#being kuroe is suffering

[homuraakumaakemi]

Personal reasons both on and offline have led me to be less active. However, someone’s analysis on Kuroe (please don’t find/go after them) reminds me of what they had said when the anime’s ending was new and fresh. Most people, myself included, were rather bitter, you see, so we didn’t want to see people just…act in a way that we felt was callous and cold to her. I in particular got super attached to Kuroe. This girl is a lot like Homura, and also a lot like me. However, to call her just Iroha’s Homura is reductive and doesn’t do her justice. Kuroe is her own character with her own wants and desires. Even if some of us thought she was (the first) Kuro, or then Homura’s long-lost sister before canon said otherwise, the point is we love HER. We want HER to be happy. Rest under the Read More. Content warnings for discussions of death and suicide, as well as spoilers for the last four episodes of the anime of Magia Record:

Some people think Kuroe becoming a Witch in her despair was thematically appropriate. That the theme in Anireco is moving on from the past so you can look towards the future. That the way Kuroe became a Witch fits in perfectly with the franchise.

I disagree. I was bitter then, and I’m still bitter now.

I feel Kuroe should NOT have become a Witch, especially in the way she did. Yes, lots of Magical Girls become Witches when their feelings of hopelessness and despair reach a fever pitch, but Kuroe’s case felt especially cruel. It pretty much is framed like a suicide, where Kuroe desperately tries to escape from the Labyrinth, then doubles down on the idea that NO ONE can help her. That she is BEYOND any hope of happiness. That she just wants her pain and suffering to end. To say nothing of how her Witch was put down by Iroha, literally framed like putting a rabid dog out of its misery. And then, her death was used to help galvanize Iroha. It really feels like they made this amazing, relatable character…just so Iroha could get to where the story needed her to be, given she also loses Ui, Touka, and Nemu for good in this continuity.

Am I just angry at them not giving my favorite character a happy ending? Hell yes, I am! But people who are better wordsmiths than me have written about how the writing that led to this is not great. How it arguably feels more fitting for Magical Girl Site or Raising Project than it does Madoka Magica, and considering the kind of shit that IS in the original anime and Rebellion, is saying a LOT. Which is a shame, because what we had before this was SO GOOD. And then, the last few episodes happened. And this is the SECOND TIME this has happened to me in series I like!

Although, if there is a silver lining, someone in the game staff seems to have agreed with me. In the game, Kuroe is alive, well, and thriving! She’s in a position to where she’s starting to let Iroha in, and we even get details and context to Kuroe’s backstory, which is amazing.

I can take her never meeting Homura and becoming the big sister Homura never had, finding something in bonding with each other that they haven’t found in many other places. Obviously, I’d love it, and the fandom has both of them meet characters I feel wouldn’t truly understand them.

However, at the end of the day, I want my favorite character to be happy. And in the game, she is headed that way. Two amazing units, being able to actually bond a bit with Iroha, some of the best storytelling the game has offered yet (I’m biased towards any Kuro, and especially Kuroe), and lots and lots of lore and things you can get by implication.

Characters can be interesting AND happy. They can be allowed to heal without compromising what makes them resonate so dearly with all of us.

“This is the face of a girl we want to protect and ensure never makes the same mistakes we did.”

[rubysparx]

Honestly I don't think I'm qualified to make this post, I just don't know if I can make coherent enough words man. But the thoughts are in there and I will try to articulate them. This is probably going to be mostly images though. anyway yeah KABRU POST.

A couple nights ago (at approximately 2:30am, lasting a little over half an hour) I had a bit of a moment about Kabru. That, too, was mostly images- most of what you see in this more concise post were presented then as well. I think my main points of the "moment" were about Kabru's trauma + self hatred, his autism and/or general otherness, and also a little labru if you'd like..

I think something easy to start with is I wanna point out Kabru's constant back and forth and conflicting opinions of demihumans and how, I believe, thats a reflection of how he goes back and forth on what he believes his purpose of living is- and the general worth of his own life. I've said it before and i've just kinda shown it in images; Kabru is "i think im a monster and it disgusts me" where Laios is "I know im a human and it disgusts me" (i could go more into the latter on another post)

the above are both from the world bible, with the left being from the section on kobolds and the right being from the section on Kuro specifically. Utaya was very near to the desert where most of the kobold population is, this is likely why Kabru is able to speak Kuro's language- he grew up around demihumans. (chapter 48 cover, kobold chapter in the world bible) I won't try to speak for how his mother or the rest of utaya felt about the kobolds but I can say that Kabru was very much othered as a child, as was his mother, purely for the way her son's (kabru) eyes looked.

I feel like its fair enough to say that both kabru and the kobolds were othered, and possibly for similar reasons (villager's seeing them as nonhuman, as monsters) and the fact that Kabru learned their language probably didn't help his case. I think his perception of kobolds (and all demihumans, subsequently himself, as he probably still views himself as nonhuman or not human enough.. deep down) was damaged by the Utaya incident. at 2:30am when I first started this ramble my main comment was that "had the utaya incident not happened kabru would have little reason to feel ashamed for his connection to monsters. and may have ended up similar to laios in that he couldve had otherkin swag" which is just a sort of silly way of saying Kabru could've learned to love the thought that he is possibly nonhuman or at least not hated himself so much for it.

in the original ramble I said, and quote, "he has been STALKING laios. laios is his hyperfixation to learn how he can ever be loved. he keeps going back and forth so harshly on wether or not he wants to kill Laios and he clearly sees his survival from utaya not as an unfortunate trauma [*] but as a necessary, deserved fate. a punishment for his mother's witchy sins, and for his sin of being non-human. to atone for it all, to apologize for being alive, he tries to better the lives of all humanity. He was set on his way to dethrone the governor of the island . do you understand? im going insane" *i also said somethings about the way he processes other people's traumas and not his own. He's able to understand and even help some people, but he struggles to process his own issues and see himself as worthy of love and life.

^some examples of Kabru being understanding of or helping others who have suffered greatly. I think its also worth mentioning that with Rin (called "Lynn" in that translation) he says "I wish there was a way to get her out of this" though he's insisted and pushed for himself to go into a dungeon;

In chapter 94, Mithrun says "The desire I had left wasn't revenge. All I wanted.. was for it to finish devouring me." and I don't feel like it's a stretch to say Kabru was in a similar situation. Mithrun sought out the demon with no plan on how to kill something like that because deep down he wanted it to end his (Mithrun's) own life, to finish the trauma it caused and kill him. I think Kabru went into the dungeon in part with the hopes that it'd kill him. That the same thing that destroyed Utaya and caused him so much trauma would just.. finish him.

I just think Kabru is a beautifully complex character, I have a lotta thoughts on him and I don't see nearly as many analysis posts for him than I do Laios (despite labru being such a popular ship)

there is no tldr for this post idk how to summarize it. do what you will with this collection of images. have fun. go crazy

fun fact the woman in the bottom left corner is his mother, she is labeled here as "witch"

[tagasaing]

i have to get this out of the way, re: dungeon meshi discussions

major spoilers ahead, obviously.

you know for a series that focuses so much on platonic and familial relationships it’s weird that dungeon meshi has attracted so much useless ship wars though. the most important driving force in the story is two sibling relationships (laios’s search for falin, thistle’s search for delgal) and one of the central themes is how loving others way too much can lead to your downfall (thistle’s desperate attempt to keep his loved ones leads to his mental state deteriorating so much he starts torturing people he claims to protect, marcille’s fear of losing her friends leads to her being easily manipulated by the main antagonist)

even with regards to falin. thistle wants to bring the ‘brother’ he raised back at all costs, he saw a young human woman as nothing more than a dragon, his tool. marcille wants to bring falin back at all costs, she didn’t care about the repercussions of using monster meat instead of animal meat even though she was an expert at ancient magic and should know why it’s such a dangerous practice.

each and every single one of the major characters has some form of tragedy with their family one way or another: the toudens, marcille and her dad. chilchuck and his wife. senshi’s entire backstory. izutsumi’s hidden desire for a mother. namari’s father. shuro and his family. kabru and his mother(both tallman and elf). mithrun and his brother. thistle and the melinis.

even some of the minor characters: flamela and her dead twin sister. the twins and the floke couple. kuro being the closest mickbell has to a family. etc etc

as someone who has reread this manga several times by now, i wonder if people just… read it once as fast as they could and act like they’re some sort of authority on fan discussion. i’ve seen people brag about reading the entire thing in one sitting as if it’s something to be proud of. this manga isn’t meant to be read that fast, that’s how you get people claiming that laios doesn’t reaaally love falin as much as marcille does.

to these people, laios just gets in the way, as if it wasn’t his idea to go down the dungeon in the first place, it wasn’t him who said his pain doesn’t matter because falin suffered more than him, it wasn’t him who felt immense guilt for leaving falin behind, it wasn’t him who found her skull, it wasn’t him who killed her to save her from her chimera form. i feel like people forget about the ‘too’ part when marcille said “i miss falin too”

marcille knows how much falin and laios love each other. that’s why she asked him if she’s allowed to resurrect her and didn’t act on her own. that’s why when both times a shapeshifting monster copied marcille to trick laios, it was what she looked like at the time she was reviving falin.

as someone who DOES ship farcille, none of the romance is canon. this isn’t meant to be anti-farcille. one of the post-canon comics is about falin gently turning down shuro because she wants to travel the world, “you can’t tie a dragon down” after all. she wants to travel the world and find herself because she doesn’t know who she is outside of marcille and laios. even marcille, who was hoping she’d reject him, tears up because of how beautiful and tragic it was.

there are a lot of ship teases because what author doesn’t like a good ship tease. but to say that dungeon meshi is a romantic love more than it is a story about family(both real and found) is a great misinterpretation of the text.

[littlelightfish]

I've been thinking about Mickbell since last chapter came out.

Have you noticed how everyone refers to him as Mick? He's a hafling, they shouldn't call him that since its his first name.

But here's the thing.

We know Mickbell didn't have something to call a family the majority of his life. He was all alone against the word for quite some time. He, as I said before, didn't have a proper family, didn't have any friends. He was alone. No one to care about him, no one to love even in a friendly way.

He can seem to be quite unfair towards Kuro, but truth is he doesn't know any better. He does what he can the best he can, the best he knows, because he loves Kuro so much, he doesn't want to loose his first friend, his first glimpse of a family, the only one that cared for him after so long the first one to recognize him as someone rather than something.

Kuro doesn't understand common language well, we know for a fact that he struggles with it and that he's still learning to communicate. When Mickbell found him, it was his sense of "I'm in great debt to him because he saved me" what made him attack the one that attacked Mick. "How dares he tuch my savior?" Kind of behaviour. And also revenge I guess. But, hear me out. He hears Mickbell telling something to him in a language he doesn't understand, but he sticks to his side from then on, because he saw a savior in him. Because he feels in debt with him, because he sees that this guy enjoys his company and also feeds him. He is like a stray dog after being adopted, loyal. He loves and cares for Mickbell, he wants to be able to truly understand him and to make himself known to him by talking. He's learning how to speak common, not because it might be useful, but because he wants to be able to fully communicate with his dearest friend, with the one he considers family.

Going back to Mickbell, he saw someone caring for him enough to take revenge and protect him. This aren't little things to do for someone you just met. He knows this, because he probably wouldn't have done that, he 100% would've runned away because he has sense of self-preservation and knows damn well he doesn't stand a chance and he wants to continue living. He makes sure to keep this kobold to himself, at first because of his "if it can be made use of, then use it" principle.

He freed the kobold, not because he was a good person, but because he wanted to take revenge in his own terms. He wanted this man to suffer, he can't pick a fight because he doesn't stand a chance, so he steels his merch, or in this case, frees it. He freed Kuro because he wanted the man to suffer the loss of his merch. Not because he feels sorry for a kobold that could easily chomp his head off (they're usually agressive). Now, after freeing him, he noticed that this kobold would die if he didn't take off the thing he had in his mouth, so he helped him a bit there. This seems a bit out of character. Why did he freed the starved kobold from what could've saved him of being eaten himself? Because he is a good person. He doesn't want this creature to starve to death after freeing him, it would be cruel, and he isn't cruel. He doesn't want nothing to do with the kobold at first, he just doesnt want him to die because he didnt properly freed him, but after seeing how far is this someone willing to go for him? He has no room for doubt, he makes himself his boss.

As I said, Mickbell didn't had a real family before. He lacks of proper social interactions and bonds due to his past. But he loves so deeply. He doesn't want to loose Kuro. He sees him as the closest thing he'll ever have to a family, but he doesn't know how to treat him properly. He tries his best. He feeds him, and cares about him a lot, but he doesn't know how to talk to him. He wants to have him close at all times, he wants to pet him, to be carried around by him and only him, to tease him, to help him. He's always worrying about his well-being. And above all, he doesn't want to be alone. Never again. This is why he does everything he can think of to hold Kuro closer to him. This is why he's saving money, why he pays Kuro so poorly for his job. This is why he doesn't spent much money on himself either. He wants to live a life with kuro by his side because he loves him. He loves him deeply, and cares about him deeply too. He's his family. And he is terrified of the sole thought of Kuro leaving his side. Because that wouldn't just mean being alone again. It would mean Kuro left.

Now, this is what the party sees. A hafling that treats his kobold employee quite unfairly. He doesn't pay him almost anything, he leaves him alone as soon as battle starts, he is possessive about him, and he's terrified of someone snatching him away. The kobold doesn't seem to either mind or notice how unfair his owner is being towards him, and doesn't seem to understand him very well either. They see that they both care for each other more than they first thought as time passes by, but the unfairness of it all is still there. They don't get it. Why would the hafling, if he cares so much, reward him so badly? Why is he taking advantage of the kobold he loves so much? Why wouldn't he let him express himself in his mother language? They don't fully get it.

Time passes and they become closer to each other, just as Laios's party does. They start opening up, bonding, and before they knew it, they're something like a small family, rather than just a group of friends adventuring together. It's clear as day something in Mickbell wasn't quite right just by the way he behaves. He is childish, but it doesn't seem to be intentional. He behaves like a kid, but he is quite mature at the same time. He is like this because he didn't had a proper childhood? He only now can allow himself to behave lightly as he does? To cry at minor inconveniences? To want to be hold on someone's arms? They don't know, but they don't prey about it either.

And without realizing it, they call him just "Mick". Some of them, if not them all, know what it means to call a hafling by his first name. They maybe did it to tease him, maybe because they wanted him to know they consider him family, but he didn't even noticed. He hadn't a proper social interaction with haflings that ever got to the personal level of teaching him something he should already know. Haflings call him Mickbell, he doesn't mind, it's his name. His party calls him Mick, he doesn't mind, it's his name. He doesn't even know hee should care. The party picks up he doesn't mind being called that and gets surprised. Is he letting them know he sees them aa family too? They at first are really surprised, but it losses importance over time. They just use it as a nickname now, but they started using it because they wanted Mickbell to know they're family too, that they don't want to hurt him nor Kuro.

Mickbell it's just a good hearted guy who doesn't know how to do good. He saves up money so he can, one day, live with Kuro. So he doesn't pays him well even if he works hard. So he starves himself (he is underweight too, but it could be for the same reason Chilchuck is, he is 5 cms taller than the common hafling after all). So he allows himself to steal from corpses. He needs money. He has a dream. He wants to have a family.

[dunmeshistash]

ive heard of a page where laios+falin are racist against the kobolds but i straight up do not remember it, so i was curious as to if you have it?

Actually Kabru is racist against Kobolds, Falin and Laios are 'racist' (I'd call it xenophobic but the way people use racist works as well I suppose) about 'mountain people'

It's the Kobold extra from the adventure's bible, quite the controversial comic lol

Unfortunately yes, your blorbos are 'racist' but it makes sense in universe. Kabru lived in a place that was near Kobold settlements I imagine the tallmen there weren't big fans of them. What he talks about Kobold being "impossible to talk to" sounds like a justification to marginalize them. The same thing happened to Laios and Falin in their village when they were kids (remember that Laios left when he was 12 and Falin when she was 10) "You can't talk to them so you have to kill them" is the same type of othering justification Kabru learned about Kobolds. Only the Toudens learned to act that way about other humans and not demi-humans, Kabru loves humans so he immediately picks up the absurd that was being said and is like "oh shit".

I wouldn't say he learned what he said was wrong (He probably thinks aggression is inherent to demi-humans but not to humans) but if anything I think all of them have the chance to be better than they are here. (Kabru is even friends with and is trying to help Kuro. But that might be a "He's one of the good ones" thinking) The racism they are acting here is part of the world they live, something they learned since they were born and it's probably not something any of them has ever confronted themselves about.

Anyway that is all to say I don't think what Falin and Laios specifically say here count as racism because they are being xenophobic about people with a different culture to theirs, like, those people in specific are suffering the prejudice because they don't live the same way his village does. Laios doesn't act racist in any other case, he treats orcs Kobolds, Elves, Dwarves etc about the same (if anything he does some microaggressions cause he's socially and culturally clueless) so I don't think he believes in inherent value based on race like Kabru does. But that's just semantics (?) Both are just as bad.

[klaustheclowse]

As much as I hate him, Mickbell being an antithesis to Chilchuck is really good from a narrative standpoint

•Chuck is a union man, who was exploited in the past and thus formed a union to prevent other half-foots from suffering like he did

•Mick however is a scab, and is the one doing the exploiting, most notably to Kuro the kobold.

Hell you could make an argument that everyone in Kabru’s party is an antithesis/foil to Laios’s (more specifically post-falin getting eaten but could also apply to pre-)

EDIT: After reading some comments, it looks like I ended up getting parts of Mickbell’s character wrong, and I’m sorry for that

[stardustizuku]

I’ve recently been thinking on why there’s people who interpret Kuro in such a drastically different way.

And something I notice is that you can easily tell how someone experiences the series, based on what they think of the GWA.

The way you interpret the Green Witch Arc is indicative of of how you have been interpreting the story so far, and how you’ll interpret it going forward

Generally, there’s two interpretations:

1.- The Reaction Ciel had to the mustard gas, are his true feelings coming afloat

2.- The Reaction Ciel had to the mustard gas, isn’t how he feels.

The first interpretation (and I’m really not trying to be mean about it this time) comes from a very, uhm, shall I call it Teenage-Like? mindset of how pain and trauma works.

I call it Teenage-Like, because I’ve seen it in mostly literature aimed at teenagers, be it fanfics or YA. It comes from an inability for teenagers to actually voice how they feel towards their parents. A helpless feeling of being ignored.

I don’t wanna point fingers but this is the basis of a lot of Self Harm tendencies (physical, emotional, psychological, or others like EDs or digital self harm) come from. A need for people to notice you are in pain. But because you feel like you cannot voice it yourself (or don’t deserve it, it can vary) you start to lash out. Put yourself in higher risks, to have someone find out there is something wrong with you.

So the moment the main character finally breaks down, or has a moment of weakness, it’s interpreted as someone finally being truthful.

This is how Ciel’s reaction is interpreted by the first half.

The mustard gas is simply a trigger of pain, that causes all of Ciel to unravel. He’s in pain right now, cause he’s always in pain. He’s avoidant to Sebastian, cause he’s always been scared of him. He doesn’t trust him. He doesn’t trust adults. Finny is the only one who actually cares.

This makes the fact that Sebastian ,essentially, slapped him to get him to react, come off as cruel.

The boy is finally being honest, and you just tell him he’s being childish? Horrible.

Obviously, that’s not my interpretation.

Okay so, what happens once you’re not a teenager? Once you don’t have an adult figure to take care of you? What happens once you start avoiding telling your parents the pain you’re in, not because you think they won’t care, but because they’ll care too much and get worried and you don’t want them to get worried?

You start to realize pain is not the end of the world.

While, when being a teenager, getting sick meant someone gets to take care of you and maybe notice you aren’t okay, as an adult getting sick potentially means - not going to work. Which means your won’t have money to buy food, which means you’ll probably go hungry.

So getting sick becomes less of a way to get away from the responsibilities you have, and more of a burden.

That’s why you’ll see, in media aimed at adults,mental breakdown less depicted as an opportunity to be honest, and more of a sickness that needs to be healed.

You can have a more honest and truthful conversation, while you are sound of mind. There’s no power dynamic between friends, like it would with adult figures and children. So this song and dance, isn’t necessary.

You don’t have to be sick to be understood. And your friends will rather try to help you, than understand you when you’re suffering. That’s the nature of adult relationships.

This is more or less the framing that comes from Ciel’s breakdown (in the second interpretation).

The Mustard Gas isn’t showing Ciel’s true nature - it’s showing Ciel at his most vulnerable. This means, not in his sound mind.

Saying things he normally wouldn’t, hurting people he normally would hold close, and clinging to people he generally would never try to get close to.

Simply put, it isn’t just “a bit of pain to make him unravel” but a “Ciel is getting psychologically tortured by a weapon used for chemical warfare”.

He’s past being honest. He’s having such a severe reaction, that he cannot function. He’s being tortured and broken, to the point he is no longer himself.

He isn’t being “truthful” he’s scared.

And fear can make you do things that, in your sound mind, you would never do.

The point is that, Ciel isn’t saying what he truly feels or being “honest”. It’s him scared out of his mind, saying everything and anything to make the fear stop.

And the biggest proof is how he treats Sebastian.

The fact that Ciel asks Sebastian to “go away” or “not come near” is perhaps the most glaring reason as to how badly this Gas messed with him.

I’ve said this before but to Ciel, Sebastian is a lifeline. He’s the only tool he has for his revenge. The thing that, even after he lost r!Ciel, he was willing to sacrifice it all to achieve.

And at this point in time, Sebastian is also the only emotional anchor Ciel has.

As far back as the second episode, Ciel has asked Sebastian to stay. Even when he’s having flashbacks, even when he’s having an episode. In fact, Sebastian leaving him is a great source of anxiety - since as seen in BoC in the Asthma Scene, without him Ciel feels powerless enough to die.

He feels more protected with him, because he KNOWS Sebastian will protect him and that Sebastian will follow his orders.

Again going with the analogy of a dog - He feels more comfortable having the chained beast by his bed, simply bcs others are trying to hurt him and the beast won’t eat him right now.

So him asking Sebastian to go away, is throwing away his biggest safety net for a surrogate for r!Ciel, just means he’s reverting to the mentality he had during the cult.

If Sebastian is constantly telling him “it’s okay, they can’t hurt you anymore, you’re outside the cage, you can do what you WANT”

Ciel clinging to Finny is him going “no, im staying in the cage bcs at least the cage is familiar”

And no matter what the first camp tells you, staying in the cage, trapped inside your pain ISNT the healthy option.

(We could argue Ciel’s need for revenge rather than healing is also unhealthy, but no one in the second camp would even call Ciel anything other than a villain in someone else’s story)

So, Sebastian slapping him and going “no, that’s not what you want”, isn’t as cruel as it would be in the first interpretation. Because as we see, he’s right. That’s not what Ciel wants. And it’s proved by the next scene where Sebastian talks to Ciel about what he truly wants.

Rather than Sebastian telling Ciel to “get over it”, it’s closest to a “snap out of it, something’s wrong”

This is further proved by the fact that, Sebastian first instinct isn’t to scare him. He does back away, he does try to wait and gently coax him. But Ciel literally cannot reason with him.

That small but significant difference in interpretation has wildly different outcomes in how you perceive both, the characters and the story.

If you pick the first, you’re reading Sebastian as an enemy. Someone who does not respect Ciel. You see his attempt to eat Ciel’s soul as a breach of trust, and proof that he doesn’t care for him.

But if you pick the second option, you see Sebastian as an ally. Someone who’s running out of time and ways to save Ciel. His actions, while crass, ultimately help Ciel. What he was trying to do, was help.

Yana, very clearly, wanted the second interpretation. However, I cannot, in good conscience, tell you it’s the only interpretation. People are free to pick and chose how they read the text, irrelevant of how little of the actual text they’re reading.

But I will say, picking the first is symbolic of a less mature way of thinking. Common on those who like to infantilize trauma and trauma responses. It’s the easy, safe and comforting way of reading the text. As I said, it’s common in those who want their pain to be acknowledged.

That reading of Kuro is one that speak to me, that you’re not really ready to confront pain. And someone with that mentality, is not someone who’s reading of the text I find particularly interesting. Sure, you can share it, I’ll never stop you, but know you’re speaking to me in an entirely different language. You’re interpreting the text so differently, that I don’t think it’s even the same text anymore.

Again, you’re essentially writing analysis on fanfiction. And I’m not all too interested in dissecting your own trauma sloppily painted over British Aesthetic.

[neon-vocalist]

I wish we as a fandom could focus less on Nijisanji in this whole shitstorm. I see so much “Niji is losing everything!” “Niji is in huge trouble!” “Niji is going to suffer so much for this!” and that’s all well and good! I love shitting on Tazumi as much as anyone else (maybe more, if you look at my post history), BUT.

I think it’s of more value to highlight the great things the talents are doing NOW and let Niji rot, undiscussed, in a ditch. This isn’t ABOUT them. This isn’t about how much they’re losing. This is about the victory of everyone who’s escaped. So:

Let’s talk about Matara Kan, who’s finally getting to chase her wild creative endeavours. Who sounds so unspeakably happy and proud of herself for her achievements every stream. Who’s finally getting the help she needs to pursue incredible things with nobody shooting her down or leaving her on her own.

Let’s talk about K9 Kuro, who’s got a super sick model he’s clearly proud of. Who’s branching out to IRL streams and collabs and doing the things that make him happy without restriction. Who’s trying new things without the fear of losing money or being mocked by those around him, because he finally has a supportive community who lets him shine.

Let’s talk about Dokibird, who’s just… man. Doing everything and doing it all with a smile, all for her fans. She bounced back and she came back even stronger, and she’s living her newfound freedom to the fullest. Let’s be honest, nobody else ever deserved her. She’s chasing new goals and flying higher than she ever has before, and her passion and love for her community is one in a million.

Let’s talk about Maid Mint, who’s back with a vengeance.

Nijisanji? Never heard of them.

[kuromori4]

MLB London special theories and Speculation!

So I’ve been thinking too much about the upcoming London special, 'At the edge of time'. Are there actually any theories floating around out there? Because I haven’t come across any and I have theories of my own.

Anyone interested?

Great! So we were recently given this new version of the synopsis:

“In the Burrow, Bunnyx sees the windows of time disappearing one by one... The future is fading away. But what’s going on? At the same time, Marinette wakes up at home to discover that someone in Paris has just made a wish thanks to the Cat and Ladybug Miraculouses. Quickly, she has to transform herself into Ladybug... but then she realizes she’s missing her earrings! Luckily, Bunnyx comes to get her just before the wish wipes everything out. Together, Bunnyx and Marinette, now Chronobug, must save the future by finding out who discovered that Marinette was Ladybug, when, and how they managed to steal her Miraculous. Marinette realizes that Butterfly Miraculous now has a new owner! “We can only hope for one thing: that Ladybug succeeds in defeating her adversary, otherwise it will be the end of Ladybug.”

And I can’t stop thinking about some of the wording in it. So Marinette wakes up to discover her earrings gone? Someone has discovered her identity and snuck into her room while she was sleeping to steal them? And on top of that, somehow, this person also managed to also steal Adrien’s ring?

Ok... so a wish has been wished and now their world is ending, Bunnyx comes to snatch Marinette up, etc, etc. 

Then we have this line: Marinette realizes that the Butterfly Miraculous now has a new owner!

Now personally, I think this is a line to throw us off the track of what’s really happening here. We all know Lila has the Butterfly. They want us to think this is about Lila. That Lila knows Marinette’s identity because she saw her transform in the end battle in S5. Especially since it seems that the blue light Lila saw is likely related to the special.

But I have one major argument against this.

How did Lila get Chat Noir’s ring? Even if Lila did know Marinette’s identity and used that info and the butterfly to steal it from her, it still doesn’t explain how the wish was made. She’d still need Chat’s ring. Since the only person who knows Adrien’s identity is Luka, I feel like this is a major plot hole for most theories.

Now, I offer my theory. And hear me out, because I can already feel the fandom raging at me.

Who has access to the Black cat Miraculous?

Who could EASILY sneak into a rooftop skylight at night without being noticed to steal Marinette’s earrings while she slept?

Who does Marinette trust wholeheartedly and would never, ever suspect?

That’s right lovelies, I’m saying what I’m saying.

I think Adrien made the wish.

What if Adrien found out the truth? About everything? After all, Ladybug knows of no particular reason not to tell Chat Noir what happened during that battle. What if he discovers that not only is his girlfriend Ladybug, but that everyone has been lying to him, his father was Monarch, that he’s a Sentimonster, and the cause of his own mother’s death?

Our boy would likely be a tad upset, no doubt. 

“But Kuro”, I hear you say. “Adrien is a good boy. He’s been tempted before, and he knows what’s at stake.”

Yes, but what was on the line then? Bringing his Mom back? Saving Nathalie? Both noble causes, for sure. But the sacrifice to be made would have been too great. It would hurt someone innocent. A price he was not willing to pay.

But what about now?

His father terrorized Paris. Hurt people. Why? To bring back his wife. Why? Because she died to create Adrien. This all stems from the circumstances of his birth. When everything is laid out in front of him, Adrien must have come to the ultimate conclusion: All of this pain and suffering was caused simply so that he could exist. 

What if Adrien makes the wish, to have never been born? If Adrien is never born, his Mother never dies. His father doesn’t become the villain. He doesn’t die either. Nathalie never gets sick, Marinette never has the burden of being Ladybug and Guardian on her shoulders. (Effectively causing the 'End of Ladybug!') Master Fu never loses his memories. Nobody suffers, nobody dies. And the sacrifice? Only himself. Ladybug often says that the wish would have to serve the greater good. Would Adrien not see removing himself as a sacrifice for the greater good? By undoing all of the damage his family caused?

The way he THOUGHT his father did in the final battle? 

Not to mention that the whole thing apparently takes place in London. Now, you might suspect that Félix and Amelie might have something to do with it, since they live in London. But might I remind you who else is in London? Adrien and Kagami, locked in the white rooms! We see Bug Noire rescuing them in the teaser!

I’d say that there’s a fairly good chance that upon his Father’s death, Adrien, already in London, might have been sent to live with his aunt and cousin, at least temporarily? (Chloe is also sent to London, though I don’t know if that will play into it at all)

Why do you think Adrien is so absent from the Promo pics and teaser? They really only show him being rescued from the white room by Bug Noire. The only pics of him on the posters are scenes from the finale of season 5. 

Particularly, the shot of him holding up HIS AMOK!

And just to add another layer to this; We have 2 potentially new characters shown, neither of which we have any idea who they are.

This dude:

And this dude:

Now, I'm not entirely sure how the first dude fits in, (Could be Lila for all we know) but this one seems to have a clock on their forehead, which is very curious. If Marinette is the one who becomes Chronobug in the yellow suit, Who is this? It’s certainly not Bunnyx. 

But hmm. Who else do we know Who has wielded the Rabbit Miraculous? Who’s identity is often hidden under a bald cap because his shock of golden hair would be a dead giveaway?

That’s right. 

THIS GUY.

Bonus question:

How does LB become Chronobug if her earrings are gone? Chrono implies a fusion between The Rabbit and Ladybug Miraculouses. Bunnyx would have the rabbit, and Mari has lost her earrings. Though, They have had 2 rabbit Miraculouses present at once because one was from another time, so potentially this could be like that. 

SO, What do you think??? If anyone has any theories to add or even to debunk mine, hit me up!!! I wanna SPECULATE!

[high-mackrels-musings]

The Parallels of Ki-Adi Mundi and Anakin Skywalker

This is an adaptation on a piece I wrote on reddit seen here.

I have written about Mundi before seen here So it should not surprise anyone to learn that he is amongst my favorite Jedi. And he is far too often demonized amongst the current fan base for actions that are usually taken wildly out of context, or blatant lies perpetuated by ill-informed YouTubers and commentators. 

This video is the bane of my existence. But today I want to talk about something that is so often ignored. And that is the, more than likely unintentional, parallels that the Cerean master has with the Chosen One Anakin Skywalker. To me the parallels have been obvious since I first read the comics of his when I was younger. But I don’t really see them come up all that often. When the truth of the matter is that the two of them are possibly the closest in terms of being alike. And I wonder if Mundi isn’t the Jedi that should have trained Anakin, and the Jedi he should have become. 

The two after all shared a common background. Both arrived to the Jedi temple as older recruits to the order, found by rather eccentric members of the order. An’ya Kuro, The Dark Woman, found Mundi. And Qui-Gon Jinn found Anakin Skywalker. Both seemed to believe that the two younglings would be important figures for the order. Mundi of course went on to be a member of the Jedi Council, and Anakin would go on to be the youngest member to join the council. 

It is this shared background that is the beginning of their parallel lives. Mundi himself would return to Cerea, a freshly made Jedi Knight. He was confident of his skills and returned knowing his family was in need of a Jedi. His family and village were plagued by raiders and gangs. And he returned a Jedi Knight to free them from this trouble. Mundi no doubt remembered these raids from his childhood. Having witnessed his father beaten by these gangs. And like Anakin Skywalker, when the esoteric Kuro took him away. He promised to his father, “I’ll be back, and I’ll be big and strong, and I’ll beat them all up. And they’ll be sorry! You’ll see.” 

Of course, most everyone here should know Anakin’s story well enough to see the parallels. Anakin himself states to his mother the penultimate time they see each other, “I will come back and free you, Mom. I promise.” Both show them that they had a sense of attachment as children. Both having come to the Jedi older than others would have. And of course, both would return to different results. 

Mundi would return to confront the man who tormented his family, only to find a broken half blind man. And Mundi would not take revenge on him saying, “For the former chief, there is no greater punishment than that which he’s brought upon himself- to be rendered inconsequential. Justice has been served.” It is a striking contrast with Anakin, who took revenge and slaughtered the tribe of Tusken’s who tortured and murdered his mother. 

While these two events are not the same, Anakin witnessed his mother die in his arm after all, while Mundi’s family lived. You might perhaps be able to say that this is where their paths diverged. But still one can see where Mundi differs, for when confronted with a choice Mundi chose not to take revenge. It is still one of the chances that the two of them are connected in a way. They have these two parallels.  

Of course, both also suffered from a sense of pride and arrogance. Mundi was Yoda’s padawan. And Yoda notes the arrogance of the young Mundi when he proclaimed that he had no blind spots, only to be tripped by the esteemed master. And indeed, his desire to go alone and attack a whole raider gang camp all by himself shows this sort of arrogance when he denies the need for any help saying to his father, “My lightsaber … The training of my Jedi Master …, And the force are my allies,” A belief that he could do it all at this young age shows his arrogance in his abilities. 

Of course, Anakin is not so far behind in this sense of arrogance. Obi-Wan says that his skills have made Anakin arrogance in Attack of the Clones. And in The Approaching Storm when Barriss Offee remarks off hand that Anakin might match Yoda in skill, Anakin rebuffs this saying Yoda is more teacher than fighter surely. A sign of his belief in his skills. And his decision to attempt to engage to Darth Tyrannus in a fight without waiting for his master shows this arrogance that has been highlighted before. 

Perhaps the most well-known thing to Mundi, besides his large head, is that unlike that majority of Jedi of his era he was married. Mundi had a large family, as per Cerean tradition he had a bond wife, and four honor wives with several daughters. Mundi has been wrongly accused of not caring for his daughter or family. However, this could not be further from the truth as he admitted many times that he loved his daughters. What he was not was attached to his family. 

Anakin of course was also married, having fallen in love with Padme Amidala and married her in secret. Thus, like their shared background and shared arrogance the two of them also share something unique within the Jedi order, even if there are differences to how it is they come about. 

The subject of attachment has been discussed a lot, but it’s important to note that it is not the same as having an attachment to one’s family. It’s a marked contrast to Anakin Skywalker who had difficulty letting go of either of his loved one’s. He’s unable to cope with the death of loved ones and can’t quite understand others who do. Indeed, he believes, in Secrets of the Jedi by Jude Watson, that Obi-Wan couldn’t possibly love Siri Tachi saying: 

“Obi-Wan had stood over the man who had killer her and spared him. If he had loved Siri, could he have done that? … But the way Obi-wan had spoken had been so measured. With a temperament like that, it was impossible to love, Anakin was sure.” 

And of course, we should all know what he does in the pursuit of keeping his wife alive. His inability to let go presents clear and present danger for the galaxy. A noted contrast to the way Mundi reacted to his death. While the intricate details of his grief are not known he stated, “I found it difficult to accept, but I had to if I was going to stay true to our beliefs.” Mundi managed to put aside his grief and move on, as is the Jedi teaching. And it is worth noting that Anakin himself asks Mundi about his family asking how he could have one. Mundi responded, “I cared for them, but I tried to remain unattached. It was always … difficult.” Of course, this leads one back to the idea of how Mundi was able to reconcile his love with his family versus his duty as a Jedi. 

 Shortly after meeting Anakin Skywalker Ki-Adi Mundi wrote of his meeting of Anakin. He spoke of the potential of the child and possibility of the fact that he might be the chosen one. Though he also spoke of his wariness towards him saying:

“Jedi are trained not to feel fear, but I believe that this may be the discomfort I sense from Anakin. No, I’m not afraid of him. He is, after all merely a boy. But as a father myself I can positively attest that children can grow in unexpected ways, and this may be what I fear: not who Anakin Skyawalker is, but what he might become.”

It's interesting to note that Mundi uses his experience as a father to speak about how Anakin might have grown up. And we know he was right to be wary of who Anakin would eventually become. So, often do we hear that Anakin needed a father figure, and it seems to me that Mundi, might have been a better candidate than most to take over that training given his similar background. It is an interesting question to ask then if Mundi was the ideal Jedi to do that. And if he was the Jedi that Anakin might have ideally grown up to be. 

    Sources Used:

    Star Wars Republic: Vow of Justice

    Star Wars Republic: Prelude to Rebellion

    Star Wars Republic: Outlander

    Star Wars Republic: No Man's Land

    Star Wars Attack of the Clones

    Star Wars: The Approaching Storm

    Jedi VS. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force

[muffinrecord]

To clarify some continuity stuff between perspectives and stuff, are the events of the Record game essentially the same as what happened in the anime?

Mm, no.

For example: Momoko, Kaede, and Rena never joined the Magius in the anime. Doppel syndrome doesn't exist, which is a big deal because in the anime it implies that the Magius' proposed doppel solution wouldn't have actually worked in the long run. Holy Mami is saved by Yachiyo, not the pmmm girls. Nemu doesn't remember Ui either in the game. Kanagi isn't very present in the anime. Mitama is changed as a character as well. Alina comes across more 2-dimensional and less interesting but some of that is because only the main story was adapted, and content like her two magical girl stories were left out. The ending is obviously very very different.

There are a ton of similarities too, especially in the first season, but the anime and game start to divulge pretty hard in the second.

One of the things that makes the game story so special is the sheer amount of content you get for the characters. For example, Mikazuki Villa become a team and then the next episode they get split up-- you never really have that important "family" aspect that you get in the game. A lot of that is because the anime was only adapting the main story-- which is fair enough, there's a ton of content to get through so adapting the main story and nothing else was already a huge task. But it means you don't see all the downtime of the girls interacting, learning about each other, being there for each other, helping each other. You miss the closeness of the characters.

Doppel Syndrome makes the Magius much more tragic and sympathetic imo. In the game there are very few downsides to using a doppel often-- only a small number of characters have a listed negative at all. In the anime this is a huge deal and it makes the setting all the more bleak. The weaker magical girls are still going to suffer here. They want to join the Magius to be saved, but they're not going to be strong enough to resist doppel syndrome. Become a witch or become a glass ornament... what terrible choices. But people are still trying to save each other, even when the situation looks dire. It's depressing but oddly poignant.

Overall honestly, there are a number of actual differences but I think the biggest one is tone and atmosphere. The anime feels bleak and depressing. It's melancholy. Characters like Kuroe aren't saved. There might be love in there but there's a lot of loneliness and bitterness that you don't quite get in the game.

The game is the opposite. It has its edgy moments, sure, but it's full of light and laughter. A huge deal is made out of the connections between community and how friendship and love save one another. It's very classical magical girl imo.

Like, to me a big one is just how lonely Iroha feels in the game versus the anime. In the game she's always in contact with people-- Kaede, Momoko, Little Kyubey, eventually Yachiyo. This makes sense because the game wants you to care for and eventually roll for these girls. However you also always have new characters to care for who don't show up in the main plot until the very end, who still seem to matter just by virtue of existing and having their stories told.

Meanwhile in the anime we can have large swaths of the story where Iroha is alone, walking slowly in an incomprehensible city. The times that she does reach other and interact with others still manages to come across as closed off.

I'm just rambling at this point akfsjsalkfsa. Sorry.

But yeah, the two are very different and not just be comparing the scenes or facts, but by tone.

[childrenofthesun77]

...okay, so I'm probably not the first person to notice this.

But gear's earing that he points towards when he says that he did the same ritual he wanted to help kuro with already on himself before:

actually looks pretty similar to the pieces of the necklace the count used to create the servamps:

The different pieces of the necklace seem to contain one demon each and the count used them to create the servamps.

So...did the count either learn this technique from the werewolves or is he possible even originally a werewolf himself? It would explain why he's immortal, that's why I'm wondering about this.

Gear says that the ritual is used to remove spirits, could it be that the count removed his own sins using the werewolf ritual and created the demons this way? But he went too far and removed too much unlike gear who only removed one part of himself? Him removing the sins from himself would also explain why he's so weird and doesn't understand other beings. As the sin demons say, they are a natural part of being a human and we have seen multiple times that denying their existence is harmful, removing them all from you would probably lead to you not being able to relate to other people anymore.

Maybe removing all these parts of himself is also why he has no appearance. Without his demons he's not a person anymore.

The count originally being a werewolf would also explain why he has magical abilities (gear can also use magic) before other magicians existed and why he's so anxious about certain people dying. Gear talks about how his immortality makes him sad because human friends do die, but unlike the count gear seems to accept death, grieves in a heathier way than the count and is able to move on and make new friends. Could also explain why his magic and creations are all strongly tied to the (full) moon.

Another similarity is that while werewolves apparently can't reproduce gear was able to have descendants by sharing his life force (it's mentioned in chapter 135 which isn't translated yet) with a woman and through her human children tsurugi is related to gear. Sigurd explained to nicco that the magicians came to be because the count let humans drink his blood, three survived, got magical ablities and became the ancestors of all human magicians:

Maybe the count is more of a werecat though. He and the sloth demon do seem to have a closer connection, even though the count's appearance changes depending on the person looking at him he does usually keep his tail and the tip looks exactly like the one of kuro's cat/lion form and similar to the the one of inner sloth's non-human form.

It was also stated multiple times that the sloth demon is the strongest. I wonder why that is. Servamp comments on the fact that being lazy is often actually a sign of depression/anxiety through kuro's arc, so maybe the count was depressed and that's why the sloth demon is the strongest? Basically the demons strength depends on how much the count suffered from the different sins? It would also explain why melancholy is so strong, I assume kuro refusing to see him no matter how many siblings he sent his way to tell him to come looking for the count made him extremely sad and probably even made him come up with the plan to have himself be killed and then put in the same body as kuro through the ritual.

I assume he was behind C3 ordering the servamps to kill him because he's the one who created the magicians and thus C3 and lily who is kind of working for him was probably the one who put the idea that the count needed to be killed into the head of his eve (aka a member of the alicein family who hold a lot of power in C3 basically since the beginning. I explained this in more detail in another post). The people from C3 even said that the count can only be killed if he wants to and yeah, kuro didn't truly kill him, but he did destroy his body and kuro seems to have met little resistance when he attacked the count. Which probably means the count wanted this to happen.

[kats-fic-recs]

My favorite Kuroken fics <3

In Another Castle

Kenma feels his face go hot. People have to be looking at them. They’re having a fight in front of a real estate agency. But he doesn’t look away, and musters the courage to say, “Kuro, I want you to live with me.”

The Whole Of The Moon

Tetsurou has never thought about it before, but right now, he is absolutely and thoroughly terrified.

Because he’s so, so in love, and he’s always known that Kenma is it for him, but what if he’s not it for Kenma?

Or: a Kuroken soulmate AU in which both of them suffer and there's communication in all the wrong ways

Not For Nothing

Kuroo-san never says no to you,” Shouyou says

Not Your Mother's Hot Toddy

Kuroo always knew he would eventually end up killing someone for Kozume Kenma, he just thought he would have a lot more time to prepare.

Or: Kenma's hungry, Kuroo's bad at thinking on his feet, and Shouyo just wants to make friends in the city.

Live From the Lonely Hearts Club♡

(Kodzuken lets out a sigh that cuts so deep, it nearly startles his cat off his lap.)

I think I’m being obvious. I probably don’t need to spell it out for you guys. It’s clear as day, isn’t it? I’m fucking in love with my best friend. And I have been for a very long time.

So it pains me to say that I think I’ve made the stupidest mistake of my entire life. Because a week ago, T asked me if I wanted him to be my fake boyfriend.

(Kodzuken drags his hands over his face.)

And I’m pretty sure I said yes.

*

Kenma is so stupid. When did he become so stupid? He’d always thought he was kind of smart, but maybe he’s been stupid this entire time.

five snapped heartstrings

“From the day you are born, you have a countless number of strings wrapped around the ring finger on your right hand. These strings extend out to all of your potential soulmates. As you grow and make choices in life, one by one the strings will slowly begin to fall away until you’re left with one. At that point, your one true soulmate will be waiting for you on the other side.”

-

Kenma was seven, and he was certain of one thing. He wanted Kuroo Tetsurou to be his soulmate.

it's like a summer shower

Kenma’s breath catches at the memory, and then he’s blurting out, “Do you still have it?”

“Have what?”

“…the recipe,” Kenma replies haltingly. A pause. “And maybe some pictures for how it looked all set up.”

“Kenma…” his mother says breathlessly, and he’s honestly not sure if she sounds awed or horrified. “Are you going to attempt to make it?”

-

It's Kuroo's and Kenma's anniversary and Kenma wants to do something different - cook him dinner. He regrets the decision pretty much immediately.

crushed little stars

When Kenma was 13, he swore to himself that he would never, ever get star tear disease.

Three years later, he met Hinata Shouyou.

A purrfect match

"Hi Uncle Tettsun!” Nozomi says without moving an inch. “There's a kitty cat under here."

Tetsurou sighs, adjusting the heavy bag on his shoulder. There's been a dramatic increase in the number of cats hiding under homes or dumpsters or in trees lately, ever since the Kozume family's latest announcement. People have been chasing them down, knowing that whoever takes the key from the royal cat's collar will be allowed to marry the crown prince.

[Five times Tetsurou meets a cat, and one time he meets a human instead].

The Space Between Thinking and Feeling

“She might have assumed that we were dating and I might not have corrected her, yes.”

Kenma’s eyes are caught in a frenzy. Tetsurou isn’t sure why he’s that upset about this specific part of the story. “Why?” Is all Kenma asks.

Tetsurou shrugs. “I don’t know. She invited you to the wedding. I want you to come. It just seemed easy.”

“Dating me seems easy?”

“Pretend dating.”

(OR Tetsurou doesn’t want to go to his mother’s wedding alone. Good thing he has fake-boyfriend Kenma to tag along.)

Wallpaper Heart

Tetsurou walks into their apartment, aware of his feelings for the first time. It’s a weird sensation, like remodeling a house, and finding out there was a hidden door to an extra room behind the old yellowed wallpaper in the hallway. Now that he knows it’s there, he wonders how he ever missed it – wonders when the wallpaper went up in the first place, when it started keeping him out.

(OR Tetsurou's adventures in pining)

even if you're ahead for a bit, i will catch up

Kuroo first confesses when they're sticky-fingered, wide-eyed kids, and subsequently every day after that. Kenma takes a while to come around.

The Ghost Of The Future Is Awake In The Attic

Sika stags have a whole repertoire of courting behaviour that does not overlap with a human’s flirting one bit.

This, perhaps, should not come as a surprise to Tetsurou.

Or: The one where Kenma is a sika deer shifter, Kuroo isn’t, and Kuroo decides the logical thing to do is to court Kenma. The deer way. Despite the fact that he has no idea how deer shifter courting works.

When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears

"It’s hard to understand the hierarchy when a school like Nekoma exists, putting them all together like they belong, but by the time Kenma enters high school he understands the difference. Kuroo is a black panther, rare and precious; a large predator stronger than most any other foe.

Kenma is a calico housecat. His coloring is uncommon, but he is not special."

Shapeshifter!AU. Kenma struggles with a culture and the rules of courtship.

Ad Astra Per Aspera

The important parts of his life aren’t stored in the cement where he bled out, or among the familiar backdrops of his hometown. Home is curled up on a secondhand couch a few cities away, probably bitterly cursing his guts but still waiting for him to walk through the door.

The city has long since forgotten what happened to Kuroo Tetsurou.

…But Kenma didn’t. Kenma never would.

Kenma’s soul recognizes Kuroo Tetusrou even when his eye does not.

He’s been waiting an eternity for him, after all.

route 51 to your heart has been delayed by 20 minutes

The hottest man Kenma has ever seen shares the bus with him regularly. Under no circumstance is he ever going to do anything about it.

Not intentionally, at least.

Speak Easy, Lie Gently

Kenma’s invited back home to celebrate Christmas. Unbeknownst to him, his parents had invited a guest: his ex-boyfriend.

[flowerakatsuka]

feeling silly goofy tonight so it's time to share the oso-san oc that's been banging around in my head for the past month.

more info about them under the cut! ⤵

NAME : Yotsubana, Kuroba NICKNAMES : Kuro, Kurorin AGE : ~24-32 years old ( around the same age as the sextuplets, older by almost a month & a half ) BIRTHDAY : April 2nd BLOOD TYPE : AB GENDER : X Gender PRONOUNS : They/Them SEXUALITY : Bi Demisexual VOICE CLAIM : Mitsuki Saiga (JPN), Khoi Dao (ENG)

The current proprietor of Yotsubana Florals, a flower shop tucked away in the Akatsuka Ward. The previous shopkeeper was Kuroba's grandfather, but after he suffered from a nasty fall while working, they took over day to day operations of the business. Due to the quality of their flowers and the clear care put into their arrangements, plenty of people from within and outside the ward frequent Yotsubana Florals. One of those frequent customers is Karamatsu Matsuno, the shop being the provider of his seemingly endless supply of red roses.

The two met on a stormy day, when Kuroba invited in a drenched Kara to dry off and warm up in their shop, (even lending him an umbrella when the rain lighten so he could head back home.) After returning the umbrella and purchasing a bouquet of roses as thanks the next day, he's been a pest ever since. Miraculously enough, Kuroba finds him pleasant enough that they don't mind Karamatsu loitering in the shop while they're working. They actually find him pretty endearing despite him being himself, (especially whenever he shows the more genuine side of his personality.) It could also be that, for some reason, he seems oddly familiar to them. They couldn't put their finger on why that was until attending their high school reunion, when it all came back to them — not only was Kuroba in the same homeroom as Karamatsu during their 2nd year, he was also their crush back then. Unfortunately, Karamatsu hasn't seemed to have made this connection yet himself so Kuroba is left to navigate these revived feelings by themself.

Due to Kuroba's tall stature and sharp eyes, they can come off as a bit intimidating at first, but they're actually a pretty relaxed and gentle person… For the most part. They aren't one to take anyone's shit and can be extremely blunt and snarky at times, perhaps a result of being fed up after years of being bullied in school. Still, they're generally kind and friendly towards others. They're the type to easily become absorbed in their work and will jump at the chance to explain things pertaining to it, (like horticulture or the meaning of flowers.) They also enjoy playfully teasing people they're close with, (a trait that really comes out the closer they get with Kara.)

Back in high school, they were much more gloomy in appearance and personality. They were often bullied for being "creepy" due to their height and sharp eyes, (this wasn't exactly alleviated by their long dark brown hair and blunt bangs.) Their only real solace back then was being apart of the gardening club and beautification committee, often spending their time tending to flowers around the school's grounds or refreshing the flowers in their homeroom.

The major reason why they developed a crush on Kara back in high school was due to his kindness towards them and his fellow appreciation for flowers. What Kuroba pinpoints as the moment they fell for him was when he complimented them on the care they put into maintaining the courtyard's garden beds, saying that you can tell how loved they are. The exchange really stuck with them, but they admit it's a bit of a silly reason to fall for someone for. (This doesn't stop their ass from slipping right back into those feelings later on, though.)

After high school, they attended an all women's college, majoring in horticulture. Their confidence and self-assurance really improved when they started college, as they slowly started to find their own voice and style. They were actually somewhat popular in their department, (perhaps due to them developing a more princely presence over time.)

They're friends with Ichiko and Jyushiko, having attended the same college. They briefly dated Ichiko in their 2nd year of college, but decided it was better to just stay friends instead. The two still hang out frequently.

They're also friendly with Totoko and often hang around to chat with her whenever they buy fish from the Yowai's shop. She actually remembered Kuroba from high school, despite the two never really interacting in the past.

They own a moped and are often seen riding it around the ward to drop off flower deliveries. (Before taking over the business, they mostly did deliveries for the shop.)

They live in the 2DK apartment over Yotsubana Florals. They're pretty good at keeping things tidy, but they definitely have an slight issue with hoarding houseplants and bonsai. Their kitchen is also rarely touched since they aren't the best at cooking.

They own a bearded dragon named King, who they refer to as the shop's real manager. You'll sometimes find her relaxing on Kuroba's shoulders while they're working.

BONUS : karamatsu after buying the 15th bouquet of roses from kuroba that month

[ilikekidsshows]

Could I ask for your thoughts on Kuro Neko the episode as a whole? It's actually kind of my final straw, so I wanted to ask for your perspective on it.

I haven’t actually seen Kuro Neko in its entirety, and I have no intention to. This episode repels me. Everything I’ve learned about this episode has just made me want to avoid it more. I’ve read the transcript and I suffered every moment of it. I heard the first episodes of season 5 were good and thought to myself: “God, I hope season 5 doesn’t actually fix season 4 because then I’ll have to watch Kuro Neko to catch up.”

Kuro Neko is like Reflekdoll all over again, when the characters come away with the worst possible lessons. In Reflekdoll, Adrien learns that he should never try to be Ladybug and he can’t handle responsibility, while Marinette learns Cat Noir really does just goof off all the time and that’s his “role”. In Kuro Neko, Adrien and Marinette both learn the same lesson that his feelings don’t matter because Ladybug will always have more important things to worry about than his emotional state and he should just be her emotional support dispenser.

Basically, Kuro Neko has Marinette at her most self-centered in the entire show, and she’s downright selfish in it. That by itself wouldn’t be an issue if this wasn’t the retool and Marinette wasn’t Astruc’s imaginary daughter and therefore the “person” this world was made for. The thing is, the episode doesn’t have Marinette learn a lesson about valuing other people and their opinions, like any other cartoon protagonist would have in this scenario, no no no, the episode instead vindicates her.

Kuro Neko has Marinette chase away her partner with her unjustified negative attitude towards him, and she doesn’t regret it once. Instead the episode makes excuses for how she’s under so much pressure and Cat Noir should be grateful Ladybug considers him a useful tool. It’s basically the New York Special all over again. Marinette is in the wrong, but she’s under so much pressure guys, that Cat Noir should accept whatever mistreatment he receives because doing otherwise would be mean to poor Marinette.

Hot take: Marinette deserved to lose her partner in the New York Special and she deserved to lose him in Kuro Neko. Her actions directly lead to him leaving for completely justified reasons, and Marinette never apologizes. It would have been better for Adrien if he didn’t come back, so yeah, I don’t think “Marinette deserves to lose Cat Noir as a partner” is as extreme of a take as I was convinced it was when I first saw the special. Because Marinette keeps pulling this shit and never reflects or improves on her behavior.

Here’s what Kuro Neko tells me: Ladybug doesn’t actually care about Cat Noir as a person, but Cat Noir should still be grateful that he gets a spot on the team working for a leader who constantly abuses her power over him.

This fandom loves to rag on Adrien for being suicidal, because Cat Noir throwing himself in the path of an enemy’s attack to save Ladybug upsets Marinette, but, here’s the thing: LADYBUG DOES IT TOO. LADYBUG HAS PUSHED CAT NOIR INTO AN ENEMY’S WEAPON BECAUSE THAT WAS PART OF HER PLAN IN ‘BACKWARDER’ AND THE FANDOM SLEEPS ON THAT. Marinette’s plans often revolve around Cat Noir being in danger or compromised and the fandom dares to blame him for thinking his life doesn’t matter when that’s what his partner tells him with her actions constantly.

Kuro Neko is just more of that. Cat Noir quitting didn’t come from nowhere. There were warning signs of him missing fights and so on, but Marinette can’t be arsed to spare a single thought to what might be going on with her partner. She just thinks he should be happy he’s getting a break, because being a superhero is so much hard work, projecting her own thoughts and feelings onto him instead of asking. Marinette never asks when it comes to Cat Noir, she just assumes and demands.

She thinks Kuro Neko is Cat Noir, which is equal parts frustrating and hilarious when it’s paired together with her insisting time and time again that she knows Cat Noir so well in this episode. And it’s the episode where she fails to recognize him twice and misconstrues his issues to be about the fact that he can’t handle being one-sidedly in love with her. But, like, here comes the really asinine part; despite all these facts being provably incorrect, the episode still doesn’t make Marinette learn she’s incorrect. It really is Reflekdoll, but worse.

The only time Marinette apologizes in this episode is when she thinks Cat Noir was Akumatized, and it was for “not seeing how broken-hearted he was”, not for actively pushing him away. When Cat Noir comes back, she instead gives him the silent treatment until he says his justified anger at her was just “her kitty being temperamental”, invalidating his own feelings. Sure, Cat Walker, and therefore Cat Noir, heard those apologies, but Marinette doesn’t know that. Somewhere between realizing Kuro Neko isn’t Cat Noir and seeing Cat Noir again, she decided she had done nothing wrong that warranted an apology. And the thing that did it: the person she hurt coddling her through her pity party.

When Marinette realizes that Cat Noir is still missing and not Kuro Neko, in true Marinette fashion, she makes it about herself. “I must be the worst Guardian ever!” she bemoans when she should be putting together a plan. Hell, even a decision to do better by Cat Noir. But no, our solution-oriented protagonist couldn’t possibly make a plan to find and apologize to Cat Noir (maybe even do away with the “no revealing identities” rule so that this can’t happen again), she’s too busy bitching and moaning about how hard she’s having it. The only thing that gets her out of her funk is the new guy, who she thinks she’s just met, calling her faithful former partner “too emotional” and swearing servitude to her and her altar of the most important problems in the world. And the reason the episode is written like this? It’s because the writers don’t think she needs to apologize and do better in the future. Of course they’re not having her come to the conclusion that she needs to fix something, because they don’t think she does.

“You take care of everybody equally, Ladybug. Now I want to take care of you,” Cat Walker says, to absolve Ladybug of any guilt. The reality, though, is completely different. Cat Noir has always supported Ladybug. The reason he quit was because Ladybug made it abundantly clear she didn’t want or need his support anymore. And he’s made to come back to her, saying he hasn’t done enough? HE COMFORTS LADYBUG THROUGH AN EMOTIONAL BREAKDOWN AT LEAST ONCE PER SEASON. HE DOES SO FUCKING MUCH AND HE’S FORCED TO SAY HIS EMOTIONS ARE “MAKING TROUBLE” FOR LADYBUG WHILE HIS SELFISH, SELF-CENTERED PARTNER WHO DOESN’T TREAT HIM AS A PERSON GIVES HIM THE SILENT TREATMENT, ONLY FACING HIM WHEN HE MAKES LIGHT OF HIS OWN EMOTIONS SO THAT SHE DOESN’T HAVE TO APOLOGIZE FOR ACTING LIKE A JERK.

“You treat everybody equally” my ass. The day she starts treating Cat Noir like a person, then we can talk. Before that point, she’s a selfish, entitled jerk and Cat Noir deserves better.

The Fae Cat Noir Interpretation was supposed to reflect a flaw of Marinette’s, that Marinette never thinking about Cat Noir as a human being with emotions and problems was something she’d need to grow out of. Except that she doesn’t. Instead the show agrees with her and makes excuses for her. Adrien isn’t even human, he literally is made a “perfect” fae being that Marinette can treat however she wants and he will never complain and he will be in the wrong if he tries to leave.

[dunmeshistash]

Any thoughts on Mickbell and/or Kuro? They're honestly some of my faves and it's hard to find stuff on them T_T

Many thoughts!

They both have had rough backgrounds and suffered a lot so they have this co-depedant relationship that while they pretend like its "Boss and Bodyguard" they cleary care deeply about it each other.

I love how responsible and down to earth Kuro is compared to how we see him in the series. As someone whose first language isn't english I can relate to sounding way less smart when speaking in your second language lmao. Now I'm much better but when I just started I sounded really silly, and even today some people have the "are you stupid" reaction when I don't know a word that should be obvious or misspell things, I understand you Kuro 😔

Honestly a nice reminder that language proficiency is not an indicator for intelligence, wish it was more obvious in the anime/story itself since every time Kuro speaks to Kabru in Kobold is in an extra.

Oh yeah also fun fact Milsiril was the one to teach Kabru how to speak Kobold. Its implied in an extra. While they come from the same continent I doubt Kabru would know kobold just for that.

About Mickbell its very interesting how he's the complete opposite of chilchuck, he LOVES being treated as a kid and doesn't seem to have much of a pride

It's hard to remember how old he is because he's so childish, it's a great choice for a half-foot after we had only met Chilchuck if you ask me. Cause even adults in real life can be childish sometimes, the fact he also LOOKS like a child to us makes it even harder to see him as the adult he is, you can't keep getting away with things by being cute Mickbell <3 (he can).

Also his dream is to buy a house for him and Kuro, I don't think there's any doubt their relationship is based in mutual affection, even if Mickbell pretends he's Kuro's boss (and that he should be more respectfull), they're both the only one the other has when it comes to family.My thoughts