The fondness event with Sara and Kai in ytts made me think of the parallels between Kai and Midori again. Specifically about how they approach relationships. As always, I don't feel like I can express my thoughts as eloquently as I want to, but I do think the setup of similarity and contrast between the two is interesting. Both of them being raised under the organization, there's a level of disconnect that they have to have in their relationships, with Kai's being primarily physical distance and Midori's being primarily emotional/psychological.
The thing that stood out to me was the way Kai takes note of Sara's likes and dislikes, like in the notes on his laptop. It's naturally the kind of attentiveness you pay to someone you care about. That's the way it's portrayed on his laptop anyways. But I thought it was interesting that he's kind of weird about it and refers to it as "data" in this direct interaction with her. (Ignore that I'm doing so so poorly and am about to lose the game in the screenshot LOL..)
Not only that, but he waits until after Sara tries the fruit to mention that it's sour. It just kind of reminded me of the way Midori was always observing Shin and his reactions to things, collecting "data" on Shin in a similar kind of way. (This got to be very long, so please continue reading below.)
Of course, in both situations, there's an aspect of necessity in the way Kai and Midori observe Sara and Shin respectively. Kai's mission from Asunaro was to keep an eye on Sara, in addition to his job as a homemaker for the Chidouins requiring a level of attentiveness, and Midori had to observe Shin for the creation of his AI and doll and likely just to keep tabs on him for Asunaro. Interestingly, they're complete opposites in how close they're able to get to the people they're observing, with Kai only keeping an eye on Sara "from the shadows", and Midori spending almost every day by Shin's side. That's why it's ironic that Kai is the one who outwardly grows and changes the most, while Midori stays adamant about obeying the will of the organization. Kai ends up channeling his experiences within the organization into motivation to protect more people from getting harmed by it, while Midori maintains his distance and mindset until the very end. Despite Kai's physical distance from knowing Sara directly, he cares about her life beyond what he can get in return, while Midori keeps up a facade of knowing Shin and letting Shin know him in return, but maintaining distance from any real emotion or connection he may feel, maintaining a sense of control over the situation.
Their similarities lie in how unnaturally they approach relationships and/or express their care for people, likely having never received a good example of how to care for someone in the past. There's no room for that when you're training to become an assassin, or devoting your entire life to an organization built on lies, that views your life as completely expendable. They're similar in the way they're never really able to get close to anybody due to their positions in Asunaro. But beyond that, they actually become pretty contrasting characters. While Kai was raised with a hint of love and companionship amidst hostility (his connection with Sei and his father trying to give them both bits and pieces of a happy life), perhaps Midori didn't get so lucky. While Midori committed himself entirely to the organization, never given a reason to question it, Kai rebelled against it. Kai learned to love; Midori experimented with love, and pushed himself away further from it.
I think most of all it's interesting how their circumstances and experiences shaped them. It's why I feel very sympathetic towards Midori too, because the thing about him is that he became exactly what he needed to be in his situation. He was so successful in that that he never had the opportunity to question anything different. He didn't have a choice. He's kind of a hard character to have sympathy for because of how readily he commits to not showing weakness and putting himself in a position above others, to removing himself from his humanity, but it's also because of these things that makes me more sympathetic towards him. He's a character built on fear and striving for a sense of control when it really comes down to it. He's built on illusions. He has an air of inevitable tragedy to him because he has nothing outside of the organization that will ultimately betray him, yet seems perfectly comfortable and happy in this role. It makes me curious about whether he has the capability to change in a similar way to Kai, if his circumstances changed. BUT I'm also horribly biased in wanting to look more into him as a character. A lot of things I've brought up in this analysis are kind of up to interpretation due to how little we get about Midori's past in the game...
I DIDN'T MEAN FOR THIS TO BECOME NEARLY AN ESSAY, BUT IT ENDED UP KINDA HAVING THE FORMAT AND COMPONENTS OF AN ESSAY, MY BAD. (Although...with none of the organization of one. This is kind of a mess.) I just had a lot of thoughts on the subject. I also reread through some of the stuff from Kai's laptop for this, and the "personal thanks" part especially made me so sad... For the first time, he had a reason to live... He was able to experience what it's like to care and be cared for after a lifetime without it, and it changed him... Kai is a really lovely and endearing and tragic character to me. And I love how we can get deeper insight into one character through comparing them to another.
thinking about how Nankidai is physically incapable of not writing siblings in the most tragic possible way (at least one of them is contractually obligated to die for the other's sake)
mishima/alice fondness events: yeah, we both get shat on for our appearances, but that’s ok! ill still watch out for you and be your ally!!! it matters that you look past the outer shell of people to truly get to know them!!
meanwhile kai/alice fondness events: hey you dumb prisoner bitch, I am the seashell overlord!!!! not you!!!!!!wait. that’s a really nice shell………i need your lips on mine dude……
Next Tourney Announcement: Your Turn To Tourney!!!
I figure there must be enough overlap between DR and YTTD fans for this to fit onto this blog, yeah? And anyways, I'm on a bit of a kick for it at the moment, with both mutuals and irl friends playing through it recently, so I thought this might be fun :D
I'll be doing 6 rounds this time- the top 8 matchups in round 1, the lower 8 in match 2, and all matchups on the bracket for 3-6. Propaganda for your favs is always encouraged, and any submitted via the askbox will be added! (Slander won't be, though. We're all here for a fun time.)
And if you haven't played yttd yet, consider this your sign to, since it's free access online
