Floral Promise focuses quite a bit on the importance of names.
"All forms of life share the same beginning. But their names make them special. You see, a name is the most effective spell of them all. When you call someone's name, in that moment, an invisible bond is formed" says Rafayel.
I find it interesting not only for what it means for Rafayel's in-game lore, but on a meta level as well.
In at least two languages Rafayel's name is quite meaningful and a nod to his true nature.
Yapping about Raf's name in chinese and japanese under the cut
祁煜 qíyù is his Chinese name and:
it describes his personality and role in society quite well
immediately signals a relationship with fire
is a pun on the word "fish" as well
Expanding a bit on that:
祁 qí is a surname (also meaning large, vast - makes one think of the sea, no?)
煜 yù means brilliant, glorious. I think it fits Rafayel - it seems he's destined to be exceptional no matter the universe he's in, and always ends up in a leader position. It's almost like he's a flames who attracts everyone around him.
煜 has two parts: 火 huǒ, and 昱yù. The first part of the character is the radical 火 = fire. This gives the word its meaning. The second part 昱 tells us how to read the word. It also means "bright light"
煜 yù also (almost) sounds like 鱼yú, fish.
In Japanese the name is ホムラ - Homura. It's written in katakana, the alphabet used to write foreign words (and names).
In Japanese the word "homura", written 炎 , means "flames, blaze" but also "flames (of intense emotion, both negative and postive) , passion". Perfect for him.
I don't speak Korean so I have no idea about that one.
What about the western name then, Rafayel?
I'm working on a longer post about where I think Raf's story is going (or rather, where he possibly comes from) and I'll explain better there but- I think it's a reference to both Raffaello (renaissance italian painter, lover of aesthetics and beauty + founding father of western archeology) and the archangel Raphael (guide, protector, healer with a relationship with water).
And some Laputa-related contents I found in the game.
⚠️ SPOILERS ⚠️
CALEB'S LV 38 AFFINITY CALL
At Level 38 Affinity with him, Caleb will call MC and talk about the upcoming storm, and also invite her to fly a plane with him straight into the eye of the storm to find a "paradise" like MC once wished for. The call is “Hurricane Chaser”.
When I heard this call, I immediately thought of Laputa: Castle in the sky - a Ghibli movie that I really love. In the movie, the two main characters, Sheeta and Pazu, also get through storms in a giant cloud to reach its center, where there is the castle named Laputa with countless treasures and a civilization far superior to humans on the ground.
Maybe this is just a coincidence, or maybe this is a super cute Ghibli ref. MC probably heard this story (or in my headcanon, she even watched the movie), and wished to fly to the calm place in the middle of the storm, where there is a serene paradise. Not to mention that I see similarities between Pazu and Caleb; both are good pilots, willing to take risks, love to explore; especially they always take care of Sheeta/MC. Sheeta/MC possesses a great power that many people are after. Pazu/Caleb had to leave Sheeta/MC once, then came back to continue their journey together. Although the situations are not the same, their fates are different, but I see some similarities like that between the characters of the movie and the game.
It's just a small coincidence I saw in the game, but it reminds me of Ghibli and makes me like Caleb even more. 💛
Happy birthday to my girl 🎉 I can’t believe I’ve played LaDS for a year already. I just can’t help but love it (as much as I gripe about it lol). It’s been a great year! Here’s to more.
