#proseka analysis

[getwonderhoyd]

in tsukasas card i see references to three mythological creatures. the figures behind him are two kasa clones, lefty's shadow has a fox's tail while right's has a tanukis making them shapeshifters. kitsune are often messengers from gods and have a more refined reputation. tanuki are tricksters who love playing pranks on people, reflected in how each of them dress. tanuki also use a leaf to help them transform, which is why the middle kasa holds one. is he a tanuki too? its unclear

the other is the kasa obake, a yokai of an umbrella with one eye. when old belongings are forgotten and left in disrepair, they can transform into yokai. each kasa is holding a broken and torn red parasol iconic of the kasa obake, and only one of his eyes can be seen. even his clones eyes are hidden by the glare of his glasses.

whats unusual about the kasa obake is unlike other yokai, it has little to no basis in eyewitness accounts or folklore and is only seen in art, so it's considered less of a folk legend and more a fictional character. this has interesting implications for tsukasa who is the actor. he has a running history when it comes to identifying as the characters he plays in his cards, and seems to be the only character in this set "playing the part" of a yokai or spirit rather than just being with them. and theres something to be said about tsukasa in a gakuran, just like he wore in middle school, identifying with an object thats been left behind and ignored.

with tsukasa also holding the leaf like a tanuki, treating the kasa clones like completely separate people is not the way to go. lefty is prim and proper, like a textbook student. you could attribute him to the tsukasa who is responsible and reliable, the dependable older brother and troupe leader who wants to take care of everyone and puts their needs before his own. right is messy and confident, the loud, annoying, weird, silly, self absorbed and ego driven tsukasa. hes often reduced to one or the other, but with only one half it doesnt even look like him anymore. both sides are intrinsically him

tsukasa struggles a lot with how he views himself versus what he wants to be, squashing down what he identifies as less desirable traits to fit his ideal. this is most obviously seen in his last focus event, hiding his "ugly" emotions from wxs to maintain his image, but also in kaito, who embodies everything tsukasa hopes to be. theres much more, but tsukasa and identity has been a subtle but constant thematic through line for him. the kasa clones could be how various characters view him, how they often either love him or find him a nuisance. it could be the responsible and brave face he put on for saki and his parents, and now he has the potential to be looked after by someone else if he takes it. it could be the always okay always happy face he shows wxs while he struggles to actually be vulnerable and honest about his problems. it could be a whole host of things

theres so much symbolism in this card and im sure theres stuff i havent even noticed yet

[getwonderhoyd]

each of tsukasas focus events have him working harder and sacrificing more for the sake of a show. tondemo wonders had him put aside the show competition for emus aspiration, not too difficult to do and hes glad he did it but it still stung

white day event he didnt sacrifice something, but he had to fight to keep the whole thing afloat and even roped in audience members to save it

for torpe tsukasa really had to struggle to get this role. he ended up confronting some really uncomfortable childhood memories for this character

this event has tsukasa starving himself for days and completely mentally berating himself just to get in character. he is putting his mental and physical wellbeing at great risk and wxs know they couldnt stop him if they tried. each event he goes further, from very normal struggles to voluntarily hurting himself for the sake of a perfomance, and because it works so effectively hes not going to stop until someone intervenes

[getwonderhoyd]

when you have overarching themes of identity as an actor and performing a certain ideal vs being ugly and vulnerable and honest and you have art where youre represented entirely as kitsune and tanuki disguised as you

[getwonderhoyd]

tsukasas parents are loving and care a lot about saki and tsukasa. tsukasa was still neglected. sometimes parents do everything right and they still fuck their kids up without meaning to

serious illness, especially of a small child, fucks everything up. its a domino effect that affects you even when youre not the one sick. its a simple truth that when one child needs so much care, others are often left behind

it is simply not humanly possible to balance everything as though it doesnt affect your life. its very possible tsukasas parents could not do things better, and hed still be fucked up about it

they neglected him. its not really their fault, its not really anyones fault. but it happened

as anyone whos grieved or been in a similar situation knows, the people caring need carers. while theyre dealing with having a sick relative, they need people who look after them in turn bc its one of the first things to go, self care

tsukasas parents were doing the caring. there was no one doing that for them or tsukasa, as far as we know. im trying to emphasise what gets compromised in such a situation

when your sibling is sick and they might die, and you dont really know whats going on but you know youre terrified, you learn quickly how to be the easy kid

and i think thats part of what is making this so difficult for tsukasa, he knows its not really their fault. he knows there was more at stake. he hasnt accepted that it still sucked regardless of that