lars

and the prettiest hands award goes to exactly who we expected it to go to

average to long-ish hands... around 19.5 (7.7 inches) in length

flawless manicure ofc

basing this off a headcanon but at least to Me. romeo is a pretty seasoned seamster. he tries his darndest to avoid/hide them but there are needle pinprick scars scattered around his fingertips, and a subtle callus or two

literally GLACIAL in temperature. it's almost concerning. you should thank your lucky stars these hands belong to him of all people because having those on your neck unexpectedly? should be classified as a crime

i'm a baby(-ish) hands ritsu truther. they're around 16.5 cm/6.5 inches in length

fingers are on the shorter side + very delicate. honestly very pretty

they're quite warm and very soft to hold

he has a KILLER writer's callus. zero sensation in that area

doesn't do anything super extra in terms of hand care but the products he uses are very high quality and tearjerkingly expensive. the gloves also are also decently protective

Jin: Good to me

Originally, I was going to give Jin “Don’t Listen in Secret”, but then I realized that Good to Me fit him pretty well.

“This feels so right

Everything is good when just you are here

You're not going to stop me, you're like continuous damage to me

I'm gonna be hurt childishly (Ouch, ouch, ouch)

Cause you, you're my everything

We are a match (Ah yeh)

Cause you, you're my everyday

You also know it

I need you, [and] you need me

Cause you, you already know

Everything is you, you

Good to me”

Jin has a LOT of issues, so he struggles with giving his heart away in fear of getting hurt. But at the same time, he’s literally in love with MC lol. He knows that their relationship won’t last, and that he’ll probably get hurt (especially if she dies). But at the same time, MC constantly reaches out to him and takes care of him, which I feel like relates to the “I need you” and “Good to me” part.

Kaito: Aju Nice!

IF THIS ISN’T THE MOST KAITO CODED SONG. It’s literally Seventeen being losers that are incredibly down bad for this one girl. It’s literally him idk what you want me to tell you.

“Let me ask you something

Do you think you would float around in a dream too? (Yes)

Do you think that if I got a gym membership, I would become a cool guy? (Yes)

Do you think I'm nervous because this is my first love?

I think you are the answer to all of my questions

Ah, I wonder, how you can be so pretty

There's a good restaurant across the street (Let's go)”

IT’S LITERALLY HIM. No explanation needed. Also unrelated but Aju Nice is such a banger. 10/10.

Leo: Jungle (S.COUPS Solo)

This actually pains me because Leo does NOT deserve this banger. Like I’m not even a Leo hater. But this song is wayyyy too good for him. However, the lyrics do fit. So whatever.

“I don't need a friend, I hate the givе and take

I don't need respect, your lifе and mine are different

I need fans, if I have them I go crazy it's perfect

I Need love, even if the mountains and rivers change, that won't change

Fact, fact, fact, I'm the living proof in this industry check, check

Lose lose lose mute that nonsense and give them a smack

Fact, fact, fact, check rock bottom and the air up top

Game, game, game, 3rd gen that's been rising for the 10th year”

They don’t fit him perfectly, but they are pretty close. Obviously, “3rd gen that’s been rising for the 10th year” doesn’t apply (Very true abt Seventeen tho my kings). But I do feel like it fits Leo to some degree though. With Leo, everything he does on social media is just for cheap thrills. But when it comes to people he cares about, while he might not treat them with basic respect, he does place value on them and their presence around him. Also I feel like the part about muting the haters also fits him.

Haru: Left & Right

This is less of “Wow, this song suits this character really well” and more of “Wow, this character needs to listen to this song's advice”. 

“Even if we run, run, run

When can we get ahead

Running itself is tough enough, yeah, yeah, yeah

Then what should we do

Not running is an answer, too

Who cares what we do, yeah, yeah”

Overall, Left & Right is about how while it’s good to do your best, sometimes it’s perfectly fine to take a break and take it slow. (Also the lyrics I inserted here is literally my favorite part of this song; Seungkwan my beloved his vocals are so pretty). Anyways, I feel like Haru desperately needs to listen to that message, since he works wayyyy too hard.

Towa: Lilili Yabbay

I love both Towa and this song soooo freaking much. Personally, I feel like the song reflects Towa’s view of love, and the lyrics fit him pretty well.

“You live in my dreams and are beautiful

You’ve shaken me up

And you make me wait and wait

You make me wish on the moon

To let me see you again

I imbue my movements with your meaning

And open that time

Where only you and I can exist

If only that can be, yeah, if only it could be

I’ll depict myself

The 13th month’s dance

I dance leaning into the moonlight (Ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya)

Looking only at you

I’m going to dance

Only in front of you and in the 13th month

(For you, Lilili Yabbay)”

Towa believes in soulmates, and I feel like the love that this song describes fits him perfectly. Also the song just has very pretty vibes, which makes me think of him.

Ren: F*ck My Life

Yes, that is actually the song’s name. Can you see where I’m going with this. Tbf this is half for the memes, half serious. The actual song contains a pretty positive message. But the title just reminds me of Ren, so I’ll give it to him lol.

“In this fucking world, I'm the only stupid

I lost my way, I lost my aim

Dumbest person alive

Let's just forget all of this, let's just laugh through all of this

Because this comfort is meaningless

On my way back home I get choked up

Keep feeling like crying, woah-oh-oh, oh

I just wanna find myself before I disappear completely

When I was young and watched cartoons

I wondered why I couldn't be

The main character like I would see

My heart's all too blackened

Isn't there anyone who could trade their heart with mine just for a day?”

Other than the positive parts of this song (which I personally feel like could also fit him), this song fits Ren a lot more than I thought it would when I first thought of it. So good for him ig.

Haku: Thanks

This was actually really hard for me to decide. At first I was considering Good for Me for him, but I felt that it fit Jin more. But then, I remembered Thanks, and I felt like it fit him perfectly. Haku often doesn’t say what he actually wants, and is overall very rarely honest about his feelings.

“My heart is overflowing with these cliché words

I haven't said them to you because I was worried they wouldn't sound sincere

Rather than saying a simple "Thank you"

I've been searching for prettier words

So I haven't been able to thank you

I couldn't express my feelings

Because I lacked the bravery

If only I had known the word "love" a little earlier

From the first day I saw you until now

You have been the only one in my heart”

It fits him so welllllll. He always backs out when he flirts with MC, but he’s so obviously in love with her. Also the first verse I quoted doesn’t really have anything to do with the game’s story, but it’s definitely something that Haku would do.

Lyca: Kidult

KIDULT MY BELOVED. Literally my comfort song (after Cheers to Youth). I’m proud to say that Lyca very much deserves this song. Lyca is such a pure boy, I love him so much. And just as the song lyrics say, his world is perfect the way it is. 

“Sometimes it's okay to waste your time

Even if they say you are being immature

In that way, no, oh woah, in those images

I find myself, no, no, no, woo

I'm not afraid of tomorrow, which may fall apart

When we're together, I'm not afraid of my tears

(Yeah) Over this black-capped world (yeah)

(Yeah) I want you to paint it with your pure white heart again

I'm here like the child I am

But where did he hide?

To you in which every day is more brilliant than sorrow

It's okay, your world is precious

And precious, just as you are right now

Stay here with me

After laughing it off like a grown-up

Even when crying like a child

We look alike, so let's be together

Just the way you are

Like a grown-up child”

I don’t really know if this needs an explanation. It’s just so… Lyca.

Rui: Fear

And finally, Rui as Fear! Honestly, I considered giving Fear to Alan or Taiga, but it fits Rui the best overall, especially with his curse. To be honest, the memories part fits Taiga more, but the rest of it is most definitely Rui.

“My poison grows into a deep painful night

Why does my heart deny the truth?

Get out of my mind

I can’t handle it, I’m afraid of myself

The truth has me tied up

My heart is tainted

I’m afraid it’ll eventually change you too

I’m too afraid to break it off, so I lie again

Even my memories are becoming tainted

Please baby, you have to get away from me

Someone tell me what should I do

You must erase your memories of me, I’m poison

I know I can’t take it no more

Though I couldn’t get past this, love me as I am

The way I love, the way I love”

He wants to be with MC, but he knows that his curse will do nothing but cause her harm. So, he does his best to not get too close to her. But at the same time, he desperately wants to reach out to her and be with her. Yippee for Rui angst ig. 

as a whole, jin's material and political royalties are contrasted heavily against the hollowness of his personal life and the countless losses he's endured. he's framed as a shell of who he was prior to the clash/the loss of his mother the year before, and whatever facade of infallibility tohma puts up for him is dismantled soon after its introduction. in the wake of the clash, he's said to have stagnated (this is contrasted against the frostheim students' descriptions as 'relentless in the pursuit of their goals') and his self-image is largely shattered. this fall from grace is illustrated by the loss of his ability to use his stigma, which literally compels people to obey his commands, on his own. he is a king, yes - he has the birthright, the throne, and someone at his right hand - but his power is gone. this is the very definition of reduction to a figurehead (see: his opening lines should the player choose him for the cutscene, which now has a fun other layer to it!).

overall, we see jin as someone struggling to move forward - to let go of the past and come to terms with what overcoming the changes in his life entails. his writing subverts our expectations of how the captain of the elite, hypercompetitive house would be - and in doing so, reinforces the aforementioned discrepancy between appearances and reality which is so thematically significant to frostheim's episodes.

1.2 TOHMA

tohma is the savvy, collected advisor who may or may not be treacherous (either way, the writers do their best to make him seem that way). he's careful with his words, likes chess metaphors, and is an avid enjoyer of mind games. not traits you would commonly associate with the brute strength he's renowned for, at least according to jin. his background in vagastrom and the volatile nature of his artifact add another great layer to his character.

but what role does he play in frostheim, thematically? tohma, more than anyone, embodies the importance of projecting strength. the house is known for its gossip; one exposed moment of vulnerability is enough for the people to start swarming. someone with tohma's political acumen is well aware of this. the scope of his influence is even captured in his combative abilities - the close-range nature of his halberd combined with his power to send vibrations long-distance. he constantly asserts himself as someone of unbreakable composure, without weaknesses to pick apart - and he does this for jin, as well. tohma is the mask (the need to pretend which dominates high society), and jin what lies behind it (the scandal, suffering, and loss which is disguised so). this is an incredibly interesting facet of their dynamic - a mask can fit over an array of faces but must be worn in the end, after all, lest it become little more than a prop. its wearer, however, can do without.

1.3 LUCA

within frostheim, luca represents two chief things: the price of loyalty & sincerity, as well as the pitfalls of the quest for power.

first off, he's the gallant, dutiful knight. he's personable, hardworking, and his unwavering sincerity occasionally ends up painting him as tactless. i'm extremely tickled by how this aspect of his character interacts with frostheim's environment - luca has a good heart and will bare it to anyone who asks. how that goes over in the 'pit of snakes' (as termed by its captain himself) is a beautiful thing, to me.

the idea of strength is integral to luca's character. he's a protector to the end (within like... twenty minutes of meeting kaito and mc, he swears to defend them with his life) and his firmness of identity is based on whether or not he is capable of defending those he loves. in his affinity 8 chat, he states that his family demands that the heir be stronger than anyone else; when asked if such an expectation burdens him, he replies: 'not at all. i have my role, just as you have yours. all i'm doing is fulfilling it.'

i wouldn't take this at face value with anyone else, but he is so unbelievably honest that i have to believe he's telling it to us straight. in luca's mind, there are expectations, and he must fulfill them, and he cannot afford to focus on what may happen if he doesn't (the reality he's met with is a horrible one, after all). his tendency to apply this mindset to others puts something of a strain on his relationships, as well (see his argument with kaito in ep 1 after they fail the mission). unconsciously, he expects a lot from others because that's what he's been giving those around him for so long.

moving forward, the darker aspects of his character (which offer a welcome twist to the 'loyal, chivalrous knight' archetype he's assigned) are similarly rooted in this fixation on strength. his quest to subjugate a demon is called to mind. subjugate as in make subservient - to force another beneath you. the militant connotations don't evade me, either - a king and his army dominating another group by force and bringing them under his governance. fits very well with frostheim's association with regal structures.

his obsession with the idea of subjugating a demon is framed somewhat comedically whenever it makes an appearance, but the intensity with which he presents it always makes me think real hard. taking his brother into account, it's a hungering for power - for revenge. good, kind luca, who is so shaped by this want for vengeance. very very interesting.

to me, luca's story has an incredible amount of potential. it's a nigh-perfect avenue of exploring how loyalty (to one's family, to one's cause) can warp someone's character, how sincerity in an environment predicated on smoke and mirrors can be both a boon and a folly, and how actions interact with intent in the pursuit of one's goals.

1.4 KAITO

kaito's chapter title is 'the archer'. automatically, this stands out as being the only frostheimer one which isn't a widely recognised position in a standard medieval court. especially when paired with his warm(er) colour palette, this only emphasises the idea that he doesn't belong among the frostheim ghouls. however, we know that he definitely has connections to a massively esteemed household through his pendant, and his tendency to gossip/make a meal out of small things (his frequent overthinking in all his interactions with mc comes to mind) is very frostheim imo.

a major aspect of kaito's character that comes through in conversation is his tendency to alter his word depending on the situation. he's something of a social chameleon, successful or not. he retroactively corrects his own opinions, goes off on unrelated tangents, jumps between beliefs. his internal world is messy. he's self-pitying, somewhat narrow-minded, and insecure, but that's what makes those moments where he proves himself willing to stand up when it counts so impactful. kaito is overwhelmingly settled in the ideas others have of him - a useless coward who should have been more - so when he grits his teeth and allows himself to focus on anything other than the ideas that he's internalised, it's pretty damn great.

moving forward, a big part of what drives him is his desire to become human, first expressed near the end of the prologue. kaito may be a failure of a ghoul, but a human? he's a better human. a good one, even, because existence as a human is free of the expectations that come with being a ghoul. all kaito wants is to not have anything to fulfill and anyone to disappoint, and he believes that becoming human again will give him that.

thematically, kaito serves as a really great addition to the narrative of strength. the concept of being strong is all too often presented as a binary (weak vs strong, useless vs useful) and makes frequent appearances across the entire story. darkwick's social dynamics are literally based around it. ghouls are powerful and capable, so we can delegate leadership, combat, interpersonal responsibilities to them. whatever we can't do, we give to them - our special forces. the GA students are humans, so we stuff them into supporting roles and let them mind their business. i'll bet that kaito's view of what becoming human again would entail has a lot to do with this disparity.

circling back. in frostheim, whose environment demands strength or at least a convincing facade of it, characters wield physical, political, and/or financial power to their own ends and are respected for it in the text. kaito doesn't have any of those, however, and so he isn't acknowledged unless it's to disparage him.

but he's not weak - not really. kaito's importance in the story hinges on his ability to empathise with mc in a way that very few openly have. he's very understanding of her struggles despite her rarely (if ever) voicing them, and he doesn't hesitate to defend her to others. his strength lies in the fact that he's simply a good friend - mc's first friend, in fact - and the value of that is often lost among the discussions of control and influence and strength which have dominated frostheim so far.

ii. relationship dynamics

so much about the ghouls is communicated through their interactions with one another. i touched on the dynamics between jin and tohma earlier (honestly i could dedicate a whole other post to them) so i'll be focusing on the others, now. this section is dedicated to pairs mainly because i'm very iffy on my ability to comment on the trios/the four of them all together.

2.1 TOHMA & KAITO

save for hotarubi and mortkranken, in every house exists at least one senior-junior pair who serve as foils to one another (or at least contrast each other in a thematically significant way). tohma and kaito are one of these pairs.

tohma's brute strength, unbreakable composure, and confidence are a far, far cry from kaito's self-described weakness, agitation, and general neuroticism. they're set apart in pretty much every single way - their artifacts, stigmas, relationship to mc...

in all honesty, kaito is someone tohma delights in preying on - he's incredibly easy to read and, subsequently, manipulate, as seen in tohma's affinity level 6 chat with him. i'd love to speak more on tohma as a whole tbh but he is such an enigma that i hesitate to say anything more definitive.

2.1 JIN & LUCA

remember what i said about the senior-junior pairs? these two are our second catch of the day.

jin and luca are continuously at odds. the former's intercepting of the vagastrom brawl at the start of episode 2, their campus interactions, and luca's affinity level 6 chat stand out as notable incidents. jin views luca as overzealous, if not outright reckless - 'after something happens is too late', he tells him in ep 2 with regards to protecting mc. even their colour palettes are in direct opposition to one another. their dynamic brings up many questions: what fuels jin's treatment of luca? is it disdain for his single-mindedness, pure and simple? does luca, charismatic and devoted as he is, perhaps remind jin of his old self prior to the clash?

the two are similar in more ways than one, as well: both grapple with the loss of a significant loved one (jin's mother and luca's brother), both are unafraid to part with their material wealth (jin quintupling the laurel crown's prize money, luca paying romeo while coming to kaito's aid in the prologue), both come from families which demand strength in their heirs, and both are swordsmen. it does make you wonder - what else is in store for them?

2.3 LUCA & KAITO

my beloveds... luca and kaito are the story's dynamic duo. they are, again, contrasted in almost every way. kaito will change based on the situation; luca is unabashedly himself wherever he goes. kaito runs away from expectations; luca charges towards them headfirst. kaito is someone who demands protection, and luca is a protector before anything else. not to mention their family backgrounds, self-perceptions, and individual motivations...

in the end, however, they're connected by the fact that they are wonderful friends to mc and to each other (well, kaito has a little ways to go, but you get the point). both embody the importance of viewing empathy and compassion as strength in a setting where it is all too often discounted, and i love them forever <3

iii. final thoughts

from chapter titles to the castle-like dorm to how the four members align with the structure of the medieval european feudal system (jin as the king, tohma as the nobles, luca as the knights, and kaito as the peasants), the storytelling emphasises frostheim's associations with the concept of hierarchy a lot. with this comes a boatload of very cool (pun intended) thematic points which are captured exceedingly well through the character writing. there is a lot more i could say about them (jin and tohma especially) but this post is long and disjointed enough so... another time perhaps.

all in all they are my boys and i love them and think they deserve more <3 credit & thank you to the person who wrote a paragraph on luca in @/miumonga's fandom survey by the way! you inspired a lot of the section on him if you're reading this :>