(no subject)
Man this is kind of cool since recent translations made my headcanon regarding her past somewhat canon.
Anyway, character essay! Doing these in order, so Tear's thoughts on Kaito.
Getting the headcanon-canon out of the way first-- my impression of Tear was always that she never had a lot of... friends, even growing up. She practically idol-worshipped her brother, had no family, lived beneath the crust of the planet where she was an outcast and everyone thought she got special treatment and therefore kinda shunned her-- it ultimately ended up with her growing up with her closest friends being her teachers, and cold and harsh ones at that. While Tear isn't socially inept (we see plenty in the game that she handles herself just fine in that respect), I don't think she's very socially apt.
Until the advent of the Abyss party, I don't think she ever really talked to anyone with the intent of making friends-- just being all business. Therefore the kind of kindness she received from Kaito was somewhat foreign to her in the beginning-- oh sure, passing compliments from people she doesn't know very well she might be used to, but someone she's grown close to freely complimenting her when, on the internal, instinctual basis, she doesn't feel like she's earned much is... new. Even though Van was probably always kind towards her growing up, her teachers were tough on her and probably only praised her when she made some sort of breakthrough in her training.
So yeah, I don't think it's a stretch for her to take the words of someone she regarded with plenty of respect very close to heart.
RIGHT ONTO THE MAIN TOPIC. Life or death situation back home got put on hold, and she got to meet Mr. Charming Magician.
Right from the start, these two were always polar opposites in personality but not so much in moral and drive, which complimented each other very well. I think Tear grew close to him pretty fast because of this-- though most people are like /shrug, begins daily life on island, they were like 'wait... no' and decided to do something about, you know, being trapped. Sure it hasn't paid off that much, but the fact is that they've never really stopped or even considered stopping. I think Tear probably respected him for that since the very beginning, even if he did get on her nerves more back then than he does now.
Speaking of, Kaito's really the only person Tear's ever smacked around. She's not the violent tsun type-- he just really knows how to get a rise out of her to provoke her to pure instinct, which is, admittedly, something most people can't do. However, she's only ever Pow Hammer'd him when he really deserved it so it's not like a smack at every comment that could be taken the wrong way. And you would think, with her low tolerance for dickery, she'd talk to him less, but... no, that was never the case. Tear's never stopped a conversation with him (well okay special case) abruptly for any reason like that-- they just kinda have an awkward silence and switch topics or the conversation just naturally steers away-- if you ever wondered how we could have such huge threads, there you go. They bicker, they squabble, they joke, they do awesome stuff together, they walk around the island more than anyone ever. They're very good conversationalists; they can talk for fucking ever, which I think contributed the most to their relationship, not just the adventures or the flirting-- but both were contributing factors.
He's had a huge, huge effect on how she carries herself. Cold, distant Tear melted away a little bit. She smiles more often, she talks to more people. Having your first real friend, -not- due to wartime shenanigans or so on? It is kind of a big deal. I think while Tear is at peace with the idea of knowing they'll be separated again one day to finish their jobs, she's not at peace with never seeing him again, hence asking a few people about dimension hopping. Of course, she'd never ever consider that before her home world is at peace, just-- yeah. If the end of Abyss is any indication, Tear is pretty devotedly patient. I don't think she'd mind waiting for him just the same as she didn't mind waiting for Luke at the end of the game.
Another thing is his goals and motivations themselves-- Tear backs him 100%, now having the full story from him, but at the same time, there's plenty she's not good at yet, like comforting him or... knowing what to say, considering their little destinies are so vastly different, (That's another point. Despite being from two different worlds, they haven't had too much trouble overcoming those social/mindset/identity barriers.) but she does know that she's got his back. She'll always be there to help him if she's ever needed, but she knows when to back off when there are things Kaito wants to deal with himself.
On the flirting-- while I'm sure Tear's gotten some back home, he's just always been... very good at it with her. He's never dropped her a flirty compliment that made her uncomfortable; just made her blush like crazy and not know how to deal with it. Riiight before they got into a relationship, Tear was even starting to return some of it, though I'm not sure how aware she was of it-- it was in her own, very subtle way. I think she probably learned from him. And okay yes, it did inspire some of the dokidoki feelings, but it was the rest of him that backed it up and made Tear get a full-blown crush on him that just grew-- I think she became conscious of her feelings by... March. And to be honest, she probably would have kept quiet about them for much longer if she didn't feel like the island was ticking away to the time she went back home. Even if he rejected her, she did want him to know how she felt.
But hey, he didn't. Though it took them a while, Tear eventually explained her motivations for why she chose to tell him about her feelings despite knowing she's going to go home to a war eventually, maybe even soon. And here we are! Though she's still not afraid to scold him, or be cold occasionally, he's definitely somewhere in her top tier of people she respects and cares deeply for.
Man, is she glad Van went home.
One more thing, Tear is also... confused. Not in a terribly bad way but it goes back to her not being very socially apt. She... doesn't know what the fuck girlfriends are supposed to do? She mostly just falls back on chatting with him casually the same as they did when they were still just friends, but she gets this nagging feeling that she should be more affectionate more often than that, but she doesn't really know how to... execute that. Personally I think this is a very hilarious sort of awkward because I can just see her trying to be •3• and ending up more º3º;;;;;; or doing stuff like reaching to hold his hand then pulling back at the last second. I think she'll grow out of that eventuallyyyy but right now she's just testing the waters. Someone halp.
I... I THINK THAT'S MOST OF IT? OH GOD I COULD PROBABLY ADD MORE
Anyway, character essay! Doing these in order, so Tear's thoughts on Kaito.
Getting the headcanon-canon out of the way first-- my impression of Tear was always that she never had a lot of... friends, even growing up. She practically idol-worshipped her brother, had no family, lived beneath the crust of the planet where she was an outcast and everyone thought she got special treatment and therefore kinda shunned her-- it ultimately ended up with her growing up with her closest friends being her teachers, and cold and harsh ones at that. While Tear isn't socially inept (we see plenty in the game that she handles herself just fine in that respect), I don't think she's very socially apt.
Until the advent of the Abyss party, I don't think she ever really talked to anyone with the intent of making friends-- just being all business. Therefore the kind of kindness she received from Kaito was somewhat foreign to her in the beginning-- oh sure, passing compliments from people she doesn't know very well she might be used to, but someone she's grown close to freely complimenting her when, on the internal, instinctual basis, she doesn't feel like she's earned much is... new. Even though Van was probably always kind towards her growing up, her teachers were tough on her and probably only praised her when she made some sort of breakthrough in her training.
So yeah, I don't think it's a stretch for her to take the words of someone she regarded with plenty of respect very close to heart.
RIGHT ONTO THE MAIN TOPIC. Life or death situation back home got put on hold, and she got to meet Mr. Charming Magician.
Right from the start, these two were always polar opposites in personality but not so much in moral and drive, which complimented each other very well. I think Tear grew close to him pretty fast because of this-- though most people are like /shrug, begins daily life on island, they were like 'wait... no' and decided to do something about, you know, being trapped. Sure it hasn't paid off that much, but the fact is that they've never really stopped or even considered stopping. I think Tear probably respected him for that since the very beginning, even if he did get on her nerves more back then than he does now.
Speaking of, Kaito's really the only person Tear's ever smacked around. She's not the violent tsun type-- he just really knows how to get a rise out of her to provoke her to pure instinct, which is, admittedly, something most people can't do. However, she's only ever Pow Hammer'd him when he really deserved it so it's not like a smack at every comment that could be taken the wrong way. And you would think, with her low tolerance for dickery, she'd talk to him less, but... no, that was never the case. Tear's never stopped a conversation with him (well okay special case) abruptly for any reason like that-- they just kinda have an awkward silence and switch topics or the conversation just naturally steers away-- if you ever wondered how we could have such huge threads, there you go. They bicker, they squabble, they joke, they do awesome stuff together, they walk around the island more than anyone ever. They're very good conversationalists; they can talk for fucking ever, which I think contributed the most to their relationship, not just the adventures or the flirting-- but both were contributing factors.
He's had a huge, huge effect on how she carries herself. Cold, distant Tear melted away a little bit. She smiles more often, she talks to more people. Having your first real friend, -not- due to wartime shenanigans or so on? It is kind of a big deal. I think while Tear is at peace with the idea of knowing they'll be separated again one day to finish their jobs, she's not at peace with never seeing him again, hence asking a few people about dimension hopping. Of course, she'd never ever consider that before her home world is at peace, just-- yeah. If the end of Abyss is any indication, Tear is pretty devotedly patient. I don't think she'd mind waiting for him just the same as she didn't mind waiting for Luke at the end of the game.
Another thing is his goals and motivations themselves-- Tear backs him 100%, now having the full story from him, but at the same time, there's plenty she's not good at yet, like comforting him or... knowing what to say, considering their little destinies are so vastly different, (That's another point. Despite being from two different worlds, they haven't had too much trouble overcoming those social/mindset/identity barriers.) but she does know that she's got his back. She'll always be there to help him if she's ever needed, but she knows when to back off when there are things Kaito wants to deal with himself.
On the flirting-- while I'm sure Tear's gotten some back home, he's just always been... very good at it with her. He's never dropped her a flirty compliment that made her uncomfortable; just made her blush like crazy and not know how to deal with it. Riiight before they got into a relationship, Tear was even starting to return some of it, though I'm not sure how aware she was of it-- it was in her own, very subtle way. I think she probably learned from him. And okay yes, it did inspire some of the dokidoki feelings, but it was the rest of him that backed it up and made Tear get a full-blown crush on him that just grew-- I think she became conscious of her feelings by... March. And to be honest, she probably would have kept quiet about them for much longer if she didn't feel like the island was ticking away to the time she went back home. Even if he rejected her, she did want him to know how she felt.
But hey, he didn't. Though it took them a while, Tear eventually explained her motivations for why she chose to tell him about her feelings despite knowing she's going to go home to a war eventually, maybe even soon. And here we are! Though she's still not afraid to scold him, or be cold occasionally, he's definitely somewhere in her top tier of people she respects and cares deeply for.
Man, is she glad Van went home.
One more thing, Tear is also... confused. Not in a terribly bad way but it goes back to her not being very socially apt. She... doesn't know what the fuck girlfriends are supposed to do? She mostly just falls back on chatting with him casually the same as they did when they were still just friends, but she gets this nagging feeling that she should be more affectionate more often than that, but she doesn't really know how to... execute that. Personally I think this is a very hilarious sort of awkward because I can just see her trying to be •3• and ending up more º3º;;;;;; or doing stuff like reaching to hold his hand then pulling back at the last second. I think she'll grow out of that eventuallyyyy but right now she's just testing the waters. Someone halp.
I... I THINK THAT'S MOST OF IT? OH GOD I COULD PROBABLY ADD MORE