#there's shun and katia and the others in their group

[wyrm-in-a-closet]

kumo is really like. so how many tragic characters can we give you to try about

[littleshysheep-at-da]

Okay so like Kyouya is probably my fav KumoDesu Characters and I want to Post a Point about his Character that lives Rent Free in my head (and a bunch of stuff related to it) but I am gonna have to Trigger tag it.

So TW: Sucdial Idealization and PTSD

… I think the fact I didn’t censor those Words does mean this Post will be hidden by Tumblr more,,, sorry

But it think I would have to censor everything then RePost it for it not be hidden

Btw I always call him Kyouya because that is actually a real name and fantasy names (ie Wrath) just… doesn’t sound like a name to me and brain feels weird using it as such.

Also because this is from my Opinions Doc (tm) it is gonna mention some very briefly Ship Discourse stuff that I have Written Out but REFUSE to Post because I just feel it’s wrong too? Like I’ll mention NOTPs in passing but Posting a whole Rant about it just feels a wrong? If I ever Post it I won’t tag it.

Also Blatant OT3 Shun x Katia x Kyouya Vibes along with Shiro x Ariel as the Parents to Mera, Kyouya, and Sophia as Always.

Anyway!

-Kyouya Facade:

So a thing that bugs me A LOT is I’ve seen people dumb Kyouya down to “cool samurai” and it’s not that he isn’t but it’s one of those “people being wrong about a character in the way that character wants them to be”. Kyouya puts on the facade of being a cold heart warrior who doesn’t care about others but that is very explicitly explained as him forcing himself. The others see it too. When Shiro dispels Wrath (vol 9) she mentions he looks miserable. When Kyouya forces Katia to back down (vol 14) Shiro mentions it seems like he doesn’t want to be that way. Shun mentions there’s a moment we’re Kyouys seem just Broken and Tired (vol 15). It’s not sub text nor stubble so people missing it confuses me. Kyouya himself mentions (vol 13) that he feels he’s not allowed to be sympathetic to the soldiers he hurts. He feels he has to resolve himself to not show remorse (or pain or worry or his own feelings really) for his goal. That showing those emotions would be wavering and he can’t let it be in vain. But GOD reading his perspective from anywhere past vol 10 just sounds like Suicidal ideation. He intended to die for his goal so after the war I feel he would be the most lost and the most depressed. He goes from working 24/7 for this goal to just empty. He completed it and didn’t die, now what? Left alone with his thoughts would be torture. I think this is where the others come in strongly. Shun and Katia are both very good at reading people and I think they would be very firm about wanting to talk to him. I think Ariel would see the destructive thought processes she herself has had in the past and would intervene. Sophia wouldn’t get it whatsoever but she herself would get lonely and come up with excuses for them to hang out as a (family) group again so she would end up being helpful. I feel Mera would take longer to see it but once he does he’s very firm about Kyouya needing company.

-Kyouya vs Ariel Depression:

Side Note is I do not think Ariel is currently Suicidal when we meet her or onward of that. It sounds like she had a period of it during Sariel getting put into the system. Her relationship with thinking she’s gonna die during her mission is more of being realistic about her limits. She’s old as fuck and knows she won’t be able to last much longer but she’s not trying to die she just vaules her goal more than her life. Meanwhile though I say Actively Suicidal I think Kyouya is kinda unaware. He’s basically using the war as an excuse to chase death without being 100% aware. It’s honestly some very typical Romanticization of war and “Dying For The Cause” that we see him trying to use as a distraction. Past the Goblin Village he feels so broken and has lost sight of values and self worth. He tries to find a meaning to it all by dedicating himself to a cause (when he asks Ariel if there’s anything he can do for this world vol 8) but the reality of war just hurts him further. The line from Dustin about how “if they stop now how can they justify all the lives they’ve already sacrificed for the cause” (vol 16? And Dustin sunk cost fallacy much?) if it kinda makes everything worse for Kyouya. Kyouya already felt like he wasn’t allowed to feel bad for the things he’s done because he made his choice but this sort of cements the “if I’m sorry I wasn’t ready or serious enough” in his mind. It’s basically a terrible spiral of a philosophy that goes against the first thing any therapist would ever tell you and that is “do not bottle up your feelings” the feelings are not the issues it’s how we react to them.

Unfortunately this is actually pretty common in how real world trauma is handled, and is something that the Romanticization of War does in real life (though this also applies to all trauma because I need people to stop thinking war is the only thing you can get PTSD from). The thing with trauma is well intentioned people will tell you you're still the same person, basically trying to refute that you're broken saying you still have the same value. But the thing is trauma does permanently change you (side note life in general will change you anyway so it’s not like you would remain unchanged either way). You will never be the same person and people trying to insist a traumatic event didn’t change you often feel like invalidating that experience. You still have value is a good thing to say but not when it unhinges on you being unchanged. When we treat soldiers as heroes to look up to and don’t acknowledge the complicated horrible reality of war we’re creating a situation where they will have trouble addressing their trauma. If everyone’s treating them like a hero how come they don’t feel like one basically (war is bad basically but I digress).

KumoDesu is accidentally a really good Story about War that does not shy away from harsh realities.

Kyouya Housewife:

I think what Kyouya wants in life is to be a Housewife ngl. Like he was most satisfied working to support people he was close to both in his past life online game and the goblin village. Plus I think though he did that by making weapons he would prefer not to have to fight. What if he makes good knives and just starts cooking for people, I think it would be good for him. Like I don’t have more words right now so this is short but I could go off here.

We can most compare him to Emiya Archer from Fate here ngl (his skill is basically Emiya Archer too). And even the most DudeBros Asshats still know Archer is a HouseWife at heart (which, to get on a Ship Discourse thing from earlier, is why it bothers me so much why I see people try to portray Kyouya as “Masc Cool Silent” type because if you understood Archers implications how did you misunderstand Kyouya direct wording of perfecting support roles?). The Emiya Archer thing is a big reason I think Kyouya should learn how to cook and/or eventually be good at cooking. It just suits his character type. Or maybe Kyouya should get way too into Gardening lol. He already has experience in that.

-Gonna add some Relevant stuff about Shun and Katia here BTW!

-Shun is the anti Toxic Masculinity:

So if it’s not obvious let me point this out; Shun is a Parody of the overpowered Isekai Protagonist. Basically he’s set up to look like he’s in the position of one but his internal monologue basically tells us how deeply unprepared he is. I was surprised that some LN readers dislike him, I thought most of his hate came from the terrible Adaptation version of him. But thinking for the short bit it makes sense, he is the Anti Power Fantasy (and Anti-Incel lol, not all harem fantasy is Incel-ish but OH BOY HAVE I SEEN SOME SHIT). Shun is basically a realistic mentality of “a fantasy world without modern luxury would suck actually” and is realistically woefully underprepared for everything (Shinji Ikari from Eva vibes anyone? Expect like a healthier person). And look maybe it’s just because my health is terrible and I could not survive without modern science but I personally have never had the desire to go to a fantasy world and have never really understood the want some people have (I just wanna read weeb shit I’m good). It’s sad it takes till vol 15 where Shun has THE BEST rant internal monologue about how he’s basically an npc and is soooo unprepared for all this hero nonsense.

We also get a lot about Shun’s discomfort with killing (I believe in vol 15 if not 14) and how it’s just something he never had to think about. He’s never even had to kill for food so how easy death is and how little life is worth in a fantasy is something he has a lot of trouble reconciling with.

I will say the biggest point I want to make is that Shun actually has a pretty Healthy Mentality during the whole Series due to one key trait: he is completely unafraid to admit to his weakness and ask for help. He knows he’s useless in some regards but has absolutely no problem with admitting that and instead looking for things he can do. He does not have the mentality of bottling up his feelings or needing to put on a strong face. A good character comparison would be Stark from Frieren, he is fearful but that does not make him weak, it makes him stronger to be able to acknowledge how he actually feels. I also really like how appreciative Shun is of the help he receives. He knows where he stands and knows he would be lost without the people helping them and lets them know (especially him and Katia, he’s very blunt about how much is a help to him).

Now I don’t think Shun should be in a Leader/Hero role though, and the thing is he knows he’s unqualified as a Hero. It’s just so out of the scope of anything he’s used to and he makes this point. Shun is basically a npc that was destined to be a Salaryman. Again that “your modern everyday person is used to the relatively peaceful modern convenience”. I will also argue that Shun does not have a Hero Complex or feel he needs to be a hero. It’s more he’s trying to emulate Julius, who is someone he looked up to greatly, because he has no idea what else to do.

Bonus another point about him being a joke on Isekai Protags is he is surrounded by women but only Katia is actually a love interest to him. Anna is basically his Mom, Miss Oka is also a Guidance/Teacher Figure, Fei is his friend (and probably more of a sibling than Sue), Sue is actually unhinged insane, and Yuri is a different brand of unhinged insane disconnected with reality (think she only likes Shun because he’s the Hero and that what the church said the saint should follow). So aside from Katia everyone falls into Familiar/Friend or Batshit insane.

-Shun and Julius:

The fun part about Shun as a Character is he is painfully aware how much of an NPC he is and that he doesn’t fit the role of Hero. Which is why I think he looks up to Julius so much and later on tries to emulate him. He quite frankly knows he has NO IDEA what he is doing and wants to be as level headed and smart as Julius. I think that his idol-like obsession with Julius comes from his own insecurities.

-Katia Anxiety:

I think Katia is very protective of her boys. It’s kinda obvious when she meets Shun again and then when they get in dangerous situations. She’s so scared of losing the people she cares about (I think she’s often the most aware of how different and how dangerous the fantasy world is compared to their previous lives). I think the realization Kyouya probably isn’t on their side (because of how Oka kept avoiding the topic) probably hurt her a lot, because she doesn’t want to abandon him but also is too scared about losing Shun as it is (and I feel like when she puts everything together after the fact she feels super guilty for not pressing more). It kinda seemed she really didn’t have many people she was close to in her past life and the fact that Shun (and I’m gonna Headcanon here later Kyouya) still accept her despite everything that’s “different” (cough cough egg cracked) is huge to her. I’m glad in the Novel Shun always does a very good job conveying how much he appreciates, relays on, and trusts her because god she needs it.