tenshinoakuma: (believe and you will)
megaTEN ([personal profile] tenshinoakuma) wrote2011-06-09 05:44 pm

behold character essaying

But first, Dreamless ended up on the TVTropes fanfic reccs page asdf;lkj. Like, I said I'd love for it to happen but I didn't think it actually would * A*

OKAY so there's actually a lot of topics I want to cover with this little write up on Onion Knight, but first I'm going to address his Destiny Odyssey.

First of all, I'd like to say that Onion Knight's Destiny Odyssey never quite sat well with me. I've never been too fond of heart > mind type plots because they tend to be quite heavy handed, and it feels that way in the Destiny Odyssey. I kind of feel that Onion Knight had the right idea to flee from fights that are too dangerous, and there's just... so many stories of generally protagonist characters going into a battle that they honestly are better off not going to. I'm not denouncing the Destiny Odyssey's canoness, but I'm thinking that even though it's heavily heart > mind, I don't think that's actually the real message going on here. And I don't think it's as mutually exclusive as the game makes it out to be (Cosmos sometimes you are the worst advice giver ever).

I mean, it's quite clear that Onion Knight still thinks and still uses his head when he faces his opponents. Even though he doesn't think he can defeat Cloud of Darkness and eventually gains the heart and determination to do so, he's still falling back on smarts and trickery to get whatever edge he can. To me, his Destiny Odyssey seems to be more about... commitment. Or putting his... well. heart into what he wants to achieve instead of doing things half-heartedly.

Here is where I say I could be incorrect in my next presumptions since I've only seen the 012 reports involving Onion Knight once, and I tend to turn my brain off the first time I watch something. THUS. PLEASE. CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.

So, my impression from 012, especially since he gets so little screen time (along with much of the original cast) was that he was training a bit and fighting and stuff and learning from the other warriors, but he didn't have too much purpose aside from the shared one of winning the war for Cosmos.

I think his statement in the original game, that gods are so pretentious, sums up his feelings on this war. Being yanked from his world into a war he knows next to nothing about, yeah, Onion Knight wasn't very happy about it. I mean, technically he's already done it before, since he seems to have at least gone some way as a warrior of light for the crystals back in FF3, and I'm thinking that maybe back then, he also wasn't too eager about it, too. Assuming the whole thing with Aria in the remake also happens in the original version, I'm making a guess that that would be the moment he really put his heart into it. But I'm guessing he doesn't remember the reason why he saved the world/was on his way to saving the world.

Okay that was a headcanony tangent. BUT BASICALLY, in 012, it felt to me that yeah, okay, he'd help to save the world, but he wasn't very willing about it. I guess similar to Cloud in that he didn't have a reason, close to his heart, to fight. And it's hard to feel motivated to do something, even if you know it's important, if you don't feel the importance. I guess Onion Knight never did find his reason in the 12th cycle; it's implied that Kain got the... jump on him.

THEN WE GET TO 13TH CYCLE. Watch me get more and more scattered as I type; I'm way too tired to look up exactly the lines that caused me to think these things. WATCH IT BACKFIRE ON ME LATER

Okay so, we know that for some reason, Onion Knight was grouped with Terra. We don't know how the groups were made, whether all 10 warriors met before they split (I think you can make a case for either, though my memory of all the Odysseys are a bit hazy). We do know that Onion Knight ended up teamed with Terra alone, and is apparently there to protect her. Inadvertently or not, I think Onion Knight does have a heart to protect those that are in need or protecting (especially those who don't want to, and/or cannot, fight), but I think, initially at least, I don't think he took it very seriously.

Like, sure, he was still a little cautious and took precautions to make sure Terra didn't wasn't going to get hurt (he says stuff about finding out enemy's gear, and enemy weaknesses and stuff before you engage in battle). But there was also Terra's somewhat frequent comments about Onion Knight liking fighting and him wanting to see if there was treasure under the hidden panels and such.

So, I think before Terra was kidnapped, he was driven by more selfish reasons. I think he was focused more on his own wants and not really paying attention to... I suppose, his duty as a knight. I think maybe his conscience (his 'heart') might have been nagging at him at the time, but he just pushed it aside in favour of exploring deeper into enemy territory.

blah blah blah STUFF HAPPENED he learned to listen to his heart, where does that put him? I think it might have swung him to the other extreme, where now he's taking his knightliness very seriously! Compare his dialogue in his Destiny Odyssey vs his dialogue in Terra's Destiny Odyssey, and you can see the difference. Terra even lampshades this. I think protecting Terra everyone became his purpose (or rather, he fully dedicated himself to it rather than be a bit wishy washy over it), his 'dream', and he doesn't really let himself unwind (not that they really had a chance to) because he remembers what happened the last time he did.

But, it's like. He's still a kid who still wonders at things. You can kind of tell that he thinks a lot, and only voices maybe half of what he comes up with. INSERT STUFF ABOUT PRIDE, EGO, FEAR/DISLIKE OF BEING LOOKED DOWN ON, FEAR/DISLIKE/EMBARRASSED OF BEING SEEN AS STUPID, LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS OWN SHORT STATURE, stuff I really should cover but I'm lazy to. Oh Onion Knight you try so hard.

Instead I guess I'll briefly touch on... I guess what I think of his relationship with the other characters. Tentative; I gotta play moar.

Warrior of Light seems to be someone he both respects as a warrior and leader, but I also think that in the same instance, he's intimidated by how unshakable WoL seems to be. (Mostly based on the conversation he had with Cecil?)
Firion I have no idea. I'M TEMPTED TO SAY "LUNKHEAD". I should actually check what his battle quote for Firion is.
Cecil is freaking tall >8( UM. I think definitely there's respect, but most of all, trust in Cecil. Onion Knight doesn't strike me as the sort to confide in others much, because he's embarrassed about talking about his fears and feelings because as;dlfkj THEY'RE PROBABLY STUPID AND HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE MADE FUN OF. So I think, when he asked Cecil about WoL, Onion Knight seems to trust that Cecil won't make fun of him, and respect for his experience as an older knight. I guess the difference in interaction between WoL and Cecil is that... well. Cecil is a lot more personable than WoL, so it's easier to talk to him. I mean, Cecil does stupid sometimes too, which makes him easier to confide in and stuff. THING. WORDS.
Bartz is a dumbass. I MEAN. There's no interaction between them (direct or indirect) so I'm going to take a guess. I think Onion Knight's opinion of him swings between 'stupidly easy going guy' to 'STUPIDHEAD', only in more eloquent words. But probably secretly interested in Bartz' tales of pirates and princesses (... and old guys). Should probably check the battle quote though.
Terra asdf;lkjasf;lkj totally has a puppy crush on her. I MEAN. UH. Okay, first of all, given that for a good part of his story, she seemed like a timid, reluctant waif and being the only female Cosmos warrior, brought out a lot of his protective urges. And I think her looking to him as support only fueled that. She also doesn't tease him or make fun of his age and the fact she indulges his antics ("When did you become so gallant?" "/MASSIVE EGO RUSH OMG!!!") helps, too. ALSO fasdfl;hgjsdf after defeating Chaos, he looks at Terra and she puts a hand on his shoulder and they disappear together ah;ldsfhl;kjadf CUTEST. I think, he also sees her a little of a mother figure. I'm not sure if the original 4 orphans had... Nina? An adoptive mother like Luneth and Arc had, but it does seem to me that he does look to her for some acknowledgement. I will add that while he does make it his duty to protect Terra, he also has no problems with her fighting.
Cloud is... something. I think he has an interest in Cloud (and Squall and Tidus) because he's dressed in a very different garb from the rest of them. I mean in the sense that he's not dressed in fantasy armour and showgirl skirts and stuff. I mean, Terra's world is steampunky and stuff, but her clothing isn't out of place in a fantasy world. Cloud's is. And I think he's interested in Cloud's knowledge of his world. I think he's aware there's some sort of ANGST there, but has no idea what, and isn't really interested in that when he's got a cool sword. I THINK on first impression, he might have underestimated Cloud's thinking ability, but I kind of imagine he'd be okay with the guy after a while.
Squall is... well they shared one conversation, but to me, I think his relationship with Squall is similar to his relationship with Cecil. He feels he can confide in Squall (because Squall keeps his dry remarks to himself) and I think he trusts Squall not to go blabbing to other people about anything he says to him. Same deal with being interested in Squall's homeworld, but I also think he's interested in blackmail material personal information regarding Squall, if only to say he knows something about Squall the others don't.
Zidane is... hmm. Definitely not like Cecil or Squall, but there's obviously a certain amount of trust since he confided in Zidane his thoughts about them all possibly being manikins. Maybe it's an age thing, since Zidane is the next youngest, iirc, and I think Zidane would be the closest he could reach for in terms of stupid, similar age chumminess. Of course, he's not going to like Zidane's teasing, but I guess he feels closer to his equal than the other warriors? maybe? HURRRM
Tidus has had too many blitzballs thrown at his head. I'M PRETTY SURE ONION KNIGHT HAS A PRETTY DISPARAGING OPINION OF TIDUS.

STUFF. THINGS. wow I think this is the most incoherent character writeup I've done to date.

Edit: I. Oh god. I didn't think it'd be this hard to actually find icons of Onion Knight being all smug. In game screencaps/artwork aren't very helpful in that regard, and if I'm going to use fanart, I'd really like to be able to contact the artist for permission. Unfortunately, the little bits of fanart icons I do see in LJ seem to be from Japanese artists, and I'd prefer not to go through a middleman to ask permission. I'm especially loath to say 'fuck it' and use their art anyway, because when I do browse Japanese websites, there are some who put up a notice "PLEASE DON'T USE MY ART FOR STUFF" and I want to respect that.

I HAVE SO MANY ANGRY/HORRIFIED/I WILL KILL YOU WITH MY EYES/I AM SURROUNDED BY IDIOTS PICTURES TO CHOOSE FROM, THOUGH.

[identity profile] sinnatious.livejournal.com 2011-06-09 11:33 am (UTC)(link)
I agree with all of this. It's tough to get into his head in particular, but I think you've nailed down what makes Onion Knight tick really well.

(I also agree with the the whole heart > mind theme being so terribly overdone, though.)

Hahahaha, though with Squall, in 012, they have that one shared moment in the reports that is so so hilarious, so now I think of them as comrades in commiseration.

LOL at Tidus.

UM, READING CHARACTER DISSERTATION ON DISSIDIA IS KIND OF MAKING ME FANGIRLY AGAIN - HOW DOES DISSIDIA SO CONSISTENTLY DO THIS?

[identity profile] tenshinoakuma.livejournal.com 2011-06-09 11:50 am (UTC)(link)
(Yeah, something about the theme really bothers me a lot. I think maybe it's because it's idealised so much, and that half the time it seems to be saying turn off your brain.)

oh man I totally forgot about that. "Sucks to be us, huh?" asd;flkj best.

LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE DONE. YOU GOT ME INTO DISSIDIA AND NOW YOUR FLIST WILL BE FILLED WITH CHARACTER TL;DR FOREVER. I kind of do this for every fandom I get very excited about, sorry for the spam xD;;;;

[identity profile] sinnatious.livejournal.com 2011-06-09 12:24 pm (UTC)(link)
(I know! Seems like a rather negative trait to idealise.)

YOU SAY THIS AS THOUGH IT'S A BAD THING. <3