[meme] Character trauma?

Asuna was trapped in a video game for over two years, was forced to kill players in the defense of others and lost her best friend.

She was also in a relationship with Kirito

(Joking there. Mostly. Though the way he disrespects her at times still really irks me, especially given some of her insecurities. Besides, we all know I prefer her with Yuuki anyway.)

Novel characters...

Pandora being trapped in a clean room for the first eighteen years of her life feels a bit less crazy now.

But she suffers a fair amount of verbal abuse and doesn’t have a friend until she meets Owen and Soteria.

Owen has been abandoned by his sister and best friend and has a lot of deep seeded insecurities over failing to save the person who raised him.

Soteria was raised by a crime family, and while she never wanted for anything financially, she also hasn’t known a lot of true affection.

She also has a Gift that she calls her Geist, and it reacts to her emotional state. It’s kept anyone from touching her, going up like a shield around her.

So yeah... my three leads have some issues. They manage to help each other through it, though.

talk to me about how you wish Asuna's trauma had been addressed and/or resolved!

For starters, I really wish she’d had agency in escaping from Sugou. I hate that part of the story with a fiery passion, and try not to think about it.

I also wish they’d addressed her trauma from the game, maybe even making her think about going back at first.

The fact that she killed a Laughing Coffin member is just... brushed over with one line.

I actually really like the duality of how her persona in Aincrad was her way of blocking off her own insecurities, and that’s a big reason why I love Mother’s Rosario so much.

Like... at the start she’s scared to talk about her fears with Kirito or anyone else, but by the end she’s really open with Yuuki. It’s why I love them so much.

And strangely, I wish there was more with her mom too. Because she’s someone I’ve gained a lot of sympathy for and I think it’s interesting that Asuna helps her cope with her own need to hide her emotions.

It’s one of many reasons I don’t want to read Aliciazation, because none of that really gets addressed.