#her name is sawa

[bethfuller]

new oc time

[danketsuround]

A simple guide to how Kuwana uses honorifics - Lost Judgement

Hi, there is a REVISED version of this post here. Thanks!

[skania]

Oshi no Ko Chapter 154 Thoughts - Or the many many parallels between Ai/Kamiki and Akane/Aqua

In my post about last chapter, I listed a number of parallels showing that the way Kamiki felt about Ai is very reminiscent of the way Aqua felt about Akane.

I also said:

if Aka pulls that, then that would confirm that all of these parallels are very much intentional.

And what did Aka pull this chapter?

To top it off, now it isn't only Kamiki's feelings that parallel Aqua's. Ai's feelings are very much like Akane's, to the point that she nearly quotes her word for word at times 😭

I'll start chronologically because the amount of parallels is just insane. To keep this short, I won't bring up the Kamiki/Aqua parallels since I already went over those here. I'll just focus on Ai!

Ai didn't want to break up with Kamiki, but she did it because she feared that she and her children would be burdens to him, who was almost on the verge of breaking due to the weight of life.

Does that ring any bells?

Akane didn't want to break up with Aqua, but she was willing to do so because she feared that she and their fake relationship were burdening him by worsening the weight of his guilt.

Ai wanted to stay with Kamiki forever, just like Akane with Aqua.

Ai wanted to carry Kamiki's burden and walk into the future with him, just like Akane with Aqua.

Ai didn't know what loving someone felt like, but Kamiki was the first time she felt she wanted to love someone that way. Akane didn't know what loving someone that way felt like, either. Aqua was her first.

Most importantly:

Ai wanted to save Kamiki, just like Akane wants to save Aqua. While it was translated as "help" in English, in Japanese Ai uses the exact same verb as Akane when she says that she wants to "save" Aqua.

Even their expressions when thinking about their wish are similar 😭

And the thing is that — technically, logically — none of this can be a coincidence, because this is a fictional story and Aka is nearly using copy-pasting to stablish these parallels. But since this is Aka we're talking about, whether this will lead anywhere or turn out to be just bait remains to be seen lol

I feel like Ai isn't only paralleling Akane this chapter though, it's also possible to establish parallels between her and Aqua. Namely, Aqua also broke up with Akane to protect her, Aqua didn't understand what love was and he showed that he wanted to love Akane despite it.

Plus, when Aqua broke up with Akane to protect her, he did so in a way that would deliberately paint him in a bad light — just like Ai with Kamiki.

I'd also like to point out that in this chapter, Ai's feelings are described as, well, "Ai" 愛. In Japan, "Ai" 愛 is the strongest form of love, which can be either platonic or romantic. This is very relevant, because by making Ai's feelings for Kamiki so strikingly similar to Akane's for Aqua, Aka has essentially confirmed strongly implied that the kind of love Akane feels for Aqua is "Ai" 愛, too.

And Ai's "Ai" 愛 was romantic.

For those who aren't familiar with the concept of "Ai" in Japan, I feel like this post explains it very well:

愛 (Ai): sacrificial, unconditional, love for the other person's sake (often parallels the Greek agape, but can extend into philos as sawa mentions) 恋 (Koi): selfish, conditional, love for one's own sake (often parallels the Greek eros) While both can be used for romantic love, you cannot simply swap out one for the other. The contrast between the two shows up clearly in the したい forms of 愛する and 恋をする: 愛(Ai)したい I want to love [someone in a deep, unconditional way] 恋(Koi)がしたい I want to [fall in] love [with someone and experience the "high" of being in love]

If you ask me, the contrast between those two types of love perfectly exemplifies the difference with the way Akane's and Kana's feelings are being written. Coincidentally, Kana herself described her feelings as 恋 (Koi) in Chapter 150 lol

So considering all of this, I'm having the hardest time not seeing Kamiki and Ai as a sort of "failed" Aqua and Akane. Kamiki and Ai were too broken, and neither could handle their relationship in a healthy way despite their best intentions and how much they loved each other. Kamiki was too dependant on her, Ai broke up with him in the clumsiest way possible and Kamiki lashed out in a selfish, tragic way.

I'd argue that despite their mishaps, Aqua and Akane have already shown that they're healthier than Kamiki and Ai were. Even when he was at his lowest, Aqua was self-aware and did his best to not depend on Akane too much. When he faltered, Akane reminded him that it's important that they remain independent so they can have a healthy relationship.

Which takes me to something I think is very important:

Ai thought that Kamiki would be fine without her, but she was wrong. If she had been right, then maybe she would be alive today and she and Kamiki would've gotten back together later down the line.

I'm sure that Akane, too, thinks that Aqua will be fine without her. Aqua most definitely thinks the same thing about Akane.

And for them to be able to have a healthy relationship, it's important for them to be right. They need to be able to be fine without the other, and as of now, it seems like Aqua is finally making progress in that regard.

But what about being happier? Akane was at her happiest when she was with Aqua, and according to Aqua himself, it was the same for him. If we forget all the recent fiascos for a second and entertain the thought of Akane and Aqua once again, I feel like this should be the biggest factor into whether or not they get back together.

After all, if they get back together it shouldn't be because Aqua can't function without Akane. It should be because he wants to be with her (and she with him). So if Aka were to be a good writer allow them to find their way back to each other, this time spent apart could be crucial to let them restart on a healthy base.

But I digress! 😂 Instead of getting ahead of myself, I just want to enjoy the fact that these parallels are right there for everyone to see. At least no matter what happens, we now pretty much have confirmation that the way Aka wrote Aqua and Akane was both, romantic and the strongest form of love.

As for the plot, the fact that Ai's wish was this clear kind of opens an entire can of worms questions-wise. Moreover, I feel like if telling Kamiki that Ai loved him was Aqua's revenge plan all along, things like these would make very little sense in retrospective:

So for the sake of logic, I'm inclined to believe that Aqua, who didn't know what love was and who held a grudge against Kamiki, may have wanted to believe that Ai truly couldn't love Kamiki. He may have desperately wanted to believe that Ai was saying the truth, because otherwise taking revenge against Kamiki would mean going against Ai's wishes.

I feel like Aqua originally misinterpreting Ai's words is supported by the fact that even during the movie recording, Aqua was shown to not understand Ai.

So, what changed his mind? What made him finally realize that Ruby's portrayal was right and that Ai truly did love Kamiki?

Plus, Aqua has had that DVD for years now, which means that nothing was stopping him from realizing that Akane herself was echoing Ai's feelings for Kamiki throughout their relationship.

But I better stop myself right here, because if I start theorizing about this there will be no end to it. The possibilities are endless, so I'd rather just wait and let Aka either pleasantly surprise like he did this chapter me or continue to disappoint me as he is prone to do 😂

edit;

I just realized there are even more parallels when you get down to it. I mentioned before in my Chapter 97 post that during the phone-call that ultimately leads to their break-up, Aqua and Akane are like two ships in the night. They both want the same thing (to stay together), but in her haste to help him, Akane makes a choice that leads to their separation.

The same thing happens with Ai and Kamiki. They both want the same thing (to stay together), but in her haste to not burden him, Ai chooses to walk away from him.

Ai doesn't understand her own love and is thus unable to understand the extent of Kamiki's. She makes the mistake of thinking that the best way to save Kamiki is to not impose more burdens on him, when all he wanted was to stay with her. I'd argue something very similar happened with Akane. She made the mistake of thinking that the best way to help Aqua was to carry out his revenge for him, when all Aqua wanted from her was to remain by her side.

[lgbtqiamuslimpedia]

Boyah

Boyah (plural: Boyat) was subcultural identity of AFAB non-binary,tomboy,demi girl & trans-masculine folks of Persian Gulf. Boyat are asigned female at birth,but express gender atypical behaviour. The origin of this queer subculture is unclear, some boyat claimed that it was started through online forums & groups. [citation needed]

Boyah subculture was more visible in Gulf states (including Kuwait,Oman,Saudi Arabia,UAE,Bahrain). Boyah identity may fall under the modern Transgender and Non-binary umbrella. However some people may considered them as people of forth gender.

Sexuality

Boyat folk's sexuality can be confusing in various cultural contexts. Most of the Boyat had intimate and romantic relationships with cis-girls in their past life, but they do not consider themselves as homosexual.

The term Boyah itself does not mean lesbian in arabic.In later life many Boyat had to pursue a heterosexual marriage & had children.Because marriage is a obligatory in local arabic customs.In addition to this, some boyah were androsexual & interested in boys only.

Culture & Lifestyle

Trans-masculine/tomboys/AFAB non-binary/AFAB genderpunk took the “Boyah” cultural identity in their early adolescence. On the otherhand, some boyat took the male role to challenge societal gender norms and stereotypes in Arabic Gulf States.

In general, a boyah is characterized by no make-up, no feminine expressions, no feminine name,feminine pronouns.In boyah subculture, Boyat community may use a massive masculine watches.Boyat people worn loose-fitting male cloth with a touch of the military, vibrantly coloured dresses,shirts and boyah jeans(which are baggy with big prints all over them). Since the age of internet Arab's boyat community started informal groups,online forums.

Most of the boyat have to lead double lives because gulf states has strict cultural gender roles especially for womxn.Many of them are forced to get married.In general Boyah phenomena is considered a disgrace to an arab family's honour.Additionally atypical gender expression is seems to be indecent and deviant in GCC states.Many boyat face stigma for not adhering with rigid patriarchal gender roles.

After leaving home, many undergo a radical transformation,changing their clothes at school/college or a friend's house.While in transition ,they run no real risk of being caught because,while in public, Emirates women are required to wear the national dress - a long black over-garment called an abaya, which makes it easier to switch roles without drawing attention.

Media

In general, Gulf media portrays queerness in negetive ways. A Boyah named Abeer appeared on the Saudi TV Show “Ya Hala” where he/ze said that he/ze was attracted to women while still at school. He/Ze had a complete love relationship with a classmate for a long time. Another person named Hamood joined a show of Radio Sawa where he/ze explained ze was rebelling against social (gender) norms and his/zee family’s restrictions through this boyah phenomena.

On a national television of UAE, a boyah named Bandar openly spoke about his queer relationship with another girl and expressed the desire to marry her and have children with her through IVF. His statement on Abu Dhabi's national television shocked the whole nation.

Decline of Boyah Culture

In the Persian Gulf region, boyah identity became very controversial since 2007. In 2007, the Kuwaiti parliament amended Article 198 of the country’s penal code so that anyone “imitating the opposite sex in any way” could face up to a year in jail and/or a fine of 1,000 dinars ($3,500). A further problem was that the law made no attempt to define “imitating the opposite sex” So it was basically left to the discretion of the police. Within a couple of weeks at least 14 people had been arrested in Kuwait City & thrown into prison. Boyat made their debut as a public concern in 2008 when Dubai police denounced cross-dressing - its chief, Dahi Khalfan Tamim, called on the Ministry of Social Affairs to find out how widespread the practice is and what causes it.

In 2009, Dubai launched a public campaign under the slogan "Excuse Me, I am a Girl", which cautioned against “masculine” behaviour among AFAB queers & tomboys and aimed to steer them towards "femininity". The impetus for this was a moral panic which swept through several Gulf states at that time, regarding the Boyah phenomena. 2 months after announcing the campaign the police persecuted 40 people (for their gender atypical expression), imprisoned them for 3 years in jail.In addition, trans-masculine/trans males,trans women,gender-queers were also shamed & abused by the UAE's police team.

Public Attitudes

Many conservative patriarchal arab people see a greater danger in the Boyah subcultural practices; they fear it can become permanent and cause great distress for the women and their families.

Psychiatrist Yousef Abou Allaban says, "It can go extreme, where they change their sex and have an operation.'' Saudi journalist Yousef Al-Qafari said in an interview on Radio Sawa that family disintegration and lack of true love have led women to act like a man. Al-Qafari said education was the best way to tackle this phenomenon.He called on the Ministry of Education to take up this role.

Social worker Nadia Naseer said, “Families play an essential role in such cases. Families should monitor their female members, especially when they start acting like men by cutting their hair short, wearing men’s clothing, or refusing to wear women’s accessories”. She also said, when a girl or woman does this,she is looking for attention & sending a message that she is a boyah.

Saudi writer Randa Alsheikh, in one of her columns, said that she attended a social gathering where she saw a group of females who appeared almost completely like men.“I would not be exaggerating if I say I could not tell the difference between them and men,” she wrote.She said that they looked, talked and walked like men & “even worse” some appeared to be in their 40s. We need to quickly address this phenomenon to contain these girls so that they are able to build good families and a healthy society,”

[kankuroplease]

I almost wish you had an prganozed master post with links to all your different things. You have SO MANY DIFFERENT oc's and ships and I feel like every time I get on Tumblr I find something new. You're so talented! ❤️🔥

Thank you! I could try, I do have a lot going on though 😆 the best organization ones would be the founders AU and TSAU, which both have masterpost

BEWARE: lots of links, lots will need to be updated, and lots of ships because I let my followers play match maker dhvosbusb

My General OCs + their ships I chose (🌕) and their ships my followers picked (🌑) for them

Aori - 🌕 Yamato and 🌑 Tobirama

Yamato/Aori - Aio and Haruki (next gen)

Team Aori - Momotarō, Aoka-Chan, Benkei

Katsura - 🌕 Shino and 🌑 Madara 🌑 Shikamaru

Shino/Katsura - Shigeki, Yasuo, Niwa Aburame (next gen)

Okami - 🌕 Kiba and 🌑 Kawarama

Kiba/Okami - Ashi and Kumo Inuzuka (next gen)

Yuuta - 🌕 Daisuke 🌕 Tenten 🌑 Hanabi

Yuuta/Hanabi - Mihana Hyuga (next gen)

**he also hits on a LOT of canon characters

Haiiro - 🌕 Shizune

Haiiro/Shizune - Dan Hyuga

Gou - 🌕 Kankuro 🌑 Itama

Kankuro/Gou - son

OC Parents

Isamu/Mari - Aori and Katsura

Asa/Pia - Gou

Okami’s parents - Okami

Jon/Umi/Zenbe - Yuuta

Umi explains

Aoka’s father/Isamu’s cousin/Katsura’s sensei

FOUNDERS ERA (oc x canon and OC x OC)

Butsuma/Asako 🌕

You know the Senju bros lol

Butsuma had a mistress named Kane

Tajima/Sumi 🌕

You know 2 (Madara, Izuna), Inari, Kota, Tenko, and Ringo

Tsuna(Butsuma’s brother)/Ebba/Sara 🌕

Tsuna/Ebba - Wolfgang Inuzuka

Sara (Tsuna’s legal/platonic wife)/Kane

Kane had a child with Butsuma - Meiko

Founders Era Inuzuka Clan

Madara/Katsura 🌑

Riki, Kazuha, and Noaki Uchiha

Izuna/Mate 🌑

Son and a Daughter

Wakaba/Tenko/Runa 🌑/🌕

5 kids total

Inari/Yaya 🌑

Nene + two boys

Kota/Gin 🌑

2 boys

Okami/Kawarama 🌑

Miu, Sora, Kōmori, Akiko, Suzaku, and Tora Senju

Gou/Itama 🌑

Goemon and Kaga Senju

Tobirama/Aori 🌑

Nagisa and Tomoe Senju

Nagisa/Naori 🌑

Senju

Kakuzu/Riki 🌑

Sycee

Kagami/Miu 🌑

Arata Uchiha

Arata x Sawa - Shisui Uchiha

Sora/Rei 🌕

Botan and Akihito Hoshigaki

About (no tag)

Sakumo/Kōmori 🌑

Kakashi Hatake

Erika/Suzaku/Aja 🌕

Michiko, Michiyo, Manami, and Megumi

Michiko/friend’s OC 🌕/🌑

Michiyo/Ken 🌕- the two Akimichi’s

Manami/Kisame 🌑

Megumi/Suigetsu 🌑

Orochimaru/Tora 🌑

Nisshoku (Sho) Senju

Manda/Nisshoku - Misaki (next gen) 🌕

Wolfgang/Ringo 🌕

Asahi, Kuri, Frederick, Leonie, Mika, Sena, Elke, and Arashi Inuzuka

Asahi/the Uzumaki that moved in/never left 🌕

Leonie/Arlo - Jugo 🌕

Sena/Tsume - Hana and Kiba 🌕

Elke/her partners 🌕

Arashi/Agapito 🌕

Tomoe/Husband/wife

** working this out, but he’s getting one of each because he wants to and wouldn’t settle for less✨

Tsau (canon x canon + oc children + Canon x OC)

All links in the masterpost for the TSAU

KakaObiRin 🌕

Ryujin, Copy and Paste (not their real names but yeah)

HashiMadaMito 🌕

Michi

Neji/Tenten/Michi/Lee 🌕

Mugen and the twins (Neji’s future kids)

MinaKushina

Naruto and Chiha

Naruto x practically everyone tbh.

Naruto x Shikamaru endgame

GaaSaku (early but still)

KankuKiba

Shisui/Kaguya

Kira (future kid)

Hinata/Toneri

Future Daughter

TemaTatsu

ItaHana

Saiino

**swingers. Do not attend one of their parties if not one like Yamato accidentally did and to be rescued

Genma/Yamato

If you’ve made it to the end of this post, apologies and thanks for reading all this 🖤😄

[vestaclinicpod]

Audio Drama Sunday - 14th April ✨

Oh my god, the audio sure did drama this week!!  

👻 @tellnotalespod (S2E7.5) HOW did none of us put this together sooner?! Oh my god, what an absolutely INCREDIBLE little twist. I love the undercurrent of hopeful resilience in Tell No Tales (Leo is going to get with the programme really soon 🤞) and I am screaming, crying and throwing up imagining the end of season reunion 😭 HOWEVER, don’t think I missed for a second that Riley is asking for another packet of painkillers . . . it would be so like him to think that 16 paracetamol is two doses of paracetamol but still! He needs to be okay!!

🌲 @hellofromthehallowoods (147) hhhhh what a GOOD episode. There’s something different about the horror of season 4 that I want someone with a literature degree to talk to me about for hours. Can we please talk about how the murder victim had a treble clef carved into them . . . i.e. the symbol at the start of a piece of music. It’S SO CLEVER I love the intricate details of this show!!!!! And, can we also talk about how emotional I feel about Clem (namer of everything) is in love with Shelby (has a cat named Cat). There’s something in that which is giving me palpitations. 

🦀 @thesiltverses (39) You wouldn’t think one would be happy to have silt in their ears, but I am!! I’ve missed this story so much and I loved the twist in this episode. Carson has practically wrapped Shrue in a bow and handed them to Carpenter and Hayward. I can’t WAIT for that conversation. 

🧳 Travelling Light @monstrousproductions (17) Oh this is so beautiful! Do humans do this with ice?? I think we should 1000% do this with ice! I don’t have voting privileges (yet 💸) but I think they should go easy on their foes in the snowball fight. I would love to see how adorably smug Óli is if allowed to win 🥺

🤴 Inco @itmeblog (S3E20-34) If anyone takes SAWA away from Nova again I am going to throw HANDS. I’ve always considered SAWA to be endearingly overbearing with her prompts to Nova but we got such a good glimpse of how vital she is in the library/archives and I love her 😭

♦️@grottopod (8) Grotto finale! I loved the music at the start of this episode and it was so satisfying to hear David get to express some of his frustrations. Season two sounds like it’s going to be wild. 

⚔️ @camlannpod (7) This episode KILLED me. Here are the quotes that made me scream: “GWEN: You can’t love the mental illness out of someone.”  (10/10, true, valid, hurts) “PERRY: Eat a dick, Kay.” (11/10 the crowd goes WILD) “RHIANNON: (calling to the group as they leave) Cousin. About your lover. You didn’t fail him. You just needed more time.” (1/10 OW?????? OW OW WHY? OW!!!!) “MORGAN: You’re just as bad as Arthur. Worse. At least he was honest about it.” (??/10 JAW ON THE FLOOR) I need this podcast forever 🥺

🖥️ The Magnus Protocol (11) Oooh I liked this episode!! I love it when you’re left to fill in the blanks in a horror story - my mind is still whirring through so many awful scenarios. 

🍎 @notquitedeadpod (XXXIV-XXXV) ah! I’ve accidentally caught up to Not Quite Dead! What will my Sunday afternoons look like now?? There were so many moments in these eps which made me laugh but I’m mostly just so in awe of how complex and real these characters are. Neige genuinely feels 10000 years old and shaped by the trauma of each of them. I need to check the release schedule because I cannot wait for more!! 

Have a good week of listening, everyone! 🌈

[tamamita]

Oh great Sal, if you dont mind me asking, when you are talking about religious figures such as Muhammed (pbuh&hf) or Moses (a), what do the parenthesis mean? I assume it's a title of some sort but it's not something i have seen christians do.

It is incumbent upon Muslims to send salutations upon the Prophet Muhammed, the Biblical prophets, the Holy ladies, and the angels of God whenever their names are mentioned.

Pbuh&hf/sawas or "Peace and blessings be upon him and his family" is mostly used by Shi'as whenever the name of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh&hf) is mentioned. Sunni Muslims use the shorter variant "peace and blessings be upon him".

a = Aleyhi/Aleyhe Salaam (Peace be upon him/her/them) is often used when referring to the Biblical prophets, the angels of God, and the Twelver Shi'a Imams.

S.a = Salaamullah aleyhi/aleyha (Peace of God be upon him/them/her) is often used by Shi'as to refer to the holy ladies, such as Lady Mary and Lady Fatimah. It may also be used to refer to the Twelver Shi'a Imams.

[xillionart]

Noa/Fem!Ego.

At Blue Lock's very beginning, Ego talked about the Japanese national character being the reason why Japan couldn't win a World Cup. But in fact... Japanese women's football team had already won the World Cup as early as 2011? 

I love, love drawing sex swap (for which I repent), but in any AU I must maintain the core of a character despite the changes to worldbuilding and/or their background story — despite this core is shaped exactly by their background story. What is Ego's core? A ghost obsessed with/possessed by the world's best striker. How can I preserve his/her obsession with sex swapping? Ironically enough, the best way I can think of to keep Ego’s core is to remove him/her position as “Noa’s rival, teammate, and brother-in-arm”.

More references undercut:

I based Jinka’s career on the following two players:

Saki Kumagai (熊谷紗希), the captain of the Japanese women's football team, a defensive midfielder who plays for Bayern Munich Women's Team and has just transferred to Roma this summer. She scored the winning penalty for Japan in the 2011 World Cup. She also has seven French league titles and five European Cups to her name.

Homare Sawa (澤穂希), the former captain of the Japanese team in 2011, a striker. She scored a last-minute equalizer in extra time in the final, ultimately leading Japan to win the game through a penalty shootout. She won the Golden Ball Award as the tournament's best player and the Golden Boot Award as the tournament's top scorer. Later that year, she was named the 2011 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year, the first Asian to win a major end-of-year individual award (regardless of gender). 

The appearance and name of the captain of Bastard Munich Women's Team is based on Karin Danner, the legendary manager who laid down the foundation of Bayern Munich Women’s Team.

The characters for Jinka (甚佳) means "Excellent". I don't know Japanese, but I’d like to retain the way characters is written for "Jin" (even it is regarded as masculine) and the rhyme of his name. I hope this name makes sense.

The flashback scene at the end is based on Bayern Munich men’s and women’s teams’ double championship party in 2023 (as both won the Bundesliga). I absolutely adore their khaki vests and white shirts. Stunning.

[tofautisawa]

Now that TLK was mentioned… do you have a favourite hyena(s) character outside tofauti sawa? as in personality or design

Jasiri and her clan from The Lion Guard. Kinda wish they didn't get such ass backwards treatment by the narrative but I digress.

Others would include...

Hasani from KuraMonody.

Junior from I Hope So. Not a major character but still so damn cute.

The Hyena Queen from PinkFeral's HyenaxLioness comics.

There are some more hyena webcomics in the works that I can't wait to check out once they drop. But there it is to name a few.

[sojirosteacup]

Hanadan character name meanings

As it is common with anime/manga characters, the characters in Hana Yori Dango have names that relate to their storyline. In this post, I'll attempt to translate the names of the main characters from Japanese.

Warning, long post under the cut:

Before we begin

All their names are pretty much the same in mandarin, with the exception of Tsukushi/Shancai, so these translations partially fit Meteor Garden too. (but I don't know mandarin, so I can't give you more than this, sorry)

Due to the way korean names work (and the unfortunate implications of giving korean characters japanese sounding names), they were completely renamed in the K-drama. I'm gonna make a separate post for their korean names later.

They were also renamed in the thai drama but I know nothing about thai, so I won't even try to translate those, sorry (I make one speculation in this post and that's it, lol).

Japanese names, when written in japanese characters, have the family name coming first and personal name second. That's the order I'm gonna use here.

I make a few stretches here and there because I'm not a native japanese speaker nor a specialist in japanese name meanings. This was translated with the help of two japanese dictionary apps/sites and my obsession with this fucking manga.

Now that you read all of this, let's begin with our protagonist:

Makino Tsukushi (牧野つくし)

Her name is the most obvious one because the story revolves around it, but lets take a look at it anyway

牧野 (Makino) Let's look at the kanji for it separately:

牧 (Boku, Maki) - breed, care for, shepherd, feed, pasture

野 (ya, no) - plains, field, rustic, civilian life

牧野 (Makino), can also be read as Bokuya, which means "pasture land" or "ranch".

Her name つくし (Tsukushi) doesn't use Kanji, but it's mentioned many times in that story that is a type of weed plant.

If I were to put everything together and attempt to translate it, it turns into something like… Pasture land weed.

Poor girl.

Doumyouji Tsukasa (道明寺司)

道明寺 (Doumyouji) - If you look at these characters apart, they don't mean anything in particular

道 (Dou) means road, path, street, teachings (like in the martial art judo, or the art of tea ceremony, chadou)

明 (myou) means wisdom, mantra, light, bright [insert obvious joke about F4 thailand here].

寺 (Ji) is a counter for temple, which is why Yuuki's ex, in the double date in the manga, makes fun of him asking if his family lived in a temple. 寺 is also a radical in the kanji 時 (toki) (hour) and the word 時間 (jikan) (time), which I guess is where they took Thyme`s nickname from.

But 道明寺 (Doumyouji) as a whole is the name of a japanese street candy. Kamio once said on her twitter that the F4 was based off a dango and all of them were supposed to be named after candy, but she ended up scrapping the idea because she didn`t have time to think of candy names for all of them. Doumyouji was the only one that kept the original naming concept.

Now let's go to the rest of his name:

司 (Tsukasa, Shi) - director, official, rule. (Fun fact: there is a verb, tsukasadoru, that means "to be in charge, to manage, to rule, to govern, to control")

This one is obvious, Tsukasa is the leader of the F4.

If I were to put both names together and translate his full name it would mean something like… Candy ruler. He is the leader of the dango that is the F4. 🍡

He doesn`t sound that threatening when we put it like this lol

Hanazawa Rui (花沢類)

花沢 (Hanazawa) - Let`s look at the words separately:

花 (hana) means flower

沢 (sawa) means valley, swamp, marsh, brilliance, grace

Hanazawa would mean something like "flower valley" (I don't know if it could translate as "flower grace")

類 (Rui) means sort, kind, variety, similar

If I were to translate his full name, it would be something like: "A kind of flower valley" or, if I really stretch it, "Like a flower valley"

And notice this funny thing: Tsukasa and Rui's names are a walking spoiler! Hana Yori Dango, the name of the manga itself, is oficially translated as "Boys over flowers", but another translation of it could be "Candy (Dango) over flowers". If Doumyouji is the candy leader and Hanazawa is a flower valley… Damn, I wonder who the main character is going to choose. /s

Now to my favorite boy Nishikado Soujirou (西門総二郎):

(西門) Nishikado:

西 (nishi) means west

門 (kado, mon) means gate and, as I recently found out, "branch of learning based on the teachings of a single master". Obviously, his name comes from the second meaning.

So, Nishikado would mean "Branch of learning (tea ceremony) from the west" or "Lineage of (tea ceremony) masters from the west".

With "Soujirou", let's start with Jirou first:

二 (ni, Ji) - Two. That's literally the kanji for the number 2. No mystery here.

郎 (rou) - Counter for sons.

So if it's not obvious yet, 二郎 (Jirou) is used in names to mean that the person is the second son. You see it in anime character names all the time, look for it, you'll find it.

総 (Sou) - whole, all, overall, entire

The "Sou" part is maybe not supposed to mean anything in particular, but if you are still reading this long ass post you want to see me try to find a meaning for it. So if i stretch it, maybe it could be "full second son" (which doesn't make much sense) or, if I really stretch it, it could maybe mean "Second of all sons"

So his name would be: "Second son overall from the west lineage of (tea ceremony) masters"

Boy that's not a name, that's a whole ass title. 😭

And, yes, his older brother is called Souichirou, and by this logic his younger brother is probably called Sousaburou, or something like that.

Last but not least: Mimasaka Akira (美作あきら)

美 (mi, bi) means beauty, beautiful

作 (saka, sa, tsuku) means prepare, to make, build (it's the same kanji used in the verb Tsukuru - to make, to produce)

Mimasaka would mean something like "Make beauty" or "beautifully made"

Akira (あきら), on the other hand… it doesn't use a Kanji. It's the same case as Tsukushi, except with her we know the meaning because the character herself says it. But Akira doesn't, so i have no idea what it could mean since we don't have the kanji for it.

(sorry Akira)

But translating what it can, it would mean "Akira makes beauty" or even "The beautifully made Akira" (which at least sounds cool asf, come on)

[sincerrelyserena]

uhm new ai card edit (EDITED THIS BEFORE THE CARD EVEN CAME OUT LMFAOO 😭😭‼️‼️) I love her so much she’s so cute (silly little fact- she met mafuyu in cram school because ai truly wants to be a doctor when she’s older, more specifically a pediatrician (NOT PROJECTING I SWEAR) and ai has a tendency to call everyone by their first name or nickname without permission by accident ofc she’s just so silly and then mafuyu and her become good enough friends to the point where ai is like ‘mafuyu i can tell your faking your personality you don’t have to do that around me 😍😍’ and then BAM doomed Yuri mafuai now exists but in a side universe and everyone wants to date ai)

AAAIIIII😭😭😭🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨😜😜😜🥰🥰🥰🥰 ALSO AI IS SO CUTE AND DEMURE OMG I LOVE HER SO MUCH🔥🔥🔥🔥💥💥💥OMG BBG WHICH ONE SHOULD I EDIT SAWA IN??? HONAMI OR SHIZUKU???

OR MAYBE EMUS????

[scramboileditlog]

Natatawa ko sa sarili ko. Recently kasi I saw my friend post a photo with her co-workers na nasa BGC tapos nakita ko may shorthaired cutie siyang ka-work. Tapos syempre hinanap ko dun sa tagged people kung sino yun eh alam ko di naman niya ko i-a-accept out of nowhere. I remembered how girls like matchmaking, so kinausap ko nalang yung friend ko kung sino yun kahit alam ko na naman talaga tska if ever may jowa sasabihin agad nung friend ko. Hiningi ko lang yung name di ko naman sinabi sa friend ko na ipa-accept ako or anything. In-add ko bale sa facebook and nag-follow din ako sa instagram, mutuals na kami ngayon siguro kasi kinausap din nung friend ko.

These past few days inuunti-unti ko lang gawin homework ko in getting to know her kahit di ko pa talaga siya kinakausap. Yung attention to details ko kasi nagiging mas precise pag interested ako sa tao. Tska syempre at my age yung mga basic like asking favorite things, hobbies, etc, eh alam kong sawang-sawa na yung mga babae kakasagot so inaalam ko nalang based on what she post, background music sa story, memes, and her activities.

Ito yung mga reason why casual flirting and shit don't work on me eh. Ayoko kasing ma-bored and maka-bore sa mga basic or walang kwentang conversation so I observe before engaging in conversations. Tapos ayun nga upon doing my research nalaman ko na fan siya ng punk rock. So ako naman ito nagto-throwback ngayon sa rakista era ko thinking how I can relate to her interest, tapos ayon tuwang-tuwa ako kasi pinapakinggan ko yung mga paborito ko dati, Rage Against the Machines, Limp Bizkit, Dragonforce, Black Sabbath, at madami pang iba.

Di ko pa siya kinakausap masaya na agad ako. HAHAHA tanga amputa.

[danketsuround]

First name basis - regarding Kuwana's one-sided relationship with Mitsuru through a cultural and linguistic lens

I haven't seen anyone else point this out so I wanted to mention it because I think it provides some insight to Kuwana and Mitsuru's relationship to each other despite them never having the opportunity to interact in game.

Has anyone else noticed that Kuwana refers to all of his former students by their last names? (Yui) Mamiya, (Yasushi) Akaike, (Shinya) Kawai, (Yoko) Sawa - then, Mitsuru (Kusumoto).

It could be argued that Kuwana refers to Mitsuru by his first name in order for players to be able to immediately distinguish between "Kusumoto" (Reiko) and "Kusumoto" (Mitsuru), but I also read it as how Kitakata unintentionally ostracized Mitsuru from his peers: how, in turn, Kuwana treats Mitsuru more preciously than others.

Tellingly, Kuwana refers to Mamiya and Sawa with the -kun honorific. Most people who have a rudimentary understanding of Japanese know that -kun is often used for young(er) boys. However, using -kun for adult women is more of a formality. In Sawa's case, I believe -kun is used for her out of mutual respect. -kun can also be used by male teachers to refer to their female students.

Despite never seeing Kitakata interact with any of his students in the past, we can infer from the above information that his way of addressing his former students, at least, has not changed.

Kuwana does not refer to Kawai with any honorifics because he is dead and they clearly do not have a close relationship. He uses -san with Akaike or none at all.

However, Kuwana also occasionally uses -kun with Mitsuru - not out of formality like Mamiya, or respect like Sawa, but rather, because Kuwana still views Mitsuru-kun as a child, or the schoolboy he knew long ago.

**** It's worth noting that Kuwana sometimes does not use honorifics with Mitsuru at all. Similar to Akaike, this is more closely related to how Kuwana used to be his teacher (you may drop honorifics of those who are socially inferior, like teachers with students) and not how Reiko NEVER uses honorifics with Mitsuru because they are family members.

To me, this is why -kun popping up occasionally is rather important. It demonstrates that Kuwana believes in a close relationship or kinship with Mitsuru that he never had.

This presents itself in other ways. Firstly, I'd like to note how he speaks to Kusumoto Reiko. Reiko is the only person Kuwana uses honorific language with (です・ます specifically, keigo, but not full seppuku zarei 許してください type of keigo, just a more formal/distant way of speaking, she mostly returns the formality - Kuwana seems to lower himself when speaking to her. Literally and figuratively, lol).

He also uses the fairly distant-yet-respectful sounding 「あなた」 with her. It's no question that he respects her undyingly ("virtuous and capable"!), yet I believe it is very interesting he refers to Mitsuru using -kun when speaking to her as well! He speaks about Mitsuru with her as if they all know each other well.

Take this line from the finale, while speaking to Reiko on the phone after Ehara's trial ended:

"Enough is enough. You and your son have been through enough hell. I want to protect Mitsuru-kun too. Almost as much as his mother."

(This is my favorite line. It's darling.)

Here, Kuwana is recognizing Reiko's struggles while veeeeeery preciously reminding her that he deeply cares for Mitsuru-kun - comparing himself, almost (and boldly so) to that of a maternal/parental figure.

While I don't think that Kuwana actually views himself as a parental figure to Mitsuru, it is important to note that Mitsuru is quite literally the figurehead and motivation to Kuwana's vigilantism:

"If it means I can prevent another Mitsuru Kusumoto, yes, I will keep killing." (Chapter 10)

"Mitsuru and all those kids... For them to have justice, this is what I had to become!" (Chapter 11)

"The day Mitsuru leapt from the roof, I vowed to atone for the rest of my life." (Chapter 11)

"Do you have any idea what [Mitsuru] was like thirteen years ago? Then you have no right to speak to me that way!" (Chapter 11)

This might be a good place to note that Kitakata's name change is referential to the date Mitsuru attempted suicide (September 17th): Kuwana, Ku (9) + wa (1) + na (7) - it's goroawase! Plus 仁 (Jin) meaning humanity, virtue, goodness.

I'd like to use all of this to talk about a much broader and darker theme. As I wrote in the beginning of this post, I believe Kitakata referring to Mitsuru by his first name - unlike the rest of his classmates - had unforeseen consequences. Being called by your first name by teachers is the choice of that teacher, and it is a very deliberate choice in high school. Kitakata "othered" Mitsuru, unintentionally showing him that he was not deserving of the same respect as his classmates.

Kuwana mentions that he thought he was well-liked by his students, even going as far as to not believe that that level of violence, abuse, and bullying could be happening right under his nose. While I don't believe Kitakata ever willingly participated in bullying Mitsuru, Mitsuru still remained outcasted in his own homeroom until the day he fell into a coma. In part, thanks to the way Kitakata singled him out.

By taking this to heart, Kuwana developed this idea that he and Mitsuru are foiled - that his selfish vigilantism is all for "Mitsuru's sake". In Chapter 11, Kuwana says "Mitsuru and all those kids..." - this shows an inability to recognize Mitsuru as anything other than a victim and a child. Mitsuru is not "Kusumoto-kun" or "Mitsuru-san", he is: Mitsuru-kun. An innocent young boy.

Kitakata may have unintentionally put a target on Mitsuru in class, but Kuwana singles Mitsuru out intentionally - by feeling so indebted to him that Kuwana, frankly, develops a parasocial relationship to Mitsuru's tragedy. And in a way, Mitsuru had become his unintended victim twice.

Moreover, the child he failed to protect, and the one he hurt the most.

[jichanxo]

sunday six! (not kuwagami edition 😔)

poke poke @four-white-trees @passthroughtime @overdevelopedglasses @skysquid22

back onto my itokura writing for senseific! been taking some notes and poking at the wiki to fill in some gaps, thank goodness 🙏 here's a staffroom discussion about itokura's absence from school, pre-canon of course. thank goodness the wiki was there so i didn't have to make up new teacher names just for this one scene.

“Well, she’s still opening her door for you, right?” Kitakata tried to speak. “That’s still something. We should think about if we can do something with that. Maybe that’s an opportunity.” 

Fujita crossed her arms. “So instead of her parents or any authorities, we should be trying to work with her? Is that what you’re saying?” 

She sounded skeptical, though not outright dismissive, which was as kind of a response as he could have expected. 

“Plenty of people tried to speak to her in the lead up to the summer festival. We already know how that went.” Akuta interjected again. Know-it-all. 

Kitakata bit back. “Well, yeah, but she would’ve been so stressed in the lead up to the festival, of course she wouldn’t be responsive to—” 

“I think it’s good to think about how we might be able to approach Itokura-san.” Sawa interrupted, calm voice easily silencing him. “We’ve been giving her nothing but schoolwork, and she has no reason to enjoy coming to school. Of course she’s been absent. It’s that mindset we need to think about.” 

“Incentive. I ought to remind her of her scholarship. The chairman has been asking me about that...” Fujita sighed.

“Yes, but for a student, that’s not going to be her priority, I think. Something more...” Sawa trailed off. 

“Something simpler than that, right? A way to remind her of the joys of schooling... Friends and hobbies. Addressing her social needs...” Ara sounded like he was thinking out loud. “She has wounds on her heart. Counselling sounds like the natural suggestion...” 

Everyone turned to look at Hakase-sensei, the new nurse. She hadn’t even been here that long. 

Murmurs went through the room. 

“Perhaps not.” Fujita said decisively, and nobody was interested in fighting it.

[sillykana-13]

Wait pookie I’m gonna edit again which girl should I edit Sawa into

Should I edit her into Kanon (blue haired girl) or Chisato (blonde hair girl)

chisato deffo!! are these bandori cards (i played it like once but don’t remember anyone’s names) and when your done i’ll edit ai into kanon eheheh /hj

[artifedexx]

Been a long time lurker and fan of your work, and like with other artists and creators I often fall behind on current events. I loved when you shared pictures of your dog; she seemed happy. You did everything you could to keep her comfortable and I think you gave her the best life she could’ve had. I hope you don’t think otherwise. Losing a pet is losing your family or soul. It’s a difficult transition, and nothing will be the same. She’s taken a part of you as you did. It is evident that she was well loved by you who put her above anything else. I don’t expect words from a stranger to bring comfort. All I want to say is I’m sorry for this terrible loss. It gets better and it also doesn’t. Please take care of yourself.

It took me a while to come back to this message, but I wanted to say thank you for the kind and honest words 💝💝 It's been a month and it's been pretty tough. But I'm doing what I can, and I have a whole table set up with her photos and paw print, the urn with her ashes... stuff like that, so I can look at them every day. Life is definitely not going to be the same after all those years I spent with her.

But you know, I decided to add a new mini character to my original story and I think a little tri-color dog named Sawa would be a nice addition. 🐾💕

Now I just have to learn how to draw dogs along with all the other animals I have to draw for this comic LMAO