#zero asks

HI!!! WELCOME TO MY INTRO!!!

call me zero or starry, one of my nicknames!

FANDOMS IM IN:

Roblox, A hat in time, project moon, cookie run, pokemon, undertale & deltarune, animal jam, precure, cocotama, and alots more i may forgot^_^’’

hobbies i have currently:

Drawing, writing, dancing, playing games, & listening to music

Music artists i listen to:

Jhariah, will wood, Mili, Maretu, YonKaGor, Ghost and pals, & Key after Key

Some other stuff:

I have my own tags, have some meanings LOL

#zero’s talks : me talking about some stuff i like

#zero’s rambles: roblox au : Another talking about some stuff except its about my au!! I would love to talk about it if you guys want to….:3

#zero shows art: Me showing my art, it may be ass but its okay :)

#zero asks: basically asking anons!! yah, you can ask anything but NOT something weird, ty

THATS ALL!

Also i block freely, Ill block anybody who is weird as hell and erm. yeah thats all BUH BYE!!! HOPE WE BE FRIENDS!!!

anon you sent me this last night and it's been like 12 hours and I've done nothing except write this for like. 5 hours. there's so much I haven't done and I'm running tech for Good Friday tonight. I went and finally watched Toya4 just to hone my points (actually it broke quite a few but wHATEVER) and reread SO MUCH and finally. after writing an ENTIRE ESSAY. i think i can answer your ask.

so, dear anon, may i present to you: Aoyagi Toya and his relationships in the form of Kizuna Ranks (roughly): his lack of them, the neglection of ones he does have, and why The first concerto redeemed Nocturne Interlude and Toya's Colofes story.

Let's start off with a simple Kizuna Rank counting: Toya has 14 kizunas: 6 VS, 3 VBS & WxS, 1 L/n & 25ji, and 0 MMJ (as of time of writing this). While that’s technically on the high end (he’s beating half of l/n, 3/4ths of wxs and 3/4ths of 25ji) the problem is where most of his kizunas lie: he has full VS (the first of his group, actually), full VBS, and almost-full WxS (it SHOULD be full); that accounts for 12 out of the 14 he has. He has so little diversity outside of those three groups, which compared to Mizuki (who has the same amount of kizunas as him) who has 4 VS, 2 MMJ, 3 VBS, 2 WxS, and the obvious 3 25ji, isn’t a lot!

Toya’s only two “unique” kizunas are Saki and Mizuki; Saki, who he’s known since childhood and has a lot of respect for her and even more so her brother, and Mizuki, who they got the kizuna with I think through a combination of KAMIYAMA HIGH FES and Summer Festival. The problem isn’t that Toya has so few kizunas (he doesn’t, really, I counted) it’s that his kizunas are almost indicative of his friendships.

Fun fact: Toya has not had a new kizuna in over a year. His last kizuna on JP was October 2022. Over a year.

(Just as a side note, I’m not going to be talking about his lack of appearances OVERALL. Around this time last year, his VA started voicing Dan Heng in HSR, and considering that that man is in like… 6 Trailblazer Missions, I would assume with scheduling that he wasn’t really able to voice anything else for a while. We’re talking about that when he was on outside of group focuses, he never really talked with anyone outside of those he already knew. But Dan Heng has also been put to the wayside after 1.3, which was in August, so after that I’m not cutting Toya slack.)

I went through his cards after Never Give Up Cooking! to present day because cards are usually indicative of a presence in an event, and outside of group focuses, he has…. 2 (excluding Sanrio which I'm 99% sure he didn’t talk with anyone outside of his group). Yup, just two! The first one is… the Kamiyama Fine Arts Festival. Where he knows everyone in Kamiyama (day classes) and has a kizuna with them. Just great. The other event is Valentines3, where he meets with a bunch of new people, but I’ll get back to them. Let’s talk about L/n, 25ji, and their relationships with Toya.

Toya has one from both of them, as mentioned previously: Saki and Mizuki. But Toya (as far as I know) has basically never met the other members of their groups. Sure, his teammates have (Kohane attends Miya with L/n and was classmates with Shiho, and Akito is siblings with Ena and has met Mafuyu more than once, even in his own home) but Toya has not. And do you want to know something truly terrible? He could!

He’s childhood best friends with Saki! He’s classmates with Mizuki now! There are so many possibilities for Toya to meet them! Personally, I want an Ichisakitoyakana event where Toya learns to songwrite a little more from Ichika and Kanade (especially considering his newest focus where he accidentally[?] works himself to the bone to compose a single song). That wouldn’t be hard considering that he has an in with both L/n (through Saki) and 25ji (through both Mizuki and partially Ena, whom he can get to through Akito)!

But for reasons beyond my understanding, they just. Haven’t. Have they been waiting for Toya4? Maybe, and that’s valid. But that doesn’t mean that he couldn’t have spoken with them earlier anyways, especially considering that he’s been grueling over composing for what seems to be months. Also, it’s Saki, why wouldn’t she introduce her cool younger brother to Ichika, who is also a songwriter? Heck if I know!

But I digress. Let’s talk Valentines3, where Toya talks with Ena and Haruka quite a bit. Ena and Toya have known each other since… like, forever. Roughly 3 years, if we assume that Ena found out about Toya around the time Akito partnered up with him. While they don’t talk a lot, they’ve definitely had multiple chances to: Summer Festival, 2nd Anniversary, maybe 2nd New Years but admittedly I didn’t read that story so who knows. But their first shared card set is… Valentines3.

Both Toya and Ena have a solid connection with Akito, Toya consistently hands off plushies to Ena, and yet the two just… never talk. You’d think they would! But they just… haven’t? And I don’t know if that’s bad writing or just something? But Valentines3 is their first big interaction, which is three years since the game started.

Now, let’s talk Haruka. Compared to his teammates, Toya has a very isolated kizuna community (as a side note, Saki and Nene are the only kizunas that he doesn’t share with someone else in his group excluding VS), and it’s obvious if you look at his lack of MMJ kizunas. But everyone in his group has a direct connection to someone in MMJ: Kohane was first-year classmates with Minori, An is childhood friends with Haruka, and Akito and Airi at the very least know each other well. At ANY point, MMJ could’ve been introduced to Toya--and let’s face it, they probably were. Toya I’m sure has heard about them.

…But why has he never talked with them? Again, wouldn’t have been hard (although he’d have less of a reason to than he would’ve with someone like Ichika, Kanade, and Ena) but he just hasn’t? And I remember correctly he does know who Haruka is in Val3. I’m not sure if that’s the writers just straight up ignoring him for a while (which they totally did) or that’s Toya’s personality, but I really don’t think it’s the latter with how well Toya just. Takes new people.

One other person I’ll talk specifically about is Mafuyu. There’s not a super clear connection for Toya and Mafuyu to interact, but they’ve definitely met in passing. I love Toya and Mafuyu’s parallels (especially with their fourth rotations being huge for them) and wish they’d properly interact, but Colopale won’t let them because that would screw over Mafuyu’s progress entirely. In a good way. Mafuyu would realize so much. But you wanna read more about them and their parents, there’s this amazing post about it that I think does it well.

Now, let’s talk about the relationships Toya does have. I’m just going to briefly gloss over most of them, then talk about the ones with a little more influence in Toya’s life (which is basically just VBS and Tsukasa).

Let’s start with VS: Miku and Luka are the two who really click with Toya the best. Miku is the one who went with Toya to his Fragment SEKAI (which we’ll be touching upon later) and inherited his terrible cooking. VBS Miku, although not a large force at play in recent stories, is still a valuable voice of reason. Luka literally showed up during Toya’s event, got him to do stuff he’d never do, and is just generally his hype man. She’s great.

Now, let’s talk the twins. Rin I feel like, when with the boys (who is all I really read, sorry girls), doesn’t have much of a character aside from being Len’s fellow corgi sticking her head into boxes ‘n such (cookie if you get this). Len, however, can be mostly found with the boys, trailing after them like a younger brother… well, he trails after Akito. He doesn’t really trail after Toya, and Len more so sticks around with Akito a lot (learning soccer, was in Summer Fes with them, etc.). So ironically, I would say Len and Toya don’t have a strong connection, at least compared to Len and Akito.

Finally, let’s talk the adults(?). MEIKO, for the most part, has kept her nose out of music, but she’s been there since the start. She and Miku both play the VS in Toya1, and she, Miku, and KAITO are typically the ones to get Toya’s head back on straight. Most recently, MEIKO helped Toya pretty significantly in The first concerto (which we’ll also be discussing later).

Now, the rest: I thought about this for a while, but although Toya and Saki are close, I don’t think there’s any actual record of Toya going to visit Saki in the hospital, either with the Tenmas or his own family? So although they’re close, they’re definitely not as close as Toya and Tsukasa or Toya and Akito. But correct me if I’m wrong.

Toya and Mizuki are more recently classmates, and although they seem to have had something during Kamiyama Fine Arts Fes, I’m not sure what that is. But the two of them have had something for a little while, but it’s been pretty loose.

Toya and Nene are both gaming buddies, and actually get along pretty well. Toya and Rui also get along pretty well, Rui even going out of his way to taste test for Toya (although he definitely didn’t realize how. Terrible Toya’s cooking skills are) and help him repay the Tenmas.

Finally, let’s talk a little more about Toya’s deepest (and shallowest) relationships: VBS, Tsukasa, and his father---in backwards order because I’m like this.

Toya and his father have had a pretty shaky relationship, one that is always perpetually a few steps away from being entirely burned. But it’s a relationship that both are interested in keeping alive, but feel that they can’t, primarily because of their different beliefs in music. Again, I highly recommend you go read the relationship between Harumichi and Mafumom I linked above to get a better understanding of both people, but most recently, Toya’s father does go somewhat out of his way to give Toya some advice in The first concerto. Although some people believe it doesn’t make up for the child abuse, I feel like I strongly need to say something:

Toya explicitly continued classical for TWELVE YEARS.

That kid picked the piano up at 3! 12 years he played! He was 15 when he ran away! Teenagers get moody about this stuff! And I would know, because I had the exact same relationship with my parents about religion at his age. I’m not going to get into depth about my own personal life, but I’m not gonna call handling someone harshly after they themselves treat themselves the same way as child abuse. Is there child abuse? Oh probably definitely, Toya should’ve gotten more hugs as a kid. But Toya (explicitly in The first concerto flashbacks) pushes himself to be better at classical. There’s a whole bunch of other stuff here which I can talk about in another post (including Toya fixating only on the bad parts of his past, which is something I also do) but let’s leave it here for now.

Now, let’s talk about Tsukasa. If none of you are aware, Tsukasa is the one who gives Toya the push to quit classical music (from the PJSK fandom wiki in Toya’s relationships page: “it was Tsukasa who told him it was okay to do the things he wanted, even if others disapproved. This gave Toya the courage to quit classical music, and he says if it weren't for Tsukasa, he wouldn't be the person he is today”). Toya holds Tsukasa in high regard, even just as high as Akito (he defends Tsukasa from Akito on multiple occasions) even if he won’t let go of the “-senpai” honorific. Toya has gone out of his way multiple times to support Tsukasa in some way (taking his spot during Wedding1 when Tsukasa gets sick, taking a 2hr train ride just to see his performance as Thorpe at the end of Tsukasa2, learning how to cook just to repay the Tenmas in Never Give Up Cooking!) while also never asking for anything in return, and will probably continue to do so because he just holds Tsukasa in such high regard. It’s about the same regard that Toya holds Akito in, but Toya repays that by standing by Akito’s side and singing with him because that’s all Akito asks for.

Then, the Vivids. Despite being teammates, Toya doesn’t have much of a relationship with them (especially compared to Akito, who’s got a distinct one with both of them). Toya and An both respect each other, but the only mixed events they have cards together for are Wedding1 (where An really only shows up at the end) and Kami Fine Arts Fes, which I haven’t read so I can’t speak on that. Toya and Kohane have a 1-on-1 moment in An1 and… not again until Valentines3. Three years after An1. THREE YEARS!!! Toya’s relationship with the girls I feel has been especially neglected, but also partially for a good reason: in An1, both Akito and Toya let the girls talk themselves through. Sure, Akito gives An a harsh talking-to, and Toya gives Kohane some advice, but the two of them keep their noses out of the girls’ business. And the two of them do take a while to get on their own two feet (which I won’t go into depth about here, but maybe in another post).

But also, you’re teammates. I’m willing to overlook shallow relationship writing with people like Saki, Nene, Rui, and Mizuki because they’re not super close, but An and Kohane? That’s just straight up ignoring their relationships. There are so many opportunities for this sort of thing--which the writers definitely capitalized on in the beginning--but nowadays most of the cast goes to the VS for help. Which isn’t bad, it just means you’re developing relationships with other people. But having an arguably stronger connection with the VS than your own teammates? Really? You could put in a little more effort, writers.

Finally, let’s talk about Akito and Toya. Let me preface this by saying I’m biased and weak for partnerships, but I’ll try to do my best. Akito and Toya’s relationship is one of the few relationships we see prior to canon that isn’t a sibling relationship or having broken down; the only ones who are standing are the entirety of 25ji and maybe Rui and Nene (L/n broke off prior to canon, and Airi and Shizuku, although knowing one another, seem to have had most of their relationship deteriorate by the start of canon). But unlike the other two, Akito and Toya’s pre-canon relationship isn’t really discussed. All we really know is that they joined up not long after meeting (I think it’s implied it was in the same meeting) and are so close to one another by the start of canon that they trust each other to an insane degree. That’s not to say they haven’t had their fights (they have) but the big thing is that Akito and Toya’s RELATIONSHIP isn’t toxic. Both of them have their own personal issues (self-worth for Akito, guilt/burden for Toya) that they do often hide from each other, but as soon as the other notices, it doesn’t take them much to open up. I think the only time Toya didn’t tell Akito what was on his mind was that one time in his Toya1 card story where he refused to tell Akito that he was the best partner---and let’s be real, that’s Toya being cheeky and cheesy because he can; Toya’s not that open with many people (the only others excluding VS I’d say would be An, Kohane, Tsukasa, and Saki).

I will add, the writers do like to place quite a lot of emphasis on their relationship and bond, but it’s not bad yet or anything, especially with the current direction VBS is taking making it that there’s not much of a position for that to happen outside of mixed events. But again, I’m a sucker for that sort of thing, so.

To close out, let’s talk about a couple of things I said I’d talk about, and why The first concerto fixed so much. So let’s simultaneously talk about Toya1, Toya’s Colofes story, and the redemption that is The first concerto.

For me, Toya1 felt a little weird (rereading it for this post, you’re welcome) because knowing what little I did of The first concerto (which was nothing) at the time, I was confused because in Toya1 he moved past his classical burden, didn’t he? And also, you wanna talk Colofes? They dropped a huge character detail and L E F T. FOR TWO YEARS! But finally, when I actually watched The first concerto (like, earlier today) I had so many thoughts, but eventually decided on the following things:

Toya1 was Toya getting over his classical burden for singing, while The first concerto was dealing with his burden for composing. And as for his Colofes story… Toya is cut off in his words when the Fragment SEKAI disappears. Considering that, and what Toya says in chapters 6 and 7 (referencing his Colofes), I think that despite what Miku said about forgiving himself, Toya didn’t. As we also learn in The first concerto, Toya has a very hard time not fixating on the bad events of his life and instead focusing on the good, especially after quitting classical. Sure, he can think of the good like being with the Tenmas, but that was always tainted with the rest of his history.

The first concerto just. Redeems so much that was left to the side in Toya’s progression, and in a good way. Toya already removed the shackles from his wrists and ankles back in Toya1, but left them to the wayside. Now, here, he’s picked them back up and is slowly, surely, turning them into keys to unlock the door to the future. The event gives Toya the courage and ability to finally forgive himself for his past (something he didn’t do back during his Colofes, which is roughly just after Kohane2) and use it to move forward.

(Also, if you’re wondering why I, a Toya kinnie, was reading it so late, shameless plug to my 4k Toya-centric fic roots in the snow, where it's explained there.)

Anyways, those are my thoughts. I’m sure I have more which I might add on to later, but I’ve literally just been writing this for like 3 hours straight and I need to vacuum before I leave soon because if I don’t my mom will have my head.

I posted a poll on my deviantART profile because I want to get an idea on which of my old on-going fics is the most demand and/or needed for an update before the others. Regardless I’m going to take the time to re-read them and get acquainted with my notes for each of them, please vote if you are one of my readers. Thank you!!