#kaze rambles

[kaze-writes]

Doing the open tag by @kc-the-writer in @gufu-vire’s Pinterest game.

Results are odd and a little aesthetically unpleasing but I still (because or despite lol) feel represented 😅

Whoever reads this, feel tagged!

How Does Pinterest See You?

Rule: Search for fashion, Pantone, mood, and food, and save the first pictures that appear.

[kazeharuhime]

Made a thing and decided maybe it's decent enough to post. Links to refs, the blank, and rambles under the cut.

Flora: Flos adonis. "Painful recollections" in flower language according to Catharine Harbeson Waterman's Flora's Lexicon (1840).

Fauna: Flying fish. I use these as symbols for Wotrens in general, but Tsuname in particular has a scene where he glides over the ocean and enjoys a moment of freedom, so I think he best exemplifies the whimsy that is the flying fish.

Object: Marble. In hindsight though I should have picked suncatcher, that would have been a lot more symbolic, especially considering I have an old picture of him trying to catch the last rays of the sun. Well, marble will do in a pinch I guess. My thinking was a silly pun involving losing his marbles, also it being a lone marble to imply "where did the others go?" Also chose a clear one as part of the symbolism too. I went through a number of objects for him before settling on marble. Originally I was going to do "window" but couldn't find a ref I liked for it. Then I thought of "tide pool" but that's more a place than an object. Then I thought maybe one of those epoxy resin arts, but there's something really artistic and delicate about those that felt a little bit off to represent Tsuname. But yeah. He's transparent but also shallow some ways. So that's why it has to be a marble or something not that deep. Shallow in the sense that you don't have to reach very far to see what's going on inside. That's why I was thinking glass at first. Window because you can easily peer inside and see what's going on. Tide pool for a similar reason. It's not that deep, you can scoop up some crustacean crawling around in there and look at it. Also sea-theming is very important for him.

You know what I just remembered... 'bracelet' is an object that has more significance in-story. I guess it less represents him though and more his devotion to Sh'zkai...

Song: The Name of Anger by Rurutia. I also could have picked Meltdown by Lollia, but decided they both exemplify Tsuname in different ways, so I didn't need to swap it out. For the one I chose though, it's chock full of symbolism that I think really fits Tsuname well. I think of it typically in the broader context of the invasion he experienced, so in some ways, Meltdown feels a bit more personal than The Name of Anger does for Tsuname. Meltdown I associate more with his ongoing mental battle, whereas The Name of Anger deals far more with the past and how it contextualizes the present. The opening line translates to something like "The ladder of light collapses." This 'ladder of light' I think of representative of hope, but also with like a tractor beam. The light is 'collapsing' which means the beam is disappearing, and with it, any hope of getting back those that were taken by it. "Innocent live sink to the mud." . . . "Overflowing from the ark are the tears of lost children." That last one I associate with the Gaediens who were taken. "My hands transform into swords; my ventless anger continues to spiral" Feels like a fast-forward to present day Tsuname, who has become a weapon against his will and his hands are now swords, and his pent up anger from the horrors he endured spills out everywhere. Lastly I love the picture painted by this line: "The jet-black sea winds whirlpools." There's not many good translations of the song online but you can find the original lyrics here: (x) I am for sure taking some creative liberties in my associations but XD that's the rub.

Feeling: Kuebiko. I abridged the definition quite a bit on the picture to get the text to play nice.

And yes, I did ref the Ocarina of Time scarecrow because it was simpler to draw than trying to figure out how to abstract a proper photo of a scarecrow. XD;

There's a lot of interesting gems in the etymology of kuebiko as well that fit Tsuname:

Kuebiko comes from kueru (崩える), an archaic verb meaning "to break down; to become shabby and disordered", plus hiko (彦), an old epithet for "boy, young man", in turn from hi ko��(日子), literally "sun child".[1][2][3] The meaning could be translated as something like "shabby young man".

Yamada no sohodo is formed like an old-fashioned formal name, from surname or literal noun Yamada (山田, lit. 'mountain + paddy'), genitive or possessive particle no (の), and sohodo (案山子),[4] in turn from soho ("sopping wet") + -do, a contraction from -bito, the compounding form of hito (人).[5] The meaning of this name could be construed as "soaked person of the mountain paddies", a euphemism for "scarecrow".

As for the kami aspect of the etymology, at first I thought he had nothing to do with folk wisdom, knowledge and agriculture, but if you think on it, maybe a little. For one thing, when he returns to the island he has a lot of knowledge of how things work out in space that no one else has, so in one sense he is sort of this oddity. Folk wisdom could be turned on its head because his devotion to what he grew up believing is a big part of his character, but he lacked the proper nuance about the belief, so this "folk wisdom" doesn't exactly pan out when he doesn't understand how it applies to the real world (or doesn't). Agriculture was the one that I thought... no, not at all, but thinking on like... the connotations of agriculture, like "living on the land" -> "devotion to the land" -> "devotion to one's home and native land" could be something.

But anyways, the TDoOS definition definitely pulls more from the latter half of that opening sentence from the wiki:

"Kuebiko (久延毘古) is ... represented in Japanese mythology as a scarecrow who cannot walk but has comprehensive awareness."

Going back to the literal meaning, "shabby boy/sun child" really fits Tsuname well. Broken down, made shabby and disordered by his past. I often associate Tsuname with the sun in a lot of ways too. His original sunny disposition, overshadowed now by the horizon, making "sunset" another potent symbol for Tsuname's present psyche.

The second name for Kuebiko in Yamada no sohodo I also thought was kind of interesting, since being a fish boy he often does drag himself out of the ocean sopping wet, but also the connotation of sopping wet with "pathetic" feels of portent. XD

Hmm. Knowing what I know now it feels kinda weird to associate him with this word, but, I guess TDoOS is useful for describing feelings!

Anyways here's the link to the blank: (x)

Thank you if you've read this far. XD

[lifeofkaze]

Do we want to bring back monthly lists?

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve made a good monthly list.

[onelastskip]

THERE'S A PERCY TOZAKI PLAYLIST AND ONLY ONE PERSON TOLD ME @untamed-and-unfiltered my life is yours forever

nobody else is allowed to use this image. you can only look and be jealous.

from the beloved mutual themselves YIPPEE

i check the keyframes vn tag daily,,, I'm just saying anyone else can get in on this action,,, or if you're shy you can send anon asks,,, ill give you a lil smooch

[umbrace-rambles]

Part of me will always be sad over the fact that we will never be able to read the original uncensored manuscript where Kakeru and Haiji end up canonically together, but I'm so glad it has remained as subtext </3

[dotted-clouds]

I finished reading a manga I haven't read in 13 years called Silver Diamond ... honestly it was fantastic read for a 2003 manga..

have my mans Senroh Chigusa 💕

[kindwhispers]

Kaze Hikaru: Slow burn romance, debunking the patriarchal gender roles, and the intricacies of a fractured Bakumatsu era

Disclaimer: Attached below are heavy spoilers, please read on your own discretion.

I. Initial thoughts and impressions:

I am not well versed with Japan's Feudal history but I am well aware that this is recounting actual events during the Bakumatsu Era. At first it definitely felt like there's a lot of information bombardment in a chapter, as well as characters being thrown around and it was quite hard to catch up especially coming in with zero background on the Shinsengumi. There's definitely so much to consider and put into mind because of its setting and I can be highly critical with a lot of them (especially how huge gender role expectations were and how overbearing & cruel patriarchy is especially during this era, will get into this next).

II. Bakumatsu era, Bushido:

Just for a quick background, this was set in 1863-1867 during the decline of Bakumatsu, the last leg of Edo Period under Tokugawa shogunate, right before Meiji Restoration. Bushido is the "way of a warrior" and how bushis live with this code of conduct.

III. On antiquated patriarchal gender roles:

In the vast course of the series, Soji often offers a resolution for Sei to marry off instead of staying in Shinsengumi for a promise of safety... though distinctly coming from a place of care for her, is still in the end administering to misogyny where women were expected to be in households. It all essentially rows around patriarchy during Edo period.

Sei is someone who has struggled a lot to become a bushi as a woman. She is always told that she couldn't, as a woman, she should be married at her age instead, and so forth. Through Sei, we can see a lot of the constraining and dismantling the patriarchal gender structure as she climbs her way up to stand amongst Shinsengumi, which is domineered by mostly men. With her hard work and zeal, along with her raison d'être (first, joining to seek vengeance for her family, then, staying for Soji), she has earned her way up and is seen as a bushi on equal footings- and even better than most. Through all these, she constantly hears and deals with archetypal misogyny and sexist remarks, how being Feeling and Emotive is considered as a "girly thing," and how she always has to grapple with herself by being "a man" bc what she is doing is not "womanly" enough or what she is doing is still inadequate because she will always be a "woman" at the end of the day. This all falls on the rigid social dichotomy that is founded in patriarchy.

Below, from Volume 30, I believe, somehow counters those gender roles. Sei, when she saw Omasa looking a lot more "womanly" ever since she became a wife and a mum, came the scenes of her lamentations about letting go of her womanhood (marrying off, bearing a child, keeping the household, serving the husband, which were all what was believed to be what encompasses the happiness of a woman- an indoctrination of social mores re: what defines a woman that entirely stems from patriarchy) when she has already decided to choose to walk the path of a bushi. Though she has long been resolute with her decision, she still inevitably comes back to it, and she can't help but feel envious. Kondo saying "Soji would be a good wife" already disproves the gender stereotypes, and how the important conversation between Sei and Soji afterwards carries with it so much weight.

Because of her envy with Omasa, she sees herself insignificant both as a woman and as a bushi. She thinks that she is already past the age of a woman who's expected to be marrying off and having a family of her own, and that her mourning about it negates her being a bushi, that she is still as "girly" for thinking this way, even after coming a long way and proving herself in Shinsengumi. Soji then refutes this. Sei emphasized how she wants to be like the wind (Soji) that’s not clinging onto anything and that no desires could constrain, all she could do as a grass is look up to him and admire him even though she couldn’t be with the wind. Soji tells her otherwise, that the wind is envious of the grass that even has the ability to blossom with flowers and yearns to be like that. That Sei is already viewed as influential, and truthfully so. It's basically Soji saying he sees her as equals and is telling her that she is a strong woman and a fine bushi at that; that he, too, admires her (and how at this point Soji has already been perceiving Sei to be strong, as a great bushi and as herself, with how she carries herself & her ability to affect the ppl’s lives around her). Sei needs not to strip away her being a woman, she doesn't have to become a "man" to have been seen as equals, because she did it all being one; she is a woman of influence, and she actively debunks what were archetypal subjectifications of a woman- which, (thought not entirely), defies the patriarchal gender role expectations at this point.

IV. Slow burn romance, transformative and profound Love:

Finally, on the romance! The romance in this manga takes its time and it is wonderful.

I want to start off with how Soji really came a long way of acknowledging his love for Sei (someday I will make a separate post studying his character), how it has always been there, no matter which form, and how transformative it was. At first, he still doesn't fully recognise his feelings about Sei that he instead analogizes it to a parent having to let go of their first born, then how he was with Kondo as a sensei-disciple, then how his love for Sei is that above of a familial love. Now having met Sei, how he finds himself loving her in the process, he subconsciously files it under emotions he’s most familiar with: and that is his love for Kondo, or familial love. What he feels with Sei is something completely alien to him, he doesn’t yet have the awareness that it’s an entirely different form of love (and I will always believe that all the forms of love he had for Sei is just as significant and doesn't need to be measured, even when it doesn't have to necessarily metamorphose into a romantic love). Asking Toshi to reassign Nakamura, allowing his personal feelings get in the way of his work, was the first huge step in coming face to face with his feelings.

“It’s better than marrying someone I truly love so I can just die anytime” monologue of him, and having the dilemma of NOT being like that with Sei… because with Sei, he has something to value and that scares him more than anything. I feel this is interwoven by his past (I will also make a study on Sei & Soji's pasts, their similarities and how their contraries attract, both interlaced by their upbringing). Having ingrained the ‘bushido’ through Kondo & Toshi at an early age, and how he detaches himself from his emotions and dismisses them when it's all right in front of him just to shield himself pain links to his trauma from what happened with Sae.

Soji telling Sei that he wants her happiness more than anybody. At this point, he still struggles to rummage through how he feels. He tiptoes a lot on Sei and keeps her at an arm's length (and how Sei do not want this at all, having witnessed her mum having to bear it all alone, despite her dad loving her- again, will make a separate post about this) because he's scared of unintentionally hurting her.

So many factors come in between their love, the biggest one should be the societal structure during this era. Sei choosing to stay as a bushi & how this is the bridge that continually allows them to be together, so the best they could show it is by protecting each other with their lives. Sei coming to terms of not seeking love in return but just a love that gives and this love acts as a bridge for her to stay in Shinsengumi, to stay with Soji.

They’re both making peace with being able to be by each other despite despite not being Together… How immense their love for each other is that they have to constantly find ways for it to be selfless. 

Going back on the above panels of Sei & Soji's conversation about the analogy of wind-grass inserted in III. On antiquated patriarchal gender roles, him saying there's the desire of whisking away a flower is him wanting to bring her with him. Probably because that flower is still part of a grass so there's a part of Sei that he wants to whisk away with him, and how this ties to both of their inner desires of being together as lovers despite being unaware of how each other feels. That they feel the same about each other and have the same ‘selfish’ yearnings for their love to bear fruits.

Soji finally understands that they both have the same happiness, of being able to watch over each other as the best they can do with their love. He doesn't anymore push her to quit and marry off for a promise of safety but rather respects her agency of choosing to stay so he just does everything he can to protect her, to not lose her. Sei is the same with him. Their love transcends the formalities of marriage, as they get to be by each other's side as bushi, fighting alongside each other with their lives. That they do not need to be wedded to love each other, it surpasses it instead.

Sei and Soji: a profound love that has a pressing desire to be selfish but resists that very selfishness & instead endures all that is fencing their togetherness for each other’s sake. They can’t find themselves to gather this selfishness (of wanting to be with each other as lovers) because they want their happiness more than anything… and that happiness is mirrored by their shared longing of being by each other's side.

Ripened thoughts (under the limitations until Vol. 30):

The charm of Kaze Hikaru is the slow burn romance, & seeing how Sei fares well in a male-domineering environment. I am glad that Sei reiterates that her being a girl doesn't matter as she can be a bushi on par with men, that she does not have to be what is expected of women in that time. Although I initially have qualms about her character as a bushi in the end still being revolved around a man, but the good thing about KH is it dislodges heteronormativity. To Soji, and even to Saito, Sei's gender identity truly didn't matter much. There is also plentiful of iterations in the manga about normativities in sexual preferences, though mostly between men (I have read that sapphics were not much accorded the same way, sadly. And I have yet to read a sapphic manga occurring during the same era, please if you know some recommend them to me...), during Edo period.

This manga doesn't weather down how barbaric this period can get, it instead reminds us many times that deaths were inevitable, no matter how unjust- people die and people kill. It's so bittersweet, yet it manages to keep a balance by showing us how there are found joys & bonds in their quotidian lives, which I really loved and stayed for. Love Kaze Hikaru for how unhurriedly progressive the characters are, how the story takes its time to venture into such a fractured era, & mostly how passionate the mangaka is to chronicle historical events.

Kaze Hikaru is nowhere near perfect, but it is still a wonderful manga that deserves more audience. Please read it and let's team up against V*Z to give us a more consistent volume release.

[flowey-apologist]

I want some bonding with ur goddamn awesome oc, so pls draw a doodle of this fella and Kaze together😭🙏🏻 (can be literally ANYTHING. Let your mind be free)

Gave me so much freedom that I spent like 5 hours thinking of how I was gonna go with this💀💀

BUT I DID IT‼️‼️ Ougoh they seem silly.... I think it's funny that I share a name with your S/I😭😭

BUT GENESISNWAS SUPER FUN TO DRAW‼️‼️ I love their onesie!! Thank u for requesting this..

This was also hard to draw bc Kaze is like. Monstrosingly tall... like 2 or 3 inches taller than Hanami... so I had to draw him bending down👽👽 also his stupid blank ass expression is my favorite thing ever

[tetsuskei]

wayyy more shooters for tsukishima than i thought, i am pleasantly pleased

[onyxedskies]

why did it just like. not at all process in my mind that saizo only has one eye

[the-wheels-on-the-bus111]

rambling thoughts

I just found out the author of Kaze no Stigma, Takahiro Yamato died leaving the light novel unfinished. I honestly don’t know why I care. All in all Kaze no Stigma was just decent, it didn’t leave a lasting impact I just remembered the anime at work this afternoon and thought of reading the light novel but he’s dead, and he’s story will never be complete. The show came out seventeen years ago, the dub came out fourteen years ago. I don’t know what I’m saying, I think I’m just rambling trying to process my feelings. The show isn’t popular enough or has enough dedicated fans to keep it alive though fanfiction. I checked AO3 it only has 25 works, I checked FFN but that only like 200 works which sound like a lot, but most of them are just 100 word Drabble it just feels like I’m the only one who cares.

[cozymodeonpoint]

workin' hard by fujii kaze 🤝 santé by stromae

tell me i'm wrong i dare you

[umbrace-rambles]

Thanking my wife 25 times (and Yui Kajita for translating it) for finally letting me read kazetsuyo <333

[kumoofthemaken]

[As a Misterian, Kumo possessed enhanced hearing as opposed to a Windarian's enhanced sight. Though this is an old shared headcanon, rest assured I shall be writing my own metas soon ^^ however, I want to bring a special lil thing to your attention...]

[Kaze's heartbeat is a uniquely calming sound to Kumo. It feels different due to coming from within the Magun, reverberating powerfully in its metallic chassis. Though he is unlikely to admit such to strangers, Kumo often likes to lay his head on the Demon Gun's sarcophagus when resting with Kaze.]

[When the two aren't bickering, that is. Kumo will not readily do this when a third party is present, at least initially. Perhaps it's part of his petty streak (or, as Kaze would put it, childish streak) but he wants to uphold a distanced persona and give the impression he has a degree of disdain for Kaze. He will sass the other Unlimited with additional intensity, seemingly for show.]

[In reality, sass is his love language, lol.]

[pokemonruby]

yoshimasa hoyosa as volo is going to change me i think

[flowey-apologist]

GENESIS...............

GENESIS I'M LITERALLY IN LOVE WITH KAZE AND HE'S AN OC WHAT DO YOU MEAN

IS THIS A NEW DISORDER???? CHRONIC ARTIST EMBARRASSMENT DISORDER???? I SWEAR TO GOD YOUR GUYS ARE AWESOME AND YOUR THINGS ARE AWESOME AND YOU ARE AWESOME AND- There Are No Words In The English Lexicon That Can Describe My Love (as friends) For You So Just Take My Word For It™

STPO ueah man🤒🤒 idk I've always been like ashamed or embarrassed of sharing my own characters and whatnot, even in my old account.

BUT THAANKK YOUUU‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ THAT MEANS ALOT I'm happy a couple of ppl like Kaze🥲 he's my little (big💀) guy.. ALSO GLAD TO HAVE U AS MY FRIEND