#{RIP hikari}

[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

[these-detestable-hands]

Ah. Tragic.

I forgor Hikari still lives

incorrect! in the liquid

[nostalgicfun]

blue girl energy 💙

[pixelatedblues]

[vhalesa]

This TikTok, but MaHiKaren

Mahiru POV: I notice I'm loosing your attention on our date.

[caestusvulpes]

hikari was conceptualized as a way to explore the hope and intricacies of humanity and being human because i got tired of existential nihilism being shoved in my face every time i tuned into tne Next Big Thing.

[dnangelic]

i've been considering dark's passive morbidity for a while and i do think that in regards to verses wherein he has more utility freedoms thanks to various handicap aids that help daisuke's body attune to dark's magic (a la reverse1999 or fate) he's not going to rely on brute force (hey he's thin. he might have hidden talons/claws for his hands but he's got bird bones. he would Not win a pure physical fight) nor is his maximum capacity necessarily his free-range elemental prowess, (as a god-like [lucifer-esque] guy who can fuck around with fire, electricity, light, etc) nor is it even his debuff-type magic (putting everyone around him instantly asleep, adjusting/erasing others' memories) but. his absolute thematic peak. is quite literally messing with others' time. the 'chains binding him to the arts' has always one of his utilities already, (and also what he canonically uses against krad) but the way that dark ever destroys anything - soundlessly disintegrating it, turning it into nothing but a black smoulder, isn't any sort of 'physical force' as it is an applied, immediate, infinite aging. when dark breaks an artwork, or even something with a life with his magic, he's putting it through years, hundreds, thousands, centuries, a millennia of wear and aging, until absolutely nothing, not even dust exists. it's not flashy or dramatic, it's not bloody or visceral. anything just crumbles.

[heshemejoshi]

long time no therion

[asknarashikari]

Tametomo, Takaharu, and Ziin: Oh... *blushing and giggling* So we're the small packages.

Uhr: Big things? Small packages? What does that mean? Why am I labeled a small package and husband label big things?

Kiba: ???

Uhr: Honey, did you made these?

Me: No... I'm busy making dinner for all of us and the kids.

Meanwhile.

Ace: What? Who would label me and Keiwa like that... *sweating*

Keiwa: *shreds the paper* *feeling embarrassed*

Shinnosuke: I'm gonna kill someone for dropping these lewd innuendos leaflets!

Kiriko: *burns it* Let's go find the culprit, honey! *puts on boots of doom*

Hiiro: *perfectly slices the paper with scalpel*

Emu: I mean Hiiro is- *ahem* Let's go find the culprit Hiiro. *takes Hiiro hand and leaves*

Kairi: Oh Kei-chan... such lewd remarks.

Keiichiro: *burns it*

George: *hides the paper for safe keeping*

Ikki: *shreds the paper into a million pieces*

Somewhere.

Daiki: Hehehehe... hahaha... They'll never know.

Everyone's reaction?

Unfortunately for Daiki, Natsumi can sense his (and Tsukasa's) bullshit from a mile away, and metes out the punishment appropriate for his moment of foolishness. RIP.

[dollibelle]

Model Behavior Musings

I just remembered “Hurt” by Christina Aguilera exists, and how it’s the perfect song to fit Hikari’s memories of her mom.

Oof.

[mewmewchann]

Sayonara

The fifth trial ends with a bang.

hhhhhh I am so sorry that this took so long deadlines were kicking me in the ass for the past few weeks and this chapter was a lot to write (you'll see why) so it ended up taking longer than I expected. Also full disclosure this will be the last Fangan update of 2022, the next written chapter for this or Hope's Chains won't be until next year, and I will be going on a short break from DFTH which I'll talk about more after this so...Yeah

But either way, thank you for waiting and I hope you enjoy it! <3

[pharos-ryoji]

Bewildering Grace my beloved

[othercrossee]

Its horrible that they said volo is 1.90cm

[caestusvulpes]

"I can teach you how to hunt deer an' hogs. Their blood is substantial, more than somethin' like a squirrel or rat. Y'can also use the meat-- nothing'll go t'waste that way. It's better that way." But, of course, she wished she didn't have to have this conversation at all. Her face twisted into something violent for a brief moment, before she took in deep breaths to calm herself.

It was one of Dio's, she'd wager. She'd find him. She'd find him, corner him, rip his heart out with her teeth and feed it to vultures. Tear him apart and slowly, agonizingly, incinerate every single nerve and cell of skin until he cried and begged for mercy. Hikari in her rage was not a kind woman. Jotaro would know. He'd seen her all-consuming fire of a temper more than once.

It was like hunting LaBrie again. Almost a renewed sense of purpose-- she'd forgotten the taste of the hunt, the chase. Fifty long years of peace, and for what? To watch her grandson endure the same twisted fate she had long ago? It made her want to retch, on his behalf at least.

"It's okay, baby," she says with her distinct drawl, accent smoothly hiding the boiling hatred deep inside. So calm and soft and serene, a front for her malice directed at the one responsible. "Gramma's got it. You don't hafta worry about him-- I'll find him for you." Make him beg fer his fuckin' life. "Fer now, let's focus on securin' a food source an' someplace dark. Yer gonna be a li'l light sensitive, an' y'won't have t'eat nearly as much as y'used to. One deer can supply enough blood fer several meals over the course of several weeks. Jus' keep an even schedule t'prevent incidents, okay?"

It was like she was looking her past self in the eyes.

All that turmoil, that grief, that rage-- how every inch of his body was tensed in an emotional hurricane marred by the instincts of a being that Kars had brought into this world on a whim. She takes one of his hands in hers. He can feel calluses smoothed with time and routine-- work-worn before turning to a life of teaching and guiding a generation of future botanists and environmentalists. But these hands weren't forged for mere mentorship. They had been forged in blood.

"I've told you the story, no need t'go over it again," she said, her voice soft. It was uncharacteristic, her deep tones usually gruff or commanding, but now it was like her voice was wearing silken gloves. Gentle and so afraid that she'd break him. "When I was young, I learned that being human isn't somethin' y'are. It is a quality, one molded by our actions towards our fellows. Somethin' that can be learned. Taught. Even when y'forget it. The fact that y'aren't ragin' out of control now is... a testament t'yer will. Do not take yer self control fer granted."

She rubs a thumb over his knuckles, knowing full well what this would entail. She'd have to be the one to teach him how to control his power, at least until they could find Soft Cell. Hikari wanted to give Jotaro hope, that a cure was a possibility, but her mouth remained shut. Soft Cell preyed on the desperate. If he had hope now...

Guilt wracked her gut. She smiles it away, eyes warm.

"I wasn't a monster then, though I wasn't proud of what I've done, or said... Yer grandfather, my husband, he's done terrible things in his life, but he's not a monster." She'd ask Straizo for assistance, guidance, anything on this that he could spare... but she couldn't ask that of him either. "Y'don't have t'hurt no one, neither. Y'can subsist on the blood've animals fine, I promise. It might make y'feel a li'l groggy or weak, but..." It's how I lived.

Finally, she relaxes. Her eyes have shifted from horrifically worried to a spark of something... vengeance? She leans close, her voice gaining the rough edge once again. "Now, baby, I need you t'tell gramma somethin', okay? I need t'know who did this t'you. Tell me that, at least."

[mono-blogs-art]

one of my favourite things in revue starlight is how winning a battle just does not matter.

in the beginning, it's pretty easy - you snooze you loose, your star is knocked down, and it's curtain call. whoever wins also has the emotional and narrative victory.

they start to break this down almost from the start. in episode two, karen comforts junna after beating her, and it brings them closer as friends. in episode 6, "winning" for kaoruko is ultimately secondary to gaining futaba's attention, and the two are chummier than ever after their battle.

hell, hikari's entire existence in the story is after she lost all her brilliance - by all accounts, she shouldn't even be in a condition to participate at all. but she got a second chance to fly to tokyo and to set things right, despite being severely disadvantaged. only when she's able to overcome her doubts and starts believing in her and karen's joint future, her weapon is transformed and upgraded. and of course, karen looses everything as well, but she literally claws her way back into the theater to get her rematch. for a series that tells you from the very beginning that you will loose everything if you don't win, and that there can only ever be one top star, in the end, winning the battle is secondary.

gekijouban really takes this to its extreme; every battle has a very clear winner and loser - but the loser always gains something more. futaba wins, but kaoruko not only gets her bike, but also a promise for the rest of their lifetime. hikari gets her ass beat in like, minute 2 of the performance, but is granted a literal medal and a second chance by mahiru to go do things right, for real this time. nana loses against junna, but what she gains is the brilliance she's been looking for all this time since episode 1. claudine properly defeats maya by simply besting her and knowing her weaknesses, and what does maya lose? exactly nothing - instead, they promise to play another round, and infinite rounds as partners. another promise for a lifetime.

karen dies. the protagonist literally drops dead, no heartbeat, and loses her life on stage and it does not matter in the end. she is stabbed, beaten, costume ripped apart, her body and soul emptied out completely and yet she gains her life and passion back. because it's not about winning or losing. it's about giving it your all, barring your soul to the art and to your partner. that's why the losers don't lose. that's why karen was able to "trick" the giraffe's system in the series, and also why the revues in the movie don't even abide by this system anymore.

i just really like it, and the more i realized that, you can really see the progression of the battles throughout the series.

[dnangelic]

me and the small crowd of ppl tht go 'wait dark isn't dark's real name?' anytime i bring the fact up