I could see it being either way, interestingly enough! It’s either she’s become more open (which I initially thought was the case and I even wrote a study fic on it LOL) or she’s become better at acting due to higher pressures on her and higher stakes (mother mental state and the whole student body constantly keeping an eye on her). I like to think she found a friend in present timeline teru since they’ve been working together for so long, and having that sort of platonic, non idealizing friendship could do so much for anyone (as opposed to Akane, who our Aoi though idolized her too much).
personally I think our Aoi was better off because she revealed the worst sides of herself but was accepted anyway and she was finding a first/close friend in Nene. Now I don’t know if she’s friends with Nene but it’s strained cause of her complicated soon with Teru, or if it’s also close (she may not tell Nene for fear of Nene accidentally telling, or believes that Nene idealizes her).
Ch 1 Aoi versus current timeline Aoi though…. Hmm hard to say. I could list all the potential negatives and positives if you want me to (is this when I reveal that I’m a psychology major? I think you can tell LOL) but depending on how in depth you want me to be, it might take some time!
moving on to TBHK cause I think Aoi is a bit underrated and Teru a bit oversimplified and the new chapter is SO much fun
It’s so interesting to compare Aoi now vs then!! Based off scraps. She seems better at acting cute but also seems more jaded which I wonder is because of Teri’s influence (boy can be toxic), the engagement, or the changes of her family (lore of her father?? I can’t tell if her family has changed from past line to this line but him having two whole other daughters is insane :<< she seems a bit more unhinged (slaps him with cold eyes and then pouts a second later) and whether that’s her stronger manipulation or the effects of her mixed-message childhood, it’s interesting…
I’m also still so curious about her relationship with Akane. Has he confessed at all? Or hasn’t because she’s engaged? Does her ver of him know neither of them want it? Are they still close or are they more distant? Props to Aidairo for trying to navigate all the convolution and idk we’ll ever find because we have our Akane not hers. But it’s interesting to think about.
on the earlier topic of family, it’s really sad because this whole chapter reinforces the idea that while everyone else lives are improved, Aoi became worse, esp if she and Akane are not close. While she potentially lost her family earlier than og, has a stupid amount of expectations on her due to her status as Teru’s fiancée, and might be chronically be looked down upon by Teru (cause he can be condescending and she’s def the type he doesn’t like), Teru has..more?
He has his mother now (which OMG the Kou-mother interaction T-T and she’s bad at cooking) which potentially can be SO much to him. His father appears to be more present as well. I’m not sure if Tiara is there or not. But either way, he doesn’t have to grow up quite as quickly as he does in canon. It’s hard to say how present line him is different from our line him cause Aoi can tell that’s something is up but that might mostly be to him not acting the way we agreed on?
I’m lowk brainrotting over Aoi cause I feel SO bad for her and omg kid Teru was an unfiltered child. Amazing chapter as always from Aidairo!