Shirabe Kotori ∞ {{Amou Kanade}} (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
halfthebird) wrote2012-11-20 08:19 pm
halfthebird) wrote2012-11-20 08:19 pm
Entry tags:
OOC ∞ History
So Kanade has 20 minutes of screentime, total, and about half of that is through hallucinations instead of events that actually happened. Trivia & extra scenes in the manga flesh out her history, but the Symphogear wiki doesn't cover any of this material.
That's where this post comes in, as well as highlighting the changes between Kanade's canon personality and "Kotori's" demeanor in Asphodel. Basically, where canon!Kanade got a chance to overcome the curveballs life threw her way, Kotori hasn't been quite that lucky yet.
We'll see how things progress.
Canon History
Kanade's world is an AU future Earth that, throughout history, has been attacked by creatures called "Noise". Ancient civilizations developed magical "relics" as anti-Noise weapons, and modern research seeks to exploit these shattered "relics" through the use of (rather dubious) science. The fruit of this research is a set of armor & a weapon called the "Symphogear", which can only be activated and worn by certain people singing certain songs.
When Kanade is 14 years old her parents take her and her younger sister to a relic excavation site. The Noise attack the site; only Kanade survives. Japan's counter-Noise agency, Division II, interrogates her, and Kanade demands to be given a weapon, claiming only she can avenge her family's deaths. Seeing her resolve, Division II's leader agrees.
Kanade therefore begins a series of trainings and tests in hopes of activating the relic "Gungnir", but consistently fails. When Kanade hears Division II's top scientist grow discouraged, she forcibly injects herself with a higher dosage of the testing drugs. The dose nearly kills her, but she's able to activate Gungnir and fight with the Symphogear. She can't keep Gungnir active for very long, however, and has to keep taking drugs to support the toll her relic takes on her body.
Weapon in hand, Kanade fights the Noise alongside another Symphogear user, Kazanari Tsubasa, singing on the battlefield to keep her relic active. One day, she's thanked by a group of soldiers after digging them out from some rubble - hearing her song, they claim, helped them not lose hope. Kanade's touched by this sentiment, and shortly afterwards forms an idol duo, "Zwei Wing", with Tsubasa.
Zwei Wing becomes popular, and Division II decides to tap into its power for an experiment with a different relic. Kanade is told in secret, however, to go off the "LiNKER" drug she's been taking to support her body. She agrees, and the experiment (and the concert powering it) appears to be a success.
The Noise attack the concert hall. Kanade rushes into battle, but her stamina and power are both weakened since she's off her meds. Gungnir splinters, and a fragment of it wounds an innocent bystander. Assessing the situation, Kanade sings her "swan song", releasing the full power of her relic to defeat the Noise. She dies shortly afterwards in Tsubasa's arms.
Which brings us to Asphodel.
Asphodel AU
In canon, Kanade grows from an unhinged 14-year-old bent on revenge to a mature, grounded older teen who seizes the day while taking life as it comes. She matures this way because she's able to realize her desire for vengeance - she's got a Symphogear and can fight the Noise - yet she also has been told she's an inspiration to others. This enables her to see "beyond the fighting", aware of the everyday lives and lifestyles she's saving at the cost of her own (which she only learned to value upon losing).
"Kotori" in Asphodel hasn't been so fortunate. As in canon, she's lost her "normal, everyday life", but is helpless to fight back - her family was carjacked and murdered trying to leave Asphodel for a vacation, and the case remains perpetually unsolved. She also "remembers" spending a year in and out of the mental hospital after the carjacking, as a nod to canon Kanade's former borderline-psychotic behavior.
Kotori is therefore much moodier than canon Kanade, full of pent-up energy without a useful conduit: she's neither been given a chance for revenge nor been told she has the power to influence others' lives for the better. Although she still sings her heart out at karaoke each night, a passion through which Kanade inspired other people, she's singing primarily as a release for herself. (Her joy at performing remains intact - she just hasn't discovered the reasons why.)
Overall, Kotori's restless and listless, attacking some tasks head-on while half-assing others, unable to find a pastime that puts her fully at ease. Though the "years" have granted her a calmer perspective, the helplessness she felt during the carjacking and resulting need to solve problems herself gnaws at her, so until she discovers a new framework for her life, she can't find peace. Instead, she bums around a lot, choosing to feign laziness without ever actually relaxing.
Daily Life
People's lives in Asphodel tend to play out by rote. Here is NPC!Kotori's daily schedule:
-- Barely wakes up in time to rush to school. (The running part feels good, however.)
-- Attends high school for most of the day. She tends to zone out, and while she isn't exactly a delinquent she doesn't respect authority, either.
-- Doesn't belong to any clubs. Instead, she goes to the hospital after school for unspecified treatment for equally unspecified medical complications.
--After treatment she heads to B-Z Models, where she works part-time. Lounges around the place listening to music. May or may not get homework done.
-- Grabs a quick bite to eat after work, then goes to Lorelei's Surf n Turf for their nightly karaoke. Can't quite put her finger on why she feels so alive during songs.
-- Sometimes takes a night-time jog. Crashes in bed just before the foster home's curfew (and, occasionally, just after - she doesn't sweat little details like timing).
So much for the everyday. Get her really involved in something, though, and she's both elated and unstoppable. Kanade, and therefore Kotori, wants to live every day as if it's her last.
Since, hey, with her health, it might well be.
That's where this post comes in, as well as highlighting the changes between Kanade's canon personality and "Kotori's" demeanor in Asphodel. Basically, where canon!Kanade got a chance to overcome the curveballs life threw her way, Kotori hasn't been quite that lucky yet.
We'll see how things progress.
Canon History
Kanade's world is an AU future Earth that, throughout history, has been attacked by creatures called "Noise". Ancient civilizations developed magical "relics" as anti-Noise weapons, and modern research seeks to exploit these shattered "relics" through the use of (rather dubious) science. The fruit of this research is a set of armor & a weapon called the "Symphogear", which can only be activated and worn by certain people singing certain songs.
When Kanade is 14 years old her parents take her and her younger sister to a relic excavation site. The Noise attack the site; only Kanade survives. Japan's counter-Noise agency, Division II, interrogates her, and Kanade demands to be given a weapon, claiming only she can avenge her family's deaths. Seeing her resolve, Division II's leader agrees.
Kanade therefore begins a series of trainings and tests in hopes of activating the relic "Gungnir", but consistently fails. When Kanade hears Division II's top scientist grow discouraged, she forcibly injects herself with a higher dosage of the testing drugs. The dose nearly kills her, but she's able to activate Gungnir and fight with the Symphogear. She can't keep Gungnir active for very long, however, and has to keep taking drugs to support the toll her relic takes on her body.
Weapon in hand, Kanade fights the Noise alongside another Symphogear user, Kazanari Tsubasa, singing on the battlefield to keep her relic active. One day, she's thanked by a group of soldiers after digging them out from some rubble - hearing her song, they claim, helped them not lose hope. Kanade's touched by this sentiment, and shortly afterwards forms an idol duo, "Zwei Wing", with Tsubasa.
Zwei Wing becomes popular, and Division II decides to tap into its power for an experiment with a different relic. Kanade is told in secret, however, to go off the "LiNKER" drug she's been taking to support her body. She agrees, and the experiment (and the concert powering it) appears to be a success.
The Noise attack the concert hall. Kanade rushes into battle, but her stamina and power are both weakened since she's off her meds. Gungnir splinters, and a fragment of it wounds an innocent bystander. Assessing the situation, Kanade sings her "swan song", releasing the full power of her relic to defeat the Noise. She dies shortly afterwards in Tsubasa's arms.
Which brings us to Asphodel.
Asphodel AU
In canon, Kanade grows from an unhinged 14-year-old bent on revenge to a mature, grounded older teen who seizes the day while taking life as it comes. She matures this way because she's able to realize her desire for vengeance - she's got a Symphogear and can fight the Noise - yet she also has been told she's an inspiration to others. This enables her to see "beyond the fighting", aware of the everyday lives and lifestyles she's saving at the cost of her own (which she only learned to value upon losing).
"Kotori" in Asphodel hasn't been so fortunate. As in canon, she's lost her "normal, everyday life", but is helpless to fight back - her family was carjacked and murdered trying to leave Asphodel for a vacation, and the case remains perpetually unsolved. She also "remembers" spending a year in and out of the mental hospital after the carjacking, as a nod to canon Kanade's former borderline-psychotic behavior.
Kotori is therefore much moodier than canon Kanade, full of pent-up energy without a useful conduit: she's neither been given a chance for revenge nor been told she has the power to influence others' lives for the better. Although she still sings her heart out at karaoke each night, a passion through which Kanade inspired other people, she's singing primarily as a release for herself. (Her joy at performing remains intact - she just hasn't discovered the reasons why.)
Overall, Kotori's restless and listless, attacking some tasks head-on while half-assing others, unable to find a pastime that puts her fully at ease. Though the "years" have granted her a calmer perspective, the helplessness she felt during the carjacking and resulting need to solve problems herself gnaws at her, so until she discovers a new framework for her life, she can't find peace. Instead, she bums around a lot, choosing to feign laziness without ever actually relaxing.
Daily Life
People's lives in Asphodel tend to play out by rote. Here is NPC!Kotori's daily schedule:
-- Barely wakes up in time to rush to school. (The running part feels good, however.)
-- Attends high school for most of the day. She tends to zone out, and while she isn't exactly a delinquent she doesn't respect authority, either.
-- Doesn't belong to any clubs. Instead, she goes to the hospital after school for unspecified treatment for equally unspecified medical complications.
--After treatment she heads to B-Z Models, where she works part-time. Lounges around the place listening to music. May or may not get homework done.
-- Grabs a quick bite to eat after work, then goes to Lorelei's Surf n Turf for their nightly karaoke. Can't quite put her finger on why she feels so alive during songs.
-- Sometimes takes a night-time jog. Crashes in bed just before the foster home's curfew (and, occasionally, just after - she doesn't sweat little details like timing).
So much for the everyday. Get her really involved in something, though, and she's both elated and unstoppable. Kanade, and therefore Kotori, wants to live every day as if it's her last.
Since, hey, with her health, it might well be.