#ceruleanskies

[ceruleanskies48]

Mizu’s Affinities with Trans Women

While many folks have drawn parallels between Mizu’s life experiences and those of trans men (AFAB living as a man, wearing a binder, deepening her voice, adopting masculine mannerisms, etc.), an under-explored topic is her affinities with trans women. 

From as early as Mizu can remember, she was forced to hide her femininity and live as a boy. In flashbacks, we see her “Mama” forcefully shaving her head, saying she “must be a boy, always a boy,” while she sadly clutches her fallen locks of hair. Mama’s supposed death in the hut fire only further cements in her the importance of living as a boy for her safety—to protect herself from the “bad men”—and it also leads her to seek vengeance, which requires her to live as a man (as Madame Kaji says, "under the law, revenge is a luxury for men like you"). In Mizu’s conversation with Mikio, she also confirms that she didn’t want to live as a man but had no choice but to do so because of the bad men and her revenge. 

Indeed, when Mizu is briefly given the opportunity to live as a woman, she takes it. Even before her marriage to Mikio, when she was reunited with Mama, she chose to dress like a woman. She no longer needed to live as a man since (as Mama explains) the bad men believed she died in the fire, and she was no longer on her revenge quest. When Mama exhausts Mizu’s savings, it’s notable that Mizu agrees to the arranged marriage instead of going back to living as a man to make money. 

Similar to trans women, however, Mizu was not socialized to live as a woman. She initially struggles to conform to womanly roles in Edo society, like acting appropriately submissive to her husband, moving elegantly (she’s shown to be clumsy while doing chores), and cooking meals. According to the Lead Character Designer, they intentionally made her women’s clothing fit awkwardly given her height. She is also self-conscious of her looks and how she does not fit the feminine ideals of her times. She’s used to people calling her ugly (including Mama, Swordfather, and Mikio). In a cut scene from Ep. 4, Mizu tries to put her hair up and gauge whether she could be considered attractive but concludes that she cannot. She exhibits jealousy toward Akemi (more on that here) for how she epitomizes feminine beauty and privilege and judges her for not appreciating the fact that she can “have anything she wants,” including the epitome of prizes for Edo women, a marriage into the Shogunate. 

Mizu’s marriage with Mikio also exhibits parallels to the safety challenges trans women can face in romantic relationships. Despite her initial struggles, Mizu is eventually able to win Mikio’s heart, in part by suppressing her more masculine attributes. For example, she pretends to not be able to throw the knife to cut down the apple. But for a little while, she is able to live a happy life, as a woman.

Her mother told her to hide her past, but she eventually trusts Mikio enough to reveal that she was raised as a boy and lived as a man. And not only any man, but a man dedicated to the most masculine Edo pursuit of swordsmanship. The fact that Mikio seemed not only open-minded about this but eager to see “all of her,” leads her to show him her masculine side as well. Unfortunately this backfires spectacularly. He rejects her, calling her a monster. Interestingly, Mizu intuited the connection between his rejection and her gender presentation. She tried to smooth things over by putting on makeup and her wedding kimono to use her femininity to soften his heart and implicitly show her willingness to suppress her masculinity and commit wholly to being his feminine wife, but it was already too late. He leaves her to be killed by the armed men (he was also most likely the one who ratted her out: see here).

The deaths of Mikio and Mama not only mark the end of her relationships with them but also the end of her life as a woman. She concludes she has nothing left in life but her revenge quest, which necessitates her living as a man. For a brief moment, she thought she could be herself and be loved, but that dream came crashing down with betrayal and tragedy. 

All of this is why I’m personally a huge sucker for feminine Mizu moments. I find them quite subversive even though she is AFAB. I hope in Season 2 she’ll be able to spend at least some of the time living as a woman since she won’t have the bounty on her head to worry about and it might actually be easier for her to present as a woman in London accompanying Fowler. Also, it would be empowering for her to explore leveraging her femininity as power rather than having to constantly suppress it. Here’s to kick-ass Mizu in a dress! 🍻 

[ceruleanskiescomic]

Main characters references

These two took a while to make! I already have a story for these two mapped out and will post it...EVENTUALLY! but for now, have them.

I definitely did the lineart toooooo thick. I used so many refs for ceru... no tracing, just HEAVY reference usage. Its so obvious ^^``

Feel free to ask any questions :3

[epicaandk0]

Revenge!

Adventuring isn't easy. Rosanhi is owned by CeruleanSky on artfight https://artfight.net/~CeruleanSky

[heeverseblog]

tagged by @mimikittysblog and @end-hyphen

rules: post a screenshot of your lock screen photo, a screenshot of the last/current song listened to, as well as the last photo of a celebrity that you saved in your phone.

tagging: @ceruleanskies @jishyucks @starlostseungmin and anyone who wants to participate!

[yours-austen]

This Birthday is different. I became a year older, And a little bolder. . Cutting This blueberry pie, Made me shy, A shooting star's falling wish, Is for me to flourish. From the day I was born, I can party till dawn, Seeing these cerulean skies, Until the sunrise. My mind full of dreams, But I'll skip the routines, This moonlight is my muse, And I choose to peruse. I fell in love with myself, Please go love thyself, With no more regrets, Sleep after sunsets.

[domjaehyun]

omg which vaccine did you get?? (not that it matters but i’m curious 👀) i had the astrazeneca one back in february!!

i got the pfizer one!! i gotta go back in 2 weeks *sweats* do they do it in the same arm?? and HELL YEAH we love being vaccinated

[moonttaeil]

omg nikki you were asking about weird drunk experiences i shit you not whenever i get a certain level of drunk i break out in fluent spanish (i speak intermediate spanish so it’s not like it comes out of nowhere) but it gets to a point where natives think i’m actually spanish aldjdkks

JAHDKWJWJWJWHW I DO THAT TOO OMG like suddenly I got that Spanish nationality

[luvdsc]

i’m so angry at that anon and i’m so sorry you had to go through that :(

thank you, sweetpea 💞 that anon made my blood boil, and I sincerely hope they’re reflecting on what they have said right now

[neovisioned]

this a tumblr hug ❤️ pass it on to ten of your favorite followers/blogs and don't break the chain! ＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //／／

thank you so much :( i love you aaaah.

[czennienet]

hi! i wanted to let you know that i've changed my URL from neocultvretechs to ceruleanskies!

hello thank you for letting us know!!!

-admin isabelle

[ceruleanskies48]

Symbolism in Taigen and Akemi’s Gifts

One of my favorite aspects of BES is all of the rich symbolism. An early scene that typifies this is when Taigen and Akemi exchange gifts.

Taigen gives Akemi a piece of candy, symbolizing the freedom that Taigen would provide to Akemi as a relatively open-minded husband. Seconds before this, Lord Daichi said to Akemi (after agreeing to her engagement to Taigen) that he hopes Taigen is better than he is at denying her candy. 

Akemi gives Taigen a gold comb, symbolizing the wealth and status that she would provide him. The gulf in the monetary value of their gifts also serves to emphasize the role this marriage would play in securing Taigen’s rise. This monetary value is further emphasized when Mizu takes the comb and gives it to the basket weaver and her daughter outside the gates of Kyoto, reducing the comb to its purely economic function.

The gifts thus richly illustrate the Taikemi relationship dynamic. They reflect the fact that their relationship is primarily motivated by the practical value each will gain from the other. Although their goal at the beginning of the season is to get back together, they each quickly lose sight of that. This is also highlighted when Mizu quips to Akemi that Taigen seemed more upset about losing his hair (and hair piece?) than his engagement. What hurt Taigen the most was the loss of his honor and status. And Akemi at the end of the season turns down Taigen once she sees an alternative path to freedom (leveraging her marriage to attain greatness). 

In addition, they are very impersonal gifts that emphasize that Taikemi do not actually have much in common or know much about each other. Taigen loves swordsmanship, Akemi loves poetry. They are shown to put on masks when around each other. Taigen doesn’t show Akemi any of his rough edges. Akemi pretends to believe in Taigen to get him to stay, but her facade breaks when he is at the doorway (“what if he kills you this time?”). The gulf between them is also emphasized when Akemi berates her father for trying to marry her off to a “whoremonger” only for us to later see Taigen enjoying himself with two prostitutes.

Thus, although the first scene with these two on initial watch looks like a classic romance, it is already full of symbolism illustrating the more complex dynamics at play. 

[haechanitboy]

this a tumblr hug ❤️ pass it on to ten of your favorite followers/blogs and don't break the chain! ＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //／／ (i love your desktop theme wowowowow)

KAAIII hi ily thank you!!!!!! and hehehe thank you i love it too 🥰🥰🥰!!

[waithyuck]

DUDE YOUR WRITING IS AMAZING!!!! don’t ever think otherwise 💖💖

KAI ! you’re too nice to me 🥺🥺 thank you 💕

[demwhore]

HAN YOU BEST BELIEVE IM GOING TO BE HYPING UP ALL OF YOUR WORKS IM SO EXCITEDDDDD

KAI YOU ARE ONE BEAUTIFUL AND KIND HEARTED SWEETHEART I LOVE YOU QUEEN 😭💖💖💖💖💖

[domjaehyun]

yellow, red, teal!!! i hope you’re doing well bab

I INTIMIDATE Y O U WHAT that’s so funny i just sent you yellow sjdjsjjdjskdksjdjdjdjdjsjsjd

KAI I- *chokes up* i’m soft i love you 🥺🥺🥺 thank youuuuuu i’m doing well and i hope you are too!!!!

[moonttaeil]

NIKKI!!! come catch this heart ❤️

I GOT SOME FOR U TOO