#feel free to share an opinion but if u yell at me i’ll cry

[thewingedwolf]

like a quarter of the way through a clash of kings, this is just some random assortment of thoughts, pls remember that i do not remember jack shit about what happens later so no one can judge me if i wonder if a theme will hold throughout the series okay.

davos seaworth

i don’t have anything intelligent to say beyond that i love this man so much. can’t wait for him to completely crash into the northern storyline in the books. i highlighted this line from him because i loved it so much, because i love when peasantry get one over the lords: in time, my little black ship will fly as high as Velaryon’s seahorse or Celtigar’s red crabs.

i do love his chapters for a similar reason to arya’s - we get a glimpse of what the low born in this universe deal with. davos thinks a lot about his life before stannis & the way he’s treated in comparison to the other lords. he’s always keenly aware of how precarious his situation is & it not only gives him the unique ability to give stannis honest advice, it makes him more astute than a lot of the men around him.

tyrion i - iii

first of all, i love putting tyrion on like 2x the speed to get through his chapters quicker lmao

second - there’s just such a dissonance between his very clear headed way of understanding the precarious social roles of sex workers & the way he looks at shae (and tysha, since he still thinks she’s a sex worker atp). he can recognize, mourn, and attempt to get some semblance of justice for the woman and her baby that cersei has ordered murdered, and even when he’s being kind to slynt to put him at ease, there’s an undercurrent of disgust there at how callously slynt thinks about the young woman he had murdered. and yet, just moments later, he thinks about how he’s given shae a pretty house with pretty guards and pretty things, but when she makes moves to become closer to him emotionally, he thoroughly puts her back in her place as a low born sex worker. there’s a line at the very end of his chapter where he says “he wanted to laugh, he wanted to weep, most of all, he wanted shae” and it just boggles my mind that he can yearn for love, sensuality, & understanding so keenly, but can’t extend his belief that Women Are People Too to the woman who shares his bed, then descends into a “maybe all women are bitches, actually” as he continues down his path.

catelyn i

interesting how quickly robb turns on catelyn. he was a bit more amenable to listening to her in agot, but the moment he feels he’s “a man grown” he stops listening to her almost immediately and completely. part of it is youth, part of it is, ya know, the general violent patriarchy of westeros eating at his brain, and both of these imo combine to make this storm of extreme resentment towards cat, something she clocks almost immediately. “kings don’t have mothers” is how she puts its. i think atp she’s gotten the idea that he resents her calls for peace bc it makes him feel like he’s being brash & dismisses her on the word of the men around him - that she has a “woman’s heart” and is too gentle to understand how wars are won.

but imo he seems equally resentful that she’s right to chastise him at almost every turn. she’s right to think theon will turn, balon can’t be counted on, cersei will find his terms insulting, the lannisters would only trade sansa for jaime, rickard’s anger & grief will become a problem, the river lords shouldn’t have been sent home, he should have acted quicker in trading jaime, and she’s going to continue being correct! Catelyn is intelligent, she was raised as Hoster’s heir apparent for most of her childhoodl. She is a well of knowledge that Robb refuses to tap into because she will not tell him what he wants to hear. This might have been something he outgrew as he got older tbf; plenty of 15 year old boys are resentful of their mothers telling them they are wrong. But those other 15 year old boys aren’t kings waging wars, and they get the benefit of failing and learning better. Robb, uh, does not 💀💀

theon i

where’s that “theon gets so bold for being a misogynist” post, it’s always what i’m thinking about. he’s so mean to that poor sailor’s daughter even as he’s projecting his own daddy issues onto her, but in his projection of “all fathers are cruel to their children, that’s just life” he doesn’t offer her sympathy, he tells her to get over it. partially general lordly “you’re a peasant woman and i’ll use you how i like” but also clearly theon’s own issues with father figures & masculinity.

also theon has “a certain affection” for robb, okay you lying bitch lmao just a lil bit of feeling right, you basically don’t care at all about robb, he’s just a dumb kid. smh. also interesting how he asks after his mother & sister first, and how dismissive he is of balon, how he remembers nothing positive of his brothers. he walks onto Pyke clearly trying to emulate them yet well aware they are not men worthy of emulating.

dany i

idek what to say about dany lmao. i sort of wish she’d spent more time with the dothraki & more time focusing on her khalasar bc that’s the only culture she ever really accepts & wants to be part of. it kind of makes sense with her personality - i think there is something appealing to a girl who has been abused by a brother who is clearly less intelligent & less capable than she is, in a people who literally wear their capability in their hair. but grrm clearly isn’t interested in fleshing out the dothraki lmao and we move on from the dothraki sea quickly.

the other thing that sticks out to me is her relationship with jorah. it means something very different to her than it does to him & it’s just now that she’s started to realize that, but she still believes she can reconcile those two things for him. she doesn’t desire him, but she does love him, and she believes that giving him a gentle, happy ending to his story & giving him love as his queen will be enough for jorah. such a sweet little girl way of thinking about him, and it really reminds me how young she is at this time, which makes his whole existence so much worse.

arya & sansa

my main thoughts on arya are just how horrifically the war has spread to the small folk. so many of these chapters are arya’s pov; tyrion, robb, & cat are all involved in the politics but arya is right there witnessing what the cost of the war is. the scene with the woman who keeps saying please and her toddler in particular were really unsettling.

i think there’s also a lot of emphasis on how helpless sansa & arya are in their circumstances & how often they try to steal just a bit of agency. arya is always reaching out for some sort of emotional link - to yoren, when she’s scared by the wolves, to gendry, to hot pie, to jaquen. trying to find something to anchor her amongst her life spiraling out of control. sansa, meanwhile, asserts her independence at every turn - reaching out to tommen & myrcella when Joff clearly dislikes them, making smart comments even knowing joffrey will beat her for it, saving ser dontos, all to remind herself that she is still a person with a moral compass, still worthy of dignity. it’s depressing lol, they’re both really going thru it right now.

bran

bran’s chapters are a breather between everyone’s doom & gloom and jon being so involved in Important Plot Things rn. he’s such a sweet boy, willing to take criticism from Maester Luwin, doing his duty as a prince even as he’s struggling with how his life has been transformed by his disability. he’s kind and serious about dealing with manderly & hornwood, and he quickly realizes both that lady hornwood is lonely & in need of a husband to protect her claim, while also that her seat needs an heir & lord hornwood had a bastard - he thinks of jon, of how smart & skilled jon is, and thinks about giving the seat to a bastard. hes also funnier lmao - like the comment about how the marriage bed always involves a man sleeping on top of his wife aksjsjs. such an 8 year old thing to think.

there’s also more of bran’s selective amnesia - the moment the lannisters are mentioned, he starts having trouble breathing & has another green dream. something to be said - and none of it is good - about how closely intertwined bran’s trauma is with his abilities. i don’t want him to come back as an empty shell

(even though i maintains that he wasn’t an empty shell. but was that just the actor making decisions or did d&d just badly adapt something more complicated or completely axe a chunk of bran’s arc, i mean it’s clear they didn’t like him, they cut him out of a full season lmao. and i mean. look at my username. LOOK AT IT. this is my header on twitter and it’s been my header for a long time!!!!:

i love him, and if his ending is sad i’m going to lose my mind and i’m sure if it’s tragic, grrm will write it beautifully and i’ll just cope by reading fanfiction and changing my icon to him forever in mourning. but so far, the show and a lot of theories just make me wanna die aksjdj so every time there’s a vague implication of More Bad Things happening with bran, i’m getting paranoid).

but there’s a clear conflation between bran being traumatized and bran’s abilities, at least in the beginning.

varys

he gets his own bc he’s in tyrion’s chapters all the time but i am ALWAYS wondering what is the truth and what is a lie with this man lmao. he seems sincere in thinking that robert’s bastard & the mother would have been safe but surely he would realize that when lannisters are involved, babies are fair game bc of his Ditchwater Prince, right?? did he just underestimate cersei’s cruelty or did he just not care? did he figure gendry would be more useful in the future, if he needed one of robert’s bastards to get one up over Cersei? or did he simply not act fast enough? - because we know from arya that Varys hadn’t wanted the Lannisters & Starks to start fighting as quickly as they did, so did he simply not have the time bc Joff’s cruelty & Littlefucker’s scheming took him by surprise? Or is he framing it this way because he knows if he’s just like “yeah i didn’t care about the baby dying” he knows it would offend tyrion?? TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW VARYS.

[spiderling-space]

Could I request Yandere Kalim, with Soulmate Au? So Kalim and Reader would be soulmates, and Kalim is yandere for them. I don't mind what kind of soulmate Au, though, it could be timers, names, shared injures.

Although please feel free to reject if you don't want to write this.

I'm going with names since I like that the most.  It became longer than I intended. Around 2,6k words.

PS: Have your individuality in your relationships.

Italics indicate thoughts

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

Kalim Al-Asim

Warning: Yandere behaviour, guilt-tripping, gaslighting (passive), unhealthy relationship

It all started when he saw the tattoo on their forearm. "That's me!" He yelled suddenly, staggering back. He then rolled up his sleeve, "Is this your name?" He asked with such excitement that made (Y/N) think he would cry if they said no.

Nevertheless, it was their name. "Yes."

They didn't think they would meet their soulmate in NRC. After the day they met, (Y/N) asked around what type of person Kalim was. Everyone mentioned how different he was from the rest of school, how supportive he was, how he was there for them when needed, the way he radiates positivity everywhere he went and always having a smile on his face. (Y/N) wasn't going to lie. At first, they thought Kalim was faking it since they had seen similar people turning out to be evil in shows and movies they watched and the books they read. However, their opinion of him turned positive after hanging out together and getting to know each other. He was one of the best people they had ever met, had the brightest smile they had ever seen. No one would be able to resist him once he smiled and looked with those bright eyes. (Y/N) was one of them. Kalim had fun ideas but they had responsibilities to take care of, they couldn't spend their entire time with Kalim. But how could they reject Kalim's idea when he looked so heartbroken after saying they were busy? They couldn't. They got into trouble with the academy for not doing or doing sloppy homework and their friends for not spending time together.

Kalim might be their soulmate but that didn't mean they couldn't spend time apart. (Y/N) promised themselves that they would say no to Kalim the next time he asked to hang out together. They were soulmates who would marry one day. If they didn't set the boundaries now, they wouldn't be able to do it in the future. And they certainly didn't want their future life to turn up like that.

Unsurprisingly, Kalim showed up. "(Y/N)!" He kissed their cheek which was another thing they needed to talk about. "How've you been doing? Let's go carpet ride!" He didn't even wait for their response as he grabbed their sleeve and started pulling.

But no more. They were going to take a stand. "Kalim, stop." He didn't seem to hear them and kept pulling but (Y/N) planted themselves like a tree, unmoving. "Kalim, stop." He didn't even look at them. "Kalim!" That got his attention. "We need to talk. Now."

"We can talk on the carpet! C'mon!" He was ever excited but his smile faltered when they didn't cave in. "Are you upset with me?" He asked, giving them puppy dog eyes.

(Y/N) was glad that he at least understood they were upset. "Yes." his smile turned upside down, it was horrible to see him sad. "No!" He smiled once again. "I mean... ugh! I just..."

"I'm glad you aren't upset with me. Let's go!" 

He must have understood that they were conflicted then why was he trying to dismiss it? It was frustrating him. "No! Fuck! I'm so done! I'm trying to have a conversation with you and you just ignore it! Do I not mean anything to you? Do -"

"You mean everything to me!"

"You did it again! You don't even let me finish!" (Y/N) couldn't stop anymore. It was now or never. "You don't care what I want as long as you get to do whatever you want! I hate it! You are suffocating me!" They pinched the bridge of their nose. "Just because we are soulmates doesn't mean we will be together 24/7. Give me a fucking break!" It felt good to spill everything out but they didn't realize the volume of their voice increase nor the people around staring at them. Damn it! Don't people have better things to do? "Can we talk somewhere private and just... uhm... fix the issue?"

Kalim looked like he was about to cry and he might have shed a tear or two, given that he seemed to wipe his eyes. Thankfully, he agreed and they went to his room for privacy. (Y/N) thought they messed up once and wanted to have a calmer discussion with him. They weren't able to sit, nervous about how he would react once he heard everything they wanted to say since just a small outburst made him teary eyes. "I shou-"

"I'm sor-"

They both spoke at the same time. "I need to tell th-"

"I'm sorry for making you feel as if I don't care for you." Kalim walked over (Y/N) and hugged them. "I promise to be a better boyfriend to you!" He kissed their cheek before letting them go. "Let's play- I mean... Do you want to play Mancala? Jamil would bring us snacks and it would be fun!" He acted as if he wasn't on the verge of crying a second ago and dismissed the issue once more but at least he apologized, that was progress.

Still...

"Kalim," They took his hands and led him to sit on his bed. "Thank you for apologizing but we didn't resolve anything. You dismissed what I feel again." They liked him, he was a good man but he just needed to listen to them. They believed he could change. "I love spending time with you but I have a personal life too. I couldn't do my homework properly for the last couple of weeks and I couldn't hang out with my friends. I need time for them too. And sometimes, I am too tired or I'm not interested in what you want to do. It is hard to say no to you when you look at me with those eyes. Please understand my wish to set personal boundaries." They didn't want to bring up guilt-tripping yet since they thought he would get better after this speech.

Kalim seemed to listen to what they said attentively. They hoped he wouldn't make a fuss about it. They felt better when he nodded. "I see." He pulled them into a hug. "I promise I'll be better for you, (Y/N)."

"Glad that we resolved it. Again, I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier." They hugged him back. "I now have to go and do my homework. See you later!" They untangled themselves from Kalim and headed out to their room.

The next day, Kalim showed up to ask them about another adventure he planned. He managed to convince them to join when he said he would be all alone if they didn't come with him. "I know I am sometimes clumsy, I hope I won't lose my balance and fall. Jamil would be with me normally but he has basketball practice for hours."

(Y/N) didn't want to go hiking with Kalim but if he hurt himself, they would be responsible in a way. They certainly didn't want Kalim to be hurt nor to be guilty of him getting hurt so he agreed to go with him. The following day Kalim came up with a new adventure. "I'd get lost in the woods without you. Jamil and I are both grew up in a desert country. He wouldn't be able to find us a way to return even if he tries. Please come with me to explore the woods so I can return safely with you." (Y/N) agreed to this too, not wanting to cause their soulmate to be lost in the woods.

On the adjacent days, Kalim came up with an idea and told them if they could come with him so that he wouldn't be harmed. They didn't want to feel any guilt if he were to injured so they joined all of them. On the last day, they said no.

Kalim gave them space after that day. (Y/N) thought he learned his lesson. Everything was fine in their life. They were even planning to ask Kalim on a date since they didn't talk for days.

"I've heard that (Y/N) tried to carve out their tattoo because they couldn't stand Kalim." 

"I heard they tried to change the tattoo so they would have a different soulmate than Kalim."

"Is that even possible?"

"I don't know but I know that they tried. Haven’t you seen how (Y/N) made Kalim cry two weeks ago? They must despise him."

“How could a person despise Kalim? He is friends with everyone and there is no one who would say a bad thing about him.” 

The fuck? (Y/N) was sure that they heard his and Kalim's name in their conversation. They certainly didn't do anything like that. As they passed the group, they received glares from everyone in the group. They wanted to tell Kalim what they heard and how idiotic it was but they couldn't reach him either by phone or by going over to Scarabia. Since they didn't get a chance to talk to Kalim, they went back to their room.

They managed to find Kalim the next day and talk briefly about what they heard. "I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding, (Y/N). I know you wouldn't do something like that." He smiled, making them feel better. They hanged out casually for the next few days then Kalim spontaneously invited them to a carpet ride.

"I'm sorry, I promised my friends that we would binge-watch this new tv show that came out."

"It's okay." They were glad to hear Kalim's positive response. He really is working himself to be a better boyfriend.

The next morning at breakfast, their mood turned sour.

"Did you know that the reason (Y/N) pushes Kalim away is that they are having an affair with someone?"

"No one would cheat on their soulmate once they learn they are soulmates. That's just nasty."

(Y/N) left without eating breakfast so they wouldn't hear any of those stupid people. They needed fresh air to distract themselves from what they heard but it only made things worse.

"My friend told me. He saw (Y/N) flirt with a guy from Scarabia right after they sent Kalim away." A guy from Heartslabyul said a student from Octavinelle and Pomefiore.

"I bet that's the person they are cheating with and they must be using Kalim's money to do whatever they want." added the Pomefiore student.

"So (Y/N) is acting the perfect soulmate for Kalim for his money and use his money to fuck around with another guy. I thought soulmates wouldn't be able to be with someone else other than each other." Heartslabyul student said

"You can break the bond but you need to do an unspeakable thing first." Octavinelle one told the group.

"Where did you hear that?"

"Doesn't matter. This means (Y/N) did something unspeakable. I feel sorry for Scarabia prefect."

(Y/N) didn't want to hear their talk anymore as they rushed to Kalim's side. Unfortunately, he was sick and didn't have the energy to talk to them as Jamil informed them.

The next day the rumors got worse. "Kalim is terminally sick because (Y/N) tried to break their bond." "They are trying to kill him." So forth.

The rumors around (Y/N) grew larger and larger. At first, their friends defended them whereas Kalim was nowhere to be seen. But their friends abandoned them too. "We believe, you didn't do anything but the others don't and they don't talk to or look at us since we are friends with you. Forgive us but we don't want to spend our student lives as ostracized." 

They were all alone. No one spoke to them. They just talked about them but never to them. They couldn't take it anymore.

(Y/N) didn't have any other choice. They had only one place to go. They thought all of these rumors would die if people saw they were with Kalim and if he said there was no problem between them. So they went to Kalim. They didn't say they came to him because of rumors but they thought he knew it deep down. He didn't care what people were saying about them as he hugged them tightly. "You should move to Scarabia. Even my room!" He said, eyed closed with a huge smile on his face. "No one would say anything about you then." They were soulmates and have been dating for months so staying in the same room wasn't outrageous for them. They accepted his proposal. He immediately asked Jamil to help them with their stuff. After placing their basic stuff in Kalim's room, he asked if they wanted to walk to clear their head which (Y/N) accepted dearly.

"At least, people won't talk about how you beat me and gave me bruises anymore!" Kalim said with a cheery attitude.

Huh? Nobody was talking about that in the school.

"Or how you sneaked into treasury room to get yourself some diamonds!" He added another rumor that didn't exist.

There was something in the way he said those that were giving goosebumps to them. (Y/N)'s mind was trying to understand why they felt on edge suddenly. It was better to confront the issue now. "Uhm... those weren't among the rumors. Whe-"

"Oh, they weren't?" Kalim looked surprised. "I thought I vented about it. Hmmm... never mind then! Let's go and ride flying carpet."

Did he say 'vented?'

"Sorry, Kalim. You said vented. What do you mean by it?" (Y/N)'s instinct was telling them to run from great danger but Scarabia was a safe place. It must be their mind playing tricks on them.

"Since we weren't together, I was feeling upset. My friends just asked me why I was upset and I told them everything. It's good to be friends with the majority of the school since I had so many friends who listened to what I said. They are such good people, listening to my worries attentively and comforting me." He stopped in front of them, looked them right in the eyes. "They say talking fixes every problem. And look! Talking made you come back to me."

Talking solves everything but it wasn't him talking that made me succumb to his wish. It was those nasty rumors. Surely he knows... Oh. Oh! That is just ridiculous, he wouldn't do something like that to me. He loves me too much for it. Still... (Y/N) wanted to believe that what they were thinking was just their mind was making that up. "Kalim, you know that the rumors caused me great problems."

He cut them off again. "Don't worry. I won't talk about your thievery and the bruises you gave me. Since you are back in my arms, there is no need for me to talk about you to my friends anymore."

"I didn't steal anything or even hurt an inch of you. Why would you talk about something that doesn't exist?"

"Those rumors won't exist as long as you are with me. Since you will never ever leave me again, you won't need to work your mind about it." Kalim told them with a bright smile on his face. "Now let me show you a whole new world!" He grabbed their hand and tugged their sleeve. "Unless you want to leave me by myself. It would be a shame if your reputation plummets down more." 

(Y/N) was too shocked to answer so they just nodded. 

"Great! Let's go!" Their mind was numb as Kalim dragged them after him.

Kalim looked like the sweetest person one could ever meet. They didn't think he would ever do something so nasty.

Is this the man whom I'll spend the rest of the days with? What did I do to deserve such fate? 

[ryukyuan-sunflower]

Mugen’s Autonomy: Personal Feelings or Obligation For Fuu

I recently received this ask: “Something always gets in the way of me being fully behind Fuugen. Ever since, Mugens always highly valued his own autonomy. He does the complete opposite of what he's told, and he constantly repeats that he doesn't work for anybody but himself. Even his partnership with the Yakuza didn't last long, and his condition for his last pirate job was that it was supposed to be one job only. He's such a free spirit I don't see Mugen being able to settle down with anybody. Do u think Mugen x Fuu can last?”

So I thought I would write another of my annoying Fuugen posts about it, since responding to asks means cutting down the response. Here is my full answer!

You bring up a valuable point and uncertainty. However, I do have some evidence to refute this, that I hope can clear your doubts or maybe change your opinion.

Autonomy or Moral Obligation?

You are 100% right that Mugen values his own autonomy. This is a major part of his character that we have seen in the early episodes, all the way until episode 17. Though, saying he is purely autonomous complicates Mugen’s intentions.

Let’s say Mugen only takes the orders that just so happen to align with what he wants. Then that means that every decision he has made in the anime...was because he wanted to make them. That means he saved Fuu so many times not merely out of obligation of her orders, but because he cared deeply for her and desired to do so on his own.

At the beginning, yes, it would seem he selfishly does everything for himself. But he is also not purely acting on obligation and morality, which he does have, despite not showing it. His autonomous feelings are a mix, just like absolutely everything about him: he’s a “chanpuru.” 

He stuck with her, and saved her when he didn’t have to, for his own personal feelings, as well as because he ended up caring and sympathizing with Fuu enough to want to help her.

The Times Mugen Obeyed Fuu’s Orders

You mentioned that he does the complete opposite of what he is told. But this is not fully true. Mugen does take orders. On many occasions, Mugen swallowed his pride and took Fuu’s orders time and time again. He also took one other order...from Jin. I’ll get to that later.

Two examples were given of Mugen not doing what he’s told.

The first you mentioned is that Mugen’s job with the yakuza did not last. This was because he didn’t believe in their shoddy morals or ways of thinking. They exploited the weak and used roundabout ways of getting what they wanted, rather than fighting directly. In the very same episode (episode 4), Mugen leaves the yakuza for good. BUT, while walking in the rain, he remembers Fuu behind the bars of a brothel, yelling at him “What are you doing?! What about your promise?!” He swears, and runs back to the brothel to rescue her. He didn’t have to. She gave him an order he didn’t need to follow. But he went back anyway, for no other reason besides either his own personal moral feelings to save her, or his obligation to the promise he made to her. 

Either way, it’s about Fuu.

The second mention you made was how Mugen’s gig with Mukuro and Koza’s pirate band did not last in episodes 13 and 14. However, Mugen hated Mukuro for his cruelty and methods, and the way he used Mugen’s past sins to manipulate him. Mukuro got under his skin, making him feel he is trapped in his sinful past. There is some very revealing dialogue here. When Mukuro asks why Mugen is traveling with Jin and Fuu, Mugen says he is protecting them (Fuu) until they get to Nagasaki. Mukuro laughs at this, turns to Fuu, and says “Do you have any idea what kinds of things he’s done? Or how many people he’s killed? That’s hilarious! A guy like you protecting people?” Mugen then looks super angry and puts a sword to his neck.

The yakuza and the pirates were both immoral, and he had no intention to stay with them...because he wanted to continue his journey with Fuu. In the case of the pirates, he claimed he worked for them to get them money to get to Nagasaki. 

Fuu’s need for Mugen’s help had pure intentions. She foiled Koza greatly in that way. When Koza asks Mugen to run away with her, he responds “I’m not that type of guy.” and knocks her off him. But, in the next episode...he grabs Fuu’s wrist and continues to travel with her. When Koza cried for Mugen, it was a ruse to get Jin to kill her brother Mukuro, so she could run away with Shige, with all the gold. When Fuu cried, she meant it, and nursed him back to health. 

Here are some other incidences of Mugen taking orders from Fuu.

The most major to me is Episode 20. Here, Fuu chooses Jin to leave with Sara instead of Mugen, leaving her and Mugen to travel all the way to Nagasaki...ALONE TOGETHER. Mugen was 100% ready to do just that, despite his and Jin’s planned duel. Though he complains, he shuts his mouth quickly. Mugen then only seemed annoyed when Fuu started crying over Jin leaving. But he stomped ahead of her, and was ready to take her all the way alone! He could’ve left at any time. But he didn’t, because by episode 17...her goal became his goal too.

In episode 16, Fuu and Mugen got into a big argument, and they split ways, leaving Jin to sigh and leave last. It is interesting to me that in episode 17, Okuru tells Mugen his story of how his mother and child were killed...and at that moment he metaphorically died. Okuru also got revenge on some of the Matsumae samurai who caused their deaths. At the end of that very same episode, Mugen (Not Jin!) asks Fuu why she wants to find the sunflower samurai, and asks her if it’s revenge. When she responds, “Yes, for my mother.”, that is the turning point for Mugen. 

Even jokingly, Mugen is constantly being “tamed” by her. This is a behavior she rarely ever exhibited with Jin. 

Here are ways he takes her orders. She physically covers Mugen’s mouth in episode 10, in the Buddhist temple when he gets angry. She pulls him by the collar and drags him along for beating up people in episode 7. And later in episode 7, she tells him not to hurt Shinsuke, even though he wanted to beat the kid up for pickpocketing him, and also holding Fuu hostage. She yells at him twice in episode 20 about Sara, to not sleep in Sara’s room, and later to get out of the bath when he was with Sara. Those are just a few examples of things Mugen let her command him about.

And of course, Mugen and Jin don’t have their final duel until the very end, after she found her sunflower samurai: a repeated command of hers.

Fuu’s Fear of Mugen Leaving +The Final Order Mugen is Given

In episode 24, Fuu confides in Jin. Though it’s very hard to decipher the meaning of this conversation, it is clear to me that Fuu was telling Jin that she believes Mugen will not want to stay with her (or will lose their planned duel). Jin however, seems to be offering to stay with her after the journey ends, in the event Mugen leaves (or dies). 

Jin: “What will you do after you find the sunflower samurai?”

Fuu: “I really haven’t given that much thought.”

JIn: “If I should-”

Fuu: “I don’t really want to think about stuff like this. Because that jerk Mugen-”

Fuu: *tears up* “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

The English dub and subtitles further complicate this cryptic conversation. But based on the line “Datte, Mugen no aitsu ga-” it’s debated what Fuu will say. Was she going to say “Datte, Mugen no aitsu ga suki desu.”?  “Because I love Mugen.” ? 

“Because Mugen wouldn’t stick around like you would.”?

“Because Mugen will die.”?

We don’t know.

Whatever she intended to say, it was about Mugen. And mentioning Mugen was a reason for her to apologize to Jin, and hug him. It is here Jin puts a hand on her shoulder, as a form of comfort.  

Now...here is the most important order Mugen ever took. This time, it’s not Fuu’s order. It’s Jin’s. When Kariya asks Mugen and Jin, who both want to fight him, who will leave and who will stay, Jin has a flashback of that riverbank scene with Fuu. And then this dialogue happens:

Jin: “Go.”

Mugen: “No, you go!”

Jin: “Fuu is depending on you.” or “Take care of Fuu.”

And then the wind starts blowing symbolically. This scene is so very important to show Mugen’s growth. Earlier, we see that Mugen was secretly watching Fuu hug Jin on the riverbank the previous night, though I doubt he could really hear or understand their conversation. To me, it seems he assumed that Fuu cared for Jin more, as her and Mugen never shared such an intimate thing as a hug.

Despite initially telling Jin no, he soon realizes what he must do, and then runs to go save her.

Based on him having that flashback, Jin knows Fuu wants Mugen to save her or show he cares by coming back. He even smiles when Mugen leaves.

This fear of Mugen not truly caring about her is echoed in episode 25, where Fuu tells Umanousuke: “You’re wasting your time. Mugen hacks away without giving the hostage a second thought.”

(This is so stupid to me because Mugen saved her so many times alone in nearly every episode she was kidnapped/held hostage and Jin never did so without Mugen until episode 26...Grr. it would appear she thought this, only because she thought he’d leave the moment his debt was paid.)

Mugen then shows up, catching her by surprise. She doubted him, but he came back for her.

Mugen then tells Fuu: “I won’t die.” And then...

“Ore wa shinjirou”.  “Believe in me.” or  “Trust me.” 

When Mugen had thrown away his sword to save Fuu, he cares more about her living and meeting her father than his own safety. He was brutally tortured and could have easily died multiple times. 

This again questions Mugen’s autonomy.

Did Mugen save Fuu merely because Jin told him to? Or did he save Fuu because he wanted to? I think it’s both. Mugen took an order to protect Fuu...and went to save her because he obviously cares about her.

My Opinion On Their Parting Ways

Personally, I believe that as much as Mugen needed to swallow his pride and show he cared by saving her, Fuu also needed to stop clinging to her bodyguards for help. This is a major reason why I think having them part ways was so important! She finally let them go, to choose their own path without feeling merely obligated.

To me, it seems the characters are testing fate. In episode 3, Mugen states “Fate keeps throwing us back together.” but in episode 16, he gets mad at Fuu when she asks “Why have you stayed with me all this time?” and responds with “It was pure chance.” It appears they don’t know why they kept meeting up. Maybe it was merely the promise that bound them.

If they were to meet again now, without pure chance, or circumstance, or an obligation, or a promise, it would mean fate really did bring them back together. And once they met again, they would not part. That is at least, my interpretation of the ending.

They did not say “Sayonara.” which is an official farewell, but rather “Jaa ne.” “Mata o.” and “Jaa ne. Mata itsuka.” These are all more informal, implying the characters hope to meet again. 

Do I think Mugen x Fuu can last? Why:

You also asked if Mugen and Fuu would last in a relationship.

I believe that for something more to develop after the series between them, Mugen needs to stop running off and pretending he doesn’t care. And Fuu needs to let him go and accept his free spirit… Both of them already showed they were capable of doing this.

So, my answer is 100% yes, I believe they could last. 

This is because of the sacrifices Mugen and Fuu already made for each other. Not only did Mugen throw his sword—his life— to save Fuu,  Fuu also threw her own life in the way to save him from Sara. Not only did Mugen go back to save her many times despite acting like he didn't care and didn't want to, Fuu also let Mugen go, despite subtly confiding that she wanted Mugen to stay.

Now if you’re asking in a traditional sense, such as marriage, or tying him down, no I don’t think this is how Mugen and Fuu would end up or last. And that is why I do not support Mugen x Yatsuha: the kunoichi who wanted to marry him (The existence of her partner Hankichi’s jealousy, and her occupation are other reasons why I don’t ship it). 

My belief in them not traditionally settling down isn’t even just because of Mugen. Fuu too has no one else besides Mugen and Jin. No family. No other friends. A wedding in Tokugawa era Japan is more of a bond between families. But Fuu has no parents to give her away with a wedding dowry, just as Mugen has nothing to give but his physical protection of her. They’re not that different, really. They’re both poor. Both stubborn. Both like to eat a lot. Both constantly argued.

But I can see Mugen and Fuu meeting again...and going on another adventure together, free of the excuse of obligation or a promise. I like the idea of cosmic symmetry and also of fate bringing them together. Mugen and Fuu met first, with him saving her in Episode 1, before Jin even entered the picture. Perhaps they’d travel together for a long time, experiencing everything they want to. Fuu herself stated multiple times that she did not want their journey to end in Episode 20. And Mugen also is a wandering spirit. 

From there, maybe one day they could have a family, whether they travel with a child or do inevitably live in one place when they grow old. 

How Mugen’s Values Changed

I think Mugen mindlessly traveling forever only to eventually die by the sword ruins his development. Because, after all, even big bad old Mugen had viewpoints that changed by the end of the series. He was not at all a static character. I would say he matured the most.

Mugen desired to kill any opponent stronger than him that he couldn't defeat. But three separate times, this doesn’t happen. He was nearly killed by Sara, had Fuu not saved him and then was spared by Sara twice. Then, he left Jin with Kariya Kagetoki, an opponent he couldn’t defeat, because saving Fuu was more important. And most importantly, Mugen and Jin did not kill each other. He stated in episode 26, that he didn’t feel like it anymore, despite always wanting to kill people he couldn’t defeat. 

By the ending of the anime, Mugen is less of a lawless uncaring ex-criminal, and more of an ideal bodyguard like are so often seen in morally focused samurai chanbara films. Mugen embodies the spirit of samurai��morality, honor and obligation—just as much as Jin does, despite not being of samurai heritage, or even Japanese!

I also see Mugen’s relationship with Fuu as a redemption arc. In both scenes where Mugen is dying in episode 14 and then episode 26, he is followed by the Paantu figures in black. These are figures from Ryukyuan Miyako folklore that ward off evil and bad energy. For them to take Mugen to the afterlife, seems as if they are destroying an evil spirit. But Fuu calls him back to life three times in the final scene, redeeming him. He still has a reason to live. She gets no similar scene with Jin.

Instead of aimlessly wandering for people to kill who were stronger than him, Mugen found more of a meaning out of life. Purpose. And companionship.

I believe that it is no coincidence that the track that starts when Mugen tells Fuu to run in Episode 25 is titled “Your Purpose”, with the singular lyric of “You.” 

I hope that the evidence I have provided from the episodes can help clear up some doubts about Mugen x Fuu. If it doesn’t, well, I hope that it can at least help you and others to see Mugen as a dynamic character who does in fact take orders...but only orders from or about Fuu. In terms of autonomy, he had come back to Fuu and stayed with Fuu all on his own in many incidences.