dollface wrote:

And seeing as Touga and Nanami were adopted...sooo....not much to really say on that front.

Why? We don't know what their adoptive parents are like. Just because they're not blood related doesn't mean we can't make up stuff about 'em!

Miki and Kozues parents had problems of their own. I've thought long and hard [har har har...let me retrive my mind from the gutter] about what their home life must have been like. The two faced this unexpected issue of twins. This isn't to say they didn't want more than one child, but you certainly don't expect two at once. This could have strained them, not so much financially [seeing as they have a piano, and the memories of their home seemed very fancy] but more physically. Emotionally. Because of their tending to their kids, they didn't have much time for each other. This is where they begin to have problems. Soon enough, the arguments start, as it almost always does. It could have been kept hush-hush at first, but I'm sure Miki and Kozue heard them eventually. This is why Miki decides to begin taking more care of himself, rather then relying on his parents. Even at such a young age, he is outside learning how to master such an instrument many people three times his age struggle with. Looking to her mirror image for support and affection, Kozue followed after him. She stayed by his side, which is why she formed her unhealthy attraction as she aged. Miki took on caring for her as well, though he really doesn't mind it. He's in his own world with her, away from the real world, the world of his parents. This is implied with gusto throughout the series. In their vain attempt to recover their happy family, the twins father is shown to be the one who pushed Kozue into the concert against her will. He was the one who turned the simple childhood innocence of the Sunlit Garden into the ballad that would make them prodigies. Not to say Miki doesn't enjoy the piano, but he didn't do it because he planned to make a future from it. He just enjoyed busying himself, with Kozue by his side. After this night, Kozue see's her prince for what he is, and herself for what she isn't [I'd love to get into this, but I already have an eight page essay on Kozue]. Now, Kozue has given up piano and her life as Miki's other half. We all know what this did to the twins, but what of their parents? The loss of their free-ticket to stardom and happiness could have pulled the final straw, and Mrs.Kaoru left her children and husband. However, from another point, we don't really know which order the events occured in. She could have left the family first, and Mr.Kaoru could have forced childhood fame onto them in order to save himself financially, or perhaps to recreate their perfect family. I suppose it's hard to tell just how things worked with a family you never met.

Last edited by dollface (03-14-2007 02:50:36 PM)

I posted it here: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/489 … n%3Ascraps

It doesn't look like eight pages, but when I printed it, lo and behold it was.
I really only wrote it for myself, so there are some typos and things I'm embarassed about, but I don't feel like fixing. I kept saying 'loose' instead of 'lose'. Gawd.

Um, it's not nearly as good as the ones on EM, because I don't write essays often. If anyone acctually reads it, be gentle.

REALLY????? *spazzs around for a few minutes*
*ahem* I'll get someone to beta-read it so I can find some of the grammatical errors I missed.
Oh, and I'm fine with being credited 'dollface'. I wouldn't really want to use my name, and that's my only nickname so...yup. Fish in a barrel. [?wtf?] The address I send it from will be fine.

It is rather hard to pinpoint where I got the idea. A lot of it comes from other peoples interpretations. But one thing I always noticed was in the memory Kozue has in episode 15, of the two playing in the sunlit garden.

You see the two sitting on a bench, playing the piano. Bells chime. The chiming noise is acctually the metronome from the music room, but it's very common for SKU to use bells as a representation of something powerful coming. They ring before the duels, and after the duels. They can symbolize the strong feelings in the duels, or the crush of defeat, or the realization of who they really are and what they really want. But they are also a symbol of something petty, something very weak and human. This is why bells sounded during each and every duel, except for the one called Revolution. I took that to heart, that this would be the duel to end all things, and the bells did not ring. Because at this point, the duel was not fought over one person's revolution, but for the revolution of the world. Ah, the bells can be interpretted so so many ways. Anywho, the dinging occurs overtop of Kozue's memory, symbolizing the changes that she endured during the time, and the changes she suffers now.

You see a blender, used for making milkshakes.

Milkshakes glasses represent Miki and Kozue. The actual milkshakes represent the real world, the one that Miki tries to hide from. The butterflies are their ideals and desires, resting upon their shoulders as they delve into their different worlds.

After the chime, the straws of the milkshakes cross. The blender begins to spin, the milkshakes inside representing the world that Miki and Kozue created in the sunlit garden. I took this as the bells signaling exploration or adventure into something new, and the straws crossing...as, um, Miki and Kozue crossing. While the real world is out of view, the butterflies remain, meaning that even when together their preconceptions about what they want remain.

Now we see the straws again, and the butterflies are gone. This means all things holding Miki and Kozue back are gone. They have crossed the boundary that their 'butterflies' held them back from, and they have created the world they wish to have.

This is the world they created, the milkshake within the blander. Together, they have crossed into each others worlds. The symbols were loaded with sexuality.

Edit: Inferiority and jealousy stem from within. Often it isn't real, but you are tricked into thinking it is so by your own mind. She wasn't really any worse than Miki, but her fear of never being as good as him, or moreso being good enough for him, she began to believe it was true, and she lost hope.

Last edited by dollface (03-15-2007 12:56:31 PM)

Razara wrote:

As for Shiori's family, (surprise, surprise,) I think that it's safe to assume that she was an only child. Juri was the closest thing that she had to a sister. The worst case scenario for her parents is that they weren't quite the parents who would say, "You're special just the way you are." Some parents expect more from their children, and that tends to be very hard on the child.

If she and Juri were close enough that they actually spent time at each other's houses, I wouldn't be surprised if Shiori had to deal with comments such as, "Juri's such a nice girl. Why can't you be more like her?" Perhaps this is just assuming the worst, though it may not be that far from the truth. Look at spoiled children. They grow up thinking that the world revolves around them, usually because their parents spoiled them when they were young. For someone who thinks of themself as lower than dirt, we can assume that the opposite occurred.

This pretty much goes along with what I think about Shiori's family, and possibly part of her resentment stems from that. People do that kind of thing all the time, without thinking about it, and even parents who are the type to tell the child, "I love you just the way you are" are far from immune to that.

And dollface - wow. Just... wow.

I think Miki and Kozue weren't neglected when they were long, but they were pushed too hard. They were showed off and made to do things they didn't want to do. When they grew older, their parents lost interest in them. They were treated like expensive dolls, not people. That's way Miki hates being told by adults what to do.