in defense of kabumisu……..
addressing things I see people say about why kabru being shipped w mithrun is ‘bad’ or why their canon relationship ‘doesn’t mean anything’ while also clearing up misconceptions of the characters some fans have
listen it keeps popping up and I just gotta do this or my brain will melt (if you don’t see it around then god I wish that were me)
there’s an age gap!- erm there’s also an age gap in farcille (ily), the most popular ship in the series...also chilchuck looks like a kid but a lot of fans recognize him as a dilf because of his relative age, so there should be no age gap discourse among adult characters because it feels so conditional tbh
kabru taking care of mithrun is racist!- marcille likes to take care of others as well. is that sexist, or just an aspect of her character?
kabru isn’t treated like a servant, waiting on mithrun hand and foot…I mean he gives mithrun a foot massage but no one told him to do all that lmfao
he's also not the only one to care for mithrun. pattadol is shown to worry for him and milsril was the one to start taking care mithrun in the first place after he…...y’know. speaking of which-
they probably met when kabru was a kid!- neither of them showed signs of recognizing each other the entire time mithrun was introduced nor when they were together.
and im pretty sure KABRU of all people would show some kind of recognition if they'd met before. it's kabru!!! the people person!!! mr. "i-noted-down-50+-characters-in-this-dude's-backstory-for-fun-and-actually-enjoy-social-gatherings"
you would think some kind of memory would come back to him especially after hearing mithrun’s backstory if milsril had even told kabru about him as a kid. but nope. it’s just fan speculation unless there's a side comic suggesting otherwise that i haven't seen
mithrun doesn't care about kabru, his shapeshift double looked like shit!- it's obviously because of mithrun's (then) lack of desires that it looked like that, but they really grow on each other
i think it's safe to assume it'd look more like kabru after they spent so much time together (also laios can barely even remember kabru's name..also saw his face multiple times and didn’t recognize him when they talked for the first time)
mithrun is racist!- he’s actually the least likely character to be racist since he lost his desires and that includes a desire for superiority over others. he even calls his past self out on that part of himself. the other elves in that side comic were being just as racist to shorter lived races but just didn’t use ‘outdated slurs’
(unfortunately literally every main character in dunmeshi is at least a lil prejudiced, but I believe it’s worldbuilding and a sign of the times rather than a reason ryoko kui is giving to hate each character)
taking care of others is a pain in the ass!- saying this as a reason kabru and mithrun shouldn't be together is basically saying disabled people shouldn't be allowed to have romantic relationships because they're a "burden"...if someone is actually willing to put in the work, then let them be.
that's not even all of their relationship, mithrun is the fighter of their duo and kabru would've been killed by the shapeshifter or something if he'd fallen down the hole on his own since he sucks at fighting monsters.
mithrun helps collect ingredients for cooking every time, too (barometz fruits and griffin egg). he pulls his weight and then some!! i feel like people forget that part of mithrun a lot somehow.
+senshi literally cooks for everyone all time. it's kind of an important aspect of the narrative.
+also, while it is a popular fan thing I see around that kabru handfeeds mithrun, he literally never does lol this is mithrun using his own hands to eat:
also here we have him washing his own body
just saying because people like to treat mithrun like a baby even though the narrative respects him as a capable adult who also has special needs because of an accident. he’s captain for a reason
kabru hates taking care of mithrun!- not exactly, he was initially surprised and put off but got used to it quickly. i’m sure he’s grateful for all the times mithrun saved him from a monster and teleported them out of danger as well
he even starts doing “unnecessary” things for mithrun’s comfort and safety like when mithrun pushes himself too hard fighting, even after his mission to take care of him was complete when the canaries came back
here is even kabru resting while mithrun keeps watch (mithrun let him sleep for 5 hours before waking him up from the nightmare earlier, too):
there's nothing more to their relationship!- they actually have had a very tight and consistent dynamic since they met and they incite the most change within each other by the end.
kabru is the one who inspires mithrun to create new desires so he doesn't waste away, and mithrun is the first person we see kabru being genuine with and it leads him to be more honest with others by the end instead of tiptoeing around everyone all the time (that mask was also the reason some ppl initially disliked kabru…)
kabru’s relationship with mithrun is honestly so important for his character and vice versa, but it’s often disregarded because of one over exaggerated aspect of it (an aspect that isn’t even the first way they interact with each other) or because people want to just straight up ignore it for some reason 🥲🥲
kui dedicates many panels to them that don't particularly serve the narrative as a whole in order to demonstrate this and i think that's pretty significant
you're taking this too seriously!- as if i'm the first person in the world to be crazy about a ship or the characters 😭 i love analyzing text and it's upsetting to see them mischaracterized when kui lays out the characters so clearly and deliberately
also they end up touching each other like all the time and have the kind of canon validation most ppl can only dream of lol i feel so insane look at this:
and this is just when they're first getting to know each other cuz there's a fuckload more
kinda hard to explain how i don't actually need them to get married or whatever but i'd die on this hill for them and i enjoy their dynamic immensely
haha you thought you were reading ship discourse but it was actually a character analysis 🤪🤪🤪
also don’t somehow take this to mean I think anyone has to ship them, I just need everyone to understand these accusations kind of don’t make sense especially when they can also apply to other pairs or characters
bonus kabru just looking at mithrun:
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Maybe that Mario & Luigi warping footage has driven me mad and now I'm just terminally stuck on MAXIMUM BROTHERLY ANGST but the fact that the Mario movie seems willing to go to a very emotional and sweet place with their relationship is killing me!!! Here are some Mario and Luigi-specific theories/possible moments I've been thinking about for the movie, all nicely compiled (and not just tossed into other people's inboxes, haha) - maybe they'll happen in some way, maybe they won't, but if they DO, oh man, I will be a puddle of goo in the movie theater they'll have to sweep up afterwards:
Mario opening up to Peach and Toad about Luigi, what their life was like in the past, their closeness, and his fears/anxieties about the possibility of not being able to save his brother (some version of this seems EXTREMELY likely in the fire flower scene) (and likewise, Luigi talking to his fellow prisoners about Mario and how much he misses his brother!)
Both brothers taking moments throughout the movie to think of each other and draw inner strength/resolve from that - for instance, Mario struggling with his training, feeling exhausted and hopeless, but thinking of Luigi in danger and how much his brother needs him and that giving him the burst of strength and determination he needs to finally complete the course
LIKEWISE, Luigi panicking or struggling to act in his scary predicaments but thinking of Mario and what he would do/say in situations like this and being able to keep going/stay brave because of that memory
BOWSER FIGURING OUT THE RELATION AND USING LUIGI AGAINST MARIO AT A CRITICAL MOMENT??? (I'm sorry, but it feels like the interrogation stuff has to lead SOMEWHERE) (Bowser clearly is looking for info/weak points he can use against Mario, and Luigi himself ultimately IS that weak point!!!)
This could play out in a lot of different ways - using an in-danger Luigi as bait for a trap, maybe there's some Magic Shenanigans where Kamek throws Luigi's voice to lure Mario away from the group during a battle, or maybe Bowser just taunts Mario about his brother and how Mario's too weak to save him from the torture he's endured/will endure. Whatever the case is, Mario's anger and Ultra Big Brother Instincts overriding all other common sense could cause him to act too rashly or make some serious mistakes in the heat of the moment. :(
Either brother thinking that the other is dead for any period of time and just being BROKEN but also FULL OF FIERY VENGEANCE because of it!!! I know, I know, put me in Angst Jail but Mario could get blown off Rainbow Road and presumed dead for a little while, which could get back to Luigi through Bowser or his minions, OR maybe Luigi escapes but Bowser lies to Mario and tells that he disposed of his brother already and he's too late. I could just see both of them breaking down at first but ultimately being ANGRY above all else and resolving to avenge the other, no matter what ;___; (and this would also make their eventual reunion even MORE emotional and impactful)
Speaking of, the brothers reuniting with the BIGGEST, MOST DESPERATE, CLINGING HUG YOU'VE EVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE (this is truly all I care about, I just need the movie to get this right, PLEASE)
Bonus points if there's a big lead-up to it where they maybe they just hear each other at first, or they see one another from a far-away distance and they're just RUNNING and FIGHTING and SCRAMBLING to reach each other, calling out all the while, to the point that they can't even stop, they just TACKLE each other at full speed
(They've never been apart this long before! Ever since they can remember, they've been joined at the hip, and this whole time, it's felt like they were missing a limb, but now THEY'RE BOTH HERE and THEY'RE OKAY and there's a lot of fussing over injuries and frantic questions and THE BIGGEST, TEARIEST SMILES EVER and it finally feels like everything's really gonna be okay, even though there might still be an ongoing invasion/final battle to take care of)
After reuniting, there being a situation where they need to split up again temporarily to accomplish different goals in the name of stopping Bowser and Mario is actually the more anxious one for once who really doesn't want to let Luigi out of his sight after they've just found each other again, but Luigi takes a turn reassuring him that it's gonna be okay (and Mario is quietly impressed by how his brother seems a little braver after his ordeal)
ALSO after reuniting, there being a moment before the final battle with Bowser where Mario is self-doubting and isn't sure he can win, but Luigi doesn't understand that because ever since they were little and dealing with playground bullies, he's ALWAYS thought of Mario as a hero - this new role just fits him so well, at least in Luigi's eyes, and he knows that Mario can do this (I KNOW, I KNOW, A LITTLE CHEESY, but!! i just love the idea of Luigi hearing about/seeing his brother as The Hero and being like "yep, my big bro IS amazing and brave and the absolute best, this makes sense!")
At any point, Mario actually seeing Bowser hurt/threaten Luigi and just going ABSOLUTELY BALLISTIC because of it. RIP BOWSER, YA IDIOT
Possibly related to the above, but it feels like a pretty sure thing that the final battle has to be Bowser VS Mario all the way, that's how so many games end, but! I do think Luigi could provide important assistance at one or two moments. Like maybe Bowser is startling to struggle and goes for the power star, but Luigi has already beaten him to it and manages to throw it to Mario before Bowser reaches him - but then he gets STRUCK HARD or even knocked out by Bowser and Mario's anguished reaction sets off the star's power! (I did see that somewhere else, not my original idea - the concept that the star can only be activated by an intense, pure-hearted emotion - but I love it <3)
That's all I got for now - again, even a FRACTION of these happening would be officially Too Much for my little, feeble heart. I'm just so grateful that from everything we've seen so far, the movie really does seem to be centering the brothers' relationship (even if they're not physically together for most of it) and how much they mean to each other and that is everything!
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