AHHHHHHHHHA HHHHHHHH AHHHHHHH IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS OHHMYGFO OHMYGODAHHHHHH ANON I LOVE YOU ANON I EXPOLDOESSS okay
Trained?
LOOK AT THIS SCRUMPTIOUS DELICUOUS FINE MAN OHHMYGOD ive never wished I was that damn cream puff bro . But the overall vibes of this card is so dreamy.. and the way he licks his fingers and the way hes sitting the way his hair the way hes looking at me nghhh God I wanna lick his shoes and face and ohmygod Akito shinonome one chance I beg.
Untrained?
I'll be honest this isn't my FAVOURITE FAVOURITE but I need to include this, for lore reasons. The first time I read this side story I genuinely fell inlove. The way he remembered vbs first above all else, the way he fell next to this flower in a desert and laughed HIS LAUGH. This card was one of my first cards in pjsk and it holds such a precious place in my heart. I love it so much, he deserves so so much.
This is my fave pride Miku year to date 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️ they're so cute all of them are good 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️ also I didn't do nb after this bc this one's just perfect :(((( I can't top that
ik nobody's talking about these songs anymore but I've been thinkin about this ship ever since ERB came out so... I call this "Confessions of a Rotten Ego Renegade Boy" because it's dumb and it fits them
genuinely obsessed w this concept now might draw these gay sillies more
Kohane, Akito, and Touya all have clear symbolic associations with various animals. For example, Kohane is often associated with hamsters, Akito is often associated with dogs, and Touya is often associated with birds.
However, An does not have any repeated animal motifs like her unitmates do. Instead, An is consistently symbolized with different kinds of flowers.
While I do not know much about hanakotoba (flower language) and what specific kinds of flowers symbolize, I do want to discuss the broader reasons of why An is so heavily associated with flowers in the first place.
1. An's Childhood
An being related to a plant rather than an animal is likely a nod to her communal upbringing, but also the neglect she faced by her parents.
Plants, particularly those in public spaces, are often taken care of by multiple people rather than a set of parents. For An, her roots are in Vivid Street's soil— the community watched over her when Ken and Yuka did not.
An was raised in a similar way to how plants are. Her basic needs were taken care of by Ken and Yuka, but they never acknowledged her emotional needs properly. While An had a cheerful disposition her whole life, her resentment and insecurities only grew with age. The distance between An and her parents is palpable, especially in earlier stories.
After all, they only saw that her petals never wilted.
2. The Infantilization of An
A large portion of An's struggles throughout her life are a consequence of misogyny. The symbol of a flower (one that is stereotypically feminine) embodies An's girlhood and how she is infantilized because of it.
Despite An being around thirteen or fourteen years old at the time of Nagi's diagnosis with terminal pancreatic cancer, Nagi assumed that her death would be enough to kill An's passion for singing— she viewed An as too fragile to handle the truth. Nagi selfishly convinced the whole town and even An's parents to lie to her, an action that ultimately took away An's right to grieve over Nagi properly and directly caused her to develop attachment issues— as she was misled for years that Nagi had abandoned her for a career in America.
The reason why all those adults infantilized An so easily is simple— her gender. If An was a boy, she would be assumed to be tough enough to handle it— because that is "what men are supposed to do."
But the truth is, that while An does act tougher than she actually is, she is not frail. She is incredibly determined, hardworking, and passionate— having gone through many hurdles to get where she is now.
She fights back without hesitation to the people that wrong her— lashing out at Ken for lying to her and only accepting any apologies on her terms. She defends herself, knowing full well that she's been treated unfairly— their good intentions do not erase the hurt she has faced.
When they plucked the rose from its soil, they did not anticipate the thorns lining the stem.
3. An's Relationship to Her Gender
With the mention of roses comes the discussion of the event that delves into An's gender extensively— Wishing for your Happiness Beyond the Blue Sky.
The event is one that tackles An's internalized misogyny and discusses her gender expression.
Throughout the event story, An is notably insecure about wearing a wedding dress, believing that the tuxedo that Shizuku is wearing would fit her better. She tries to act more mature while wearing it— revealing the true narrative purpose of the dress.
An is not uncomfortable with wearing the dress because of her stylistic preferences— instead, it is that she believes she is not womanly enough to wear it. After being confronted by Shizuku, however, An learns that her usual personality can coexist with the dress, and she has a great time!
However, this brings An to a relevant realization at the end of the event. She pieces together that she was trying to act more like Nagi when she was in the wedding dress, as An saw herself as unladylike in contrast.
An's preference in clothing and her "boyish" personality is the reason why she subconsciously saw herself as "less of a woman." In other words, An infantilized herself because of her lack of adherence to traditional gender norms.
The flower is a representation of how An views herself. But now, the flower has changed from a symbol of infantilization and neglect to one of joy and confidence.
Thank you for reading! Additions to this post are welcomed and encouraged.
A woman not shaving or wearing a dress or wearing makeup or wearing femme clothes or having styled or long hair or caring how she looks or using a masc name or whatever else is actually a neutral thing and not a sign of her being depressed or giving up or being sad or whatever
izzy806
stormborns
blakekathryn
snowghoul
vaporwave
