it’s 5am i have not slept i have a hot take
i see antis argue sometimes that you CAN portray “problematic” things in fiction, as long as you show they’re bad/don’t romanticize them.
first of all that’s super subjective. second of all.
have you ever read major character death. have you ever read hurt no comfort. have you ever read, like, mindbreak.
i’ve never seen anyone complain about a fic that is graphic torture and nothing else, or like, a mental health ventfic with a dark ending. and i think about that quite often, the different standard we have for sex.
yknow? it applies in other contexts too. have you ever noticed that when people argue fanfiction is a lesser form of writing or otherwise bad, they always bring up sex? “the odyssey vs your 200k destiel omegaverse mpreg” “the great gatsby vs your slowburn stucky hs au where the climax is a full chapter of smut”
it’s a trend i noticed. it exists outside of fanfic too! original fiction circles have this whole thing about not including sex scenes bc The Plot, or dismissing erotica as a less serious, or maybe just lesser, form of literature?
and maybe, just maybe, that’s bad. to some degree i think we put sex on too high of a pedestal. it’s just a thing people do. and, i dunno, i write a lot of angst and whump and what-have-you. i like exploring trauma and recovery, it’s literally a thread somewhere in 90% of what i write. maybe all of it, in some small capacity. i don’t have encyclopedic knowledge of my own work.
so i’m not directly affected by this, but i do think it’s hypocritical, and i do think it’s strange to impose limits. you can create, but only within these boundaries, defined arbitrarily by me. like, okay jan. sure.
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Bleach OC - Name Games
Ibaraki [伊原木] Tomoe [永萌]
Ibaraki [伊原木]
伊 (I): A phonetic element, providing the name with a certain sound or rhythm. Can be used as a pronoun, "he/she/it", "this/that", "just". (Also used as a stand alone to mean 'Italy' which is completely irrelevant here.)
原 (Hara): This character means "meadow/field/plain/prairie", "original", "primitive", "tundra", and "wilderness." It is often associated with nature, open spaces, or the beginning or source of something. In personal names, it can evoke a sense of groundedness, natural beauty, or an ancestral connection. (Most famously in Bleach, this kanji is the same as used in 'Urahara' [浦原], of which it seems to derive no special meaning.)
木 (Ki): This character represents "tree" or "wood." It symbolizes strength, growth, and vitality. It can also be associated with qualities such as stability, flexibility, and a connection to nature.
This name has little upfront meaning, and there isn't a widely recognized symbolic interpretation of it. It's most recognizably the name of Ibaraki Prefecture, however the kanji used for that is 茨城, roughly "thorny castle". Where as Tomoe's Ibaraki "伊原木" might be more aptly read as "that original tree" (as "that field of wood" makes little sense".)
Further, I admit it was chosen a little haphazardly. Tomoe was originally written as a sister to Tatsuki, and thus used her surname 'Arisawa' but due to the tastes of tumblr RP and my own development of this muse, she eventually diverged from this original form and needed a new name to accompany it. The name, consequently, wasn't picked with a specific meaning in mind.
Rather it was picked due to the use of its name for Ibaraki-doji, a supernatural entity depicted as a grotesque, one-eyed, hag-like creature with long, disheveled hair in Japanese folklore. It can be described in certain folklore as an Oni or Oni like creature. The Ibaraki-doji is known for its mischievous and sometimes malevolent behavior.
This is an obvious connection with Tomoe's own Oni symbolism of her inner hollow, however closer readings of Ibaraki-doji's folklore would be necessary to gain a deeper understanding of Tomoe herself.
For example, many tales of Ibaraki-doji often focus on:
Transformation and Hidden Nature
Feminine Power and Rebellion
Morality and Consequences
Exploration of Otherness and Otherworldly Beings
All of which are major themes of this blog, and which I might return to touch on at a later time, but this post is already getting SO LONG, and I still have to talk about her first name.
Tomoe [ 永萌 ]
永 (nagai/ei) - This character represents "eternity" or "perpetuity." It conveys the idea of something enduring or everlasting.
萌 (moe) - This character has multiple meanings, but in the context of the name "Tomoe," it is often associated with "sprouting," "budding," or "to be full of life." It can represent the concept of new growth, vitality, or the awakening of potential.
When combined, the kanji "永萌" in the name "Tomoe" can be interpreted in several ways:
Eternal Sprout: The name can signify a continuous, evergreen presence of growth and vitality, suggesting an enduring and lively nature.
Everlasting Potential: It represents the idea of unceasing potential or the perpetual capacity to bloom and develop.
Eternal Awakening: The name may convey the concept of an eternal awakening or the continuous realization of one's inner self.
In the context of Tomoe, herself and my creation of her, I leaned into the last two meanings, with a preferential reading of 'Everlasting Potential'. Her name represents the idea of enduring possibilities, growth, and the constant realization of one's capabilities. It can be seen as a name that embodies the concept of ongoing development, resilience, and the ever-expanding horizons of one's potential - a concept that's tied into multiple other parts of her design including the inclusion of:
Amaranthine - from the word "amaranth," which refers to a group of plants known for their vibrant, long-lasting flowers. When discussing flower symbolism, the term "amaranthine" often represents enduring beauty, immortality, and eternal love and this meaning is preserved both in the name of this blog (though I've recently considered changing it), as well as in Demonio's design, which features a changing tattoo of flowers on her skin. While the flower motif doesn't crop up frequently on this blog it is one that should be kept in mind.
Amatsu-Mikuboshi - Amatsu-Mikaboshi is a deity in Japanese mythology and Shinto cosmology. In Shinto belief, Amatsu-Mikaboshi is associated with darkness, chaos, and the unseen forces of the universe, and often placed in juxtaposition to Amaterasu. It is an opposing force that must be carefully tempered by the other gods, and while he can be suppressed or contained, he cannot be killed or defeated. The universe maintains its careful balance between order and chaos.
Her Age - She's a character that is designed to look at personal growth, how one develops and grapples with challenge. Since her creation she's aged several years. No longer a child, this is a character that's had to face great adversity and transformation in order to develop into the woman she is at this day.
However, while this understanding of Tomoe's name is one of the conventional meanings, 萌 (moe) may also be used in certain contexts to mean 'to show symptoms of'. This usage is more commonly seen in medical or clinical contexts rather than as a standalone name. In medical terminology, it can be used to describe the manifestation or appearance of symptoms or signs of a condition. While this is not a meaning that would be used when discussing stand alone names, a non-conventional reading of "Tomoe" (永萌), may be translated as "to show symptoms of eternity" based on the literal meanings of the individual kanji characters.
In this sense, her name reflects, quite literally, her curse of immortality bestowed upon her by Amatsu-Mikaboshi, and the ability which will allow her to act as its avatar and the executor of its will.
Tomoe (巴) is also the name of the comma like shape and is a motif I've used in her design previously, which also ties in to her themes of spirituality. It’s a common symbol used in shinto design, as well as regarded for its protective properties. Further, the swirling motion of the tomoe shape can symbolize change, transformation, and the continuous flow of life. It represents the cyclical nature of existence and the ever-changing world.
Finally, the name is shared by another famous figure of Japanese history: Tomoe Gozen. Though the kanji differ, one can't help but think of the celebrated and renowned female samurai when one hears it, and the implication I hope it invokes for Tomoe Ibaraki is that of a loyal and devoted warrior.
In sum the final reading of her name and the images it evokes is one of conflict, and a battle between good an evil, order and chaos. Homonyms with both heros and demons, and evoking imagery of potentially limitless growth, and expansion, her name embodies many of the themes her character grapples with.
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