#Messenger is not happy with that but is too attached to the child to argue otherwise

[ejsuperstar]

Psssssssst. Hi. I wish to know about ur au with the Injured Messenger I am extremely intrigued. Dead people hell yea

YAY! INTEREST ABOUT MY CHILDREN! This is a very long post cos I ramble a lot lmao

So my au starts with a bunch of sky kids falling down from the stars (presumably after eden) and a new moth joining them, one of the sky kids crashes into the moth, and knocks them wildly off course, causing them to crash into wasteland.

After crashing into wasteland with no idea what they're meant to be doing, the moth, who I like to refer to as "Local Baby", ends up wandering the outskirts of wasteland til they come across darkness. Before realising what it is, they're initially fascinated, finding it beautiful, until their sky kid instincts kick in and they realise "oh this stuff is probably bad". (This is another theme I want to explore in this au too, about how darkness can be beautiful, and how not everything to do with darkness is inherently evil, but that's just a want rn)

Thats when they realise something is under the darkness, they pull at the darkness with their hands (too baby to know how to use a candle yet) until the something is revealed, a dormant spirit (Messenger). Since they dont know how to use a candle (and quite frankly have no idea whats causing their new friend to be made of stone, only that "yay new friend :D") they attempt to wake them up, fail, and just kinda, lie down next to them and fall asleep.

Sky kids, unlike spirits, are a powerful source of light. Even without candle use, kinda sitting next to one for 8 hours is good enough to wake up a spirit. So Messenger wakes up. Initally confused about why they were face down in the dirt, they turn to see the Local Baby staring at them. At first they're like "A child??" before realising "A SKY KID????"

They question why (and how) the sky kid got there, until they realise what happened. This sky kid has just been born, has no clue what anything is, and most importantly, has no wing level.

This is where lore gets interesting for spirits and wing levels. Spirits can fly, but their method of getting wing levels is different than sky kids. A sky kid gains winged light by recollecting their memories, either of past lives they no longer identify with (like our moth here) or simply re-remembering memories they already know (like how our sky kids work). These memories show up in physical form to them as Winged Light, but spirits cant see them.

Spirits gain wing levels differently. Spirits gain wing levels via sky kids, specifically, sky kids who fall down from the stars not fully formed, or perish on the fall. Kind of like being stillborn, or not simply dying shortly after birth. Spirits can absorb the high concentrates of light these sky kids to gain a wing level (this act being referred to as catching stars), but this is very rare, especially in places that don't see as much light (ie wasteland and forest).

Messenger ends up freaking out and realising they still have stuff to deliver, and they cant dilly dally, until a sharp pain strikes them in their stomach and they fall to their knees, remembering "OH YEAH I GOT STABBED BY A SPEAR". Local Baby notices and goes up to them, touching them, and the pain seems to fade. They assume that, the sky kid healed them using the power of light (they didnt) and thank them. In reality this was just Local Baby viewing Messenger's memory, like in the actual game.

Since Messenger needs to deliver things to Vault anyway (a neutral zone from the war) they decide to take the baby along, so they can get somewhere safe where they wont have to worry that someone will take this baby and harvest them for their light.

After this my ideas for this au are a lot less set in stone. I have some general plot beats set out, Messenger and Local Baby walk for a few days until hitting an abandoned outpost, taking an old boat they find, and flying it over to the temple where they arrive from the left (a usually cloud blocked area in game). Messenger sees the aftermath, wound hurts again, Baby helps. They get into vault, some other sky kid accidentally reveals to Messenger that they're dead, they try not to cry. Baby gets their first WL maybe, stuff happens from there idk. They also probably got krilled at some point, well, almost krilled (Yay Messenger for saving their child!!)

As well as some other general lore, like Sky kids eating light as food (and also just fucking biting down into candles sometimes cos i think thats funny), Local Baby only remembering how to get their candle out after getting a WL (because WL are memories and they have no memories nor braincells). Messenger not eating at all because they're dead and not realising cos they're too distracted with the child and/or assuming the sky kid did this to them (things aren't really known about sky kids, so they just kinda go along with it). Sky kids needing to light each other to understand each other, but spirits being able to understand just fine. A lot of minor stuff really I guess.

I'm also currently in the middle of doing some art of them in wasteland because I love them!

[staytheb]

Moonlight Melody - chapter 1

Word Count: 1,363 next chapter

Moonlight Melody masterlist.

semi-proofread. anyways, the chapter is short and introduces Jessica as a Cupid Reaper happy reading and kthxbai, Admin Lia~

A young woman relaxed upon a sturdy swing attached to a large branch of a grand oak tree while staring off into the distance with the feel of the summer-like cool air settling around her. The sound of the sea's waves slowly flowing back and forth underneath a twinkling twilight starry sky despite a glowing moon accompanying alongside the peaceful view. Soon enough a summery-like melodious sound flow around which lulled her into deep thoughts. So lost in her thoughts and the tranquility of the scenery around her she fell asleep where she sat.

~~~~~~~~~

The young woman along with another just a few years younger awoke to unfamiliar surrounding. They were not in their home and their memories fuzzy and hazy. It felt like they were in some gray and airy space, but they weren't sure of it.

"Where are we, Jessica?" The youngest of the two asked while looking around them.

"This doesn't look like the resort we were supposed to stay at."

The youngest faced her older sister.

"Are we dead, sis?"

Jessica gazed about her with a shake of her head equally confused.

"I don't know, Krystal. I can't really remember anything. It's all so fuzzy."

"I can't remember anything either. I just remember only you and my chest aches badly for some reason."

Krystal looked at her older sister with confusion before gazing at the now changed scenery of a green meadow below her and the bright yellow-blue sky filled with wispy clouds above her. Everything seemed endless and it was just the two of them in this too quiet of a place. The pair also noticed their outfits of a plain silver knee-length long sleeve gown. Nothing made sense. Jessica noticed the fear settling in her sister's face and tried to reassured Krystal.

"Don't worry, Krys. Everything will be just fine."

"I don't feel fine, Jess. I can't help but worry." Krystal admitted as tears began to form.

Something tugged in Jessica's chest and she didn't know how to comfort her sister without her own worries creeping upon her. She realized that fear had slowly crept upon her, too. Still she tried to keep on a brave facade to ease her own sister's fear of whatever was happening just now. Soon enough the sisters heard several sounds going on at once along with the weather changing. A strong breeze began to blow around them and the sky suddenly grew darker than before with a full moon shining down upon them. The sounds of bells began ringing, sirens wailing off in the distance, and the pair had no idea what was going on.

"Don't worry, little sis. It'll all just be fine," Jessica reassured her sister despite sudden tears slowly cascading down her cheeks, "Okay?"

"Okay, Jess," Krystal responded as tears also cascaded down her cheeks, "It'll all be fine."

Jessica smiled weakly having suddenly felt an impending moment was about to creep upon her. Just as she had reached out to hold her sister's hand the winds grew stronger.

"Krystal!" Jessica exclaimed in panicked as she clutched her sister's hand tightly.

Just as Krystal was about to do the same thing a swirling dark hole in the sky suddenly opened up and sucked Jessica into it leaving Krystal to desperately cry out for her older sister knowing that she'll never get an answer back.

"Jessica! Jess! Jessica?!"

Krystal yelled up to the now quiet and empty sky with arms outstretched.

"Jessica!"

A moment later Krystal instantly grew dizzy and her vision blurred. She crashed onto the now flower-filled meadow that began to bloom around her. Her eyes caught sight of a forget-me-not before losing herself to sleep.

"Be at peace. The time will come when your sister has paid her dues for the both of you."

An old man suddenly appeared named Yue Lao spoke into the air as he motioned with his left arm around within the air.

"Rest now, my child."

Krsytal's body re-positioned itself to lie upon her back instead and her previous clothes transformed into an elegant yet simple dress of shades of blue while being enclosed inside a glass-like box with more forget-me-nots growing alongside it.

"For now, you'll enjoy Eternal Twilight in a different form until then."

Yue Lao sadly cast a smile upon the slumbering Krystal before motioning with his right hand and the glass-filled box with Krystal inside disappeared into another hole that opened within the sky just like how Jessica had disappeared before her.

~~~~~~~~~

Jessica jerked awake to the same picturesque view before falling asleep some time before. She sighed at the reality of it all as she slowly breathed in and out the stuffy-like air while wishing it had all been a dream. It's been less than five years since the incident and Jessica still wonders how she and her sister's fate became the way it did. Lost in her thoughts once again she was unaware of the two feline visitors fluttering around her.

"Sica."

A male black cat with bat wings and sharp canines named Eclare called out to her. No response.

"Yo, Sica."

The other feline, a male white cat with feather wings and a halo above it's head named Blanc, also called out to her. Again, no response.

"Hmm, maybe the summer heat got to her?" Eclare stated with a tilt of his head as Blanc rolled his eyes.

"The Eternal Twilight doesn't get like that, but because she's still mortal, it could happen due to her mortal desires."

"What should we do?"

"I could slap her in the face."

"You're too mean."

"I never said I was nice."

"That halo really doesn't fit you."

"Shut up.

Blanc tried again while waving a hand in front of Jessica's face which caught her attention.

"Hello? Anyone home? Ms. Cupid Reaper. Hello!"

"Hmm? Oh. Hi, Blanc. Hi, Eclare. What's up?"

"Nothing, but what's up with you? You've been spacey lately?"

"Yeah, Blanc's right. You've been spacey."

Eclare inputted with a concerned face as Jessica brushed them off.

"It's nothing. So, why are y'all here? Shouldn't you be at the Cupid or Reaper Station right now?"

"Nope. Free time. Let's go get strawberry gelato. They have their summer special going on! Double Strawberry and Strawberry Parfait!"

Eclare suggested with a grin while pointing a paw at Blanc.

"He's been waiting for you to treat him to peach gelato."

"No, I wasn't."

"Yeah, you were."

"Was not."

"Was to."

The felines continued to argue and Jessica smiled at their interaction before intervening so that it wouldn't get too out of hand while suggesting they return to the Earth Realm for gelato. This proved to calm the cats as they were now eager to dig into the sweet treat and were peaceful for the time being. Jessica smiled once again at the two's interaction as doing something seemingly like this made her life a little more normal than other days as taking care of her supernatural duties were exhausting at times. Since that fateful day nearly five years ago Jessica became a human slash supernatural being of sorts. She was a Cupid that was a Messenger of Love and a Grim Reaper that was a Caller of Soul while also living her life as a regular human being.

Jessica couldn't exactly recall how she had become one, but learned that she was the only one of her type in both worlds from the creatures of the otherworldly. They gave her the title of Cupid Reaper and was honestly the name they ever knew her as. If not, then she was either called Cupid J or Reaper J, respectively. Honestly at first it had freaked Jessica out greatly and she just wanted to go back to what she knew before being a supernatural being, but no matter what it was her reality. After a few practices of handling all three parts of this new lifestyle she came to realize that it was something she had to do to fulfill the dues of herself and for her sister.  It was tough, but she managed thus far and had to roll with it as it was her new life she couldn't escape from.

[four-loose-screws]

FE4 Suzuki Novelization Translation - Chapter 8 Part 2

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations - Ko-fi

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Chapter 8 - The Birth of the Second Generation

Part 2

With the welcoming of spring came signs of unrest from Lewyn’s uncles.

When Lewyn left Silesse, it had immediately brought the confrontation between Dakkar and Maios over the crown to a stalemate. Now, Lewyn’s return caused them to become enemies again just as quickly.

Crusader Ced’s Holy Mark had already appeared on Lewyn, so they no longer had good reason to argue against his ascension to the throne. However, both Dakkar and Maios had long since convinced themselves that the crown was theirs, and wanted it as if it was a treat dangling before their eyes.

Silesse’s landscape was divided in two sections, the north and the south, by a rugged central mountain range. Maios had already claimed the north, and Dakkar the south, and agreed that they were each the king of their respective region. Their plan was to have Maios take control of Lewyn’s Sailane Castle, and Dakkar take control of Queen Rahna’s Silesse Castle, though both of them were truly plotting to take out the survivor, and conquer all of Silesse.

Queen Rahna wrote a letter to the King of Grannvale expressing her wish to see Sigurd’s honor restored, attached a letter from Claud to it, and sent it to Balhalla.

However, the return letter demanded that she hand over the traitors immediately.

Queen Rahna and Claud’s letters had clearly been intercepted by Reptor.

Not only that, but Reptor had a secret agreement with Dakkar to send reinforcements to aid in the attack on Silesse. He also secretly sent a messenger to Maios, offering ten thousand gold coins for Sigurd’s head.

But while all of these events were happening in the background, there was still time before the conflict would take form.

-

Peace continued in Silesse through to the end of its short summer.

During that time, Sailane Castle experienced a baby boom.

First, Ayra gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The elder twin, the boy, was named Ulster, after a hero of Dozel; and the girl was named Larcei, after the lover of a hero from an Isaachian folk tale.

Next, Aideen had a boy. He was named Lester, after the founding king of Verdane.

Lachesis also gave birth to a boy. He was the spitting image of his mother, and was named Diarmuid, after her grandfather.

Brigid also gave birth to a boy that looked just like her. Aideen was the one to suggest his name, Faval, after one of the past successors to Yewfelle.

Tailtiu was the last to give birth, and the child was yet another boy. He had the same silver-blond hair as his mother, but otherwise looked just like his father. He was named Arthur, after a king from a Grannvalian folk tale.

The summer winds from the southwest died down, and on the day that the cold winds from the northwest began to blow, Queen Rahna rode with Mahnya as her guard to Sailane Castle.

It had become normal for her to visit at least once a month, and talk to Sigurd.

They conversed freely about whatever came to mind, from negotiations with Grannvale, to news from all across Jugdral, to life at Sailene.

While there were times where they only talked about current events, Sigurd came to look forward to her visits. He’d lost his mother when he was a child, and Rahna’s kindness and warmth reminded him of her.

But on that day, after explaining that negotiations with Grannvale had still not progressed, Rahna warned Sigurd to be wary of Duke Maios’ movements at Torve Castle.

“Maios has always wanted this castle. According to the information I just received, he’s already well prepared for battle. He may attack at any time, so please be careful. If you do end up fighting, I am supposed to deploy reinforcements, but… Duke Dakkar of Zaxon is targeting Silesse, so I must bolster my own defenses.”

“Please do not worry, Queen Rahna. I will defeat the Torvian Army with my own forces.”

“You’re right. You are already a hero who will go down in history, after all. Oh, and by the way, some good news has come out of Grannvale.”

“Really? There’s some good news?”

“Yes. Prince Kurt actually had a daughter. She’s been found, and all the country is overjoyed about it.”

“What? ...Is that true?”

“When she was brought before King Azmur, he knew she was his granddaughter the moment he laid eyes on her. And when she revealed that she had Naga’s mark, there was no disputing that she is a direct descendant of the Balhallian royal family.”

“Wow… That is good news. It means that the royal bloodline continues on after all!”

“And she’s in love with Duke Arvis! The people are saying that he will become the king, and there will be a huge wedding for them soon!”

“She’s marrying Duke Arvis?”

“Those who have met her say she’s a very beautiful princess, and a perfect match for him. ...They must be so happy.”

Her final words made Sigurd wince.

“Oh, I apologize, Sigurd. ...I made you remember your wife, didn’t I?”

“You don’t have to be sorry. ...It’s already been over a year since my wife… Deirdre… disappeared. I have no idea where she is, but we love each other with all our hearts. Wherever she is, that is the one thing I know hasn’t changed.”

“You will find, her Prince Sigurd. I’m sure of it…”

“Yes, I believe so too. I will reunite with her. I know it.”

Just then, Lewyn poked his head into the room. Sigurd took the hint, said he had cleaning duty soon, then left the room.

“Then I should start heading home. It’s already pretty late.”

“You can’t go just yet, Mother! You spent hours talking to Prince Sigurd, so you can’t ignore your real son!”

“My son abandoned me and went far away three years ago. I don’t know who you are.”

“Ha ha ha, I deserve that. Are you still mad, Mother? I’ve already apologized many times…”

“Of course I am! You have no idea how much I worried about you! No son of mine would ever be that thoughtless!”

“If you are still angry, then I will apologize again. But I’ve come home for good, so please forgive me. I’ll fulfill all my duties to you as your son. I’ll get married and give you grandchildren. I’ll even massage your shoulders right now!”

“Don’t treat me like an old lady! I have a lot to discuss with you. Come to Silesse some time soon. And don’t forget!”

“So you’re going to take me away from my castle again? Oh well…”

“Only if you’re willing to listen to me.” Rahna said, then stood up and left.

When Lewyn tried to see her off, Mahnya came up to him, and whispered, “Prince Lewyn, Queen Rahna may speak like that to you, but she’s actually very happy. She has so much more energy now that she knows you’re safe.”

“I know. It runs in the family. None of us will show how happy we are if it means giving in to someone. ...Anyway, Mahnya, I want to thank you. Please continue to take care of her. Or at the very least, make fools out of these uncles of mine.”

“Yes. As the leader of her pegasus knights, I will guard her with my life. Please stay safe, Prince Lewyn.”

“I will. Oh, but I want Erinys stay here, if that’s okay with you.”

“My sister…? If that is what you’d like, then please be sure to keep her by your side. She…”

“You don’t have to say it. I understand.”

Mahnya stared at Lewyn in shock.

When she saw the look in his eyes, she felt both reassured and lonely at the same time. “Prince Lewyn… Please take care of her.” Mahnya said, then jogged to catch up with Rahna.

‘Whoops, I finally crossed that bridge.’ Lewyn thought. ‘I didn’t mean to say something like that to Mahnya. But I do have a tendency to just blurt things out…’

He climbed atop the castle wall, and watched the two women fly back towards Silesse.

Once they were no more than specks in the sky, he noticed Erinys flying back in from the south, having just finished her reconnaissance duty.

‘She works every day, from morning until night…’ He thought, and suddenly felt his heart well up with love for her. ‘When she comes home, I’ll confess to her. Her sister already knows everything, so I have no reason to keep holding things off any more.’

But now, he had to figure out just what to say.

‘“Marry me” is too plain. “I want you” sounds like something Sigurd would say, and “Let’s be together” sounds too vague. “I can’t live without you” is a bard cliché.  “Rule Silesse with me” is way too grandiose. ...Simple really is best, isn’t it? But which is better? “Marry me?” or “Let’s get married?”’

Erinys landed her pegasus next to him.

He smiled slightly and started to walk over towards her.

She dismounted her pegasus and blurted, “Prince Lewyn, we’re in trouble!”

“What’s wrong?!”

“The Torvian Army’s wind mage unit is moving towards the border!”

“Then I’ll alert Sigurd straight away.”

“Understood!” She rushed towards the stairs.

“I love you, Erinys.” He whispered, but she was already too far away to hear him.

[ryukyuan-sunflower]

Sara: A Grieving Mother is a Huge Piece in the Fuugen Puzzle

I was recently asked by an anonymous messenger about the relationship between Mugen and Sara. Not knowing if Mugen had feelings for Sara or not, it made them question Fuugen. Time to clear up some doubts.

Links to specific scenes are underlined.

Mugen and Sara have a very interesting character dynamic. But do I consider it romantic? Not at all. (Someone is bound to disagree with me). But whether you decide to believe in Fuugen or not, it is very clear that each scene with Sara, we get scenes between Fuu and Mugen. Sara’s episodes have them spend so much time alone together.

Firstly, Mugen flirts with every woman he finds attractive. Which would total to being around 6 in the series total (not counting manga, cause boy, there’s more). Hotaru, Budoukiba, the two girls he stole food from, Yatsuha and also Sara. So, it is not as if Sara is the only woman he finds attractive or has flirted with. In fact, Fuu would be the unique character in that, he comments on her appearance and then puts it down. Anyone who argues “She’s like a sister figure to him”, will then be thrown off by the fact Mugen asked to see her boobs...comments on her no sex appeal multiple times, remarks that she was probably raped and dumped etc etc. Not things you should ever say to someone you’d consider your sister figure.

Fuu changed Mugen. Fuu makes Mugen care. Mugen made sacrifices for Fuu. Mugen never hurt Fuu, and always came back to save her/help her find her father despite his repeated “attempts” to leave.

I do not see Sara representing a romantic figure to Mugen at all. As YouTuber Final Rantasy pointed out in the video Fuu’s empathy: how a friendship changed killers into warriors, he explains how Fuu’s empathy rekindled Sara’s humanity and allowed her to see a mirror of her lost son in Mugen, thus causing her to spare Mugen’s life, not once, but twice. Link to this part of the video is here.

Sara represents a maternal figure for Mugen. Now, let’s get into it.

Unlike Fuu, Sara is not a character who changed Mugen for the better, or made him see differently on anything. She is not a catalyst for Mugen’s character growth, besides for his first time feeling pity over killing someone. BUT, that doesn’t mean she is not important. She is SUPER important for us viewers.

Sara reveals what kind of person Mugen was already. Before Fuu and Jin.

Because of their dialogue, and also the storyline of episodes 13 and 14, we find out that Mugen is not just this cocky, arrogant, womanizing asshole. He knows of sorrow and suffering due to his upbringing, the betrayals, and stigma attached to his criminal past. Not only that, but we see he believes that no one has ever loved him. Mugen may actually be lonely.

The first convo we see this, is where Mugen sneaks into the hot spring with Sara.

“I have walked in darkness for a long time. But people can grow accustomed to anything. Even if you can’t see, you become able to sense other things. I don’t want you to feel sorry for me.”

“That’s a load of bullshit. Nobody who’s happy could sing that song of yours.”

This reveals that Mugen must feel something from her music; something sorrowful. And to feel sorrow, one must understand it.

After a brief, comical moment of Fuu and Mugen seeing each other naked...and Mugen also saying he didn’t make a move on Sara…(BY STANDING UP TO SHOW FUU HIS PENIS WAS NOT ERECT. LMAO THIS KILLS ME), Mugen then leaves and Fuu talks with Sara.

Sara asks Fuu what Mugen looks like. She has an image of him in her head. Fuu’s response is pretty hilarious. She goes on a whole tangent about how unattractive he is, and how she shouldn’t go with a guy like that.

Sara’s response is ambiguous.

“What?” she says, with an almost eerie seriousness. This “what” is so. Damn. Important.

This can mean two things:

1. She is confused why Fuu goes on a tangent. Like saying “Huh?” Fuu misinterpreted Sara’s reason for wondering what Mugen looked like, as her being interested in Mugen romantically. This clearly isn’t the case. Why would she want to know what Mugen looks like, if her end game is to kill them all? Because she never got to SEE her own son grow up.

2. OR, she is asking why Fuu has the need to go on a tangent. It is clear that Fuu is embarrassed after spouting all these bad things about Mugen almost defensively. If this was the reason why, this connects into three later scenes that she shares with Fuu. The first is when the two are going to sleep. She tells Fuu “One thing I cannot read are people’s feelings.” Then she asks “Which is the one you don’t want to leave?” Fuu gets embarrassed and hides under the blankets (We see Fuu picks Mugen to stay later). The second scene is when she asks Fuu if she really wants to continue the journey to the end. The third...is when Sara goes to kill Mugen...and stops because Fuu begs for his life. She realizes in these three scenes...why Fuu goes on that tangent…

Fuu does not answer Sara’s “what” and just mumbles, and hides her mouth in the water, blowing bubbles. Fuu later stomps to Mugen’s room, opens the doors, and with a blush on her face, apologizes to Mugen. This confuses him.

Fuu apologized for two potential reasons.

1. She is sorry for calling Mugen ugly. Because he is not.

2. She is sorry for assuming Mugen made a move on Sara, when he did not.

Hmm….

As for Fuu and Sara’s conversations, there is a moment where Fuu asks Sara if she has a son or a daughter. Sara had a son. Had she had a daughter, she would most likely have more connection to Fuu, especially since Fuu was separated from her father and also was raised by her mother until she passed away. Instead, they chose to write Sara being separated from her son, to have more a connection to Mugen.

Now then, more on Mugen and Sara’s convos:

“I wonder if my son would like this.”

“Beats me. As far back as I can remember, I never had any parents. I wouldn’t know.”

Mugen and Sara have deep conversations, yes. But they are never happy or lighthearted ones. Every meaningful conversation the two ever have is pertaining to the same concepts: sadness, his parents, and her child. Or all in one.

“You and I may be a lot alike. I never knew the meaning of the word happiness. The closest I came was when my son was born.” This reveals something about Sara, along with her other line: “It’s as if you have never once been loved. It’s as if you are like me.”

Sara was not loved by the father of her child. Sara had never known happiness, even when she met the father of her child. Sara is implied to have been raped.

In fact, I am positive that this is the case.

According to the Roman Album of Samurai Champloo, the episodes about Sara the goze are inspired by Zatoichi, the infamous blind swordsman of Japanese filmography. Well, after Samurai Champloo, a movie was made in 2008 called Ichi, telling the story of a blind woman taken in and raised BY Zatoichi. Guess what. She was a goze musician. Also, guess what. She was a trained assassin.

Icing on the cake? Ichi was raped, and was kicked out of her goze household as a result. Goze must never marry and remain celibate if they continue performing for charity. The reason behind this, if they have lovers or husbands, they must be getting financial support and no longer needed charity. Of course, women throughout history were obviously raped but that was no excuse.

Remember when Fuu asked where the father was? Sara’s only response was  “The father is no longer around.” And she smiles.

In Ichi, her rapist tries to attack her again, and she ends up killing him with a hidden blade HIDDEN IN HER CANE. YES. CANE.

Ichi had to be inspired by Sara. This then goes back to the idea, that Sara’s son was a result of rape.

Now as for a more personal fan theory about this: Mugen may also be the result of rape. Mugen was born on a penal colony in the Ryukyuan Islands, and as far back as he can remember, he had no parents. Neither a mother or a father. According to Koza, this place was a living hell. If the people on the island were Japanese criminals exiled there, aside from the native Ryukyuans...and Mugen was born there, it is a high possibility Mugen’s mother was raped by a criminal.

Rape seems to be a theme in episode 13 and 14. Mukuro killed Koza’s mother for unknown reasons. And despite the claim that he is her “brother”, Fuu points out they look nothing alike. There is also a clearly sexual scene where Mukuro rubs his thumb along Koza’s lips as she stares in fear. She also tells Fuu she “wishes her brother were dead”. Then, Mukuro sells Koza off to Shige to be raped in exchange for the help to raid the gold from the ship. He did not know that Koza actually wanted to be with Shige and betrayed him. So yes, rape must have been a part of Ryukyuan life if it was so clearly tied to Koza.

If this is the case of Mugen’s mother, then that shows yet another sign of Sara being a parallel.

But regardless of rape theory, Mugen was separated from his mother for some reason or another just as Sara was separated from her child.

Fuu picks Jin to leave with Sara so she may see her son. Watch this scene here.

“Why him and not me?!” Mugen yells.

“It’d be too dangerous being alone with a guy like you.”

Um. Fuu. Fuu honey. You will be alone with him then...

“And she’s safe with this bozo?!”

“Jin would never do something like that!”

Notice his shock at that declaration, and then how he closes his mouth, and shuts up as she speaks. Mugen seems upset that she supposedly sees him as a bad guy taking advantage of Sara, rather than Jin. He makes no further argument about leaving with Sara.

We know Fuu is lying. She doesn’t send keep Mugen due to him being a pervert. Earlier, Sara asked who she didn’t want to leave. And Fuu broke down in tears about it, and ran away. Obviously, she cares about both Jin and Mugen, but she inevitably chooses Jin to go, using Mugen’s pervertedness as an excuse. She didn't want Jin to leave either, but the moment she cries over his departure is more comical in nature.

Notice how Mugen parts ways with Jin and Sara. Parts. Ways.

See, Jin is suspicious of Sara and that’s why he left so willingly. Mugen and Fuu were not. Mugen had no idea if he’d see Jin again. The fact that he was WILLING to leave not only Sara, but JIN, to help Fuu find the sunflower samurai speaks volumes of his relationship with Fuu.

So if you think he had feelings for Sara, or if you think Sara interferes with the fuugen ship...please remember this detail. Mugen obeyed Fuu, and was willing to say goodbye to Jin and Sara to travel all the way passed Nagasaki with Fuu alone. And when Fuu cries over Jin, he gets annoyed, stomps away and continues ahead of her. So he is serious about fulfilling his duty.

When Mugen and Fuu take Sara back to the shack for recovery, something is off about Mugen. He stays a far distance from Sara, and then runs off to find Jin, despite Fuu’s worried protest. Honestly, this is a really cute moment of Mugen; how he obviously cares a lot about Jin’s safety and searches until sunset for his body (excuse is, he wants to be the one to kill him). Instead, he finds Sara’s weapons...and figures it all out.

At the first moment of him realizing Sara “killed” Jin, he had no hesitancy in going to kill her. I am sure he felt betrayed when he kicked the firewood, but I think that Mugen was far angrier that Jin was “dead”. These two are best frenemies. Mugen going to avenge Jin is also a mirror of Jin going to avenge Mugen by killing Mukuro in episode 14. Later on, even after Jin is alive, he is still willing to fight her again to protect himself, as well as Fuu and Jin.

Imo, the craziest moment in the story was when Fuu saw them fighting. Sara’s wording summed up everything.

Sara almost kills Mugen, and then says this line: “I can see without seeing. Powerful rage swirls within you. I cannot tell whether or not it is sadness. It is as if you have never once been loved… It’s as if, you are like me.”

But then Fuu jumps on top of him after he collapses, throwing her life in the way to prevent Sara from killing him. Sara actually gasps here, eyes widening. She is surprised. She was wrong. Mugen’s face in this scene also looks surprised. He too did not expect anyone to care about him that much, that they would throw their life in the way. Mugen does have someone who loves him. It can’t be more blatant than that. Sara. Just. Said. Love. And then Fuu did that.

For that reason, Sara turns away, even though her orders were very clear to kill them all. And she does end up coming back to fight Mugen again. Why she stopped here is very obvious, then. She couldn’t bring herself to kill Fuu or Mugen here, after such a huge act of sacrifice.

Reminder: Fuu never did anything like this for Jin.

When Sara takes pity on him, and leaves, Mugen is still angry despite his condition and still wants to fight her.

After this, we get to see Fuu apply a salve to Mugen’s face. Then another scene where she tries to talk him out of fighting her.

Later, when Mugen goes to kill Sara...Fuu wakes up, looking for Mugen and says his name.

Was Mugen bothered by Sara’s death? Yes. It is the only person that we see Mugen regrets killing. They were different though. Mugen loved battle. Sara saw only sorrow from it. Him being pissed off about her death, was not the fact that she died. It was the manner of how she died. Mugen had every intention to kill her, or die trying. He even seemed excited about it, just as he was excited to fight Jin.

The fact that she held back...and also...her reasoning for wanting to kill him was never for the joy of fighting. It was solely for her son, which in the end, was a futile effort.

His eyes in this scene are extremely soft when she mentions her son. Mugen empathized with her, and also pitied her. And that shows a lot about Mugen. She says that no one can escape the government no matter how far they may run. Even him, Fuu and Jin are still wanted.

Sara’s last words to Mugen relate to him being like a son she was never allowed to have.

“I figured it out today...my son died a long time ago. I was just being used.”

“Then why…?”

“I can’t fight them. They’re the government.”

“I want you to live, Mugen.”

Mugen must live on. By holding back, and allowing him to kill her, Sara, in her own way, saved Mugen’s life. She was unable to save her son, and this was the only way she was able to redeem herself.

Sara had conversations with Mugen about her child. And Sara had conversations with Fuu about Mugen. “I can’t sense people’s feelings.”  “Which one don’t you want to leave?”

These episode featured lots and lots of scenes of Mugen and Fuu together. Jin barely interacted with them and had less screentime, most of which was separated from them; fighting Sara, and being trained to fish by Jonny.

This episode was about Mugen’s past way of life, and Fuu’s feelings for Mugen saving him from a life of sorrow.

Sara let Mugen live, solely because she saw that he deserved to live in place of her own miserable existence. A life worth living. Mugen was not like her anymore. He found happiness. He found people who care about him. He found someone willing to die for him.

One last thing: The repeated symbolism of a pinwheel is used throughout Sara’s episodes.

From what I can gather, a pinwheel seems to represent childhood innocence. Numerous anime use it this way: The Hakkenden has an image of a pinwheel torn apart when the virgin princess is forced to marry a dog, to fulfill the bargain of whoever killed her father’s enemy. (This sounds awful, but anime explains it). Cowboy Bebop has Ed find a pinwheel in her orphanage, and then she hands it to Spike. Cowboy Bebop’s director is the same as Samurai Champloo too so it clearly has the same symbolism.

First, Fuu sees one when a child is being carried on a woman’s back… Later, at the festival, the assassin is selling pinwheels. Lastly, when Sara realizes her son is dead, a pinwheel flies off into the wind.

There is one other appearance of a pinwheel in Samurai Champloo. In episode one, Mugen flicks a pinwheel outside of Fuu’s restaurant, right before he meets her for the first time.

The colors are very similar too.

Coincidence? I think not.

While the pinwheel flick could have been a simple start of a journey, it was also Mugen meeting the most innocent woman in his life. One who did not betray him, and showed him more empathy than anyone else.

And the same color pinwheel in episode 20, may symbolize Mugen is the son figure for Sara, after losing her own.

Perhaps this will help you see a new outlook of Mugen’s relationship to Sara.

[mystic-messenger-writing]

rfa boys + v + saeran with MC as brand new parents. Like, we're talking baby time with middle of the night feedings and diaper changes, and crying and not sleeping and the exhaustion that comes with being a new parents, but also a cute moment here and there as well.

Awww anonny you’re hitting me with the feels! I could write tons of pages about the Mystic Messenger characters being parents so these turned out to be longer and fluffy! I based the children’s sex on my last post about these peeps being parents and I also added Jaehee just because I didn’t want her to be left out so hopefully that’s okay! I kind of want to give the children names and personalities now because I’ve become so attached to this idea thanks to you and the other anon’s parent request! I absolutely loved writing this request so I really hope that you enjoy!! :)

Yoosung

Yoosung is surprisingly really helpful when it comes to dealing with your newborn son

He understands how exhausted you are from the day and usually takes the night shifts when taking care of your son

Yoosung already stays up late to play LOLOL and has even started to set up a schedule as to when to check on his son while also killing some monsters

The times whenever Yoosung is actually asleep and hears your son crying, he always gets right out of bed to care for him

Your son sometimes has problems properly latching onto the bottle when it’s feeding time so Yoosung gives him little encouragements to help him

“Come on little guy, you have to drink your milk! How else will you grow big and strong enough to help daddy slay the monsters in LOLOL? Hey, that’s it! You’re doing it! I’m so proud of my little man!”

There have been nights where Yoosung is just exhausted from work and just wants to sleep but when he hears his son’s crying, he’ll attend to him no matter what the problem is… unless it’s diaper changing then he may call you for some assistance

One of Yoosung’s favorite things in the world is showing your son picture books of animals and seeing his reaction to each one, slowly but surely teaching his son the wonders of being a Vet

Yoosung is honestly Super Dad and is extremely attentive to his son’s needs because he’d do absolutely anything for his son

Zen

Zen definitely tried his best whenever it came to dealing with your son at night, he just wasn’t always the best

He’d come home tired from rehearsals and as the two of you were about to fall asleep, your son would start crying

With a deep sigh, Zen would roll out of bed and tend to his son’s needs

Your son was like his father for more than just his looks, he was extremely vocal like Zen

Zen would wince sometimes at just how loud his son would cry but he found that his own voice would usually soothe the little one

“Listen son, I’m really proud of you for working on that singing voice so early on in life but mommy and I are tired. How about you listen to your old man sing a little bit and then you go back to sleep alright?”

When it came to night feeding and diaper changing, Zen would typically have to turn to you for help because he would usually make the bottle too warm and could not change a diaper to save his life

But when your son wasn’t crying his little lungs out, one of Zen’s favorite things is to put his son on his bare chest, taking ahold of his son’s tiny arms and moving them in random patterns and singing to him while lightly kissing his forehead

Zen definitely has room to improve with his parenting, something he understands and accepts, but one thing that he’s mastered is to always love and care for his son

Jaehee

Jaehee already has experience taking care of the other RFA members, who’re basically kids, so she ends up being a super great mom

She sees how exhausted you are so Jaehee’s more than willing to take care of her daughter at nighttime

Your daughter isn’t a very loud crier but Jaehee can always tells when she’s in distress

Jaehee’s a pro at diaper changing and heating up the bottles since she had lots of experience with heating up her coffee

But there are times when both you and Jaehee are tired but your daughter is crying her little heart out but of course Jaehee will attend to her, she just may be a little bit cranky in the morning

When your daughter refuses to fall back asleep, Jaehee likes to read her stories from a fairytale book, even acting out all of the parts which earns a few giggles from her tiny daughter

“This is what I want you to learn my daughter, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do anything. You’re going to grow up to be such a strong and beautiful girl and me and your mother want you to be happy. We’ll make sure to always encourage you to follow your dreams.”

You notice your daughter starting to fall asleep only when she’s cradled in Jaehee’s arms, making Jaehee give you a shy smile

Jaehee is an amazing mom, no one would argue that, and her daughter grows up knowing just how much her two mothers love her

Jumin

Jumin wanted nothing more than for his daughter to grow up in a healthy, loving environment

To do this, Jumin wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, so since he worked during the day he usually would spend all night with her

But when your daughter would cry, Jumin would panic never knowing what she needed

Jumin was terrible at changing diapers, he could ever get the bottle temperature right, and it seemed like every time he’d try to pick his daughter up, her cries would turn into wailing

He was about to give up hope of being a good dad but you kept encouraging Jumin, telling him to just keep spending more time with his daughter then she’d start warming up to him

One night when you and Jumin were sleeping, the two of you heard your daughter crying yet again and just as Jumin was about to call a nanny, you convinced him to go to her

He was reluctant but did so, carefully picking up his daughter to try and get her to calm down

When her crying turned louder, not that Jumin was surprised, he tried something new and started to rock his daughter back and forth while singing a lullaby in his deep voice

“Do like my singing my little girl? Hmm your mother says the same thing but I don’t think it’s that great. But I’m glad that you like it, I’ll sing anything for you my precious girl.”

His daughter eventually fell asleep in his arms, making Jumin almost cry on the spot as he cuddled her closer in his arms

Jumin may not be the most experienced dad, but after that moment he knew that he would give his daughter all of the love he could because, besides you, she was his favorite person in the world

Seven

Seven would always joke around about being the best dad ever but he honestly was starting to become one

His sleep schedule is the worst so he’d always be ready to go to your son when he started crying

By some miracle, your son didn’t become a crying mess all that often, making both you and Seven extremely relieved

It took Seven a while to get the hang of changing diapers and getting the bottle ready, let’s just say there were lots of times when you had to help clean up the mess Seven made

But Seven would always let you sleep when your son cried at night because he cherished his time with his little boy

When the little Choi was being extra fussy and wouldn’t stop crying, Seven would lift him up and spin around in slow circles, telling his tiny son crazy made up stories

The smile his son would show made Seven’s heart melt, he finally had a family to call his own

“You know little guy, I never knew what it was like to have loving parents. But you’re never going to feel that way because me and your mom are going to love you for forever! And maybe someday if you’re extra good, I’ll take you to space with me!”

Your son always seemed to calm down whenever Seven was with him, realizing that your husband made a father-son bond that would never be broken

Seven would always spend as much time as possible with you and his son, making sure that his son would grow up in a family that was filled with lots of love

V

V already had a feeling that life was going to get a bit… messier when your twins had come into this world

He always had an immense amount of guilt for not getting the eye surgery sooner so that he could see his children

So V figured that taking care of your fussy twins at night would at least start to show how sorry he was

The twins weren’t easy to deal with, your son would try and crawl out of the crib and slobber on anything he could get his hands on while your daughter was a crying machine and would flail around whenever anyone would try and pick her up

V definitely had his work cut out for him

He was a terrible diaper changer and he usually ended up dropping the bottles of milk on the floor before even heating them up since it was still dark outside, not helping with his poor vision

But as time went on, V started getting more and more confident as well as helpful with his twins

He loved having them sit on his lap while he watched their eyes widen in wonder as V showed them his scrapbooks of photos

Granted, he had to be careful of his son’s drool and his daughter’s tears when handling the photos

“You two sure seem to like this photo a lot and I’m not surprised. Uncle Jumin took this one of mommy and me in the garden. I really love this photo, even though it’s pretty blurry, we still need to teach Uncle Jumin how to take photos when you two get older. I’ll have him take a photo of all four of us together when you both are bigger okay?”

Now every time V’s with the twins, they immediately start to crawl onto his lap waiting for a new scrapbook to be presented to them

V had become an amazing father to his twins, not that it surprised you, and when they did get old enough, V received the eye surgery to finally fully see his beautiful family

Unknown

Saeran was absolutely terrified about being a father and having a child to look after

In fact, Saeran was practically afraid of his son, he saw his own vulnerable self within his son, making Saeran think of his own awful childhood and wanting nothing to do with the little boy

You would usually end up taking care of your son day and night since Saeran would get flashbacks of his childhood and nearly had a panic attack once

But one night when you were feeling extremely sick and resting, Saeran heard his son crying from the room next door

Saeran cautiously went to his son’s room and yet again, panicked when seeing his son crying, reminding him of himself

But then his son looked Saeran right in the eyes, making Saeran freeze but realize that his son needed him and that nothing else mattered

He gently picked up his little boy and sat down on a rocking chair, softly shushing him and wiping his tears away

“I’m so sorry for not taking care of you and properly loving you. But you helped me realize something, you’re my son and nobody’s going to take you away from me. I promise to protect you and love you for forever so don’t be sad anymore okay?“

From that night on, Saeran became a super dad and wouldn’t let his son out of his sight, soon becoming a diaper changing and bottle making expert

His favorite thing to do with his son is to go sit outside and stare at the clouds, with Saeran usually chuckling when his son would get excited and point at the sky

Saeran soon became an amazing father and husband, he would always make it a point to tell both you and his son how much he loved and cherished you two