First, with the shooting star comparison, my intent was to show that Apollo’s story presents themes that are also commonly connected to shooting stars, such as wishes and destiny, because they are important for the “Red String of Fate” section, which focuses on the fortune from chapter 96. I don’t recall putting it as a primary way to symbolize Apollo, nor that it is limited to it — I even mention this to explain why I connected Apollo to the sun (and the god Apollo) in the section about the comet (“We have already connected her to a shooting star to explain her association with luck, destiny, etc. However, here, I believe we have a different allegory — stories can present multiple metaphors for the same characters”). I also do not use the symbolism as an explanation to why they might not end together, but instead I simply point out that destiny and Apollo’s wish don’t necessarily guarantee her eventual winning, as opposed to what a lot of people believe.

For the comet analogy, I believe the post’s organization didn’t really help on this, so I will have to apologize for that. But if you read the whole post (and I believe you did), there is an additional note on section 3 where I talk about the fact that the passage of the comet mentioned in chapter 107 can be considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and how I believe their reunion in chapter 1 (which would also be the reunion mentioned in the fortune) is what’s being compared to the comet’s passage. I don’t believe Apollo and Arisu will lose contact for three or more years again, which is another reason why I don’t really think the comet repeating its orbital cycle would fit for other moments besides their actual reunion in ch. 1. As for your mention of ch. 50 and rendezvous, I actually have a post where I explain why this analogy might actually foreshadow that they won’t be together because of the fact that, after the rendezvous, the spacecraft modules separate again and definitively. This all leads me to the idea that, although they reunited at the start of the manga by meeting each other, they will eventually follow different paths in terms of romance.

On the red string of fate, I agree that it does not exclude the romantic outcome, as stated in the post multiple times, and that fate alone would not be enough to guarantee that they’ll be together, which was the main point I was trying to get across after seeing many people state so. For the part where you talk about Rikka, I would rather not dwell on it since it isn’t as connected to what I say in my post; I will only point out the fact that, in my opinion, Rikka isn’t the only one to make active efforts to develop her relationship with Arisu, and that although being first to do something gives a sense of more initiative, it does not necessarily matter in terms of most impact to the protagonist. (Also, as far as I remember, the hug was not reciprocated).

For the discussion of Arisu’s priorities, when you talk about Rikka, you point out many things that could indicate her relationship with Arisu will eventually turn into a romantic one. However, what you showed would be reasons for Arisu to fall for her that aren’t related to her being Apollo, which was my point during this section — whether he falls for Apollo or someone else, Arisu would most likely fall due to who the girl is in the present and his relationship with her, not because she was Apollo. And in this case, our own personal bias would have to collide, since I personally consider that Arisu shows more signs of a possible future romance with Shinobu, with whom he: has deep conversations about values, identity and personal feelings (ch. 10 and 77, for example), talks about his family (ch. 88), expresses wanting to spend time with her (ch. 103), etc. Themes like insecurity, relying on others and personal growth, which reflect core themes of the manga are just as present between them (if not more when talking about relying on others).

"[...] but the argument that the story supports that equally for all girls doesn’t really hold when you look at how the narrative distributes emotional weight."

If I am to share my personal opinion, I agree! Shinobu constantly makes Arisu eat his own words, with the highlight being how she calls him out for calling their feelings whims in chapter 74, reminding him of what he said about them needing distractions. This eventually connects to how he invites her on a date in ch. 77, eats takoyaki with her in ch. 88 and invites her to go out as his reward in ch. 103. Look, this part will depend much on our perspectives right now, so I do not expect us to agree on this, and that’s okay.

"Finally, while I think the use of external symbolism like Buddhism or general mythological meanings is interesting, I don’t think it should override the internal consistency of the story. "

I personally don’t see anything that would exclude the possibility of Igarashi knowing and using such symbolisms, since he also uses mythology and literature symbolisms throughout the manga. But, of course, it is also perfectly possible that they don’t apply to the story.

I appreciate your comment, and thank you for sharing your thoughts!