#i am just Fascinated by makeup and the relationships a character can have with it

[morazima]

Polyamory is in

Shitty love triangles are out

As a person who has embraced being non-monogamous, I have to tell you, it is so frustrating trying to browse the internet for these kinds of topics without stumbling on the kinksters, fetishists, and/or random strangers constantly accusing people that ��polyamorous is just cheating for losers!” (or some variation of this). I am saying this as a person who indulges in many different types of kinks and fetishes.

The idea that “couples can only be two people” really started with the influence of large churches. Scientifically speaking, it is fascinating to see why some people are naturally more inclined to only one partner as opposed to potentially more than one. It effectively boils down to: what culture you grow up in, the household values you grow up with, as well as what your genetic makeup is. It is theorized that people (before the growing influence of religion) started to pair up with only one mate to help reduce the risk of possible transference of STDs/STIs, but this is frankly still hotly debated on why, at least from a historical perspective, why exactly did humans start pairing off with one mate as opposed to potentially many.

In the modern age, because technology and books are widely available and easily accessible (looking at you The Ethical Slut and More Than Two), many people are more open to the idea of at least trying a relationship that involves more than one person (there are numerous different types of non-monogamy out there, that is not what this article is meant to expose the readers to, that could easily have a book written about it, many of which have been made on the subject). Online support groups (on Facebook, Reddit, and social fetish websites like Fetlife) allow people to easily ask questions, get suggestions and tips, as well as to get help in navigating how to navigate through the world of non-monogamy. TikTok is also showing people (young and old alike) about the “inside world” of what it’s like to live in a household where multiple people consider themselves a couple.

However, while this is a great starting foundation for positive nonmonogamy to be shown to the masses, we have a massive problem with a negative media portrayal.

Mass media can easily influence how people view things (again, regardless of the demographic the intended medium is intended for, or the specific type of medium like movies, books, or TV shows). TV shows love showing toxic love triangles. Movies love pitting people against each other to “win the heart of their common interest”. Comic books love using flat-out abusive relationship dynamics and traits (regardless if it’s one partner or multiple partners) to create “drama” for the sake of drama for their audience. This all adds up to be a frankly horrific representation of nonmonogamy (and all variations of it).

Adult materials love to turn couples that involve three (or more) people into just fetish objects, using often dehumanizing methods so the viewers of the medium just see these scenes and situations as something just to orgasm to (mention “unicorn” in poly groups and you’ll see a huge scream in frustration and eye-rolling). While adult material by itself isn’t inherently harmful or destructive (there are good and bad forms of it, like all visual performance things out there), this kind of dehumanizing repetitive viewing is not helping the nonmonogamy community (and/or giving the misrepresentation that “we do it for the ‘cucking’ and that’s it”, a type of fetish that involves having sexual activities with someone while in front of your partner with the idea that it’ll be humiliating for the partner).

As someone who embraced polyamory, this terrible representation has to stop if we want to have any kind of hope to change society’s views on this. Show TV characters at least open to the idea of having more than one partner without being laughed at or humiliated by a “friend” of theirs on the show. Have a movie that shows three people bonding and gradually realizing they have romantic feelings for each other and their exploration of these feelings for each other while establishing healthy boundaries. Comics are starting to dip their toes into this (Jean Grey, Wolverine, and Cyclops just as a brief example for their more recent comics), but we really need more representation of this. Stop having young adult books be focused on toxic, abusive love triangles as their main plot (Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the sub-plot of The Hunger Games, numerous anime and manga, etc.).

This is how we change society’s view on this niche in society. I am not asking monogamous people to all be nonmonogamous suddenly. That is silly. I am asking people to sit down and stop screaming “It is just cheating” (or some variation) anytime someone so much breathes the word “polyamorous”.

#twilight #the vampire diaries #chilling adventures of sabrina #hunger games #polyamorous #non monogamy #non monogomous #ethical non monogamy #polyamory

[sylvanas-girlkisser]

As a follow up to last week's top/bottom post, i guess part of what kept me from identifying as butch for a long time, is that i am also both in my writing and as a person fascinated by feminity.

Like i know, to put it in the most fucking programmer terms ever, that butchness does not deeply equal masculinity, but I guess i was influenced a lot by how butchness in media/large fandoms as a spectrum ranging from "skinny cis girl in a leather jacket" to "trans masc uwu smol bean".

But also, wanting to get more femme so you can get more butch is kind of a weird gender which I guess goes back to the whole: complicated relationship to womanhood.

Tying it back to my whole "fascination with femininity" (which yes i know is a phrase the terfs are weird about but w/e): I find that high femme identity, or rather the heteronormative bastardization of it, tends to be portrayed as aspirational, rather than just that, an identity.

A phrase I have said A LOT when describing my gender is "I shouldn't have to wear dresses and 20 types of makeup to be recognized as a woman". And I think subconsciously that has also had a big influence on how women are portrayed in my writing.

Like, to compare and contrast: In the Burning Kingdoms (this series will not leave my brain), empowerment is very much correlated with beauty; Malini spends most of the first book imprisoned and in a drugged stupor. Unable to care for herself she stops bathing, her hair gets tangled, and she walks around in rags. The once she's freed, her first act is to get cleaned up and put on a fancy dress, which signals she's ready to take the fight to her brother.

And again, yeah that is just the kind of character Malini is right? Her power comes from being able to play whichever version of herself will garner the most sympathy - and there is no sympathetic version of an empress in a strictly patriarchal society that is not both regal looking and smoking hot.

By comparison, in my own writing, specifically "bury the antlers with the stag" Jaina is shown as the complete opposite. Her empowerment comes from being able to march into a room bags under her eyes, hair a mess, breath stinking of gas station coffee, and go "listen up idiots".

Like I don't think one approach is more "inherently feminist" than the other, its about the varied experiences of being a woman, and by extension the different ways empowerment of women and people with feminine adjacent gender experiences can be represented.

On another notes who wants to hear the incredibly complicated lore i came up with for my blood elf hunter?

#valk yelling at clouds #Wanna hear about my blorbo? PLEASESAYYESPLEASESAYYESPLEASESAYYES

[myskyperevenge]

it's been a few days since i went up here. ive been informed that its kind of telling the extent to which im touched like deeply in my heart over the boring ugly ass places i spend my time but like lets be real here most people are basically on some hot mindless bullshit vis a vis beauty like youve got people talking about like. fucking. what. literally the most boring shit ever like just incapable of forming a single relationship with anything theyve ever seen unless they've been given the wordless "okay" for it from the world at large like people wear fucking makeup and shit. thats whats really gay i think.

theres a circle of nothing around the facility just boxing you in same way the heat does you know, which makes sense because no one wants to live around this place for the same reasons no one wants to live by an airport or a cemetery or anywhere drugs are produced in significant numbers, all of which they also do out here btw. lol. anyway it's a chain; youre contained first by the heat then by the machinery and then by miles of space, empty space not even horse trails or makeshift shooting ranges or nothing like that. you dont come out here you know theres no lights.

anyway personally i think there's a lot to be said for walking on something huge and hollow. i'm pretty significantly underweight and shorter than the average adult male even though thats what i am and i wasnt expecting the metal underneath me to cave but it did. nothing gave way of course but there's something interesting about the feeling of the "ground" literally caving in under your feet. im vaguely conscious that i should be afraid of this, but that's just another sensation.

the lights are off color here but your presence makes every one of them feel like a halo shining down. i dont make a habit of thinking about or expressing my feelings but sometimes i do feel them and i think you're a dumb bitch for asking any more of me than that

churning and gurgling under the dented metal beneath my feet is laid over by the dull roar of the fans. the wind blows and from what cant be less than five stories above the ground i look down and watch him move. it's always fascinated me the way clothing can frame a body; he looks different than he did before. i'd smile but i don't feel like it. thats okay though

used to spend a lot of time thinking about places like this and the consequences of spending lots of time in them. i want to get my fingers into places like this even if it pinches and burns. now's a really good time for us to split a cigarette you know. sit down a minute. 20$ says you wont see more than 7 or 8 cars on the road going through here the whole time we're up watching. it's got to mean something to someone but im honestly just cool hanging out with you. no big deal yk i just dont get out that often anymore so i get sentimental real easy like its so gay.

so yeah slickdirk. this is a little rambly and shit im not apologizing here just like giving a warning im typing this up inthe library after an early early morning /late late night shift cuz the electric in my unit is off and its hot as ass in there so fuck that basically. anyway

before i say anything more of course ive got to specify that i'm totally riffing off of tumblr user @youabandonedthem for my slick characterization here. but honestly it doesn't feel like characterization it's more like dear beloved sweet yat has the only meaningful understanding of slick anyone has ever had in the world like i mean come on look at that fucking blog youre kidding me and also stupid as fuck if you think thats even an interpretation of the character its just straight up factual. jackass. anyway im all over it hope its ok to namedrop you here dont be a stranger and all that.

similarly shoutout to dear beloved sweet @ottiliere for her dirk characterization which is similarly the only dirk that could possibly matter to me like most of everyone else who posts about him seems to have just not read homestuck some of the people writing meta about him even just have no grasp on ANY of the characters if were being real here but thats way off topic anyway otti owns i dont usually give a shit about aus but if its good its good and if you deny it youre nothing basically.

i dont think anyone has given love to tmc the way yat does and i don't think anyone has really put their heart into making weird niche homestuck art the way ottiliere does (at least not in this era like ive been OVER this before if youve ever talked to me we are living in a post-post-homestuck society). which makes sense because the vast majority of modern fans (of anything) are altogether much more boring breed. no plumage or patterns or anything fun. but thats another thing. and also overly pessimistic of me but whatever i feel like if someone reads that and feels like theyre being called boring its because they know somewhere that theyre boring and missing out and maybe thats their wakeup call to start getting silly with it. or maybe no one cares i dont know i dont give a shit.

anyway the intitial interest in slickdirk was generated pretty specifically in the context of the two of them being psych warded together. typically this prospect alone would be like harlequin novel parody fanfiction type shit such that i wouldnt have any interest in it, but this was different from the get go on the basis that their interactions were never initially about romance.

dirk is self aware to the point of walking backwards. he's self obsessed, self conscious, hyperfixated-in the true sense-on how he presents himself. like all people like this, he's also constantly telling on himself. i'm speaking in terms of canon and otti's dirk here btw, this is true of both fundamentally. in terms of otti's vision specifically, though…it's dialed up, right.

people who think about themselves like this are inherently isolated from other people because, regardless of how they feel about themselves, they're very convinced they're better than everyone else. being in an institution full of other sick people can spur this line of thinking regardless of how untrue it is; once you've decided you're above the rest of the BRAINBROKE FREAKS around you, it's hard to even start to empathize with any of them! if you look back at some of otti's older posts you can kind of feel the extent to which dirk doesn't want jackshit to do with nothing going on in the hospital like just obviously has no interest in participating or anything like that in any capacity.

slick on the other hand like. really i can't write any of this without referencing yat's house essay about the midnight crew watching house and specifically spades slick watching house and how he would feel about it. forget everything i just said and go read that and then come back. okay so he obviously thinks about himself and his body and very specifically his disability in such a way that he is basically completely unaware of it in spite of living with it day to day. if you know what kind of guy im talking about here you know but also im going on good faith here assuming you read the youabandonedthem papers so even if you dont KNOW you should at least have kind of an idea what im referring to here.

the big draw between these two is that they're both in completely different subtypes of denial about themselves to vastly different effects. of course they'd be drawn to each other in this scenario…they're literally the ONLY NORMAL people in the whole building uhh have you seen the other guys in here. lol like what even.

and the thing is that even following up the initial theorized meeting in the ward, like, there's all this potential for what could come after…don't get it twisted this isn't some edgy folie a deux that im suggesting that would be so boring.

they're more than "bad for each other" even if they're not quite "good for each other" either. it isn't about an endgame or even necessarily "shipping" as a lot of people think of it. it's more like…the ways their differences and similarities line up feel aligned, even though it wasn't intentional, the same way some moments just feel "right". it isn't about how long the moment lasts or what its impact is, just that there was a moment where there wouldn't have been one if even a few tiny things had shifted. life is comprised of shit like that right. so when something like slickdirk comes along you can either balk at the absurdity of it or ride the wave.

orjust like passively observe thats an option too of course. no big deal it could literally never ever be a big deal im literally just out here trying to have fun trying to make myself laugh yk.

#dirk strider #homestuck #spades slick #putting something interesting in the tags youre super welcome but like dont think too much of it its no big deal to me #i sympathize i sympathize with you i made my mind i made my mind

[reiketsunomizunomegami]

“First date with Ya'jaur”

Oc Yautja Ya'jaur x OC Jana Diamond

Warning: Fluff, SFW, Implied OC characters

He and I had never been in an actual date before we got into this relationship a month ago

So I've decided to ask him out just spend some time with him while he's not busy at all. But Ya'jaur seems to be confused because I asked him out “Do we have to do that?” He ask me in a confused tone

“I-Uh Because errr My Boyfriend?” I responded and Nod ask me if His Gifts and Trophies for me wasn't enough at all to show his love and Devotion towards me. I shrugged at his words and Let a breathy Laugh “It was Enough.. And I really Loved it and Appreciated your Effort But I just wanted us to be you know ummmm be official?” I said As I clap my hands together

“But We're officiall” He responded

I Approach him and took his hands into mine “I wanted to show you to the whole World.. But if you don't want it or feel uncomfortable well you don't have to push yourself” Ya'jaur Press his Forehead into mine “If that's my Mate wants then Let's do it” He said

~

When the Night has come and we're both ready for our First date and Ya'jaur told me that he had something to show me tonight

Ya'jaur Is wearing his usual Attire and I'm wearing a Black Cocktail dress and had a simple makeup on me

After we left our house, Ya'jaur Take my Hand and Guided me through the Forest

And when we reached to a Mountain Cliff Ya'jaur tells me to sit with him so I did “Why did you bring me in here?” I ask and he just tells me to wait without even turning his attention towards me

After a while a meteor show star to happen and it was Very Stunning and Fascinating

As I watching the Meteor Shower when A Warm Hand of My Yautja Boyfriend touches mine

When I turned my attention to him, He's Beautiful Yellow eyes Stunned me and it make my heart skip a beat when he press his Forehead into mine “Thank you... Thank you for accepting someone liked me Jana” He said in a soothing Tone

I gave him a smile he pull apart and held my Cheek with his one hand. A Blush creeping down my face as I felt his much more Warmer Temperature

~

We stayed and watch the beauty of Stars while it was creating its beautiful yet Soothing Scenery

I slowly turn my attention to My Yautja and I have to admit that he was really Handsome in some ways

I lean closer to him and Press a light kiss into his Cheek. His eyes got wide and turn his head to me in Stunned

Ya'jaur ask me why did I do that “Is it Bad?” I ask and Ya'jaur Shook his head and Tells me that he just get a little bit surprised about my sudden action but it was okay

While My dear Boyfriend Ya'jaur was staring and Still watching the Stars, I was Preparing something for us to eat and after I was Done preparing I call him out

I pour him some Wine and Give him some food “Can I ask you a question” He said while he's staring at me “Yeah Sure.. What is it?” I responded

“Why are you keeping me away when someone goes into your house?" He ask

I shrugged at him “The people who came into my house yesterday were a very dangerous people Honey.. I know you can't sense the Dangerous aura around them But I did” I said Nonchalantly and Ya'jaur Gave me a confused tilt to his head wanting me to clear everything what I have just said to him “What I meant is they're too dangerous and Cruel for you.. And I don't wanted them to linger on you” I said Making my Words and Intentions clearer to him

I know that What Am I doing can ruin my relationship with him but I have to do this to make him safe

He was The Light into my darkest Life

After we ate Ya'jaur Lay down and I was On top him listening to his Heart beat and Purring

Ya'jaur Caress my hair with care and Love “I wish I can be as strong as you and protect you from any harm” He said “You don't have to be this strong to protect me. All you need to do is to stay with me safe in sound” I responded giving his chest a light kiss making him Purr even more

We stayed like that for a while and forget how dangerous the world can be for both of us

#Alien vs predator #Yautja #yautja x reader #Oc x Oc #Yautja Oc Ya'jaur #Oc Jana Diamond #Ya'jaur x Jana Diamond #Reiketsunomizunomegami blog #Reiketsunomizunomegami writing #Reiketsunomizunomegami

[obsoleteozymandias]

Hi there! I’d like to ask for a twst match up!

Basics:

Gender-Female, she/her/they

164 cm tall, Virgo but doesn’t act like one, INFP

+I pride myself on being a very dedicated person. If there’s a task delegated to me, I will work my hardest to see it through, even if the end results aren’t perfect. I’m not a leader but still take my responsibilities seriously because I fear disappointment and feel like I always have to prove my worth.

+I’m slow to trust, but generally a good judge of character. I’m the person you turn to if you need to vent or complain about something. Even though I don’t have many friends, the few that I do have I am very attached to. I’m mostly a loner though, perfectly happy this way, and am introverted but not to the point of a hermit.

+Adaptable: I don’t complain much about change, and usually work well with people of different personalities and backgrounds. I go with the flow most of the time.

-I’m a very irrational person. I try, but conventional logic just isn’t my strong point. This sometimes causes other people to see me as odd or stupid/lazy because my way of thinking isn’t the norm.

-I can be absentminded and a klutz. I’m always making mistakes and trying to fix my mistakes. I’ll probably annoy some people by being really forgetful and scatterbrained. I’m always reciting things or writing lists to help me remember.

Despite my own flaws, I’d still say I’m overall a well-rounded person, a jack of all trades. I enjoy learning many different things and having a wide skillset. I adapt easily and can probably fit into most dorms.

Hobbies-

Cosplay is the biggest one. I normally don’t put too much effort into my regular appearance, but I spend alot of time putting together costumes, wigs, props, and makeup, and looking my best for photoshoots and cons. I’d love to learn how to sew or make my own costumes one day.

Image editing—mostly related to cosplay above, but I enjoy editing and manipulating pictures and experimenting with all sorts of visual effects and filters just for fun. I like taking selfies and photos on my phone too, just to edit it afterwards.

Also I enjoy medieval history, ancient mythology (particularly Greek and Roman), symphonic metal and alt-rock music, tabletop games, video games (mostly JRPGS, visual novels, and otome games), musical theater, and collecting objects (antique pens and leatherbound journals).

This one, as a stan of a certain character, was very easy. 

== Twisted Wonderland ==>

I match you up with…

Sebek Zigvolt 

Sebek is difficult to say the least. He’s rude, abrasive, and often dismissive of the abilities of others. But he finds solace in you, someone who will listen to him and give him the time of day. 

It shocks him, honestly. He’s used to being dismissed, and though it wouldn’t usually bother him, for some reason the idea of you dismissing him makes his chest hurt. 

He’s most attracted to your dedication and hardworking nature. Sebek isn’t one to give up easily (or ever), and so he’s glad the two of you match eachother in your passion for simply getting shit done. 

He’ll be honest with you about your work quality, but it comes from a place of genuine love and desire to see your best work flourish. 

Whatever you make/do, he’ll brag about it to others, even mentioning it to Lilia and Silver with the same proud smugness that usually accompanies his Malleus rants. 

Sebek may not understand you way of doing things at first, but I fully believe that he could use a change of mindset, and so as he comes to understand and respect you, he’ll begin to see the advantages and reasons why you think the way you do. 

He’ll also watch you go about your hobbies, obviously interested, although trying to hide it. 

Later in the relationship, he no longer hides his fascination with your hobbies and actively learns as much about them as he can. 

Some nights are spent with you gaming and him reading, sharing facts and stories late into the night, just enjoying the presence of one another. 

#oz’s requests #twst #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #twst matchup #twisted wonderland matchup #sebek x reader #sebek zigvolt

[thebrotherskaramazovs]

i think azula would stop wearing makeup post redemption. make up gave her some sort of control, she felt older, more powerful when she wore it. she’d apply her lipstick and she’d think of her mom, and in some ways it would infuriate her, but in some ways she’d see ursa in her herself and she’d think ‘i’m better than you, i look like you, but you’re nothing like me. i had to learn everything without you, everything that a mother was supposed to teach her child’. azula never particularly liked makeup, it was just an intimidation tactic really, it made her feel higher up. ty lee sometimes applied the makeup for her, maybe mai would do it, and after the war, azula didn’t like applying it without mai or ty lee there. so she didn’t. she stopped. it was strange. and she spent one whole day with her hair down, her face bare, and when she came back to her room she didn’t break down crying but it was a sure thing. she would hear ursa’s voice in her head, ‘you have such a pretty face, my darling, such nice hair’ and she stopped. she stopped wearing makeup

#i am just Fascinated by makeup and the relationships a character can have with it #but i want to hear people’s thoughts on azula’s makeup and if she would continue to wear it and how it connects to ursa and and #yeah #azula #atla #min.txt

[cleflink]

The Mid Air Walk and Jet Black Mystery Train are some of my favorite arcs too! Bust my absolute favorite has to be the 2.5 special, Dual Mystery on a Full Moon Night. The Black Org, Haibara, and Hattori all in one episode, this one has it all! Plus the reveal of Jodie and the FBI was fun. But enough about me, it's time for your next Secret Santa message: Please, tell me, who is your favorite character and why are they so awesome?

-Your Secret Santa

Aaah, yes, that is a fantastic arc! I remember the first time I read it - I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. :)

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you, Santa, but the answer to your question kind of got away from me. Short version: Kuroba Kaito is a flash bastard and I love him.

For the longer version (aka a love letter to Kuroba Kaito), please read on!

I adore characters who are VERY good at what they do, which is something that DCMK spoils me for in general. Kaito fulfills this to the nth degree for me, thanks to his many diverse talents. Magician, thief, acrobat, actor, makeup expert, marksman, genius, the list goes on.

In DC, he's seen from the perspective of Conan and other characters who see him as a showman, eternally showing off (and showing them up) with impeccable flair. I'll never not love his Midair Walk, and the shock that I felt right alongside Conan as I tried to figure out HOW in the hell KID had managed it. I love being an audience member for the Kaitou KID show, to get to enjoy that moment of 'oh my god, he has so much style' and then also get to see Conan unravel the details for us afterwards. In MK, that showman flair is still very present, but we also get to experience the effort and struggles Kaito contends with to be able to pull off his daring heists. Much as I love seeing everything go exactly as planned (with some space for necessary improvisation along the way), seeing the hard work that goes on behind the scenes is wonderfully satisfying and makes me even more impressed by Kaito's talent. Watching Kaito be clever and talented enough to come out on top, despite all the odds in his way, is truly delightful. 

I also might have a type, and that type is quippy, intelligent acrobats (why yes, Spiderman and Nightwing are my two favourite superheroes, how did you guess?). There was no way I was not going to fall for Kaito.

Beyond his impressive skill set, I am endlessly fascinated by Kaito's versatility and flexibility as a character, both in the realm of his disguise/acting abilities and in him as a person. He's funny and charming and clever, but also dorky and lonely and more than a little crazy.

He's the practical joker who pulls crazy stunts to make someone else smile. He's the bored genius who revels in the opportunity to face challenges that are actually challenging. He's the gentleman thief who's always at least two steps ahead of his pursuers. He's the master of disguise who could be literally anyone because both his acting and makeup skills are just that OP. He's the consummate liar who enjoys talking circles around people but sometimes just desperately wants someone to confide in about what his life is actually like.

I love that Kaito's all of these things and that he can be self-contradictory (as we all are) without feeling unnatural with it. Even though canon usually limits us to seeing one or two of the aspects of his personality at a time, it's clear that they're all still there under the surface, impacting his actions and decisions.

I can't talk about why I love Kaito without also talking about his relationship with Conan/Shinichi. It is fantastic to watch the way he and Conan balance each other: they each recognize their equal in the other, and thoroughly enjoy squaring off against each other as a result. They also make a great team, when they do end up on the same side. Similarly, Kaito's obvious pride in Conan when he figures things out (even Kaito's own tricks) is so adorable.

They both carry so many secrets and I feel like it gives them a sense of kinship to know that, despite everything, there's another person out there who faces similar struggles and who, just maybe, can accept them for who they really are, mysteries and secret identities and intelligence and all. There’s a trust there that I can’t get enough of.

Tying onto that, one thing I particularly love about KID is that he's not actually a villain, even when he's acting in opposition to Conan and the police. He's a challenge and an opponent and a rival, but he's too fundamentally good to ever qualify as a villain imo (custom KID hannin silhouette notwithstanding).

Kaito is the guy who actively puts himself at risk to help others, like 'stealing' the clock tower, or saving Lupin the dog, or protecting Jody Hopper from Snake, or watching out for the shounen tantei in the Kichiemon house. And don't even get me started on the number of times he's saved Conan from certain death by falling off various high things. He is one of the kindest people in this series, imo, but he hides it so well that most people don't notice. Unlooked for kindness makes me soft, especially from a character who is technically filling the role of a criminal.

Another aspect of Kaito's personality that I personally find fascinating is his relationship with gender. He's equally as comfortable and confident in any disguise and, while that could be ascribed to his skills as an actor, I don't know many teenage boys who would be that nonchalant about presenting themselves according to such diverse gender expectations. For example, I love how Conan harasses Kaito about his tendency to wear female disguises in the Iron Tanuki case and it doesn't bother Kaito in the slightest (’it's cuter that way’ is also the most amazing response). I also enjoy watching him use disguise-appropriate flirtation techniques on his targets with no apparent discomfort about switching from one collection of gender norms to another.

Also A Study in Scarlette has firmly convinced me that Kaito wears lacy underthings simply because he likes them, which is a head canon hill I will die on.

And on THAT bombshell, I'm going to stop talking before I actually turn this into an essay. Orz

TL;DR: Kaito is a flashy, kind-hearted chaos gremlin and I adore him.

#dcmk #kuroba kaito #it's loving kaito hour #honestly I could keep going #but it would probably devolve into keysmashes and hearts #I just love him lots okay? #meta

[the-sound-of-her-wings]

I Am Not Starfire, And That's Okay

I recently read I Am Not Starfire and I had lots of thoughts, which are under the cut. It is spoiler-heavy and an analysis of the main character, who I find to be a charming, flawed, and incredibly human character.

Mandy is a fascinating character and a great look at a teenage girl who feels ostracized by the people around her and who feels disconnected from her parent. Mandy is by no means flawless, and that's what makes her very interesting. It also makes her relatable.

Mandy starts by talking about how she's noticeably different from her mom, being the "Anti-Starfire". She's a regular kid, can't fly, and doesn't own a swimsuit, while her mom is a superhero, can fly, and always wears bikinis.

On page 11 she mentions "her mom hasn't liked how I looked since I was twelve. She wears less than a yard of fabric every day, yet somehow, I'm the one who's dressing weird". While I understand people who call this slut-shaming, and I'm inclined to agree, but I think it's a little more nuanced than that. The next page reads, "My friend Lincoln convinced me this is the cultural divide that happens between family generations born in different countries or universes. His parents were born in Vietnam." This tells me that the authors intended to point out the difference in dress more as another difference between Starfire and Mandy, and less as a reason to blatantly slut-shame Starfire. I think there's absolutely a conversation to be had about why the authors decided to use this language instead of conveying the point differently. I also think it speaks to how Starfire has more or less been sexualized from inception, and how people look down upon her character because of that. In the context of this book, though, it's one of Mandy's character flaws that I think fits her both as a character and reflects what I've seen from actual teenage girls. Our society coaches us to view women who dress a certain way as less than women who don't and unlearning that takes time and effort. I don't think this comment about her mom should have been put in there by the authors, but I do think it fits in with the values American society in particular teaches about women.

Page 15, 16, and 17 all point to a far more complicated state of existence than Mandy points out within the first few pages. For one thing, Mandy has to deal with people who love her mother and only want to use her to get information about her mom and the other teen titans. This is shown by the "Titan groupies" who ask her to tell Starfire what they say about her. Another thing she has to deal with is the expectation to be a superhero and have powers like her mom, and the questions about who her dad might be. She gains her first real friend, Lincoln, because he tells the people asking about her parentage that they are assholes.

It is revealed that Mandy has a crush on Claire after she gets assigned a group project with her. Mandy is in denial over the crush. She thinks about the fact she's meeting Mandy at the end of the day throughout the rest of the school day, causing her to explode something in Chemistry Class. I find this to be highly relatable and gives her character a softer side to the edginess she desperately tries to portray herself as.

While talking about the project with Claire, it is revealed that Mandy ran out of her SATs and didn't complete them. While Mandy tries to paint this as a cool badass moment, the way the comic artist portrays the scene makes me think Mandy had an anxiety attack. Mandy didn't run out of her SAT because she's some kind of alternative badass who doesn't need to take them. Mandy ran out because she got overwhelmed by the sounds of people chewing and the pressure of the test. While she frames it differently, it's clear to me that Mandy is avoiding taking the SAT again because she doesn't want that to happen again.

When Claire invites her to hang out with her friends, Mandy gets treated like she isn't there, or as some kind of unwanted outsider. The topics they discuss seem to be specifically made to make Mandy uncomfortable, like mentioning how stretchy jeans are only made for fat people, and asking if aliens don't go to college. Jaded by this, Mandy makes up that aliens actually have to go through this huge blood right and battle to the death, but tells Claire's two friends she was joking before leaving. This tells me that Mandy deflects her pain by using humor to cope and has no issue clowning on people who are trying to belittle her for being an alien.

Starfire tries to bring up going to college after this, and Mandy just flees to her room. She hasn't told her mom she didn't take the SAT yet or that she isn't going to college. She feels distant from her mom, which is explained further through a montage of birthdays where she never got her powers. Her mom expects a lot from her, and Mandy thinks Starfire is disappointed about her lack of powers.

Later, Mandy invites Claire over to her house to complete the project they are working on. The Titans are still there when Claire arrives, but she seems to ignore them, as they leave shortly after. Mandy and Claire bond as they continue the project. Mandy reveals to the reader that she's never had a girlfriend, except for one time at sleep-away camp where she kind of dated a girl for four weeks. She didn't tell her who her mom was because she was tired of living in the shadow of a superhero. But the relationship ended because Mandy had lied about who her mom was, and the girl she was dating didn't understand why she would lie. I think this really shows just how much Mandy actually wants to be a normal girl like everyone else, to the extent that she'd lie about who her mom was. Her edgy demeanor at school and around town where her mom is known to be her mom is a defense mechanism to having lived under the shadow of a superhero her entire life.

When it's revealed that Claire took a photo with the Titans at Mandy's house, Mandy is understandable heartbroken, and furious. She thought she had been making a real connection with Claire, but this photo makes her think she's been used, again. Claire seems genuinely baffled by Mandy's reaction to this, thinking little of it. But to Mandy, it is a breach of trust from someone she thought cared about her. I think her angry reaction to Claire makes sense because of this, even if it might have been disproportionate to the offense.

On top of this, Starfire has discovered that Mandy walked out of the SAT and doesn't plan to go to college. After a heated conversation, she runs away, but her mom finds her. And then Blackfire finds her. Turns out the fake story she told Claire's friends earlier in the story was actually true, even though Mandy didn't know it.

Since Claire actually cares about Mandy, she tracks down Lincoln who explains to her why Mandy reacted badly, and that she should probably apologize for taking the photo. Claire also admits that one of the friends from earlier, Deb, actually dared her to take the photo. Claire is a good person at heart, but this action shows that she can still be influenced to do something that would hurt another person. And while she might not have known it would hurt Mandy, Deb probably did.

Starfire and Blackfire fight since Mandy has no powers, but Starfire gets injured causing Mandy to realize just how much she loves and cares about her mom, even though they don't see eye to eye on most things. This finally unlocks her powers, as she's let go of most of the resentment she's held against her mom. She even gets asked for an autograph by someone in the audience after the battle.

The story ends with Mandy training her powers, studying for the SAT, and reconciling with Claire, sharing a kiss, and becoming girlfriends.

I've seen a lot of discourse that frames Mandy as being "not like other girls". I don't believe this framing actually fits Mandy very well. The only girl Mandy ever says she is not like explicitly is her mom. She is the only woman she compares herself too, and the only person who she seems to have a lot of resentment for, aside from people who use her to get to Starfire. Additionally, Mandy falls for someone who is what a stereotypical, normal popular girl is often portrayed as. She's preppy, wears makeup, gets good grades, has friends, and runs a fairly popular Instagram account. If Mandy was extremely into the "Not like other girls" rhetoric, she would've made fun of Claire for all those things. Instead, she admires her for them. Mandy is fat, has acne/freckles, dresses goth, and wears a nose ring. If this is the reason people are identifying her as a "Not like other girls" girl, then they don't understand that trope. Simply dressing differently from your peers, being fat, and hating your mom does not make her the "not like other girls" trope. It actually makes her like other, real-life girls who dress and act similarly, because that's who they are, not because they somehow think they are better than other women.

I'd also make the argument that, fundamentally, Mandy IS different from other girls on the account of having a superhero mother and potentially a superhero father. Her life is completely altered by Starfire's existence as her mom and is likely only relatable to the children of other superheroes and celebrities. She is not like other girls because of her mom, and that still doesn't make her someone who falls in line with the conception of being "not like other girls".

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope others do too. I read Mandy as a flawed character who was trying to figure out how to exist outside the Shadow of her mom- and eventually succeeds, by learning to embrace her mom. I would've preferred if Mandy had a slightly darker skin tone, as her features seem black-coded to me and Starfire is also often black-coded. Otherwise, I do think this was one of the best DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults I've read, alongside Teen Titans: Beast Boy and Teen Titans: Raven.

#i am not starfire #mandy koriand'r #mandy anders #i am not starfire spoilers #starfire

[xianoii]

Another Shenhe thought except this is inspired slightly by your very obvious marriage to Shenhe. It’s so obvious why are people constantly trying to homewreck such a happy relationship, like you even provided receipts.

Note, I am so sorry if Shenhe is so out of character, I just think I suck at characterization even after rereading character wikis like 5 times.

Also not a thirst it’s just some kind of crackish fluffy jealousy and misunderstandings with a hint of Yandere hints if you squint

One other thing, did you know that the circular shape of a ring represents eternity and infinity, while the hole in the ring symbolizes a doorway into future events. The whole ring itself is a sign of never ending love. Ei would definitely read the symbolization of rings in a book or something and then have the idea to propose to you, I know the thing is about Shenhe but Ei and the eternal love that comes with rings is also extremely cute

Shenhe doesn’t know what marriage is at first, she just has never seen or been taught that because there never was a reason to in the first place. She just thinks that when dating you are just hers now, like you’ll always there as her girlfriend by her side. You even said so when you two got together, promising her that yes, you were hers now.

That mindset quickly disappears when she witnesses you getting really touchy with what you called a close friend of yours. Shenhe would be so confused, she knows you aren’t stupid, so she assumes that you probably just that you simply forgot that you were hers alone. Right? She would quickly shake the thought of you trying to leave her, you were a bit forgetful at times, it was probably just a way to seem polite or you simply forgot, she would just remind you when you guys got home.

Her reminder consists of her just pulling you onto her lap, her the. holding you there with the arms that are wrapped around your midriff, and simply marking up your neck. She sucks on your neck until they’re a brutal dark purple, bites hard enough on your shoulder blades to leave slightly bloody teeth marks, licks on the marks she created to soothe them. She thinks she did a good job reminding you on who you belong to, her self satisfied smug look says it all.

While all this is happening you’re sitting there clueless and confused just letting your girlfriend do what she wants, not like you could even move from her grip anyways. You do question what she is thinking as she does look quite smug about it too, so you are a bit wary, but she seems happy so you’ll just let her do whatever. Besides you could always just cover the marks with makeup, so it doesn’t affect you too much.

You honestly have no idea what was up with your girlfriend, last night with the marking, and now this morning when she just stared at you applying makeup on your neck through the bathroom doorway, unblinkingly too, you honestly didn’t know what happened but you hoped that whatever was annoying her is gone by the night. Shenhe was shook, were you, not going to be by her side anymore? You were covering up the marks that she left so could it be a sign if separation?

No, you were probably just being forgetful again, she’s also heard that mortals have drastically different traditions and rituals. So perhaps the symbol of possession for mortals are very different from those of the Adepti or the Arhcons, if that is the case then she doesn’t want to go to the quickest solution of just threatening you to tell her why, she’ll just research on mortal traditions instead. In that way she can even say her training is going well seeing as she doesn’t resort to violence as the first solution, its a perfect idea. Not that she’ll think about other solutions for anyone else, multiple non-violent solutions only reserved for you and only you, maybe some other close Adepti but no other mortals.

After a bit of searching and asking around the Adepti, Shenhe finds a book on proposals and marriage. It’s quite the fascinating book, who knew mortals would associate rings with never ending love, or that marriage is a contract of binding. The marriage contract is the kind of contract that is perfect for your forgetfulness, this way you get reminded every time you see the written papers. Shenhe still finds the rituals of mortals odd, she is supposed to be getting witnesses and bridesmaids to officiate a wedding? Why is it all so complicated? She supposed that at least people have the decency to get on one knee for respect of the possible future spouse.

If this is really what it takes for you to stop forgetting your place as hers then she supposes that she can spare a bit of time for a wedding and a proposal with all of the traditions. However, a ring that suits your beauty is not easy to find, but she settles for a pretty silver one, with several small diamonds aligned to create a pattern of beauty, it’s not like she’s nervous, it’s just that, she’s very unsure if you actually forget or you just don’t want her anymore, but she supposed this will be a the true test of loyalty.

She proposes on a beautiful cliff, with a clear view of the moon shining on you, truly illuminating you in a silver light that only served to enchant your beauty. She doesn’t really know what to say, but her holding a box with a ring while on one knee says all she needs to say. You could barely speak, your hands were covering your mouth while tears gathered in your eyes, your girlfriend almost seems a bit hesitant, as she slowly brings the ring up a bit more into your view, you couldn’t help it, or course you just had to jump into your wonderful new fiancé’s arms right into the grass. You apologize for the tears, that it was all just too sudden, but all Shenhe does is reach over and pull you into a hug, even as your are embracing, you could barely make out her next soft words that she’s so grateful that you agreed. To be hers for as long as you guys both live.

The Adepti’s reactions were varied to say the least, Cloud Retainer seemed very surprised but very thrilled for the wedding, Xiao was a bit indifferent seeing as he barely knew Shenhe or you, but he congratulated you nonetheless, and Ganyu… well, fainted, before quickly getting up and congratulating both of you. Seeing as the Adepti were essentially all of Shenhe’s family, you both decided to be witnessed and officiated in the abode of Cloud Retainer. It was a joyous day for all those who knew and didn’t know what had been officially bonded that day.

After getting married, you thought that everything would be calm for a while, including Shenhe. But she had different views, as she continuously saw you get handsy with friends, get all cute with strangers, and flirt with people who flirted with you. (The person was playfully flirting, but from a distance it was very hard to tell) Did you really not get the lesson ingrained already? She really doesn’t want to hurt you, but she knows of seriously Liyue takes their contracts, and seeing as you signed one, it’s fair for you to face the punishment if the contract is followed by right? Shenhe doesn’t want to hurt you, and she won’t hurt you too bad, she just thought you needed a bit of a harsher punishment than what she usually does. Don’t blame her or yourself, she just wants you to be safe, so of course she’s the one that has to deliver the punishment.

What is the punishment? I have no idea, but my original thought was Shenhe getting you pregnant somehow, don’t question the anatomy too much, anyways Shenhe getting you pregnant would give her an excuse to keep an eye on you at all times, also gives her an excuse to make you stay home. Again don’t question how you would get pregnant, she probably just gave herself some random herbs or something to make it possible.

This turned out so unbelievably crackish, but there’s my story on how you and Shenhe got married expecting a child. Thank you for listening to the brainrots of my Shenhe era, I hope you a wonderful rest of your day

i’m finally answering this ask after hoarding it for like 2 weeks nd it still makes me all giddy like a schoolgirl . . nonnie i could seriously kiss u i srsly can’t believe u wrote all this for lil ole me T_T it still makes me cheesy and almost cry nd this week especially ? i def need dis n things like this so i’m eternally grateful to you bby <3 many kisses to u, ur my new fave and i’d kiss n hug u a thousand times over for this ^_^ ! !

#゛⠀♡̶ ࣪ delivered ༝ anon . #゛⠀♡̶ ࣪ answered ༝ general .

[ryukyuan-sunflower]

Response to the Moral Question of the MugenxFuu Romance

This is a full response to an anonymous ask I received: 

“Can I ask why you ship fuugen? Isn’t Fuu a minor and Mugen is 19.”

This is a rather...complex and loaded question. There’s multiple things to address but I’ll start simple and work up from there. I will first go into my personal feelings on why I ship the pairing, evidence, and then the more complicated concept of the character’s ages both in reality, as well as in the fictional anime. Hopefully it will alleviate some distress on the issue. If it doesn’t, and you consider the age gap morally unacceptable, then it might unfortunately serve to make Mugen out to be a morally questionable character, implied romance aside.

The Simple Question: Why do I ship it? 

I ship Mugen x Fuu because it’s implied canon by the creators.

I believe strongly, and have found and provided plenty of evidence in my numerous other posts that support my belief, that Mugen and Fuu were written to have romantic feelings for one another. These feelings were never addressed, acted upon, nor explicitly spelled out for viewers. But the subtle implications of their unsaid feelings added up, episode by episode. The interviews of Shinichiro Watanabe, Ayako Kawasumi and Ginpei Sato only solidify my interpretations and findings.

The actual anime aside, here are the links to my posts concerning the interviews, if you are interested.

-Shinichiro Watanabe about Mugen’s Character.

-Ayako Kawasumi and Ginpei Sato about Fuu’s Feelings for Mugen in the Roman Album.

I adore the entire cast of Samurai Champloo, as much as by themselves as I do as a trio. I love Jin just as much as Mugen and Fuu. However, I do not see any implication of Jin having romantic feelings with either of them. His romance is canonically with Shino and his role for Fuu feels more brotherly and fatherly to me.

Personally, I am not a “crack shipper”. I am not someone who typically likes two characters and pairs them off together for my own amusement. I have nothing against crack pairings, nor their shippers, but it is not my taste. I enjoy romances that have some type of evidence or backing behind it. So it is not as if I simply ship Mugen and Fuu because I like Mugen more than Jin.

If hypothetically, all the things that happened with Mugen and Fuu happened with Jin and Fuu—if Jin saved her constantly, if Jin and Fuu had strange, intimate moments like the wrist grab scene,  if Fuu jumped in the way to save Jin’s life, if Fuu cried for Jin seven times, if Fuu’s voice brought Jin back from death, if Jin gave up his sword for Fuu—well, I would not be a fan of the Mugen and Fuu ship. I’d be a fan of Jin and Fuu. 

But that is simply not how the anime was written. 

On that same note of liking an implied romance, I am not as interested in blatant romance stories either. Implied, subtle romance is so interesting because it leaves enough clues that one has to find themselves, and then you are able to make your own interpretations and “what if” scenarios surrounding it. This is why I enjoy the story types of, say, the Souls video game series and its related titles. (Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro). The story lines have to be figured out, and while there is evidence and clues dropped all over, nothing is ever specifically stated. But even so, we can come to solid conclusions that are difficult to disprove, but also never fully confirmed.

Samurai Champloo spells out very little for viewers. Example: Never does the anime state what island Mugen is from. We only know it’s in the Ryukyus. But based on historical evidence, and also symbolism in the show (the paantu and the trees in his flashback) we can assume it’s Tarama-shima or another island in Miyako.

Never do Mugen and Fuu state they have feelings for one another, but it’s in subtle dialogue, numerous times. Most blatant however, is when Sara tells Mugen “It’s as if you’ve never been loved by anyone.” and then Fuu proves her wrong by saving his life by throwing her own in the way, only seconds later.

Their actions fascinate me. Both Mugen and Fuu demonstrate self sacrificial behavior for each other, and show how much they care with actions rather than words. Most of all, I enjoy the romantic trope of “love leads to a character’s redemption.” Mugen’s feelings for Fuu is what redeems him from the sins of his past, and saves him from a life without meaning and only pain, anger and hatred. These aspects of his dark character are highlighted both by the dialogue of Mukuro in Episode 13 and Sara in Episode 21. Fuu being his redemption is also symbolized in her saving him on three separate occasions. The last incident, when she calls him back from death and the Paantu taking him away, is the most symbolic of his “redemption”.

Samurai Champloo is a direct response to the cynicism of Watanabe’s previous work, Cowboy Bebop. Where revenge and the past consumes Spike, ruining his future and love, Mugen is redeemed by love and is able to face his past and press on. 

Here is a fantastic article about the concept of Mugen’s love for Fuu being his redemption and also being a direct response to Cowboy Bebop. 

All of this aside, because of the second comment, I’m assuming that this isn’t necessarily what you were asking. 

“Isn’t Fuu a minor and Mugen is 19?” 

I’m guessing you’re implying that either the romantic pairing is impossible due to their age gap, or it’s morally wrong.

I was conflicted how to answer this, at first. I know this can be a triggering topic. So I decided on providing several explanations. I hope at least one answers the question properly, or at least sheds some light on the issue.

Either it will justify why there is nothing morally reprehensible about the Mugen x Fuu romance, or, it will unfortunately show that Mugen is morally questionable, depending on how the evidence is taken.

First, at 15, Fuu is not a minor in her time period. Second, Mugen is either 19 or 20 depending on the source.

Samurai Champloo is not set in one specific year of history, as the anime is not only anachronistic, it historically takes place in multiple years that could not coincide. In essence, Samurai Champloo is not one year, but “a chanpuru of one whole era.” This era is the Edo/Tokugawa era, which includes the years of 1603-1868.

In the Tokugawa Era, Fuu is considered an adult. She is a young adult, yes, but in the eyes of everyone, she is an adult. This is both historically accurate, and is also demonstrated numerous times in the anime. Fuu’s sexualization and her being seen in a romantic way is never frowned upon by any of the characters in the entire series.

Brief disclaimer: Nowhere in my love of the Fuugen pairing or fan interpretations of the characters’ futures, do I see any sort of sexual relationship between Mugen and Fuu developing when she is 15. After they part ways, is where I like to make my fan conclusions on them meeting again when she’s older.

I also want to clarify here and now, that I’m not a supporter of a 15 year old entering a romantic relationship of any kind, let alone a sexual one in real life. I think that teens should work on themselves and not get swept away by romance and sexuality, especially frivolously. It’s irresponsible and dangerous. But, it’s also unrealistic to believe all young people will never fall in love, whether it’s fake or real. If there happened to be a man who was 5 years older than a girl and the two did develop feelings for each other, I believe nothing should be pursued between them until they are both of age.

Adulthood in the Tokugawa Era

I want to first talk about the concept of Fuu being a minor. In short, she is not a minor in her time period.

To begin with reality first, the life expectancy hundreds of years ago was much lower than now. In Japan now, the average life expectancy is in the 80s. But hundreds of years ago, it was estimated to be about 50. Women in particular had the complication of fatality from childbirth. Led makeup, childbirth, and also STDs were a huge threat for courtesans of the time period as well. Many women died in their twenties.

As for the concept of ”adulthood”, the adult age of 18 only started in the Meiji Restoration (late 1800s- early 1900s) when Japan contacted the west and emulated its practices. The age of 18 being an adult nowadays is largely based on the setup of the education system. Whether 18 is too young or too old is a matter up for debate and varies country to country. 

Specifically, in the Tokugawa Era, the age of adulthood was considered when one entered puberty. This was generally 15 for a male and 12 for a female. 

Here is a link to the full article on the topic of the shifting coming of age, if you are interested.

In the case of aristocratic children, such as boys raised as samurai, the Genpuku ceremony that transitioned children to adults varied in age. During the early Tokugawa era, it was 15-17, while later into the Tokugawa era, during less civil unrest, the age dropped to as low as 13. At this age, these young men could then marry and were likely pressured to do so. Marriages in the Tokugawa Era were very different than nowadays as well. Many nobles and royalty had their daughters married off at young ages such as 8 years old.Though, the sexual nature of these relationships did not develop until the girl was likely of child bearing age, which was in the teens.

Taking the historical 12 year old age into account, Fuu being 15, is then already three years into adulthood. 

Fuu’s Depiction as a Woman in the Anime

In regards to Fuu’s maturity, she has no guardian, nor caretaker, which shows she is an independent adult making her own decisions. Yes, Mugen and Jin are her bodyguards, but they are not her legal guardians, because she does not need one. It is her who commands them and leads them. After they part ways, she is fifteen years old (perhaps a year older based on the time span of the anime) traveling the country alone.

She was forced to grow up very fast. Not only is she an orphan, but Fuu’s resourcefulness allows her to survive on her own. She tricks two complete strangers to escort her across Japan. But Fuu is fully functional as an adult, arguably more than Mugen or Jin in some ways. She works, fishes, cooks, sews, tends to wounds etc. Fuu is by no means innocent to mature situations either. She’s seen Mugen and Jin kill numerous people in front of her, which is traumatizing in itself.

In regards to Fuu’s sexualization,on separate occasions, there are bath scenes in the anime, showing Fuu partially nude. There are also scenes of her undressing. Morally correct or not, it is clear she was sexualized like many young anime females.

Aside from that, here are examples of male characters viewing Fuu as an adult woman, romantically or sexually.

Episode 3 and 4: Fuu is thrown in a brothel. While the legality of her being forced against her will just for the sake of paying off a debt is somewhat in question, the fact that she is 15 in a brothel is not. Brothels were not an undercover organization. It was completely legal in Tokugawa Japan, and Fuu being 15 as a courtesan was not illegal. When an ugly rodent man buys her, it’s served as comedy.

Episode 5: Fuu becomes a ukiyo-e model, the backwards beauty, for Moronobu Hishikawa, who was a real historical figure. This grown man, probably around Jin and Mugen’s age or maybe older, also is not considered a creep for his attraction to her. In fact, it’s not even considered wrong that he paints a nude picture of a 15 year old. Again, because she’s deemed a woman in this time period.

Episode 8: Nagamitsu, who is leagues older than Mugen and Jin, asks Fuu to become the “harem of his heart”. He is attracted to her, sees her as a younger version of his wife when he first met her, and even asks her on a date, to which she accepts. This entire interaction is played off as comedy, and not that he’s some creepy grown man attracted to a minor. More like, he’s a bumbling buffoon. His two sidekicks, the beatboxer and Ogura do not intervene, nor make a comment that it’s wrong he is interested in a 15 year old when he’s in thirties or forties. Because quite simply, in this time period, it’s not wrong.

Episode 16: Okuru tells Fuu that “a woman with a healthy appetite is a good woman” when she is devouring fish.

If you stand firm that it is still morally wrong and all these characters were creeps for being interested or saying these words to a 15 year old, that is fine. If you think it is morally wrong to ship Mugen and Fuu because of the age gap, and refuse to believe that the two are an implied romance, that is fine too. I can’t convince everyone.

However, I will make the counter argument then, that liking Mugen as a character means liking a morally questionable character. Romance and feelings aside, the reason for this is simply how he treats and talks to Fuu.

Mugen’s Questionable Dialogue to Fuu

If shipping them is wrong, then what Mugen directly says and does to Fuu is just as wrong. In my opinion, it makes it weirder if he doesn’t develop feelings for her.

Episode 2: In the original Japanese dub, Mugen tells an unconscious, intoxicated Fuu that he’s going to rape her. “Okasu kureru” is the dialogue.

The English changes this to “Let’s strip her and dump her.”

Episode 11: When Fuu asks why Jin needs to go see a woman when she’s around, Mugen then responds “Because you’re flat chested”, not to be confused with “You’re a child.” When she says her kimono makes her look slender, Mugen calls her a liar and then says “Show me.” He asks Fuu to undress for him and show him her breasts...

Episode 20: Mugen stands up naked for Fuu in the hot spring even though she’s clearly flustered. Exposing oneself to a minor is an offense in the modern era. But he doesn’t stop there. He berates her, and then peeks his head out to look at her naked too.

All of these examples are meant as fluff and comedy too, no matter how offensive they can be. It also implies his attraction, interest and his consideration that she is indeed a woman. This is then furthered in his dialogue with Jin.

Episode 12: When they read Fuu’s diary, Mugen asks the odd question to Jin. “Man to man, what do you think of her?” This “man to man”, implies Mugen wants to know how Jin feels about Fuu as a woman.

As for a debatable canon example, I have the need to bring up the Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked video game on PS2. In Japanese, it is entirely voiced by the same cast as the anime: Kazuya Nakai, Ayako Kawasumi and Ginpei Sato. In English, Mugen is not Steve Blum, but Fuu and Jin are the same voice actors as the anime: Kari Whelgren and Kirk Thornton.

In it, Mugen develops an attraction to a girl who looks nearly identical to Fuu: brown hair in a ponytail, big brown eyes, pink kimono, three hairpin beads. The kicker is her name is Yuu. The even bigger kicker is that she is younger than Fuu.

Here are the links to the scenes. Japanese audio is much better, as a warning.

Link to English, Fuu catches them alone and tells Jin “I had no idea Mugen was a cradle robber!”

Link to Japanese: Fuu calls Mugen a “lolicon”.

When the girl asks “Do you like me? You can lie if you want.” he tells her:

Link to Japanese: “Suki da. Uso jane.”

Link to English: “I like you. I ain’t lyin’.”

And the two share a kiss, before she dies. Worth mentioning, Fuu also admits to being jealous about all this and a fortune teller tells Fuu that this is her “heart talking.”

While debatable canon, the video game still highlights this concept that Mugen will even like a girl younger than Fuu (anywhere from 12-14), so long as she resembles Fuu.

If we pretend for a moment that Fuu is indeed a minor in her time period, then that makes Mugen’s actions and comments out to be even worse. Not only is he a pervert, but he’s then a pervert flirting and making sexual comments about a ”minor”.

Underaged Girls and Age Gaps in Other Japanese Romances

If you still believe that there is something morally wrong, regardless of the time period it takes place in, I have more modern examples in media.

Modern Japanese shoujo manga and anime (shoujo being a genre directed at teenage girls) is rife with romance stories of older guys with younger girls. It’s not frowned upon in Japan, and even for its readers in the west.

I will give you some major examples I can think of, off the top of my head.

Inuyasha: Inuyasha and Kagome. Inuyasha is over 150 years old (not counting the other 50 years he was comatose). Yes, he ages slower as a half demon, but that is still 150 years of experience in life. Kagome meanwhile, is 15 years old and does not come from the Sengoku era. She’s from the modern era. If one wants to argue that Inuyasha doesn't count because every decade for him is one year, meaning he’s supposed to be “15 in human years”, then there is the matter of Miroku. Miroku is 18 years old, and fondles not only Kagome who is 15, but Sango who is 16. And he and Sango later become a romance.

Shugo Chara: Ikuto and Amu have an age gap of 17 and 12. While there is a love triangle element, it is debatable that Ikuto is more her true love interest in the manga. This takes place in the modern era.

Dengeki Daisy: Kurosaki and Teru have an age gap of 24 and 16. This also takes place in the modern era.

Incidentally, all of these aforementioned romances share some parallels to Mugen and Fuu in some way. Whether the guy is argumentative with the girl, a homeless wanderer, antagonist by nature, teasing about her lack of a figure, a bodyguard/protector role etc. 

These are just a few of the more pure Shoujo examples directed at young girls.This does not include age gaps between characters, or underaged girls in anime meant for men or adults in general. They can get far more morally questionable, in my honest opinion. Mugen and Fuu barely scratches a surface. There is clearly a cultural gap between Asia and the West and the concept of age gaps, regardless of one’s personal moral stance on the subject.

Mugen and Fuu’s Actual Age Gap and Maturity

In the Tokugawa Era, their age gap of 4 to 5 years is incredibly small. Even nowadays, that age gap is very small, if Fuu was a legal adult in modern times.

Tsuru-himegimi, the real daughter of Shogun Tsunayoshi was 8 years old when she was married to her husband Tsunanori of Kii, who was 12 years her senior.

As for the anime’s depiction of them, there was never a sense of “Fuu is child. Mugen is a man”. It always felt like the two were in a similar age bracket. 

I must ask the question, if Fuu or Mugen’s ages was never revealed, would it change the context of the story at all? If Fuu was older, would it change it? Personally, I don’t think so. In this case, because she is both physically developed and also deemed a woman in the anime and historically, it changes nothing.

Their interactions, their bickering, their attitudes, and the way Mugen yells at her, and the way Fuu reprimands him, it always felt like they were similar. They both exhibited many immature, innocent qualities, as well as adult qualities. It was Jin who had a more mature demeanor, being the calm, responsible one, who would rather not intervene with their nonsense. This is another reason why I see Jin as a father figure to Fuu: a representation of the samurai who smells of sunflowers that she did not have growing up.

These images here show their similarities in behavior quite well. And there are many more examples.

Conclusion

A good, well developed character is not a perfect one. There is no denying Mugen is flawed, morally questionable and sometimes straight out an antagonist. He steals, he kills, he was an ex-pirate who likely raided and pillaged… Realistically, he would have no qualms about being attracted or developing feelings for a woman who is 4 or 5 years his junior, let alone the other crazy stuff he’s done. Especially when, in their time period, there is nothing wrong about it at all.

Regardless if his morality is in question or not, what makes the implied romance so interesting is the fact that he didn’t act upon anything sexually with Fuu. His actions towards her were selfless, and Mugen developed greatly by the end. But because of his actions and words,and jealousy, it does not come off as simply a sibling or familial relationship that the two have. This differs from how Jin and Fuu interact.

Most importantly, Fuu serves as the catalyst for Mugen’s growth and redemption of his sins. Unlike Jin, Mugen saves Fuu time and and time again, making him her hero, despite being seemingly an ex-criminal that only works in self interest. Jin did not require this change, as he was always an honorable samurai from the start.

Both men found purpose for different reasons.

Mugen needed love.

Jin needed duty.

I think that covers everything. Well, unless your question is simply why do I ship them when the characters are young and I’m older than them.

As of the time of making this post, I am a 23 years old woman. The first time I ever set eyes on the anime, I was 8 or 9 years old. As a kid, I had my first innocent, childlike suspicion of a romance between them when Mugen first went to save Fuu from the “bad place”, being the brothel in episode 4 without any reason to, while Jin didn’t. Also, he saved her in Ep 1 and 2 and Jin didn’t.

The first time I got to watch the whole anime, I was 13 and saw the full story play out. And at that point, I was more convinced. Over the years, I rewatched, looked into a lot of the history and symbolism used in the anime, analyzed the episodes, and I became more convinced. I shipped it when I was Fuu’s age of 15. I shipped it when I was Mugen’s age of 19/20. And, I will likely continue to cherish the beautiful story of Samurai Champloo and the implied subtle romance of Mugen and Fuu for years to come.

Perhaps it is a reminder of the purity and innocent nature of love for me. These two did more for each other, cared more for each other, and were more entertaining with each other than so many cliche, blatant romance stories.

#samurai champloo #fuugen #mugen and fuu #Mugen Samurai Champloo #fuu samurai champloo #shinichiro watanabe

[amateurfilmopinions]

Cabaret (1972)

"Life is a Cabaret, old chum..."

On Saturday night, I was in the mood to watch a musical. I could have watch Funny Girl for the fifth time or finally take the plunge and watch Cabaret, something I have been trying to do for two years ever since I saw Fosse/Verdon. I decided to step out of my comfort zone and for once not let my anxiety dictate what I watch on TV. I turned on Cabaret and watched it over the course of two days.

My expectations for the movie were pretty high. I knew it was not going to be a conventional musical given the plot and Bob Fosse's direction. However, the movie is almost four decades old and we have a tendency to underestimate stories and forms of media in general when it is not from our generation. However, I must say that this movie is pretty unforgettable and even pretty modern for the era.

We have Brian, played subtly and beautifully by Michael York. He has the glow of an innocent out-of-towner who is then taken under the wing of the eccentric Sally Bowels, played by Liza Minelli, whose performance I will discuss later. From the get-go, there is a notable spark between them and you actually feel like you are going to be taken on an adventure. They both live in a boarding house, which is pretty stable and calming compared to the other dominant setting, The Kit Kat Klub.

The Kit Kit Klub. What can I say about this establishment other than it is Cabaret. The whole movie is dependent on this environment and it is a testament to the set design of how it turned out. The movie would have been nothing without it because the hedonism just jumps out at you. I felt as if I could smell the tobacco smoke of the club patrons. The performers made me want to dance on stage with them. All of this was led by the Masters of Ceremonies, played by Joel Grey as his finest. Prior to watching the film, I thought I was going to be annoyed by this man whose makeup frightened me. By then end of the viewing, I was enraptured by his presence. He helps us navigate the film by being its one constant. Even in the rise of Nazism both outside and inside the club, he is still on his feet performing for the patrons and being as brazen as in the start of the film. What adds to his fascinating persona is the mystique behind it. There is no background to this person. Does he have a home, a family, a conscience? The only thing we do know is that life is a Cabaret and he is managing it. Rightfully so.

What contributes to the beauty of the film are the relationships. The chemistry between Sally and Brian is electric and even a third participant cannot eclipse it. In all seriousness, the movie surprised me with how modern it was. The scene where the Baron, Sally and Brian are dancing in a circle, you really feel the tension and the heat within one another. In my opinion, the movie served as an example, maybe a flawed one, of multiple party relationships. These people had chemistry and they embraced it. Also, Brian, while quiet and introverted, was never trying to be someone else in the film. His possible bisexuality was cited multiple times and never in a way that felt like he was chastised and or discriminated. He was who he was, but that did not make him love Sally any less. This movie, while it could have done better in terms of LGBTQ+ representation, did go farther than a lot of films at the time. I should put in as a disclaimer that I am not a member of the LGBT+ community and cannot speak for them. I am just an ally and any comments on this topic are encouraged.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the side love story of Natalia and Fritz. They served to characterize the innocence of love and the struggle of the Jewish community in 1930s Germany. This is when we get to the hardest part of the movie: the rise of the Nazis. The movie did such a good job of never letting us forget what was going on. While we were enjoying learning about these characters, Nazism was in the background until it could not be ignored. We went from seeing a lone Nazi soldier getting kicked out of the club to the audience being filled with them at the end. Don't even get me started on the "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" scene. The Baron's cavalier attitude about the Nazis serves as the perfect mirror to how they were underestimated in real life. Bob Fosse succeeds in balancing the rise of Nazism and the story of Sally and Brian until they are unfortunately mixed together.

While I have you, we need to talk about Liza. Prior to the movie I only knew a few things. She is the daughter of Liza Minelli, guest-starred in Arrested Development, and has an Oscar. Tell you the truth, I did not have enough experience with her to understand the hype. Now I see everything in a different light. Ms. Minelli shined in this movie. She made Sally lovable and relatable, even in all her eccentricity. She had me mesmerized for in every performance at the club. The movie feels like it was tailor-made for her. This makes me sad, because we never got to see another film like that in her career. She ended being used for tabloids and offered roles that quite frankly did not do her justice. Recently, I had watched the film, Arthur, and now that I think about it, it was a thankless role. She did not get to showcase her true talents which I think is a real waste.

My verdict: Cabaret is a must-watch film that will have you humming the songs days later.

The movie won 8 Oscars and lost Best Picture to The Godfather. You know how good you have to be competition to that film? This film needs to be talked about more. It is the perfect movie musical in that it can attract even those who abhor the genre. It would be pretty hard to do a reboot of it. DO NOT GET ANY IDEAS HOLLYWOOD!

What do you guys think? Sound off in the comments. Should there be reboot? Who should star/direct?

#cabaret #musicals #1970s cinema #bob fosse #liza minnelli #michael york #sally bowles #hollywood icons #gwen verdon #joel grey #marisa berenson #master of ceremonies #commentbelow #20th century #turner classic movies #movies #movie blog

[delvalentine]

Hello! Can I have a romantic matchup for tears of themis please?

Appearance : 5'4 ace/heteromantic girl ambivert.Dark brown hair/eyes (I wear glasses but they are also sun glasses because bright lights give me a headache) a little chubby/muscled and pale skin+permanent smirk/smile/ neutral face. Plump lips. My style varies a lot (always comfy) but I never wear dresses heels/makeup. I love to imagine outfits with symbols from fandoms or my own drawings so I have a rather unique style (most of the time I wear a NASA jacket and leather boots/sneakers, I also love sleeveless turtleneck) who changes a lot. I have malleable cheeks and tiny hands/fingers/wrist.

MBTI: INTP-T and chaotic neutral/good

Zodiac: Gemini

Personality : .Sarcastic,a little naive but I have a backbone (don't bother flirting with me and if you feel that I am flirting with you which happens a lot then it's just my personality and on the rare occasion I notice they have to confess or I won't believe it) ,calculative,protective,creative,expressive,manipulative,a devil's advocate,prideful,charismatic, smartass, bookworm, daydreamer, a little insensitive/blunt because I'm more on the logical side ,vengeful, mischievous, a huge tease, open minded, very curious, gets annoyed easily, impatient (unless it's in drawing because I am a perfectionist there) so kind of a bad temper, observant but not romantically,sadistic to a point but my conscience prevents me from doing these acts. Indifferent to many things, morally ambiguous as my moral compass is on the neutral side I don't believe in absolute evil/good, y'all better thank my conscience they work too well I never have fun.

With my friends I am either laughing, goofing around or annoyed. I love to give bad puns or cursed ideas who are gore/weird and saying I know y all love me. Those who don't talk to me see me as a nerd aggressive smart and blunt person ( even prideful) and strangers as polite and kind. I notice a lot of details because I don't let my guard down even if I daydream plus I have a photographic + sound memory and they work very well in all situations which can be a bother when I try to concentrate which is difficult for me because I get distracted easily. Also I have very weird reflexes so...anyone who approaches me by surprise gets hit, any sudden movement and I already have my leg/arm going their way which got me into a lot of trouble.

Dislikes: I fight for my beliefs. I have trust issues so I never talk about my problems and will use humor when confronted. Bright lights. Cooking. Slow things or people. When I get teased in a mean way (otherwise I actually like being teased it's a fun fight after). People who change side easily and hypocrites. Overly serious people. I tend to be aggressive and expose an annoyed face easily (I am moody), plus I hate orders and love pressing buttons it's funny(in a fun way rarely in a mean one) unless it's a sensitive subject. When I feel that I am unwanted or someone insults me or take me for granted I become very cold and distance myself and the relationship becomes strained the more they take time to ask for forgiveness, something I might give but will never forget.

Likes: I love cats/laughter/sweets/pranks/dark humour/ a true crime and Supernatural enthusiast and I love science especially concerning space, chemistry, robotic and psychology. Books, sleep, drawing and video games too. Cherries. Sushi.Oh and debates I love them. Surprises too I hate routine and runs away from it. I like making character analysis which I often get right but never show to the people around me because I know they will trust me less.

Hobbits : Reading, getting lost in a book, drawing, learning, debating, daydreaming, sports (I practice karate and shooting), art (piano/drawing/writing especially poetry) and video games

I have some bad habits like biting my nails (I just got rid of it by painting them black)/lips and moving my leg up and down because I am always nervous, disorganized room/sleep and eating schedule plus I am lazy. Also I might try to hide it but I am very competitive and a sore loser

Fun fact : I dream a lot and write my dreams. I don't mind nightmares on the contrary I welcome them because I find them to be a nice experience and they give me ideas plus the amount of emotions you can feel is amazing. I also tend to curse while talking.

When I get hurt, none takes me seriously because I start laughing uncontrollably even if it hurts a lot. Which means if I get stabbed, I am not dying of blood lost, nooo I am dying of laughter.

I rarely get motivated but when I do I give a very good work and put my soul in it, if I don't reach my goal I feel down for a while and become very snappy.

I am a lazy student (hell if I don't feel like writting I don't especially exercises that I understood) but also at top of my class so none says anything (i can befriend people easily if I want to, teachers included). My projects are often done last minute or just improvisation but I get a good mark at them which means that yes sometimes I can become arrogant and I don't really know what it feels like to study really hard and fail sorry. But I know it will bite me later. I often argue my way out of a situation with anyone : I know the exercise why should I write it? If I told you the answer then I know how I got it and you know it too no need for me to write the correction. Mum the brain is a muscle too so I am in fact exercising.

When dealing with an emotional person I don't know what to do I will try to give them words to keep going, it succeed but I am rather harsh plus I try to make jokes to cheer them up.But if a friend breaks down before me I will do my best to cheer them up (ahem jokes and reminding them of all the success they achieved) and if I am comfortable and they want a hug I will give it. I hate people who denies that others helped them.

My love language is gifts, quality time, a little act of service and affection in private if comfortable. I also love to send memes saying it reminds me of us/you and holding pinkies.

I am stubborn, moody (one day I can be really cold/snappy to the person because I am in a bad mood but I apologize after). I speak Arabic, french and English (in that order) and trying to learn italian. I am also an only child.

Thank you!

vyn richter

vyn has an ambiguous moral compass that would allow the two of you to be more compatible than with the others who are more goody two-shoes type. he has an extensive understanding of the human psyche and doesn't need you to explain yourself; he just gets you.

he finds your dream log fascinating, and also respects that you don't fear nightmares. often times the two of you might get together for tea and discuss the meanings, having actual conversations instead of just "how are you" "good" and letting it die there.

vyn is an academic and would welcome debate with you. instead of getting hostile or making it seem like fighting, the debates would be properly intellectual. he would quietly try to motivate you as well, perhaps baking your favourite treat, and being cruel enough to withhold them until you get something done. in turn, he needs to you balance out his seriousness, introducing him to new standards of life he dismissed earlier.

#tot matchups #tot #tears of themis #vyn #richter #match ups

[solarisposting]

good omens

AHHHH!!!! I've been creeping back to that pit of emotions recently. Beautiful timing, really!

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most)

Not to be too typical, but I have a soft spot the size of the universe for Crowley. It's definitely 95% that asking the wrong questions re: religion and faith is how I ended up *here* [vague gestures at general religious identity]. I project heavily! And I am also a tryhard and always attempting to show lots of devil-may-care swagger, but I CARE SO MUCH ABOUT EVERYTHING!!! Also? I have a thing for seeing detached/aloof/distant characters (whether they're truly like that or just putting on a show like dear Anthony J. here) put through the wringer, made to show vulnerability, forced to face emotional honesty, etc. and while we as the audience know all along that he's a very sensitive, caring soul, it's heartwrenchingly delightful to see it dragged out into the light. Beautiful and excruciating and cathartic all in one!!

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

Newt Pulsifer is so fucking pathetic and I adore him. My dude just stumbles into Sergeant Shadwell's Witchfinder Army™️ and rolls with it because like, he lost his big boy tech job and this hollering weird man sure is paying dear Newton a whole lot of attention. I think they both really blossom, weirdly, from each other's bizarro company. Newt has something to do and Shadwell has a new audience who seems to revere him just a tad? Whoa?!!?! God I just adore him I really do

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

I think Anathema Device is really quite popular and beloved and all, but I also think she always needs more worship and examination. I've read some fanfictions where her angst about no longer being a ~professional descendant~ sends her into a tailspin as she tried to be her own person, and it's wonderful!! There's so much digging to be done into her mentality.

Special shoutout to the other main angels Sandalphon, Michael, and Uriel - I adore their costumes, hair and makeup, and how their actors play their parts - just outrageously stunning visually and deeply deeply fascinating imo

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

I've read so much shit picking apart Harriet Dowling - Warlock's mother - as a character, having her leave Thaddeus with Warlock, befriending Nanny Ashtoreth, coming out as gay and proceeding to date women?? Just totally off the rails from canon and giving her this whole new life beyond vaguely unappreciated government man's wife with obnoxious son. It's made me care sooo much about following these threads others have chosen to unravel

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

Hastur is absolutely my poor little meow meow and I think he should get his Ligur back please and thanks they are the BEST OF FRIENDS in a demon way and ALSO MAYBE lovers depending on your reading idk I love every shade of relationship analyses between them. Also Hastur's actor follows me on Instagram and I'm a little bit in love with him so I'm extra biased. The actor is not a poor little meow meow

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

I think The Archangel Fucking Gabriel™️ getting put through it is a lot of fun. As the text posts say, I want to study him like a bug

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell)

Not that this fits the category, but I kind of want Sister Mary Loquacious to go to hell and melt Beelzebub's brain with inane chatter. Sent to superhell to commit annoyance crimes

#i'm screaming into the dirt in my front yard <3

[pridewhatpride]

Hi there! I’m here for the character thing with Atem! :)

- Sexuality Headcanon:

I like to view him as either pansexual or panromantic demisexual.

- Gender Headcanon:

A cis man, but gnc as hell.

- A ship I have with said character:

Prideshipping! It's a little more complicated on Atem's side, because he's someone who feels like he's always carrying the weight of the world, he would probably feel guilty about even thinking he can have a romance. I generally view it as him beating himself up for tarnishing a rivalship with romantic feelings and leaving Seto alone, but ultimately accepts Seto's desire to help him shoulder all of his burdens. Yugi kept him company and made him feel needed, but Seto opened his eyes to the fact that he is not alone and that he doesn't live to please, but to find his own happiness. Yugi taught Atem how to be kind, but Seto taught him how to be selfish. Atem is probably worried that Seto will grow bored of him once he starts winning, but no, he won't.

Save the best for last.

Scandalshipping. It has something to it that screams eternal love, it's the atmosphere and scenario that Egyptian climate sets, it's the magic and mystery that a lost culture holds. The idea of a young Set who enters the palace expecting to serve a spoiled prince in order to fulfill his ambitions only to be captivated by Atem's kindness, intelligence and infinitely lonely glances moves me to tears. Two people who are deeply loyal to and in love with eachother who end up having to part and sacrifice their happiness in order to save everyone else's. I like to think the two ships are interconnected. I like to think Seto and Set share the same soul and undying love and loyalty to Atem. Atem's soul was sealed and Set lost faith in magic and its worth, but never, never stopped believing that he'd get his pharaoh back. Eventually, he did.

- A BROTP I have with said character:

Not a very elaborate complex, but he would bond deeply with the Ishtars, specifically Malik. They would bond over the shared pains of having to fulfill a destiny you didn't choose for yourself and wish you could avoid. Also. They are both into high fashion, they read magazines together, make their own creations and help eachother dress up. Just Malik and Atem helping eachother put on their makeup. Also, Malik teaches him how to use tech, because we all know he's a sucker for technology.

- A NOTP I have with said character:

I am very sorry to say that I don't like Atem with Yugi. I do love a lot of the fanart made for the ship, though. Again, it's just not my cup of tea, I don't hate it or anything like that.

- A random headcanon:

He's actually very playful. He forces himself to be serious because circumstances often require that of him, but he is the kind of guy who likes pranks and sometimes takes them a little too far, without any malice, really.

Dueling is more Yugi's passion than it is his. Much like Seto, Atem just enjoys a good, challenging game. He starts to collect games to reclaim his lost time. The whole gang gets together to try out this week's random game. Munchkin is lowkey a favourite of his.

He's surprisingly awkward around people, when he's not in his element he gets distracted really easily and just lets others do the talking for him. Yugi has had to ask for no pickles more times than either of them would like to admit.

- General Opinion over said character:

Atem is complicated. My relationship with him is complicated. He is... Too good. Don't get me wrong, I love him, but I could never relate to protagonists that much, since they tend to be the charismatic type who makes the morally correct choices.

I'm scared of actually talking about Atem, because I know I might idealise him as a tragic hero, which I... Don't like? But also kind of do. Again, it's complicated. He's a very fascinating character, but sadly that's what comes from reading between the lines, not from his actual character writing.

Atem is, to me, the reminder that one should never rely on others too much, not because they might not be able to handle pressure, but because nobody deserves to suffer under the crushing weight of high expectations. He's described as strong and he is, but he shouldn't have to bear that burden to demonstrate it.

#atem is a beautiful character #i feel like i'm not a honourable enough individual to grasp just how amazing he is #he feels like an ideal who is out of reach #i want to humanise him but i'm afraid i'd be doing him a disservice #i am about to be cancelled for the notp thing #ah well #long live atem and may he actuly find peace and happiness and acceptance #may he never be called a god among men again

[jungwnn]

Hiiiii😚 i wanna request for a ship with txt, enhypen and bts, thank you soo much for taking the time to do this!☺ I hope you have a good day, stay healthy and take care for yourself🤗

INFP-T | enneagram type 4 | sun: Sagittarius, moon: Cancer | Hate studying anything except English | Competitive when it comes to things I love and am passionate about | Like creative writing and interior designing(basically architecture) | Novels over movies | Even if i watch movies its either action or angst-drama, and always like the evil characters more than the good ones because I'm able to sort of understand why they do what they do, I believe everything has a reason, and every action is a result of something | I also believe in soulmates, love at first sight and all sorts of tropes like these | Obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology and ancient Egypt and just in general medieval eras | Love taking polaroid pictures and traveling | Aesthetic all the way, love being in the nature | I love fairylights and abstract paintings and night walks and stargazing | Love sad things | I'm sensitive to smell and don't like artificial scents | I like going to libraries and museums and cathedrals and old medieval buildings, beaches also and other nature aesthetic places | Always observing little details about everything that other people fail to notice | Easily scared or startled | Have huge trust issues and very sensitive | Have very few friends and am loyal before anything | I'm moved by little things and don't really like much of fancy dates, I like it simple and my favorite would be walk along the beach at night | Am very open-minded and wise but no one's really aware of that | Like disturbing people and then giving puppy eyes | Shy at first but when you get close with me I'm very loud, talkative, playful and annoyingly funny and weird | Just realized it yesterday that i tend to 'huh' a Lot | Clingy with people I am very close to(might even jump and koala hug them tbh) | Everyone's comfort pillar | Very expressive with words and actions | CLUMSY(I hit or bump into something at least once a day) | Love eating (taking advantage of my never getting fat genes lol) but am sort of quite picky | 5'2 - 157cm and I like tall people but I have no problem connecting with people on the shorter side of the height spectrum | Baby voice and baby face | side bangs and dark brown short almost straight hair which reaches just 4cms above the shoulders | Big chocolate brown eyes | Have slightly honey tanned skin | I'm a crybaby too, like if someone I love or care a lot about is getting scolded for whatever reason or they are sad or something then I tend to cry immediately. And while watching or reading sad things too | I do random sounds or actions too and I noticed recently I go 'huh' and 'uh' all the time | sometimes I don't even understand myself like a few days back I was wearing a black sock on my left foot and a white one on my right and then i forgot that i wore mismatched socks so when I noticed it after a while I got fascinated for literally no reason then within seconds i forgot about it again and then when it came to my notice again i got fascinated again and this went on the whole day lmao | My fashion style leans towards boho chic/bohemian and casual | And prefer bare face over makeup and converse over other footwear and dusk(sunset) over dawn(sunrise) but in the album I like dawn ver more🤭 | I love spicy and sour food and have a high tolerance of spice | And my love languages are acts of service>physical touch>quality time>words of affirmation.

YOU SOUND SO INTERESTING AND COOL LETS BE FRIENDS 🙄✋

in txt i ship you with!! Beomgyu !!

pls I can already already see yall fighting over movie chararters😭 I just get the vibe y’all met in a really weird way like he was reaching over to grab a random ass toy and you were too and bam!!! Talking, numbers exchanged. He instantly fell in love with you dude. Like gyu isn’t one to simp but your the exception here. Like dude had a big smile when you responded to his text message. Will he ever tell you that he would bounce up like a puppy whenever he got even a notification hoping it was you?? No. Never. That never happened I swear. There was a time where kai texted and was like “hey soobin said practice in an hour” and gyu straight out texted back “idiot shush I’m waiting” and Kai was just like ??? “...ur weird” basically gyu is literally in love with you from the beginning like it’s insane. That doesn’t stop him from teasing you though. Dude you better stay on high alert this dude is constantly pranking you. They are all harmless but if he ever did hurt you or do something wrong. He will instantly hug you and literally apologize all day and shower you in love. Just finding comfort in each other!! Like he is always there to listen to you talk about anything and just comfort you, He also trust you enough to share his issues! He loves to call you idiot all the time but he says it in the sweetest way or just to tease. He also loves to carry you, it makes him feel super tall ( esp when moas be calling him tiny 😭) also sleepy gyu!! Clingy!!! Let’s say y’all went on a date just a quick ice cream and a walk around the park right, He would look at you and be like “your so pretty~” then you look up and be like “huh? What did you say?” And he would just pull you closer to his side and be like “nothing idiot~” in the same cheeky sweet tone. Then later on that day y’all would just to hang out on the couch cuddled up. He was obviously tired since he was yawning every five seconds. He pulled you against his chest and just started mumbling about how happy he was to have you!! But that’s for your ears only!!

Your overall relationship would consist of:

☼lots and lots screaming like dude is loud but he is expressing his love so it’s okay!

☼movie marathons!!

☼pls don’t use puppy eyes on him he’ll cry at how cute you are

☼let him kiss your forehead and your head he wants to be tall

☼he makes u meals but sometimes they burnt 😣

☼brags abt you all the time like I’m pretty sure taehyun knows your favorite food and your birthday by how much gyu talks

☼he loves listening to you talk abt your interest and fascinations !!

so for Enhypen I ship you with !! Mr.Jake sim!

I just know this boy loves you for your witts bro, like.. how can you be so smart, interesting and pretty at the same time?? Like you completely captured this boys heart!! He loves hearing you talk about Roman and Greek mythology and ancient Egypt!! He thinks it’s honestly so amazing to listen to you speak about your interest🥺 He has this thing, where like whenever you do something cute or he just looks at your face he just walks over and squishes your cheeks. He loves loves loves showing physical affection! He WANTS you to know that you are the light of his life and you make him so so happy!! He talks abt Layla to you all the time and even called you her mom like WOAH. Speaking of mom, Jake gives me the vibe he talks to his parents about you!! Like mans is so serious abt you he just adores you!! Dude is so worried about you when you bump into things, like let’s say you accidentally hit a wall. He will be by your side in a second telling you to be more careful them kissing your forehead. He calls you princess 🧍(HAVE U SEEN THAT ONE FAN CALL BYE) he also treats you like a princess as he should. I have a feeling when he can’t see you in person he calls you and y’all will fall asleep on call. like he would be all sleepy and be like “i miss you :(“ and just talk about your guys day and it would be so sweet!! I’m sure you get the idea !! He’s in L word with you hardcore!!

Your overall relationship would consist of!!

☼he always buys snacks for you because he wants his baby to eat well

☼he is a romantic he loves taking walks on the beach with u!! (And Layla)

☼always compliments your eyes !!

☼always gets you flowers or lil things that remind him of you !

☼he has you as his wallpaper!

☼if y’all go see scary movies together he will most definitely try to act tough and protect you but he fails and hides his face in your neck

☼CHEEK KISSES!!!

for bts I ship you with !! Kim taehyung himself !!

okay okay!! I feel like taehyung loves your mind, he loves hearing your side of things and just loves everything about the way you think! He truly thinks your a piece of art !! like homeboy just loves spending time with you and just talking. He is a hopeless romantic like he loves taking you out to dates that mean a lot to both of you! He takes you to art museums and beaches and takes so many pictures of you!! he has a whole folder dedicated to you!! He also loves hanging out with you and your guys friends!! He just wants everyone to know he’s with you forever and ever!! He is the kinda dude to rest his elbow on your head like deadass just to tease you. He takes you to his hometown often because like I said he wants a future with you!! Expect a lot of snacks from his mom because she adores how happy you make him and he is just!! ugh you lucky lucky girl!! He likes to travel with you, like he can be so unpredictable!! dude will sit there and go “for dinner can we get pizza? Also I got us a trip to Paris for my week off” LIKE OKAY WE GET IT YOUR RICH!! But good for you I guess🙄 also matching outfits. He’s buying you a matching beret and your gna wear for that boxy smile idc. He looked at your matching socks and instantly wanted to try and now he claims it’s the coolest shit ever like Yoongi is always like “why tf?? You bought these in pairs?” Like mind your business Yoongi. His baby does it so he wants to do it too !!🙄✋

overall relationship!!

☼kisses on the lips all the time

☼plane ride cuddles

☼ur boyfriend is your professional photographer

☼pls tell him he’s a good boyfriend he just wants to make you happy

☼always talks to you abt the future <3

☼no joke he has y’all’s kids names planned

☼fun fact.. he bought you a promise ring 😣

a/n aaa!! I hope you like it!! I’m so sorry for the wait!!

#enhypen #enhypen x reader #enhypen imagines #jake enhypen #jake imagines #jake sim #beomgyu imagines #beomgyu x reader #tommrow x together imagine #choi beomgyu #bts imagines #bts #bts taehyung #taehyung imagine #taehyung x reader

[reignpink]

The Night After

I slowly lift Cardan’s arm off me and gently place it on the bed as I slide off of it. I quietly walk out of our bedroom and into the parlor. I take a seat on a sofa that’s facing the window and stare out at the sky, passively watching the sun rise. I should be sleeping but I can’t despite being exhausted due to the last couple of days. The soft rays of light that emerge, bounce off objects in the room around me. I turn around and see the twin crowns glowing under the light. I get up and take my crown in my hands, the weight still surprising me slightly. I run my fingers over it gently, it was beautiful but most importantly it was mine. Just like Elfhame. After all that has happened, I am here with a crown in my hands as The High Queen and wife to none other than Cardan Greenbriar. 

“Come back to bed Jude.” Cardan whispers from behind me as he wraps his arms around my waist and rests his head in the nudge of my neck.

Speak of the devil. “I will be back soon. Go on without me.” 

“Annoyingly I cannot sleep without you,” He mutters as he presses a small kiss on my neck. “So tell me what is keeping you up.” 

I gently place my crown back on the mantle next to Cardan’s. “My body is still running on the adrenaline from today’s events.” 

Cardan nods, “Let’s sit down.” He says taking my hand and guiding us back to the sofa I was previously sitting on. I lay my head on his shoulder and I feel him run his hands through my hair. “You have made to be an excellent Queen. I haven’t the chance to tell you but your punishments from the coronation were very clever and I am thoroughly impressed.”

“Thank you.” I reply softly. I don’t question the decisions I made earlier, I know they were made in the best interest of our rule for the kingdom. The people must know we can show mercy when possible but be harsh when necessary.

Before I can react Cardan flips us to where I am laying back on the couch and he’s hovering over me. I feel a small smile spread on my lips as he smirks down at me. I brush the hair from his eyes as I feel his tail grazing my legs. Sometimes when I look at Cardan, I’m still surprised at what I see. He was once as cruel and sharp as the spikes on his crown. 

“Did I tell how hideous you looked today.” He began his eyes twinkling as they searched mine. 

“No, tell me.”

“I cannot because you looked ravishing.” 

I laughed lightly before pulling him down to kiss me. Cardan returned the kiss full force then slowly started to kiss down the side of my face to my neck. I sucked in a breath. “Especially when you were crowned, I wanted to pull you away and fuck you with nothing but it on.” He says into my ear. His breath heavy and his hands were trailing further down my body. 

“Let’s get back to bed Jude and burn the remainder of this adrenaline out of you.” 

“Let’s.” I respond.

My eyes open the next morning to Cardan’s face close to mine. Our legs were intertwined under the sheets and his arm was draped over my naked body, holding me close. I lift my hand and softly push the raven black hair out of his face. I almost want to laugh. This once cruel creature who used to make my life a living hell now shares my bed and I am it’s wife no less. Wife. I despise to admit the flutter I get in my stomach when he addresses me as such. 

“Hello my darling Jude.” Cardan mutters with his eyes still closed. 

“Hello Cardan.” 

“Today will be your first official day as High Queen, are you ready.”

He is right. I have ruled as Queen for a while now but the coronation and faerie people’s blessing have solidified my standing. 

“I’m ready.” I assure him.

“I believe you are as well.” He says finally opening his eyes and sending me one of his small boyish smiles. “I have something to show you, a little first day gift.”

My brows furrow as I watch him jump out of bed squat down pulling a box that was wrapped and bowed from underneath the bed.

“Open it.” He commands laying the wrapped gift in front of me. I quickly sit up and lift the box judging its weight. Whatever’s inside isn’t light but does seem pretty firm. I slowly untie the bow and lift the lid. I run my hands over the white fluffy object then carefully pull it out. It’s a robe— wait two robes. I glance up at Cardan whose face is patiently waiting for my reaction. I flip over the robes and laugh lightly seeing the word ‘Queen’ embroidered on the front of one and ‘King’ on the other.

“I assume this one's yours.” I toss him the King robe.

“You assume correctly. Do you like the gift?” He asks while pulling his robe on.

“I didn’t know what to expect but it certainly wasn’t this.”

“So you don’t like it?”

“Oh no, I love it. Truly. Thank you.”

“I am pleased. I got the idea while at your sister’s house in the mortal word. It works perfectly with the next part of my surprise.”

I raise a brow at him, “Next part?”

“Of course! Come follow me.” Cardan holds out his hand for me to take. I shake my head, smiling at him, as I pull on the robe before climbing off the bed and taking his hand.

He leads us through our bedroom and into the foyer, stopping at a door on the opposite side.

“You can hang your robe in here.” He says before tossing open the door. I don’t stop the gasp that escapes my lips as I look around the grand room. It was a bathroom, and a beautiful one at that. I slowly walk inside, my eyes moving across the room. The tub, which  resembled a jacuzzi, was giant and could easily fit the both of us plus sum was in the corner closest to the door. A slim wall divided it from a separate shower which had a nozzle attached to the ceiling making it a rain shower. A toilet sat in the other corner. The counter had a sink on one side and a vanity on the other where a ton of products already sat. The bathroom had a black and white theme with gold accents marking all through it. It was absolutely gorgeous, I love it. I turn back towards Cardan with a giant smile on my face.

“You really did this all for me?” I ask quietly.

Cardan pushes off the door frame and walks further into the bathroom till he was right in front of me. “Who else. You deserve more than a small washroom with a bucket in it.”

I look around at the bathroom again. Try as he might've, Madoc didn’t truly understand Taryn and I’s mortal needs so the closest we had to a bathroom was a chamberpot and a tub. Then moving into the palace where nobody cared what I needed meant I definitely didn’t have a toilet, no less a full bathroom. I hadn’t even realized that I missed having one till now.

“Thank you.” I say wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug.

“I’m just glad you like it.” Cardan replies hugging me back just as tight.

We stay like that for a moment before he pulls back and lays a light kiss on top of my head, “I’ll leave you to get ready. Tatterfell should be arriving soon to help.”

I watch him walk out, his tail swinging behind him. I take a seat at the vanity and stare at my reflection. I look different. The person staring back at me is no longer the little girl who laid awake at night scared of this new world, or the girl sneaking around the shadows of a palace, or the girl who was too scared to tell the man who loved her that she loved him back. But a woman who stood in the face of a serpent, two paths, and won.

“A bathroom fit for a Queen.” Tatterfell says as she enters.

“And I need your help making me look like one.” Tonight the revels celebrating Cardan and I’s coronation would begin.

“I would like nothing else.”

Tatterfell draws a bath for me in my new tub. I take one quickly then allow her to help me into a deep blue lace gown. I took a seat at the vanity and Tatterfell immediately began her work on brushing through my hair before curling the bottom and braiding the top into my signature horns. Then she continues onto my makeup, keeping it light and natural but giving me a glowy look.

I slip out of my room into the hallways soon after.

---------

This mini story takes place the morning/night right after the coronation, so after they get back from Vivi’s and both go to sleep. I hope you enjoyed it! I do plan on continuing and hopefully making it a cohesive story about their lives after the ending off the book because I have always had a fascination of book characters lives once the story ends so I am going to write my interpretation of Jude and Cardan’s! And it won’t immediately be Jude getting pregnant, I want to more focus on what it looks like for Jude’s ruling, her relationship with Madoc and her finding out more about her birth mother, Jude bringing up the fact that Cardan will outlive her, Jude still digesting poison and Cardan’s thoughts on it, and plenty more ideas I don’t want to spoil. So let me know if this is something that you would actually have fun reading!

UPDATE 12/14/2020 - so I wrote some more and decided just too add it along with the rest and I think I might keep doing that or maybe wait till I have a whole chapter then I’ll post it to Archive of Our Own. Anyways did you like Cardan giving Jude a bathroom? Does it make sense? I just always thought about how Jude never had a really nice bathroom is Elfhame and how Cardan just wants the best for his queen so he gave her one. 

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