#the animus

KINGDOM HEARTS: Riku

"Hanguang-jun": not-so much in the earlier titles of KH but, overall & ESPECIALLY as the series goes on, Riku's Strength is depicted as a literal, blinding Light. he also has white/silver hair.

Gay Pining: while not outright stated, context established Riku as 1) Gay and 2) PINING. it's literally a Plot Point (sometimes even THE plot).

BUFF (& pretty): Riku is just that much older than KH's protagonist, Sora, to ensure Riku is considered Tall, Strong & Handsome. the "pretty" part comes from being an Anime boy.

PETTY: before he felt secure & at peace with his Gay Pining, Riku had A Whole Villain Arc because of an Assumed Love Triangle that was not in his favour. he has technically outrgrown this now but it WAS a big enough deal in the overall plot fo be something he Can Never Live Down.

"Equals": the subject of his Gay Pining is thematically paired with Riku at every opportunity. they fight in-synch, their hearts beat in tune, they are sources for each other's Strength.

while never seen singing or playing instruments, DDD features Riku finding & manifesting his "heart song": it doesn't become "music" until Sora does the same on his side of the dream. the song their hearts make together? the leitmotif of KH as a whole: "Dearly Beloved".

Poetic License: Riku prefers action to words but most of KH's theme songs are from HIS POV. another instance of his relaying great depth with few words? Chain of Memories has 2 poems, one to end each "Side" of its story: Riku's poem is VERY WOW.

Riku is, if the above had not made it glaringly apparent, at heart a romantic: he believes in True Love, in legends about paopu fruit & forever, in sacrificing yourself for who you love. this, uh, kind of blew up in his face upon hitting the "edgelord" phase of puberty: fairy tales are about princes and princeSSES, not knights. Riku's idealism made him susceptible to manipulation as those ideals were put into question.

Riku does not currently believe he can have his own Happily Ever After: he has, instead, resolved to ensure that his Dearly Beloved has HIS (even if it's not with Him).

A Song of Ice & Fire: Brienne

"Hanguang-jun": Brienne is considered the embodiment of all a knight should be... were it not for her being female. she "goes where the chaos is" (the Riverlands, where the War of the Five Kings has left the land lawless & fraught with danger) and saves the helpless. in one of Jamie's dreams, Brienne bears a literal sword of light and so turns his nightmare into [an unrealized crush] sign of Hope. she bears a very shiny Valryian Steel sword named "Oathkeeper".

Gay Pining: while Brienne is female & her love interests male, her FIRST love was a gay man & her SECOND love is VERY QUEERCODED. she pines and she pines in a very "it will never be, he'd never feel the same because of who i am, i am devoted even as he knows it not" manner that is Very Gay Pining-esque.

BUFF (& pretty): Brienne is a giant of a woman & triumphed over older, more experienced men in a tournament melee. SHE HAS ALL OF THE MUSCLES. she is not, however, considered "pretty" and her nickname of "Brienne the Beauty" is meant as a cruelty. Jamie Lannister, however, has Accidentally Swooned over Brienne at least thrice (in the books, doing more than just "swooning" in That Dragon Show).

when Jamie is fevered and delirious at being Unhanded, he finds comfort in Brienne singing to him: it's unknown whether her singing was any GOOD but it makes sense that she'd secretly enjoy music (& that this interest was never encouraged in her childhood).

while she is not an eloquent speaker, Brienne is a romantic & an idealist: she has had moments of profound insight. only moments, however: she's never received the kind of privileged education that LWJ had.

"Equals": Jamie Lannister, undeniably.

...ASOIAF is not kind to idealists & unlikely to give ANYONE a "Happily Ever After". that's what Fandom is for: many a "fix-fic" has been written in response to That Dragon Show, and artists have made truly beautiful images showing Brienne with her dreams realised.

Genshin Impact: Diluc?

"Hanguang-jun": Diluc is very deliberately designed in homage to Batman, the Dark Knight... but his Pyro Vision inevitably results in his brightening the night, where he chases chaos & saves others from great peril.

BUFF (& pretty): while Genshin Impact limits its muscular models to NPCs & enemies, Diluc is ALLEGEDLY "buff" and should be so following the logic of his being 1) a former knight and 2) an active claymore wielder. Genshin, as a very anime-game, makes ALL its playable characters pretty: Diluc's 5-star skin "upgraded" his hair to REALLY push that point home, enabling him to reach Peak Pretty Boy.

Diluc, as a fancy rich boy, PROBABLY knows how to play at least 1 musical instrument: Mondstadt's patron god IS an Orpheus Expie, after all. his various VAs have certainly put their musical talents to use, in fancovers or in other series they've worked in.

eloquent & concise: this varies from dub to dub but the Vibe remains, if only for his Blatant Batman Invoking.

just like LWJ, Diluc is a romantic & an idealist who has grown jaded over time.

Gay Pining? the ENG dub, as all english dubs seem to do, translated Diluc's Very Queercoded Word for what one Cavalry Captain Kaeya once was for him into... "adopted brother". in CHINESE, however, similar if not identical words used to describe LWJ & WWX in relation to each other: their vibe is more "Bitter Exes" than the "Mourning Widower" type of Gay Pining exhibited by the others in this list.

Genshin's story is ongoing, Diluc's home region has had its main story on Hold so as to return with Greatet impact. hopefully Diluc won't end up like EITHER of his Creative Inspirations (Batmab & Murata Himeko) when Genshin's main story returns to Monsdtadt & Diluc.

Voltron Legendary Defender: Shiro or Keith?

"Hanguang-jun": as the Leader of Voltron, Shiro brought hope to the universe. he may have piloted the Black Lion but the grey in his hair Sure Did Foreshadow his hair going wholly white (& his ultimately piloting a "white" lion-esque ship for humanity). Keith is ever connected with darkness: he is Shiro's successor in all things but ever walks in his shadow (very much deliberately).

Gay Pining: Shiro is the character "canonically" gay but it's KEITH who exhibits all the Trademarked Characteristics. Keith has a Dark Phase about his gay pining. Keith accepts his gay pining during his attempt to redeem himself. Keith resolves to ensure his beloved's happiness, often at the expense of his own. Keith spends the entirety of Voltron (epilogue included, ouch) screaming "i am a gay widower whose love died unrealised & now i fight about it".

so it turns out that deep space astronaut training &intergalactic warfare don't give you much time to showcase any musical talent you may or may not have.

Poetic License: as leaders, both have their moments of profound, concise wisdom. Keith is angstier about it though.

"Equals": Keith & Shiro start out on UNequal footing but, during the series itself, Shiro attempts to make Keith his successor for his (believed) inevitable demise: Keith spends his time metaphorically kicking and screaming that NO DYING ALLOWED, the two eventually compromising by BOTH of them taking up leadership roles. all the space/time shenanigans ALSO, incidentally, enable Keith to pull a "not a little kid anymore" on Shiro, cementing their new status as "equals" (again, forget S8).

Buff & Pretty: as anime boys, both Keith & Shiro are Pretty. as an astronaut-turned-supersoldier, Shiro starts out BUFF. post-Space Whale family reunion trip, Keith becomes "buffier "but remains very much in Pretty Boy territory.