Some Kiku doodles and Alfred’s friendship with him that I drew cuz I just visited Japan lol. Some of my thoughts r below the cut they’re mostly abt Alfred & Kiku as friends
So tldr the origins of this really begin with commodore Perry (from NY) who kind of forces up Japan to trade from the west. I don’t think Alfred or tbh any state was necessarily on Perry’s trip cuz 😂 he was trying to prevent his states from going to civil war LOLL. But this is when I guess initial correspondence between the two commences.
Kiku initially copies a lot of his industrialization and westernization off of Arthur cuz he recognized Arthur was the “top dog” at the time and Alfred is like his weird son / rival and Kiku kind of regarded Alfred as this kid who had weapons in his initial interactions with him. Also I think even sans the westernization- Arthur and Kiku are like lowk same person different font and that’s why I think they get along so well LOL. Pretty aggro about politeness, order, tradition, perhaps a bit passive aggressive initially on the surface but they love a good drink and also annoy them enough they drop the act lol. And also the two are like arguably have the least flavorful or least intense cuisine in their regions and nowadays have a boner for their imperial past.
It isn’t until really after Kiku was harshly defeated by Alfred in World War II that he begins to recognize Alfred has surpassed Arthur in like status, and he’s now an adult with weapons. Kiku is initially bitter about defeat, but with Weiguo & Ivan’s rise to power, and posing a legitimate threat to Kiku’s affairs, he puts this aside and sides very aggressively with Alfred.
Eventually this does form into a genuine friendship over the years, but the two initially bond in their mutual dislike of Weiguo & Ivan lol. Kiku does intentionally rebrand himself post wwii from being big scary empire to “polite guy who just likes cute stuff”— he’s taking a page from Alfred in this (Speaking softly and appearing friendly — Aka controlling your image, makes you seem like the hero and the good guy. Alfred took forever to learn that lol).
I imagine Alfred is fascinated by Kiku’s way of life, and to an extent he does like appreciate his more orderly aspects , his attention to detail, and more reflective aspects of Japanese culture. All of which, are almost the complete opposite of American culture, so he finds this refreshing. He also likes the samurai stories too lol
Meanwhile, Kiku I think also appreciates Alfred as a friend cuz he finds him to be opposite of himself. I assume he likes Alfred’s more expressive and boisterous nature most of the time, he finds it funny.
Anyways that’s all 😛 also I’m like lowk into Taiwan x Japan as a ship. Like Japan first was copying its imperial style off of China and they generally view Taiwan as being a successor to more imperial Chinese aspects. Taiwan is a Japan fan girl. He also likes she’s more expressive and what not which is different from the more “demure mindful” stuff he tries to LARP with. So idk they’re mutually obsessed with each other lol.
