After Much Hesitation I Finally Read Wha Chapter 85 And Imma Need Shirahama-sensei To Take This Back

Senku Ishigami is Aromantic and Asexual and here is why:

Because I'm sick and tired of Senku ships (yes, the queer platonic ones too because he's a loveless AroAce, and the x reader. Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble) and because AroAces deserve good representation where we’re not labled as heartless or boring (because Senku has a heart and is kind, as much as he likes to give snide remarks at times, and is an AMAZING character), I have gathered every instance where Senku shows clear disinterest (and distaste) in romance and sexuality to prove once and for all that he has been 10 billion percent Aromantic and Asexual since day ONE.

I will talk about his responses to romance and physical touch as well as look at his "romantic relationships" throughout the manga (We’re talking about the entire work, so spoilers ahead!!)

I've cited the chapters, as well as have included the panels to which I'm referring in this post so you all can look at the proof yourselves and added the various links too.

Also Happy Pride Month everyone, it’s finally the Aces' Day of it, so it felt right to make the post today!

Now then, get excited!!

On his Sexuality:

Unlike Taiju, Senku seems to averse the idea of romance, already seen in Chapter 1, as he mocks Taiju's interest in, but refusal to act on five year long crush on, Yuzuriha, even having created a "love potion" that actually was petrol and offering it to Taiju. His expression when Yuzuriha was revived in the same dramatic sense as would be in a cliché romance, points to Senkū being very nonplussed by the show of romantic acts as well (Chapter 5).

Senku seemed equally unamused when Tsukasa stated his admiration towards him “Senku, you are… an incredible man.” (Chapter 4), replying to Tsukasa “A man who’d praise another man to his face… is either flirting or scheming. What’re you really trying to say?” (Chapter 4), clearly showing that both the flirting and the scheming are equally unwelcome.

He also mocks Hyoga‘s mannerism during their battle, saying he behaved as if this was some sort of „awkward“ love confession and that he is not interested even if he is „divorced“ (Chapter 80).

Senku claims romance and love to only cause problems due to its highly illogical nature, „A brain clouded by love is the most irrational kind. It leads to nothing but trouble.“, as he explains to Kohaku (Chapter 17) because he mistook her interest in him as romantic. Even saying „Annoying crap like that makes me wanna curl up and die.“.

He instantly dismissed the idea of getting Garnet, Sapphire and Ruby any boyfriends, saying “Not a chance we’ll make one of those with science!!” (Chapter 22) with a very shocked and appalled face.

When it comes to inquiring about his type, he doesn’t give any actual answers, like when Ruby, one of the prettiest girls in the Ishigami Village, asked what his type of girl is and Senku replied, without even paying any attention to her “Girls who can pump tons of oxygen into an iron forge.” (Chapter 23), a blunt answer as Kohaku calls him out on using Ruby’s ‘interest’ for his personal gain with no sincerity or care for Ruby herself.

He also responses to Nikki’s exclamation of possibly falling in love with him with clear repulsion, kindly asking her not to do that and to “nip that bud” (Chapter 66) as he does not want people to have romantic feelings towards himself. As seen with Kohaku and Nikki, he is not afraid of telling people openly that their romantic feelings are not welcomed when directed at himself, trying to kill any aroused feelings towards him as soon as possible.

He also stays unaffected by Amaryllis love confession as she tried to fool them, looking absolutely baffled and repulsed by this advance and act (Chapter 105). Senku cuts Amaryllis off, saying “I’m the one for you? Blah, blah, whatever. Where’s the treasure?” (Chapter 105), showing not even a millimetre of interest in her and being his practical self in search of the Soyuz capsule. Kohaku add to it, saying that Amaryllis has finally “Met her match” (Chapter 105), which shocks Amaryllis, making her exclaim “Resisting my irresistible charms? Is that even possible?” (Chapter 105) as everyone else, including Soyuz and Gen found her very appealing. Gen even claimed that “Dear Senku is immune to those acts” (Chapter 105) before proceeding to flirt with Amaryllis himself. As we later see as well, Amaryllis starts to understand that Senku is uninterested in romance, able to tell from Kohaku hugging him, which Senku does not reciprocate, that he has no romantic interest in others as she says that it’s “not that kind of hug” (Chapter 138).

Senku is apathetic and repulsed to any advances made towards him, as is also later seen with Luna. Every relationship he has had was only due to circumstantial needs and always with a face of pure confusion and / or a certain amount of distaste, like his accidental marriage to Ruri, after Chrome fell unconscious and couldn't fight and he in his stead won their staged battle for the village chief's position, and whom he divorced seconds later, only wanting to take the alcohol of the village to finish the sulfa drug for Ruri (Chapter 39 - 40).

Later on, after he was shot by Stanley, and as an effort to save his comrades as well as his own life, he agrees to Luna's proposal to become her boyfriend, claiming it to be "Sorta like a political marriage!" (Chapter 178), again showing no actual romantic interest in her, which is supported time and time again by characters claiming "that you people don't know Senku at all" if they think his interest in a person is of romantic nature (examples: Chapter 51, Chapter 178).

Chelsea even claims that "Doesn't sound like you're an item to me." (Chapter 178) with Kohaku agreeing that she assumed as much as Senku isn't romantically attracted to anyone. Another example for it is when he wanted to gather information on Homura, who was spying on them, and Ginro thought Senku meant it in a romantic or sexual way, to which Chrome and Kohaku both replied that "No, pretty sure that's not the case. You people don't know Senku at all." (Chapter 51).

When he was a young child and wondered why the moon was following him, Byakuya jokingly insistent on the moon loving him "Having a thing for him" (Chapter 42), to which Senku replied in disgust, claiming that he was "doing serious science" in the Anime and "Huh? Enough bedtime stories. Gimme cold, hard science facts." in the manga with a displeased expression (Chapter 42).

When Luna expressed doubts about her dating Senku, since later was gone working against Xeno, she said "I mean you're not about to tell me... That Senku ten billion percent doesn't give a crap about dating... and would say whatever I want to hear... Just to accomplish his goals, right...? Because obviously nobody'd ever be that outta line... Right?" to which every character present made clear that he does those things, with Kinro adding that "Actually, in order to further his goals, he even went as far as getting married." with Luna expressing shock that he is married, to which Kinro clarified that "Well, then he ended it..." to which she again expressed shock (Chapter 163).

He despises and is disgusted by physical contact, escaping any hugs (Chapter 74) and even threatening Taiju for hugging him buck-naked (Chapter 1). He also shows disgust at Amaryllis act to charm him as she hugs him tightly and expresses her “love” towards him (Chapter 105). Another show of absolute disgust from physical contact being when Kohaku kissed his cheek in an effort to fool Kirisame from discovering that they're intruders and enemies (Chapter 107).

Another strong instance is the amount of disgust he expressed at the thought of having had to cuddle with Magma to prevent hypothermia (Chapter 56), calling it the "Worst-case scenario" and even putting emphasis on it being the worst-case.

At best, Senku exhibits little to no reaction about naked bodies, being very neutral about the fact and rationalising that in an emergency like that, it doesn’t matter whether or not one is naked, making no comments about appearances or the like. The complete opposite of Taiju, who became very worried for Yuzuriha’s comfort, not wanting her to be naked at revival (Chapter 3). He’s equally unimpressed with Ryusui at his revival and the confidence he showed, being more bewildered at Ryusui’s sudden comment about his naked state being “tacky” in front of three beauties (Chapter 85).

There are only a few rare times where he actually allows physical contact, most of them being little touches or even hugs after hard-fought battles or difficult tasks (not counting in the high fives and handshakes since they're not as "intimate" and Senku clearly has no problem with them), such as allowing Kohaku to hug him after defeating Ibara on Treasure Island (Chapter 138), noticeably not hugging her back. Amaryllis in that instance explains how the hug they shared is not of romantic love, saying "No, it isn’t like that. It’s not that kind of hug.“ when Gen claimed that Kirisame still thinks they're a couple when they absolutely aren't.

Another time being that he allows Suika, after seven years of her trying to break the second world-wide petrification event, to hug him (Chapter 196, start of Chapter 197), as well as Taiju and Chrome, after they seized victory and regained control of the Miracle Cave (Chapter 75). Here Inagaki himself confirmed that Senku is not the type of person to be considerate of others feelings, so he doesn't hug back. Even in the special chapter Senkū doesn't hug Kohaku back while lost on sea and doesn't even blush, despite the circumstances, which Kohaku calls out (Chapter 232.5).

When during the Communications Arc they catch Homura, to avoid her informing the Tsukasa Empire of Senku's recreation of telephones, Senku pinned her to the ground, to which Homura told him to be careful where he touches with Senku replying "That won't work on me, so drop the act." (Chapter 62), having her show a defeated face that Senku exhibited no reaction in being in such a compromising position. He also implies that he is not one of the men Homura can flirt with even after civilisation is up again (but considering her own affections towards Hyoga, she also wouldn’t try) "After our scientific civilization is up and running, there'll be plenty of impressionable young boys for you to flirt with.".

Senku, unlike other characters, has never been stated to be or have been in any romantic entanglement before the petrification event either in the Q&As (Big example in Volume 22 or 23 as seen in this translation from Reddit, the link is at the end of the post), as well as the relationship chart from Chapter 179, where love interests are shown, but Senkū himself has none because he’s not attracted to anyone romantically.

Even with the fanbook, the types of people each character enjoy are general statements, not indicative of romantic/sexual attraction considering that most characters talk about and say "people" in general. Senkū's for example are "people who do what needs to be done", which is reflected by the people he's surrounded by, as he says he likes those who quickly catch onto the situation, for example Ryūsui and Stanley, who get a verbal shout-out (Chapter 85, Chapter 221) since Senkū values intelligence.

He has yet to refer to himself as being in a relationship with anyone too and by the end of the manga, Senku stays single with his sole focus still being science, confirmed by Luna still trying to win Senku over, showing she hasn’t had any success in the past years since they first met (Chapter 232).

Senku's sole interest has been in science and science alone. Rather he exploits the romantic entanglements of others for himself, like getting Chrome on his site to make his Kingdom of Science grow using Chrome's attraction to Ruri (Chapter 21). The only two instances of him being in a relationship have been purely accidental and / or of strategic nature to reach a goal.

As seen in the Spin-off Chapters which notably take another few years after the series’ main storyline conclusion, Senku is still not in any sort of relationship. When Chelsea asks after Ruri and Chrome’s wedding whether Senku has any “romantic prospects” himself, to which he looks clearly confused and irritated going “Huh?” (Spin-off, Chapter 1, also see panel above). Moreover, he straight up says himself that “You oughta know I ain’t got the time for all that.” (Spin-off, Chapter 1) when Kohaku suggests she wouldn’t mind (which also doesn’t sound like she’s romantically interested either, and regards it more like another duty to fulfill). Afterwards any sort of romantic discussion for Senku is promptly shut down and never brought up again as the series reaches its final conclusion. Senku also agrees to Whyman’s statement that the “Heart and Emotions are just sophisticated programming to persevere social groups”, saying “Yep. No lies detected.” (Spin-off, Chapter 3), which mirrors exactly what he also told Kohaku when they first met in Chapter 17. It shows that to Senku STILL after over 10 years, these type of emotions are not something he regards with any positivity nor interest on his part.

On Ruri:

Never mind that Ruri herself isn’t interested in Senku, their accidental marriage due to Chrome fainting before he and Senku could finish their staged fight for the position of village chief and Ruri's husband was solely completed on Senku's part to get his hands on the resources necessary for the completion of the sulfa drug to save Ruri's life, claiming “Aaargh… This just got a whole lot more annoying“. He divorced her barely a few seconds in, as he wasn't allowed to leave the village due to his "marriage celebration" to which he instantly uttered "Then I demand a divorce" (Chapter 40) before taking off with Kaseki, Kohaku and the alcohol to complete the drug. Ever since their divorce has been referenced as pure comedic effect, even from Senku when he ridiculed Hyoga during their fight saying "What is this, an awkward confession of love at school? Hate to break it to you, but I'm married. Well, divorced... But still." (Chapter 80) as the other wanted to Senku to join forces with him. Kinro confirmed later on that the marriage was only "to reach his goals" (Chapter 163).

On Luna:

Their relationship is very one-sided on Luna's part, as Senku does not refer to Luna as his relationship partner, nor exhibits any interest in her that goes beyond her usefulness, as the only one with surgical and medical knowledge and skills, and as an ally. When Luna expressed her doubts about their arrangement saying "I mean you're not about to tell me... That Senku ten billion percent doesn't give a crap about dating... and would say whatever I want to hear... Just to accomplish his goals, right...? Because obviously nobody'd ever be that outta line... Right?" with everyone in her vicinity making clear that he did and that it's not his first time, as he got married to Ruri to "Further his goals'' as Kinro explains to Luna (Chapter 163). Senku calls their arrangement to be like a "political marriage" (Chapter 178), again clearly showing that there are no romantic or sexual feelings on his part towards her. Chelsea, as well as other characters, have noted that they aren't or don't seem like being in a relationship (Chapter 178) and Kohaku agreeing with her, claiming "This is Senku we're talking about, so I assumed as much" (Chapter 178), the only one claiming it to be one being Luna herself who is a very idealistic romantic herself, blind towards Senku's disinterest in romance and sexuality.

Senku has shown multiple times throughout the entire work his disinterest and open distaste towards both romantic and sexual advances, actively saying that love creates problems and is illogical next to stating that crushes and love is "Annoying crap" and makes him want to "curl up and die" (Chapter 17), next to openly telling Homura that her flirting and attempt to embarrass him on an intimate level "does not work on me" (Chapter 62) He has equally as often shown time and time again that he despises any kind of physical contact, referring to it twice as "worst-case scenario" (Chapter 56) even if it could save his life. Also evading every sort of attempted hug and showing displeasure at even a fake kiss on the cheek in a situation where he was forced to pretend being in a relationship (Chapter 107). Just like Ryusui has been only through the work itself confirmed as interested in both women and men, Senku has been confirmed to be aromantic and asexual through his open distaste towards romance and sexuality which is also called out in his own wikia.

Senku's "romantic" relationships have been purely for strategic purposes, mostly to literally save a or his own life.

Senku's sole interest lies in science and his self-proclaimed job and goal to save all of humanity, exhibiting zero interest in romance, sex or any sort of the like. He's a loveless AroAce. However, he can and does form strong friendships, caring for the people in his life in his own special kind of way.

Quotes:

"DON'T DARE HUG ME ALL NAKED LIKE THAT! I'LL KILL YOU!" - Senku to Taiju as later tries to hug him at their reunion after 3700 years, Chapter 1

“Wait! Senku!” “?!” “Yuzuriha… is naked!! We can’t revive her like this!” “Really, more irrational nonsense outta you? Who caaaares about crap like that? We live in a brutal stone world now!! Nobody’s gonna mind seeing a bare butt or someone’s junk swinging around!” - Senkū being completely unimpressed and neutral about naked bodies in the stone world emergency situation, Chapter 3

“Senku, you are… an incredible man.” […] “A man who’d praise another man to his face… is either flirting or scheming. What’re you really trying to say?” - Senku reacting negatively towards Tsukasa’s admiration towards him, Chapter 4

"Sheesh... Annoying crap like that makes me want to curl up and die. I mean really? You've got a crush on me now? In an Emergency like this...? [...] A brain clouded by love is the most irrational kind. It leads to nothing but trouble." - Senku to Kohaku, after she expresses that she likes him, Chapter 17

''Then I demand a divorce!'' - Senku, trying to escape with the liquor for the sulfa drug, Chapter 40

"Huh? Enough with the bedtime stories. Gimme cold, hard science." - Senku in response to Byakuya telling him that the moon must have a thing for him, Chapter 42

"No, pretty sure that's not the case. You people don't know Senku at all." - Chrome and Kohaku in response to Ginro thinking Senku is interested in Homura romantically or sexually, Chapter 51

"We avoided the ''worst-case scenario''! [...] Wrong! I would've kept freezing... And then the worst-case scenario would've been... Hugging Magma tight to conserve body heat..." - Senku explaining to Chrome and Magma his worst-case scenario, Chapter 56

''Heh, heh, heh... That won't work on me, so drop the act. After our scientific civilization is up and running, there'll be plenty of impressionable young boys for you to flirt with." - Senku in response to Homura trying to get him to let her go, Chapter 62

“Hee hee… I could see myself falling for you.” “Let’s nip that in the bud, ‘kay?” Senku’s response to Nikki’s declaration of possibly falling in love with him, Chapter 66

''I wanted… To speak with you, Senku. Just the two of us!'' ''What is this, an awkward confession of love at school? Hate to break it to you, but I’m married. Well, divorced… But still.“ - Senku mocking Hyoga as Hyoga wanted to get Senku on his side, Chapter 80

“I’m the one for you? Blah, blah, whatever. Where’s the treasure?” “She’s met her match” “Resisting my irresistible charms? Is that even possible?” “Until civilisation is back up and running, I’m afraid dear Senku is immune to those acts” - Senku, Kohaku, Amaryllis and Gen as Amaryllis was shocked to find out that Senku is immune against her charms, Chapter 105

"I mean you're not about to tell me... That Senku ten billion percent doesn't give a crap about dating... and would say whatever I want to hear... Just to accomplish his goals, right...? Because obviously nobody'd ever be that outta line... Right?" - Luna, as he expresses her doubts about her relationship with Senku, Chapter 163

"Actually, in order to further his goals, he even went as far as getting married." "HE'S ALREADY HITCHED?!" "Well, then he ended it..." "HE'S A DIVORCÉ?!" - Kinro confirming to Luna that Senku indeed tricked her, Chapter 163

''Sorta like a political marriage!" - Senku to Luna's proposal that she'll save him if he becomes her boyfriend, Chapter 178

"Doesn't sound like you're an item to me." - Chelsea, as Luna explains how she started "dating" Senku, Chapter 178

"This is Senku we're talking about, so I assumed as much." - Kohaku agreeing with Chelsea that Luna and Senku aren't dating, Chapter 178

“Heh heh heh… You oughta know I ain’t got the time for all that.” - Senku in response to Kohaku’s suggestion, Spin-off, Chapter 1

Citations:

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-1/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-3/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-4/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-5/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-17/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-21/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-22/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-23/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-39/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-40/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-42/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-51/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-56/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-62/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-66/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-74/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-75/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-80/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-85/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-105/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-107/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-138/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-163/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-178/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-179/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-196-scientist-all-alone/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-197-a-stony-eden-and-its-forbidden-fruit/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-221/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-manga-chapter-232/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-manga-chapter-232-5/

https://dr-stone.fandom.com/wiki/Senku_Ishigami

https://www.reddit.com/r/DrStone/comments/qjnpe0/dr_stone_vol_22_23_extras_translated/

https://stone-dr.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-232f/

https://stone-dr.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-232h/

Nomad esims are needed!!!!

I don't think people truly understand the gravity of Rafah being bombed.

There is nowhere left to go.

The lowest cost is $5,000 USD to flee to Egypt. There has been people paying over $10,000 USD.

That is the only option

Pay or die.

Rafah was the only place in Palestine promised not to be bombed. That promise is broken.

1.5 million people have nowhere to go!

Reminder, if possible, please donate to the PCRF, ANERA, Islamic Relief, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Defense for Children International - Palestine, Doctors Without Borders, and all other trusted organizations.

Here's a website where Palestine GoFundMes are vetted and shared that you can send out to people. The url is gazafunds.com

Easy to use and simple. Just share the site whenever someone asks for GFMs for Palestine.

The first couple of pages of Episode Nagi parallel Nagi's journey and hint at Nagi understanding his originality after death

Episode Nagi chapter 1 page 3

Nagi wakes up and gets pricked, causing him to awaken- just like how experiencing frustration for the first time in the team Z match "awakened" him.

Despite being awake, Nagi doesn't get out of bed bc "getting up is such a pain..." so instead he focuses on "beating the daily challenge" This may refer to Nagi wanting to/succeeding at beating Isagi, though I think it more so parallels Nagi’s decision to start “making an effort” in blue lock, given that he dies.

So then Nagi dies, which forces him to get up and go to school. At the same time, he realizes he's hungry

This is a pain, because to be hungry is to want things and be human. Being hungry makes you do things to sate that hunger. It forces you to live. And to Nagi, living is a pain.

After chapter 298, we have reached the part where Nagi “dies”, which will forces him to get out of bed. Right about now is when Nagi should be getting "hungry" too, which can be understood as understanding his “originality” as Ego describes. This is whatever deep intrinsic desire he feels he wants to fulfill.

Maybe the reason why Nagi’s death kickstarts this understanding is because it denies him of what he wants, causing hunger. Maybe it’s because it’s only at rock botttom, having lost everything, that Nagi can face what he wanted in the first place. After all, if he’d faced it earlier, he’d have to face the possibility of losing it. Now, that’s moot point, as he’s dead and lost it all.

What is this originality? It may be related to his fear of losing Reo, which he expressed in his dying moments. But what he hungers for shouldn't just be being by Reo's side. That's settling. Settling in a place like Blue Lock is no good.

Nagi got mad at the implication that he was Reo's toy. What he should aim for isn't just Reo letting him tag along by his side, but being Reo's true and real partner. He needs to find the bravery to chase that instead.

What Nagi's been doing through his lack of communication with Reo (and, what Reo has been doing by assuming certain things are impossible) has been settling. They need to stop settling for a situationship and get together. They need to get to a point where they have a mutual understanding of their partnership that isn’t functioning to keep them together, but rather only exists because they decided to be together and understand each others feelings.

For an example of settling, take Reo’s 300 mil proposition and Nagi’s unenthusiastic agreement. Nagi clearly doesn’t care about that, but he wants to be with Reo, so he doesn’t object or correct him. He settles for being a passive participant in the relationship despite getting mad at Barou for calling him Reo’s servant, and later gets to the point of begging Reo to let him stay by his side by 298.

For another example of settling, take Reo’s assumption that without soccer they could never be together, and that they will separate once the World Cup is won (in the extra chapter). This is part of what leads him to react the way he does in 2nd selection.

By the time of 298, Nagi clearly thinks the same- though this wasn’t a given to him like it was to Reo. He’d asked Reo in the harujuku extra chapter what they would be if Nagi had no soccer talent, and Reo had told him Nagi’d be abandoned- though there was no way Nagi didn’t have talent in Reo’s mind.

Even if Nagi had gotten past that idea by the time they entered blue lock, it would have been reinforced when Reo accused him of forgetting their promise/not caring about him anymore by choosing to play with Isagi, demanding Nagi to throw him away. Being rejected because of not playing soccer with Reo despite working toward their dream would send the message that their partnership is reliant on soccer. At least, to someone as passive as Nagi. Thus, “I am not your toy”. But it seems like he’d settle for that.

After that moment he uses kanji instead of katakana to refer to Reo which has been confirmed to mean he feels more distant from him.

The fact of the matter is that playing together doesn’t necessarily make one play better. Your motive cannot be being helpful or useful to someone else, out of transaction for their company. Partnerships only work when mutual interests align instead.

That may beg the question- doesn’t that mean relationships of convenience are the way to go? Ie the Karasu Otoya route, for instance?

Well, no. Relationships of convenience are for when two different/opposing mutual interests align. What we haven’t seen (yet) is when mutual interests align because they are so similar- because two people want to win together at the end of the day. They understand this shared desire, and trust each other to do their best to carry it out- resulting in an ideal partnership.

The nagireo endgame… potentially.

Nowhere, Black Sorrow and an interpretation of Ivan's love

Gonna talk a bit about Ivan's emotional state in Nowhere and how it… is mostly right there in Black Sorrow too, just in a slightly more matured manner. I've got some similarities and differences I wanna highlight!

(It'd be good to read my lil initial impressions on the release of Nowhere first, tho!)

Firstly, the key thing about interpreting the content of Nowhere is that it's a private song. Written for Ivan himself, composed with no outside input, never meant for public performance. Therefore, in it, we can trust that Ivan is expressing himself as freely as he can (through the lens of his stunted emotional development yet strong ability to look inward and rationalize, but still), which is a very rare occurrence, given that one of his biggest traits is being private and cagey. The song Nowhere is raw emotion for a change, an open display of his head and heart.

And it sounds like just that. We hear the result of Ivan trying a romantic, ballad-like love song, starting with that and presumably just scrapping it for the subsequent melodic, hopeless freestyle rap session about his loneliness, pain, sense of being fundamentally unlovable/unwanted, belief that his existence is devoid of value and his pessimism.

But the love he knows he feels for Till IS there, fantastically represented by the ballad-like part that stays in the background for the rest of Nowhere. And it's recognized for what it is. 

… which is a big deal in itself!! Ivan talks down on his capacity for love a lot and would later call it a "shallow emotion", but he's way too analytical and knows himself too well to be avoiding that love is what it is. He damn well knows he's in love. And this song, the earliest song in his musical timeline, is pretty much the only place he says it out loud. 

Followed, of course, by all those verses about his meaningless and inconsequential life, being overwhelmed yet persisting calmly/numbly, the light he can't look at and dreams/hopes that are unreachable from the beginning because everything (and himself) is stained. And yet, the recognition of his emotions stays running in the background; to be literal about it, his feeling of love stays present and sung no matter how deep he dives into his bleak outlook. Constant, steady, never drowned out. Two things that are truths to Ivan. It feels to me like precisely the two factors that govern his inner emotional life: the belief that he's not built for it and the knowledge that he loves, regardless.

And "this always happens to me" is the sentiment that results from all that, taking the spotlight as the general mood and baseline of Nowhere. 

His belief that that the boy he was in the slums - a human who didn't feel like he belonged anywhere, neither an equal existence in relation to the segyein nor feeling part of humanity, a type of existence that's stained and rejected - is the same person he is in Anakt Garden and the ame persona he will continue to be. Of course, that applies to his love too. Not gonna work out because that's just how it is for someone like him, another piece of the "this always happens to me", destined to be unwanted. 

(We've gotta remember that Nowhere was written at the time he was living in Anakt Garden [source: official post], the time where he developed his feelings for Till and tried to be close to him in ways that neither Till nor Ivan himself could understand properly - so, is it surprising at all that he'd continue to feel mismatched with other humans, stained, wrong and hopeless? My personal belief here is that what he experiences with Till echoes with what he experienced in the slums, all contributing to sustain his view and thoughts about himself as an individual. It's all the same. Again: this always happens to him.)

Now here's the thing: that defeatist attitude about loving Till is honestly the same one he carries over to Black Sorrow and is guided by throughout all of the main Alien Stage storyline.

Another thing that's very important to remember in regards to THAT is that Ivan never told Till how he felt in any type of way, he also didn't intend to show it or let it be known in way Till could interpret, understand and give an answer to [source: Vivimeng Q&A at the 2024 GAF event of which we only have attendee records]. He mostly fought, made up, played and spent time with Till. The most straightforward example of "acting upon his feelings" we could refer to is when he asked Till if he wanted to kiss [source: official comic], which was absolutely not framed as a confession of romantic inclinations, but just as "something some kids in Anakt are doing". It was neither expressed nor understood for its true human meaning. Ivan never says anything because he has simply assumed that he's unlovable, considers himself rejected by default (he's aware Till likes Mizi, but it's been made clear that this is mostly irrelevant to him, Till could love anybody or no one at all and he'd still have his pessimistic outlook because he considers himself the problem [source: GAF event Q&A again]) and leaves it at that. Around the segyein, he even goes out of his way to protect either Till, the privacy of his own feelings or the nature of love (as one of the few freedoms pet-humans have) by giving the impression that they're not that close and Till is not that important to him [source: Ivan interview from the Alien Stage Patreon, specifically these bits].

With that said, let's recall Black Sorrow.

It's inevitably different because it's not the raw and fully honest Ivan, but a song meant for performing, for an audience and for the competition. Still, it's his character introduction song and it's the one that tells us his viewpoint on Till. And in it, his definition of love is already, well, that it's "his black sorrow". A feeling surrounded by darkness, love for someone unreachable, the knowledge that it ends in a "cold spot stained with blood", not meant to work out for him in any way. Just as he thought at the time of Nowhere. 

Because that always happens to him. He thinks that way in Black Sorrow, he thought that way in Nowhere, he still thinks that way in Cure.

But there's one thing that's extremely different between Black Sorrow and Nowhere! And I think it's an important aspect of Ivan that the new song and the new opportunity for character analysis allow us to bring forward.

It's in this little moment, the prelude to the climax of Black Sorrow:

When the first point tally is coming, no matter when you pause the video, Ivan's points are gonna be the same as Marty's. Unlike in Blink Gone, with Luka shown to be leading and Till falling in second place, Ivan and Marty don't know how it's going. But they'll get their final count soon, so this is the point where things need to get real serious. And it's the point when – as he watches the set's falling stars – Ivan dives into his most painful but also very important memory with Till. Through which we reach the song's climax, his performance turns much more emotional and he ultimately crushes Marty's score by a great margin.

What I'm trying to say is: in Black Sorrow, Ivan is in a very similar place as he was in Nowhere, in regards to his emotions and his love. We can assume he's more accustomed to it. But most of all, he's purposefully tapping into his feelings (both his love and his pain), drawing strength from them to deliver a winning performance. It's like opening his chest up and reaching into his heart, yes, but it's also done in a very controlled manner, because as soon as he's able, Ivan composes himself. When he finishes performing, he's his usual calm self again. 

(Writing this I realize I'll need another post to dive deeper into Black Sorrow alone to cover some more points that are unique to the song, so I'll leave that for later.)

And that's the aspect of his character that I think is so important to highlight, the fact that he just… know himself so well. And how, despite viewing himself negatively in some ways, he also greatly accepts himself.

Nowhere is a very downbeat song, of course we're all face down in puddles of tears for Ivan, but him? I think it'd be… in a way, misjudging and underestimating him to settle on a very depressive or fully self-loathing view of him. Because he's pessimistic, but in a rational, "that's exactly how things are" kinda way. He looks down on what he considers his bad sides, but also keeps them close and doesn't hesitate to use all of his skills and traits. He's hurting, but he remains collected and undefeated by his various pains. He's emotionally vulnerable but also SO full of sentiment, determined, clever, capable of great acts of gentleness and dedicated as few will ever be. 

And, when it comes to his love for Till, his belief that it's doomed to be unrequited doesn't stop him from continuing to feel that way, continuing to look after Till, drawing strength from his love when needed and ultimately do what must be done to push for Till's victory in Cure.

That's all for now! Please remember that these are only my views and that for this piece I focused on interpreting Ivan's love in particular in the context of Nowhere tied to Black Sorrow, so other themes are not as covered (not because they're not important in Nowhere or his whole character, of course) and even most of the nature of that same love is also not covered. I'll continue to write more analysis posts if possible.

I hope it's been an interesting read!

Lots of thoughts recently. Everything feels plastic.

I could go on and on about why all that AI "art" is bad. I could mention theft, lack of creativity, it's impact on the work field and environment, but countless people have already said all that. I wanted to touch on something that to me is the most utterly wrong about all of it.

Art is more than just something pretty to look at or listen to. It's therapeutic. It's a form of communication. A tool for human connection. It's a pure, human need.

Support real artists ☀️

instead of continuously over-donating to ao3 when those running the site are racist zionist sympathisers who shut down support of palestine from its volunteers 1 / 2 (among myriad other issues that u should NOT be funding) please direct your attention to these incomplete fundraisers for people in gaza and various tangible operations doing work. this is a call that if u have donated even a cent to ao3 to a) match that in your donations to palestinians/causes and b) stop donating so uncritically and unconditionally to ao3, pressure them. id like to direct u to @end-otw-racism

fundraiser masterpost by @el-shab-hussein

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