrus - I do love every high intelligence - low wisdom character, bonus of they're a dork and kind of naive. Could write a whole essay about him so just know he won my heart he’s been my blorbo for what 3 years now? Almost 4

Olberic - Another trope I love is grumpy and probably depressed characters who just have a heart of gold inside and use their strength to protect the people they love so there you have it. They did a great job of delivering the emotional baggage in his internal monologues

Ophilia - I love how her character gravitates around the concept of love, loss and family. She's so dear to me

H'aanit - I like her view of the world and her stoic personality but I must say that for a main character, her introspective side could've been explored more

Alfyn - Sunshine boy who feels too much. I do like men who are not afraid of crying in front of others

Therion - a bit of a lone wolf stereotype- but I like his dry and sarcastic attitude when he talks to the other members of the party

Tressa - I like that she's a bit hot-headed and I like her enthusiasm. Definitely a character who shines more when she's with other characters though

Primrose - I think they messed up a bit with her characterization sadly because I can't really tell how the real Primrose is supposed to be even after ch4. She's often portrayed as an overly-flirty femme fatale even though it's probably trauma response and often says some... questionable things to the other members of the party in her travel banters, it's hard to get her true personality right. When she's angry, she kinda comes off as cold and distant, too. I think the writers could've done a better job with her

Ot2

Stories

Castti - Hands down the best Octopath Traveler main story ever imo. It was perfect from how the emotions were delivered to the compelling plot, to the climax in her chapter 3 and the bittersweet ending in her chapter 4. So heartbreaking and has a great attention to details, as well as amazing side characters. Perfect under every aspect and I loved the “horror rpg” vibe to it

Osvald - Amazing revenge tale (and kinda mimicking The Count of Montecristo), much more effective than Primrose's and also more heartbreaking and with an ending that's a bit more satisfying (even if the last chapter is definitely the weakest one and could've been handled better for such a good story). Cool plot twists at the right times an a villain that's actually Rotten to the Core (if we ignore the ridiculous laugh Harvey has). His chapter 1 was probably the best Octopath Traveler chapter 1 narration-wise and had me almost crying at his chapter 4 boss

Throné - I wasn't expecting her story to be this good in the slightest but the "getting out of the mafia" tale is well-executed and has some nice side plots for its side characters, as well as some quite shocking twists near the end. Her chapter 1 is also super good and has some pretty good dialogues.

Temenos - I have mixed feelings towards this one because it had so much potential but it definitely needed more time to be done correctly. The mystery plot feels kinda rushed at times (especially in chapter 3 because I think that one is kind of a narrative mess like why is everything happening SO QUICKLY) and one fatal flaw: Kaldena's backstory not being addressed well enough. She is really a character who needed to pop out more in his story. In the end it's probably a matter of pacing but it does have some real big wasted potential. Also another story that like Primrose's leaves you with a really bitter aftertaste except this time it's actually fitting for Temenos' character

Ochette - .....I'm sorry guys this story is literally Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire for a good 70% of it. Which doesn’t make it necessarily the worst story but it’s not original either. What I liked though is that it has some real good first and final chapters that got me kind of emotional and also kinda creeped me out. The side "anti-racism plot" could've been articulated better narratively but that's what we got in the end so. Also big wasted potential.

Hikari - I am not a fan of stories in which by chapter 1 you already know how they're going to end and Hikari's was exactly like this. I quite enjoyed the arena chapter and the chapter in Stormhail as well, and some parts of it were very cinematic. Not much more than that

Partitio - DISCLAIMER for the next 2 stories: again, I am not a fan of lighthearted stories because of personal taste, nothing else. I want the drama lol. This is why this one was not my cup of tea. I liked the narrative pace of chapter 1 but after that one it just kinda goes a little overboard with the crazyness idk it felt kinda weird to have a bulldog, a jobless guy and a train as bosses. What I loved were the "scent of commerce" side-stories though because it was really fitting to the time period the game is set in to have the merchant traveler interested in financing new inventions and machines. Also not that compelling overall

Agnea - Guys I'm sorry but this one was a big no for me. Legit had me really bored most of the time (especially didn't like the musical parts and her dialogues-only chapter 3 oh god) and never really got me hooked. I liked how cinematic her final boss battle was though and big w for the lesbians in her story I guess

Characters

Castti - Loved her caring, yet sarcastic attitude. She was such a fun and interesting character to be around (if we ignore how many times the travelers insist on calling her “mom” because she is just so much more) and has traits to her that left me quite surprised

Osvald - I love that for once we have a character that's not always nice to the other party members. I like his sharp tongue and atypical behavior, and him going nonverbal at times. A really interesting take on the scholar character I appreciated a lot (also dilfs lover here sorry not sorry)

Temenos - Mixed feelings for Temenos, again, because he does kinda sound like certain anime characters from my childhood but he is a fun character. Sly, snarky, diffident and secretly very broken inside is always a winning combination

Throné - I liked her a lot. I like the contrast between her kind personality and the gruesome job she's forced to do, and that she wants to redeem herself from everything she had to bear since she was a kid. I love her soft side and that she wants to be the good person she is

Partitio - Alfyn, but better. I can say I'm a fan of his over the top humour and attitude and his kind, generous heart

Agnea - Fun girl! I like her bubbly personality and also that she is stubborn and determined. She’s not a deep character but she is still fun

Ochette - I think her character had wasted potential. Even though I agree that she's fun and quirky, they didn't do a great job of portraying her as part of another whole species because they really kinda just made her personality rotate around liking meat. Also didn't really like how unnecessarily infantilized she was rip but she is still cute and fun

Hikari - .......Hikari likers I'm sorry. Oomfs who are Hikari likers if you’re reading this just know that I think your tastes are valid and I'm the one in the minority because everyone loves Hikari, so sorry for what I'm about to say but he kinda was what ruined his own story for me, as well as being the only traveler I actually dislike. I didn't like his teeth-rotting sweet dialogues and his whole character rotating around the concept of friendship. I didn't like that his one (1) flaw is him being possessed by a demon because of his cursed blood. He's too perfect. Therefore to me he's too uninteresting. Sorry!

Peace ✌️

[seventeenlovesthree]

@atsoraasayoma "But I am curious now. In your opinion who do you think Taichi feels better about entrusting to his sister now? Do you think He feels more comfortable if she is with Team Daisuke or Team Takeru shipping wise? I know it doesn’t say outright."

Personally, while Taichi absolutely is an overprotective brother, I am still convinced that he's not the type of brother that gives EVERY person a death glare who approached Hikari. I still feel like that's more Tailmon's role... Sure, we have the audio drama in which he, an 11 year old boy, says "I wouldn't allow their relationship anyway" in regards to the possibility of Koushirou dating Hikari (which one may interpret either way, really). However, he NEVER gave any indication towards disapproving either Takeru or Daisuke.

I've talked to @jamesthedigidestined about this last night and we both agree that Taichi likes and appreciates both Takeru and Daisuke, but for different reasons - as mentioned in the other post. In 02 onwards, he treats Takeru even more as an equal than he already did in Adventure due to the experiences they went through together - whereas he still feels like he has to watch over Daisuke every now and then so he doesn't make a move he may regret later. However, he has also canonically known Daisuke longer than he has known Takeru, since they had been in the same football club together.

My personal stance on Taichi is that he is more observant of others than people give him credit for, because he is not particularly good at voicing that, so he may use words that are uncalled for in the particular situation. And while he would fight off ANY OTHER of his football club mates if they even dared to look at Hikari the wrong way - I don't think he'd do that with either Takeru or Daisuke.

Everyone and their mothers KNOWS how naturally close Takeru and Hikari have become through the years, nobody bats an eye at them being glued together by the hip. Heck, people might not even be surprised if they found out that they had gotten married years ago solely for the purpose of getting tax benefits (because let's be real, working as novelists and kindergarten teachers may not provide the biggest stable income in comparison to a few other career paths). Taichi is aware of their closeness, he knows how much they can relate to one another in similar ways he himself can relate to Yamato (it's a sibling thing after all), it's just natural and whether it's romantic, platonic or something in between, he would not disapprove of it.

In terms of Daisuke, the problem is that we don't see how their dynamic developed between 02 and Kizuna/The Beginning, because they don't even actually interact in these movies. As of 02, we know that when Daisuke is NOT focused on impressing Hikari, they actually have very open and thoughtful conversations and Hikari absolutely values Daisuke for his kindness that comes through more and more once he stops putting on a mask. And I feel like Taichi is aware of that, because he knows what it feels like to mask your insecurities - and like I said, he may see parts of himself in Daisuke anyway. He knows Daisuke would be just as protective of Hikari and try his best to take care of her.

I made a joke about Taichi joking along the lines of "If you ever hurt her, I’ll personally disown you!”, but that'd basically be only half serious. In the end, he would not mingle in whoever Hikari may chose, even if he'd have to adjust to the idea of it.

Actually, I'd find the reversed situation a lot more interesting, seeing how Hikari would react depending on whom Taichi ends up with, but... I guess they'd both have this aura of half-fake passive aggressiveness and play that for laughs, even if deep down inside, they would not interfere if they knew the chosen person means well. And I think Taichi would feel that way about both Takeru and Daisuke.

[bedbat]

Shock Value, horror and media literacy

I feel like it’s very normal to see anti-gore and shock value sentiment online. Which makes a lot of sense obviously. I feel like most people agree that if your definition of good horror is just how much blood or shock value is present in the piece of media, you probably don’t actually know how to tell good media from bad media and operate on the belief that blood = good. I think most people kind of see how bad most modern day horror movies are. They just aren’t creative and it feels like a regurgitation of the same troupes. I especially hate how popular poorly written slasher movies have become. For example, I genuinely think The Terrifier just isn’t a good movie because the people raving about it are only raving about how disgusting and gory it was. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything actually interesting about the movie and it feels like the directors know that the general audience will just consume the most boring, low effort film as long as they add as much blood as possible. Have some of us become so simple minded that people can truly watch a video online saying ‘this movie was so good because blood!!!’ And then just…agree with that sentiment?

However I think the opposite sentiment is also true. It’s just as media illiterate to look at any piece of media with any form of shock value or gore and go ‘this is awful and terrible’. You can be uncomfortable with gore and not consume any disturbing media and that’s okay. You don’t have to villainize something just because you don’t like it. I recently read litchi hikari club and I thought it was a great piece of writing and art that carried an anti-Japanese imperialist message as well as showing how fascism can affect people, especially kids. Is it an uncomfortable, disturbing piece of media? Absolutely. Is it okay for people to not want to read it because it’s kind of gross? Yes. However writing off the entire comic as bad and anyone who likes it as bad, is plain ignorant. If you cannot or do not like to consume nuanced media that takes form in a more disturbing way, that’s okay. But exaggerating the plot and practically reading the comic with your eyes closed, is a whole other thing. Not everything has to have a happy ending. Not everything has to be appropriate. As long as there is substance outside of the shock value and the shock value isn’t glamorized, sexualized or used horribly lightly, I don’t see an issue with people enjoying that piece of media. I came across a video where the OP was in the comments flat out lying about the plot and contents of Litchi Hikari Club and it made me really upset. How can you paint yourself as some morally superior person for not liking an artistically shocking piece of media without even putting an attempt at truly understanding it. Was some of the shocking content unnecessary? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, the comic was meant to make a large point and refusing to even try to see that point to stay on your moral high ground because you don’t like any form of dark media is stupid.

Some topics are disturbing and deserve to be spoken about and shown in a disturbing light and not in a ‘happy ending everyone lives at the end’ story. However shock value and gore shouldn’t just be used because you’re an incompetent writer who can’t create a good story without making it a torture p0rn.

TLDR: if you think shock value = always good, you’re media illiterate, if you think shock value = always bad, you’re also media illiterate

[emeraldthelynx]

NetNavi Headcanons

Just some things that I think about.

-Navis need sleep. Since they're so complex, they accumulate a lot of cache data throughout the day. Sleeping clears their system of the cache, and refreshes all their systems so they're at top-condition when they wake up.

-There are generic Navis and custom Navis. Generic Navis can have custom personality programming, but their appearance is much harder to customize, like Mick's NetNavi in MMBN6.

-NetNavis are programmed to mimic human-like behaviours, as they're meant to be friends and companions. That means breathing, making jokes, and being pushy at times. (Megaman is especially pushy though, even for a highly-customized Navi.)

-There are a variety of accessories out there for NetNavis, since Operators may want to dress them up or give them something to stand out, the same way somebody may dress up a virtual pet.

-PETs can also be customized with furniture. Same concept as having a virtual pet. You want to buy things and add things to make your own cooler.

-Megaman is a nerd. He reads everything and anything when Lan is off talking to his friends or travelling somewhere. He has all kinds of virtual books that he buys for himself or friends and family give him as gifts. How else do you explain him knowing everything without looking it up when Lan asks him a question?

-Megaman also has a Battle Chip addiction. Lan likes collecting them, and he gets excited when he does, but for him, it's like trading cards. For Megaman, it's a toy. A toy that could potentially wipe out an entire horde of viruses, but it's still a toy, and he begs Lan to get new ones. (There's an in-game HumorProgram quote where he does this.)

-Navis treat their job as a real job. It's an intense job, but they love it an take it seriously. Some take it too seriously. Also, NetNavis can just run off if they start getting too annoyed with their Operator. Sure their Operator can find them with the PET and potentially force-recall them to it, but the Navi can still rebel.

-Gossiping about their Operators is a normal behaviour. It's just like talking about your siblings, friends and co-workers.

[crunchyorochiru]

It's wild how my views on Venoct changed.

2014 me: Teehee Venoct's pretty cool. What an edgy dragon-Sasuke. The other Venoct's are ok ig, I don't care about them except that they're also Venoct.

2025 me: Shadow Venoct is pretty interesting. His identity is tied to another person, but he's not treated like the other person. Where Venoct is respected and praised, Shadow Venoct is feared and avoided. He was trained by a literal assasin and is skilled in "the deadly arts", but he sucks at social skills and communication. His mentor Extreme Venoct probably means a lot to him, but Extreme Venoct also contributed to how feared Shadow is by association. It's harder to think about Extreme Venoct, who only appeared in one puni event and anime episode, but the little that is known is also interesting. The emphasis on him being an assasin implies a lack of anything else. That's all he has and is. He taught Shadow Venoct in past tense, so clearly their mentorship ended at some point before and doesn't apply in the present. He serves Rinne to fulfill his need for revenge by attempting assasination on Enma. There has to be a story behind that, how he lives and breathes through assasination because it's all he knows. He doesn't know how to do anything else, that's why he lost his student and ended up serving Rinne. And then there's Illuminoct, the polar opposite. He's usually characterized by the fandom as more expressive and socially-adept than the other Venocts, so his life should be pretty good in comparison. However, instead, that ironically makes him seem more flat. Every Venoct has a thing, like Shadow's edginess or Sakura's cuteness, but Illuminoct's thing is just brightness. It doesn't leave as strong of an opinion as the other Venocts, as proven by the abundance of Illuminoct plushes on ebay compared to the other Venoct plushes. His expressiveness, his number one trait, makes him less mysterious, and therefore, he's less "interesting" than the other Venocts. Every Venoct is their own character, and that's pretty cool.

Oh and Venoct himself (game or anime, idk) is ok. He's the basis for every other Venoct, but I don't have an opinion on him. 🤷‍♀️

[ramblesbiab]

just unlocked Hikari in Octopath Traveler II, and I gotta say, big fan of a noble warrior guy whose abilities are Bribe Someone and Challenge Innocent Stranger to Swordfight

[aptericia]

Yknow when I watched the anime Hikari was actually my least favorite character. And then I saw the movie and started to like her more because felt like I understood her better. And then at some point it clicked that “oh wait I didn’t like her because she is literally exactly like me”