Ranking Of Kings is amazing and there’s a million things I want to say about it..
but I wanna start with this heckin scene.
That scene.
WHY,
But like,
in a good way.
You see, we don’t actually know much about Diada’s feelings toward his brother, well, aside from, y’know, the fact that he’s willing to harm and even kill him if doing so is necessary for his ambitions. Eheh.
That sounds straightforward, but the other characters, even other characters who’ve done great harm to Bojji, Domas tried to legit kill him, have become complex enough to indicate we don’t have the full story on Daida either.
Daida has technically said exactly two lines directly toward his brother, “I won’t go easy brother,” & in frustration he shouted out “this isn’t fair brother!” when Bojji kept dodging his attacks.
He has also said exactly two lines betraying any semblence of feelings toward his brother, good or bad (discounting thoughts of what to do about him as a potential threat, which are oddly impersonal for your typical fictional character with family issues)
Once was to Queen Hailing, it’s easy to dismiss his “but I think that would make my brother miserable,” as manipulating the queen into putting Bojji into a vulnerable position. It probably indeed had that ultereor motive.
Then there’s that scene. His outburst towards Domas made NO SENSE, but like, in a good way. Like You’ve Just opened up a puzzle box.
The fact that pretty much every main character close to Bojji has gotten their big flashback development scene except Daida is the most obvious clue that the show’s holding out on something.
Re-watching early episodes helps you fully realize how much ambiguity there is about Daida and Bojji’s relationship.
So, let’s take those cues and overanalyze the f*ck outta this scene.
Ok, so first of all, it’s hella smart for Daida to identify Domas’s decision as a red flag. He’s rightly upset about that on a personal level and strategic level because as King he now has to work with someone he views as untrustworthy.
Yet, anger, pure unadulterated rage was not expeced. The sheer intensity in Daida’s emotions raises a big question. Why?
He threw a f*cking vase at Domas for crying out loud.
The thing is I can’t come up with a reasonable tactical reason for Daida to say any of this to Domas. If he was yelling at him in hopes it would frighten him into obeying his order to kill Bojji, the angle he took could’ve easily backfired. So there’s definitely an alternative reading when combined with knowledge from episodes 5-6.
We got two, very brief, contextless flashbacks. Depicting Bojji either crying or slacking off while Daida was working hard. We also see a dream sequence where a younger looking Daida is terrified, watching his “last glimmer of hope” aka older brother lose a fight.
He wakes up from the dream and immediately demands the mirror to help him become more powerful, all but outright saying he’s terrified of the fact that his weak brother is all he can count on, he’s desperate to become stronger to protect himself.
Combined with the brief flashback to what must be one of Bojji’s few moments of slacking,
really makes you wonder how much Daida’s “ambition” is really just a slightly aged manifestation of lifelong fear.
Perhaps he’s held onto some bitterness in his heart, on how quickly he (feels) he’s been forced into a position of power. The fact that the adults around him are so ready to push him onto the throne that they’d stoop to betrayal struck an old wound.
Emphasis on the old wound part, because he acts like he’s fully accepted his supposed destiny as king. There’s a chance this old wound may be opened again given his desire to “believe in my own potential,” being violently denied by the mirror that’s manipulating him.
On the topic of old wounds and conflicting feelings... there’s also this thing his teacher said. 🤔
Anyways, that’s one reading. It’s also possible that he simply ‘cares about his brother secretly uwu’ & that’s why the betrayal struck a nerve, but that’d be boring. 😂
It’s possible he was just manipulating Domas too, though that’d be boring for different reasons. 🤣
Welp, we’ll see how the nuances turn out.
In general Daida’s already starting to remind me of Azula from Avatar The Last Airbender.
Yet while ATLA waited until the very end to make her complexity known, Ranking Of Kings is making its buildup more clear, & starting way earlier... that has me hyped asf.
I LOVED the concept of Azula’s predicament, and loved her as a character, but was always disappointed in the lack of reasonably apparent emotional nuance and of/c how her tragedy was kind of tacked onto the ending of ATLA.
Daida & Bojji struggling to survive being put into positions of power in what seems to be a brutal world far too young (even Daida admits like ‘yo, mirror, I’m still young, chill’ obv not in those words but) is an overarching conflict I’m loving so far & hyped to see more of.
Oh yeah, full disclaimer, this promo art an artist on the show posted relating to the next episode motivated me to actually write down & post my thoughts. XD Them, happy brothers? At some point in time at least? I knew it.
Well, there aren’t enough of these yet so here I come to help fill the void.
Ouken deserved better!
Warnings: Spoilers, canon violence
Just like everyone else you were running in a blind panic. Why? Prince Ouken was on the loose. The Underworld knights were trying to protect the civilians but all they could do was slow him down.
Prince Despa was desperately trying to get the people to safety however none would listen, far too panicked to heed his words.
It was bad enough that you yourself had to jump several wounded and dead, soldiers and civilians alike, on the ground but you also had to be alert to dodge every other person running blindly.
Unfortunately for you, you did take a wrong turn. It was at a distance but you could clearly see armored men fighting. One silver armored in the middle of it, dancing around the golden armored soldiers that surrounded him in a very macabre and gruesome way. You didn’t seem to look away as prince Ouken rasped out a few laughs at the attempts of the soldiers that were growing to be more desperate by the minute and he reveled in each hit he was able to land.
All of the sudden however, he looked at you and stopped. The soldiers immediately took advantage of this distraction but Ouken would not move from his spot. Black ooze repaired every hit he took as he only tilted his head slightly as he stares your way.
Finally retrieving control of your frightened legs you turn around attempting to run when all at once… to your absolute horror… you cease to move completely.
Your mind begs your legs to move as you seem to be able to sense his movement. With your back turned you can feel he is coming your way all the while hearing the screams of the soldiers as they are beaten and discarded as if mere inconveniences.
Every step he takes you hear the metal of his armor clanking in a torturous slow pace as your mind goes down in a panicked spiral “Oh GOD! Move! Movemovemovemove! Please! Not like this! He is so close! What is he going to do to me? PLEASE LET ME MOVE!!!!”
Tears streamed down your face as he comes to a halt behind you. He remains there for a while before circling you and standing in front of you. He tilts his head to the side again as if studying you. You look from his bloody helmet to his sword wielding hand and he seems to follow. He raises his sword just a bit voicing out a strange rasp as he sees you shiver.
Despa arrives at the scene with the Captain at his side and his face blanches at the sight before him. He cannot call on his brother Desha for his lightning at how close Ouken is to you. You would surely be caught in as well. “OUKEN! Ouken please DON’T!” he begs but his brother remains unresponsive.
You close your eyes bracing for impact and the pain that was sure to come. As if the Fates were taunting you, you notice you can now move your pinky fingers which meant you were recovering mobility all too slowly. The sound of metal assaults your senses and you tremble but nothing hits you.
You keep hearing metal and you open your eyes to find Ouken removing his gauntlets, his sword left forgotten on the floor. When his hands are finally free from his armor he raises one and timidly brought it to your face wiping away tears from your cheek.
You let out a shaky breath you didn’t know you were holding, eyes wide, still not understanding or trusting what was happening.
Despa and the Captain also look on in awe at this development. To say this was strange was an understatement. When Ouken was himself sure, but as the immortal blood took over he was only known for violence.
Prince Ouken slowly reaches his hands to his helmet and removes it. You are surprised to find his features… human instead of a bloodthirsty monster. Not only that but that of a handsome man. Yet, his eyes… His eyes were…wrong. Void of any emotion. Scaring you as they never leave yours as if he was searching for something. Whatever it was he didn’t seem to find it and his expression changes from blank to confusion.
He raises his hands to your face once more, gently holding it in place as if you weren’t still paralyzed and before you can even guess why he gives you a light chaste kiss.
When he finally parts, his eyes seem to have regained life but before he can explore this further your hand collides harshly with his face. Prince Ouken laughs as he clutches his offended cheek, a normal human laugh and before you can even run away he holds you in his arms twirling you around as he thanks you over and over again.
After this moment, your life was turned upside down.
· Despa and the Captain approach you cautiously and as Ouken spots them: “Despa? Captain?”
Both of them begin ugly sobbing at this.
· Despa: “Ouken?” he gently cradles his younger brother’s face “Is it really you?”
· The brothers share a long and overdue hug. The Captain covering his eyes with his forearm trying to stop the tears.
· Despa:”But how?” – Ouken looks at you as he answers “I don’t know. I just… Suddenly saw a light and followed it.”
· Despa takes your hands in his as he thanks you profusely for returning his brother back to him.
· Then….everything in your life changes….and fast.
· Despa informed his older brother King Desha about the events as well as plans to heal the injured and compensate the families of those tragically lost.
· Prince Despa then pleaded with you to go with them to the Underworld as he needed to test a theory regarding this situation. You would be protected as well as tended to your every need in the castle as a most esteemed guest.
· You were close to deny the request but as your eyes wandered to Prince Ouken he gave you his best pleading look and you relented. How could this man be a menace to your life one second and give the best hurt puppy eyes the next and be the same person?
· Your family was thoroughly informed about the situation as well as reassured of your well-being and reluctantly let you on this journey. You said your teary goodbyes to family and best friends and followed the princes.
· The trip to the Underworld was fortunately uneventful. You always got paired up with Ouken since no one wished to figure out what would happen should the prince be separated from you. You couldn’t blame them nor could Ouken albeit he would always look sad when mentioned as he did retain his memories when he was under the curse.
· As you got to spend time with Ouken and getting to know him a bit, it only increased your confusion at how does such a sweet man turn into a killing machine? And just how unfairly cruel it seemed.
· Every time there was a problem he was the first to help out. Even if people were still afraid and wary of him, the prince never let that get him down. It was commendable if not downright inspiring.
· Prince Despa had welcomed his brother with open arms and couldn’t stop taking every moment to remain by his side already discussing a bit of everything he had missed and plans to restore his reputation.
· On one of the stops before reaching the Underworld, you couldn’t sleep. So you arose from the tent but suddenly stopped as you spot Ouken by the fire. He took a dagger and suddenly jabbed it into his forearm. Your hands flew to your mouth as you saw the wound weeping that same black ooze. It swished around as Ouken removed the dagger and regenerated the wound swiftly as if it was never punctured. The man brought his hands to his face weeping quietly. You may have brought back his sanity but his father’s curse was still there.
· Despa made his way to his younger brother, placing a reassuring hand on his back “Your soulmate may have not been able to break the curse completely but they have returned you to us. We now have more time to try and solve the rest.”
· Soulmate? Like in fairy tales? True love’s kiss and all that nonsense? You didn’t know if you believed that or not. It didn’t matter! Your proximity to the young royal seemed to keep him grounded and his heartbreaking sadness right now made you resolute into helping him any way you can.
· Upon arrival, at the very mouth of the Underworld, there stood King Desha eager to see his younger brother back with his own two eyes.
· At first, both brothers just stood there facing each other but soon the King pulled the prince into a teary hug.
· Desha: “You’re back!”
Ouken: “Yeah”
Desha: “You look like crap!”
Ouken: “You too!”
· The three brothers were back together again. Happiness and relief flooded the atmosphere as you looked on with a smile on your face.
· Finally noticing you, King Desha awkwardly thanks you and welcomes you to the family.
· Despa begins to panic at your confused yet flustered expression and proceeds to chastise the King.
· Desha: “Whaaaaaaat? They are going to stay by his side forever so might as well marry him.”
Despa: “Brother please! They just met! It’s a sensitive subject to discuss so soon!”
Desha: “Whyyyy? Look at him! He doesn’t seem to mind! Quite the opposite really! And this way everybody wins!”
· As the brothers bicker back and forth Ouken gingerly approaches you fully red faced as you and coughs into his hand: “I’m….I’m sorry about my brothers”.
· Upon arriving to the castle, King Desha relieved his populace by informing them that “The Sword of the Underworld” – prince Ouken – had returned. The news was received with mixed feelings among the crowd but the King was quick to silence every doubt.
· Inside the castle, Ouken and Despa gave you the tour. Your quarters were going to obviously be next to Ouken’s – a fact to which he spared you an adorable apologetic look and assured you that if you’d need anything all you had to do was call and he’d be right over.
· That night you could barely sleep, not only from being in a whole different room and bed but also you could hear screaming and crying in the room next door where the prince surely was having rough nightmares. Plagued by your pity you rise from the bed and you go over the prince’s door and knock gently. You blame the military training the prince has had cause he opens the door almost immediately.
· Ouken: “Is everything alright?!”
You: “Yes I just….heard crying…like you were having a nightmare….Do you…..want to talk about it?”
Ouken: “Oh! OH! I’m so sorry for awaking you. It’s….It’s nothing please-“
You: “It’s not nothing, prince Ouken. If we are to be in this together then we better start trusting each other a bit, don’t you think?”
Ouken gives you a small tender smile: “Then I suppose it is best you drop the title. Just call me Ouken, please.”
You smile back at him: “Fair enough.”
· The next day you were bombarded by maids fitting you into several outfits for the upcoming party celebrating the younger prince’s return. Everyone in the castle was nervous about it but the people had insisted.
· After that, Despa took you and Ouken towards the empty training grounds to test the range of the soulmate influence on Ouken. After several tries, Despa finally settled the maximum comfortable distance between the two of you for Ouken to start…losing. Turns out, if you were to be in the heart of the castle Ouken could travel as far as anywhere in the castle. These were good news but- You weren’t quite so satisfied.
· Once you catch Despa alone, you beg him to tell you everything he knows about the curse. When he asks you why you want to know, you tell him about what you saw at that campfire and that you don’t want to be Ouken’s personified leash, you want him to be free. Despa thought you were the cutest thing ever and of course he couldn’t say no… Of course, you would owe him one, nothing is free after all (he will “request” to become your child’s Godfather when it comes to it).
· From that moment on you could be found in the library either alone or with Despa surrounded by books that possibly contained clues as to an end to the curse.
· Ouken would become a bit jealous over your time being shared with Despa. He was beginning to fear that you would be falling for his famous handsome brother over him till you scoff about the very idea and tell him your quest to help him out. Ashamed for feeling jealous and by being sort of a burden upon you, the prince now makes it his mission to make sure you take plenty of breaks and to stretch your legs by going on walks with him.
· Actually just wants to spend as much time with you as possible.
· Sometimes soldiers would come look for you. The reason was because their training with Ouken was getting a tad too serious while sparing and either they were afraid he was snapping or they hoped that your presence would distract him so they could beat him. They were wrong on all accounts as their asses were kicked even harder as, with you there, Ouken was ten times more invested so he can show himself off to you.
· And you thank whatever deity is true and alive whenever this man trains with his shirt off.
· You and Ouken could always tell where the other was. Must be one of the whole soulmate perks. So you two usually walk back to your rooms together and every time he gently kisses your knuckles wishing you sweet dreams.
· Certain things just became rituals between you two. Since his training would start early in the morning you would leave him a handwritten note under his door the night prior. In the morning you would find your note with a written reply or poem by him.
· One night, Ouken was having one of his worst nightmares and you spent the night by his side. In the morning Despa erupted in the room because he had to speak to Ouken when he notices you two in each other’s arms. A big mischievous grin grows on is face as Ouken whispers to explain that nothing happened while trying to not awake you. Despa and Desha tease him about it for weeks.
· The dreaded day of the party arrived. Despa taught you basic etiquette and dance but it was still awkward for you. Prince Ouken despite not wearing the crown, is still a very sought out bachelor so he found himself surrounded by quite the crowd.
· You wanted to help him but you yourself were surrounded by a different kind of crowd, the uptight, nosy kind. They began drilling into you, asking you about your origins, upbringing, any single thing they could learn to try and tear your very existence apart. THANK GOD Despa came to your rescue pulling you to the dance floor.
· You thanked him for the save and he brushes it off: “I know what is like to be thrown to the vipers.”
You: “Just glad you taught me somethings or their teeth would’ve sunk deeper.”
He laughs: “Now, how about we go save my brother, hm? I mean, again.”
· With a wink and an expert move Despa trades places with his brother. Surprised, Ouken gives him a thankful nod and looks back at you lovingly.
· Ouken and you danced together the remainder of the party refusing politely to trade partners.
· His brothers look at the two of you with a knowing smile.
· What began to be a terrible party, assaulting you with jealousy, awkwardness and even rage, ended with you in Ouken’s arms. Safest you ever felt.
· Despa and Desha began to aggressively ship the two of you.
· Sometimes you two could just be doing something as innocent as hand holding that the King would yell “JUST GET MARRIED ALREADY!!”
· One time Despa had to restrain his elder sibling from marrying you on the spot.
King Desha: “You know what? I’m the King! I decide you two are now lifelong MARRIED partners! BOOM! Done!”
Prince Despa: “OH MY GOD BROTHER!”
You and Ouken: O//////////O
· Saying the castle is lively again is an understatement.
· Should someone have the absolute gall to try and kidnap you… Ouken feels something is wrong immediately. They cannot go far without facing the wrath of the three royal siblings and the knights.
· You and Despa managed to find somewhat of a cure with the help of Miranjo. However when Ouken received the news he was crestfallen.
· When asked about it, he will embarrassingly admit he doesn’t want to lose you. And he thought that if he is cured, you would move away from him. You swiftly put his worries to rest assuring him he is not getting rid of you so soon.
· The cure will not completely cure everything as he is still a very resistant demigod but he is now able to go anywhere without you without losing himself to the curse. The two of you almost don’t get to test that out seeing how inseparable you’ve become.
· You and Ouken travel more frequently now. Mostly between your homeland (your family adores him) and the Underworld but sometimes other countries as well while helping out and making amends from when he was a sadistic cursed being.
· You even get to meet Bojji and Kage. The boys didn’t recognize Ouken at first but when they did….whoooooo boy… Kage shielded Bojji immediately while you were trying to explain everything. After Bojji calmed Kage down they listened to the whole story happily.
· You even visited King Daida and his mother Hiling. During your stay you two were watched by them as if they were hawks. Eventually they eased up and blessed your marriage, resulting in shock when informed that you two are still not married.
Queen Hiling: “Well then you better get to it!”
· You two eventually do get married much to the relief of all who shipped you two.
