#yamato-hime

[katlimeart]

Made in 2019

If you’ve seen this anywhere else, I posted it back on my deviantArt when it was made.

Mario girls cosplaying as characters from Shugo Chara – requested by jeanette9a

1. Dear Baby

2. Lunatic Charm

3. Platinum Royale

4. Seraphic Charm

5. Yamato-Hime

6. Black Lynx

7. Amulet Spade

8. Dark Jewel

9. Death Rebel

10. Beat Jumper

[himshoo]

[jacksgreysays]

Sorry for the week late prompt but I've been ill lol and had trouble thinking up a good prompt. Fake Title: Terraforming the Red Planet Post Garden!Shikako & (Mei, Tenzo, Gara, OR dealer's choice) pulling off Anti-Danzo Team Red-style miracles.

Hi damnsmartblueboxes! Hope you're feeling better, and no worries about being a week late, lol. I just appreciate the prompts :D

When you say post Garden… do you mean a post Split!Gardens’verse in which Shikako has landed in her new “forever home” and must make the most of it? Or a post Garden in that this is a Shikako who has made her way back to her original universe somehow?

—

Terraforming the Red Planet

“I have an idea,” says Shikako. Tenzo, perhaps understandably traumatized by those words, whips his head around to look at her, baring the whites of his eyes in alarm.

Honestly, Mei thinks he’s overreacting. Then again, she’s only been a part of this expat coalition for a few days so perhaps she hasn’t been as exposed to Shikako’s worst. After all, the idea that led Shikako to Kiri prevented Mei from being publicly executed for treason and also unearthed a missing Seven Swordsman and a previously thought extinct bloodline.

So far this is working out great for Mei. And, despite the heavy scowl on his face, also for Zabuza: he’s been practically glowing since Shikako chucked those Sand kids at him, the three of them plus Haku circling him like sharks scenting chum. Or, worse, a pod of bored orca spotting an unsuspecting seal.

Suffice to say, Tenzo is probably desperate for conversation with a sane adult.

Tentatively, as if braced for impact, Tenzo asks, “It doesn’t involve kidnapping another Kage’s children does it?”

Before Shikako can respond, the littlest Sand kid—the one with bright red hair that Mei had only ever seen before when she was a child, an envoy from Uzushio—abandons Zabuza to defend her.

“She didn’t kidnap us!” The sand swirling around his ankles in agitated waves would be a little more intimidating if it weren’t for his cherubic face, soft voice, and the teddy bear clutched in his arms.

“That’s still up for debate,” his older sister says, one hand on her hip. The other hand she leaves free, not quite hovering over her war fan, but close enough to draw it quickly if she needs to. Not because she’s threatened, but merely as a trained habit. Mei would be impressed if it weren’t for the fact that she was preparing to kill her own classmates at that age.

“Eh,” shrugs their brother. “She technically didn’t kidnap us,” he says, emphasizing that last word. “We tracked Gaara out to the Dead Wastes. Well, the no-longer-dead not-wastes.”

Zabuza, no doubt feeling abandoned, puts a hand on Haku’s shoulder. Haku pats his hand twice, comfortingly, but his attention is focused on the drama.

“I was listening to the stars,” Gaara says, “and Moth—um, Shukaku—told me where to go. And he’s not mad all the time.”

“Yeah, Temari,” his brother says with a shit-eating grin, “if anything, that means Gaara kidnapped himself. And we followed. So we also maybe kidnapped ourselves.”

“Shut up, Kankuro,” Temari retorts, but without further argument. Kankuro looks smug until she digs an elbow into his side.

Matter settled without any input on her part, Shikako finally responds to Tenzo’s earlier question. “No kidnapping of any Kage’s children will be necessary.”

For a moment, Tenzo looks relieved, but Mei has her eyes on Shikako and knows its too early to celebrate. Mei sees the way Shikako pauses, considering, and the minute wince that gets quickly smoothed over into a bland and unconvincing expression of innocence.

“We might have to kidnap an entire clan—”

“We?!” Tenzo protests.

“—although would it still be considered kidnapping at that point? It's more like an encouraged migration, maybe. But first we need to clear out some black marketeers. Or at least set up some kind of contract with them.” Shikako continues, unimpeded, listing on her fingers. “And I’ll need to get some soil samples from Sora-ku before we do any major changes. And also brush up on skyscraper architecture.” She turns to the rest of their ragtag team. “None of you are allergic to cats, right?” she asks, as if that were the only reasonable objection to her increasingly alarming plan.

The children shake their heads, absolutely fascinated. Zabuza tries to make eye contact with Tenzo—as if to commiserate or, perhaps, get confirmation that their leader is being serious—but the Leaf nin has pressed his face into his hands out of sheer, psychic agony.

“You’re just like this all the time, aren’t you?” Mei smiles: her post attempted coup life is going to be fun.

—

A/N: It’s pretty short and also more about Shikako accidentally collecting badasses of various ages than terraforming, but the implication is there. Basically, Shikako is going to extract the entire Uchiha clan from Konoha to prevent them from being hostages/collateral damage/used against her and she’s going to fix up Sora-ku so that they have a place to live. And I think Sora-ku is their territory anyway?

Hope you enjoyed!

Ask Box Advent Calendar 2022!

[aumbraer]

🌸Yamato Nadeshiko🌸

I am obssessed with the hime haircut and I really love characters with this kind of hairstyle ever since I saw it in anime during my childhood. I also love how characters with this hair tend to be so pretty and sophisticated but when they have hidden clumsy and cute sides it's just <3

[melancholic-pigeon]

also.

The Ainu people and the Ryukyuan people and the Okinawan people are still here, and I feel like some of them might like a word about Japanese imperialism.

I hate how very specifically British colonialism overshadows all other imperialism.

Nobody talks about the Ottoman empire, the various shenanigans the Indian and Chinese rulers were up to, the Russian Empire (Russia is still a colonial Empire, btw) hell, even the shit Spain or Portugal did are swept under the rug. Nobody remembers French colonies in Africa or how much of a menace the Dutch used to be.

No, it's all Britain, all the time, baby. The only colonial Empire to ever exist, I guess.

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

Now in the past I've seen people make the claim that Kaido calls Yamato his son only because he wants him to be shogun. Now this always seemed kinda absurd to me cause like I don't think Kaido meant he was gonna have his child formerly recognised by the people of Wano as their leader when he said he wanted yamato to rule, I don't think the gender of the pirate despot really matters, but is there any indication of that in Japanese?

at a certain point i feel like people are just looking for reasons to say yamato's not a man because they don't want to say that they just don't think men can exist that don't fit a certain image of masculinity, yknow?

that aside, though, i don't think this really tracks, because we see in flashbacks that kaidou's underlings used to call yamato 鬼姫/oni-hime ('demon/ogre princess'), an explicitly feminine term, and only switched to calling him 坊ちゃん/bocchan ('young master'), a masculine term, after he was clearly and consistently identifying himself as a man. from what we've seen it seems like kaidou always wanted yamato to be his heir in one way or another, and we know that he wasn't being raised as a boy for that role. he was being raised as a girl, who later started identifying himself as a boy and was recognized as such by the people around him. kaidou himself seems to take much more issue with yamato claiming to be oden, and doesn't really seem to give a shit about his gender either way.

also, the new onigashima plan entailed making all the citizens of wano into slaves. i really can't imagine that it would have mattered if the figurehead ruler put in place over them was a woman.

[kouraissant]

The Sun is dead and love is an unbearable thing (On Yudrein Aile & Grief)

(Above) KOURAISSANT / (Aeschylus: The Oresteia, Aeschylus & The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides, Anne Carson) / Things Haunt, Joshua Jennifer Espinoza / Chapter 514, Turning, 쿠유 / Morning in the Burned House, Margaret Atwood / The opposite of a haunting is something very lonely, heavensghost / A Rosario Castellanos Reader:  ‘Memorandum on Tlatelolco’, tr. Maureen Ahern / Sue Zhao / The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller / The Empress Yamato Hime, tr. Kenneth Rexroth / Spring and All, Cathy Park Hong / UNDER A STAR CALLED SUN / there is no absolution for the fallen, only the dying, p.d / Chapter 1, Turning, 쿠유 / Lesbos (From Ariel), Sylvia Plath

(Below) The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), dir. Mike Flanagan / 6CHO1

[nanabansama]

Quickie: Oto Tachibana Hime

In my research on Japanese legends concerning human sacrifice, I came across another story that I neglected to mention in my last post. I think it has some interesting connections to JSHK, though, so I think it's at least worth mentioning here.

Oto Tachibana Hime (弟橘媛) was the wife of Yamato Takeru, a very famous folk hero in Japan.

During one of his voyages at sea, his ship was caught up in a violent storm. Oto Tachibana Hime nobly sacrificed herself to save everyone, which appeased the sea god Watatsumi, allowing Yamato Takeru to continue his journey.

You'll notice that this story, once again, features a young maiden sacrificing herself to calm a water god. This time it's a sea god, though, which is tougher to reconcile as the god of Kamome. We've only seen the ocean in the context of The Mermaid supernatural. I don't think we've really seen the ocean outside of that, so it's hard to say if Kamome is a coastline town or not. A god of another body of water just makes a bit more sense to me right now. (But let's not forget Kamome literally means "seagull" so who knows!)

Anyway, what I really found interesting about this story is that Oto Tachibana Hime's name is spelled in a peculiar way!

The first kanji in her name means "younger", so her name is "Younger Tachibana Hime." However, nowadays the kanji 弟 is almost synonymous with the word for younger brother.

Considering Amane's younger brother sacrificed himself to save him, I just found that kind of amusing! And for another funny parallel with Amane, Yamato Takeru has an infamous story where he dresses in woman's clothing to kill someone. Gives Hanako-san vibes for sure.

...feels awkward to end the post on this image but what can ya do.

[ultimate-anime-tournament]

THE ULTIMATE ANIME TOURNAMENT BEGINS! featuring 384 shows spanning 60 years!

all matchups are listed below the cut, and the first polls will be going up shortly 👍

edit: made a google spreadsheet documenting all matchups and their wins/losses!

left side:

Majokko Megu-chan VS Soul Eater VS Turn A Gundam

Noragami VS Ranma 1/2 VS Shadows House

Captain Tsubasa VS Barakamon VS Ojamajo Doremi

Dr Ramune: Mysterious Disease Specialist VS Joshiraku VS Concrete Revolutio

Maya the Honey Bee VS Bocchi the Rock! VS Senyuu.

Angel Beats VS Golden Kamuy VS Initial D

Lucky Star VS Mononoke VS Assassination Classroom

Go! Princess Pretty Cure VS Shirobako VS Space Pirate Captain Harlock

Golden Time VS Death Note VS Ao Haru Ride

Food Wars VS One Piece VS Space Battleship Yamato

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K VS Blood Blockade Battlefront VS Poco's Udon World

Space Patrol Luluco VS Yu-Gi-Oh! VS Your Lie in April

Slam Dunk VS One Punch Man VS Candy Candy

Doraemon VS Akame ga Kill VS Black Clover

Space Dandy VS Sazae-san VS Bloom into You

Show by Rock!! VS Pokémon VS Restaurant to Another World

Uchouten Kazoku VS Tetsujin 28 VS Miracle Girl Limit-chan

Sally the Witch VS March Comes in Like a Lion VS Ground Defense Force! Mao-chan

Day Break Illusion VS Heidi, Girl of the Alps VS Zombie Land Saga

Yuri is My Job! VS Kimagure Orange Road VS The Seven Deadly Sins

Akudama Drive VS Future Boy Conan VS Land of the Lustrous

BanG Dream! VS Rin-ne VS Serial Experiments Lain

Snow White with the Red Hair VS Juni Taisen: Zodiac War VS The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Ranking of Kings VS Osomatsu-san VS Odd Taxi

Flying Witch VS Bodacious Space Pirates VS Shugo Chara

Yuki Yuna is a Hero VS Super Dimension Fortress Macros VS Spy x Family

Magic Kaito 1412 VS Kaguya-sama: Love is War VS Kingdom

Aikatsu VS Cells at Work VS New Game!

Blue Exorcist VS Sound! Euphonium VS Ashita no Joe

Re:Zero VS My Hero Academia VS Pani Poni Dash

Ouran High School Host Club VS Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai VS Children of the Whales

86 vs Erased vs Demon Slayer

Mashle vs Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt vs Bakemonogatari

Skip and Loafer vs Shiki vs My-Hime

Laughing under the Clouds VS Naruto VS Sakura Wars

The Vampire Dies in No Time VS Dragon Ball GT VS Fist of the North Star

Shadowverse VS Blue Lock VS Tamako Market

Legend of the Galactic Heroes VS Lycoris Recoil VS Tanaka-kun is Always Listless

Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple VS Sonic X VS Samurai Champloo

Cutie Honey VS Tokyo Revengers VS Parasyte

Kaiji VS Deca-Dence VS Clannad

I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss VS Digimon Adventure VS Charlotte

Kageki Shojo!! VS Majuu Senshi Luna Varga VS Stars Align

Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions VS Gintama VS Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits

Bubblegum Crisis VS Air VS Made in Abyss

Touch VS Fire Force VS Love Live! Sunshine!!

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer VS Sket Dance VS Himitsu no Akko-chan

Zatch Bell VS Little Witch Academia VS Gal & Dino

Parappa the Rapper VS Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout (Fabiniku) VS Talentless Nana

Nyanbo! VS Bomberman Jetters VS Do It Yourself!

Kochikame: Tokyo Beat Cops VS Nobody's Boy Remi VS Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

Chika Ichiban VS Squid Girl VS Anne of Green Gables

Ikkyuu-san VS The Case Study of Vanitas VS Free!

Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story VS Chihayafuru VS So I'm a Spider, So What?

Aggretsuko VS Hakumei and Mikochi VS Mou Ippon

What's Michael VS Kimono Jihen VS Kiratto Prichan

Mushishi VS Uma Musume VS Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Sabikui Bisco VS Dorohedoro VS The World Ends With You: The Animation

Un-Go VS The Case Files of Jeweler Richard VS Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure

Sonny Boy VS Tiger & Bunny VS Black Butler

A Place Further than the Universe VS Lupin III (all Parts) VS Tsuritama

Tari Tari VS Maoyu VS Buddy Daddies

Horimiya VS Akiba Maid War VS Cap Revolution Bottleman

Helck VS Play it Cool, Guys VS Revolutionary Girl Utena

right side:

Gegege no Kitarou VS Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood VS Urahara

D.Gray-Man VS Bakuman VS Devilman

Violet Evergarden VS Death Parade VS Speed Racer

Skull Face Bookseller Honda-san VS Mazinger Z VS Planetes

Aim for the Ace! VS Futari wa Pretty Cure VS Saiunkoku Monogatari

Comic Girls VS Galaxy Express 999 VS Dr. Slump

Wedding Peach VS Ronja, the Robber's Daughter VS Haikyuu!

Saint Seiya VS Mahoutsukai Chappy VS Yuri on Ice

Hikaru no Go VS Yona of the Dawn VS Mega Man NT Warrior

Black Lagoon VS Nichijou VS Space Cobra

Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles VS Stop! Hibari-kun VS She and Her Cat: Everything Flows

Space Brothers VS Gakuen Alice VS Dragon Ball Z

AKB0048 VS Kino's Journey -The Beautiful World- VS Musashi no Ken

Flip Flappers VS Hamtaro VS Daily Lives of High School Boys

Another VS Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju VS Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

Gurren Lagann VS Hana no Ko Lunlun VS City Hunter

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water VS Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun VS To Your Eternity

Kiteretsu Daihyakka VS Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun VS Noir

Bungo Stray Dogs VS Soreike! Anpanman VS Moomin

Hajime no Ippo VS Paranoia Agent VS Mobile Suit Gundam

Maison Ikkoku VS Yuru Camp VS Sherlock Hound

Great Pretender VS Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress VS World Trigger

Little Princess Sara VS Ghost Sweeper Mikami VS Keep Your Hands off Eizouken!

My Next Life as a Villainess VS Kirby: Right Back at Ya! VS Air Gear

Saint Tail VS Haibane Renmei VS Astro Boy

Crayon Shin-chan VS Tokyo Ghoul VS Hell Girl

Heaven's Design Team VS Neon Genesis Evangelion VS Kiznaiver

Servamp VS Akane-chan VS Yo-kai Watch

The Vision of Escaflowne VS Tsurune VS Sk8 the Infinity

The Promised Neverland VS Hime-chan no Ribbon VS Fruits Basket

Urusei Yatsura VS Dr. Stone VS Shaman King

Star of the Giants VS Cardcaptor Sakura VS Angelic Layer

Berserk VS Kodocha VS Ping Pong The Animation

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's VS Boys over Flowers VS Otherside Picnic

Monster VS Sgt. Frog VS K-On!

Aria VS The Rose of Versailles VS Beyblade

Natsume's Book of Friends VS Planet With VS Detective Conan / Case Closed

Nodame Kantaabire VS Kyou Kara Maoh VS Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans

Duel Masters VS Shounen Ninja Kaze no Fujimaru VS Hunter x Hunter

Mahou Shoujo Lalabel VS Carole & Tuesday VS Powerpuff Girls Z

Big Windup! VS Heartcatch Pretty Cure! VS Fighting Foodons

Gosick VS Ace Attorney VS Inazuma Eleven

Given VS The Prince of Tennis VS Cowboy Bebop

Code Geass VS Teppen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! VS FLCL

Wolf's Rain VS Reborn! VS Princess Tutu

Magic Knight Rayearth VS Romeo x Juliet VS Oshi no Ko

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo VS Bakugan VS Jujutsu Kaisen

Yu Yu Hakusho VS Love Live! School Idol Project VS Trigun

Kimba the White Lion VS Waccha Primagi VS Toradora

Ultra Maniac VS Mahou Sensei Negima VS Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight

Visual Prison VS Steins;gate VS Inuyasha

Vinland Saga VS Assault Lily Bouquet VS Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day

Pop Team Epic VS Gingitsune VS Tokyo Mew Mew

Blue Period VS Higurashi When They Cry VS Fairy Tail

Chargeman Ken VS Shin Sekai Yori VS Chainsaw Man

Beyond the Boundary VS Silver Spoon VS Hyouka

Stitch! VS Mobile Suit Gundam SEED VS Symphogear

Kuroko's Basketball VS Pokemon Horizons VS Gatchaman Crowds

Ghost Stories VS Non Non Biyori VS Samurai Flamenco

Fushigi Yuugi VS Psycho-Pass VS Azumanga Daioh

Bleach VS Dragon Ball Super VS Ace of Diamond

My Neighbor Seki VS Mob Psycho 100 VS No. 6

Full Metal Panic VS Princess Principal VS Ya Boy Kongming!

Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei VS Puella Magi Madoka Magica VS Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song

[stardustizuku]

If anyone other than Rozemyne were the protagonist, or we followed their story - Rozemyne comes off as a completely different person ???

And perhaps even a bit boring. Cause she’s quite literally a walking Hime stereotype. Like, little miss perfect levels.

A beautiful girl, with top grades, a genius, mentored by a legend, with connections to royalty and greater duchies, devoted followers and magical power unrivaled. Try and tell me she isn’t the Nadeshiko, the Rita, or even Michiru of the series. Someone so perfect the protagonist uses her as benchmark and always fails to live up expectations.

She seems like type who got everything from a young age.

But of course since we follow her story we know she’s everything but that. We knew her as a temper throwing brat, who doesn’t understand social cues and sees only books. We know she’s a little gremlin and see that before we see her beautiful Yamato Nadeshiko persona.

Rather than seeing a Hime-like goddess that has some character flaws to make her moe, she’s just a book obsessed maniac that for some reason managed to fool everyone

[adachimoe]

The connections between Chie and Naoto's 2nd and 3rd Personas

A lot of the 2nd and 3rd party member Personas are connected. For example: Yukiko's 2nd Persona is Amaterasu, and her 3rd Persona Sumeomikami is how Amaterasu is venerated at Ise Grand Shrine.

The combo breakers here seem to be Naoto and Chie, but it turns out Atlus has explanations for those as well. My own understanding of the mythology doesn't matter if I don't understand why they picked those names to begin with lol.

For Chie, her 2nd Persona is Suzuka Gongen, and her 3rd Persona is Haraedo no Okami. Suzuka is known as a mythical warrior woman from Mt. Suzuka, and Haraedo no Okami is the collective name for 4 purification gods who were born when Izanagi took a shower after getting home after getting divorced in Yomi.

One of the four Haraedo no Okami is named Senritsu-hime, and she is our link between Chie's 2nd and 3rd Personas. Atlus writes that Suzuka Gongen is also called Senritsu-hime. I had never heard of this before so I spent like 5 seconds Googling some time researching and at the Gion Festival in Kyoto, they have a festival float called "Mt. Suzuka" which celebrates Suzuka. But on the float, she is enshrined as Senritsu-hime. I assume there is some more backstory to why this is done, but it escapes me at the moment.

As an added bonus, Atlus notes that Senritsu-hime shares a connection to Yukiko's Amaterasu, and in some interpretations she is even Amaterasu's wild side (ara mitama).

For Naoto, her 2nd Persona is Yamato Takeru, the son of one of the Japanese emperors. Her 3rd Persona is Yamato Sumera Mikoto which looks like it is honoring the emperor and the imperial line descended from Amaterasu.

To my knowledge, Yamato Takeru did not become the next emperor because his dad was hella scared of him, so the 2nd and 3rd didn't quite seem "connected" to me. Turns out that the 3rd Persona's name comes from the title Yamato Takeru no Sumera Mikoto, which is what Yamato Takeru was called very specifically in manuscripts of traditions and other things from the Hitachi region during the 700s.

(In the English version of the game, it was shortened to Yamato Sumeragi, with Sumeragi being another way of saying this person is of the imperial line, descended from Amaterasu and whatnot.)

I found these while trying to look into whether Naoto's 3rd Persona's blonde hair was supposed to be a reference to Oscar Francois from the Rose of Versailles (her 2nd Persona, Soejima directly mentions was inspired by RoV). This is still unanswered lol.

[yuesya]

HEIAN SHIKI HEIAN SHIKI HEIAN SHIKI

Tried to copy yamato-e style to draw Heian Yuzuki and Shiki, but then realized I have no idea how to do it. How fashionable is Heian Shiki for her era? I imagine she would have a hime cut and wear junihitoe on the official occasitions, but what about blacked teeth or painted brows?

Also Ijust hc that Heian Yuzuki was significantly shorter than Shiki bc of lack of modern medicine and knowledge

Heian Shiki!! Oh wow I love her dress haha, so many layers :D

I'd imagine that Shiki probably doesn't take much time fussing over her appearance or following fashion trends due to the (hand waves) exorcisms and fighting going on, but she probably makes the other women in court jealous when she dolls up for official occasions. Black teeth are probably a thing, though, I think it's supposed to be a coming of age practice? I could be wrong though, don't take my word for it haha.

Yuzuki being shorter... that probably is the case, what with his health and the lacking medical practices in ancient times.

[moonpaw]

I think part of Tekking's reasonable confusion is that Oda himself has never called Yamato a trans man and Yamato is still referred to as "female" in one of the guidebooks. Not to mention one Oda's more recent color spreads as all the prominent female characters, plus Yamato. I want Yamato be solidly a trans man, but I simply don't trust Oda like that. Regardless, I'm gonna keep he/himing Yamato, even if Oda screws it up and I encourage everyone else to do the same.

it's ok, yamato was just the chopper of this colorspread

(he was also the only one not wearing a swimsuit or a beach outfit, but rather still remained in his normal clothes)

‎

[jacksgreysays]

Hiiii how about a prompt for Further Down Road One, political marriage!Shikasuke, maybe something from an Uchiha's POV on the Shikabane-hime's meteoric rise in power, international acclaim, and political capital? And how it ripples out onto the clan as a whole?

I mean, the point of Road One is that the arranged marriage itself already does SO MUCH to change the trajectory of the Uchiha clan’s fate for the better that, basically, everything else after that is kind of a bonus. The fact that Shikako’s smart and powerful and a good person is NICE, yes, but just being engaged to Sasuke already earned so much approval from the clan as a whole that it’s just kinda… ehhhh…

Although… and this somewhat of a tangent to the prompt… it would be funny if… okay, let me set this up by saying: I don’t necessarily like Itachi as a character. When he was kind of a psychopath and apparently just murdered his entire family to test his power, that was at least a… strength of will or conviction that kind of resonated thematically. Like, what if Will of Fire goes bad kind of thing. Or the pressures of being clan heir, of being pushed too hard and too fast, would lead to a genius of violence snapping and using said violence. Then when it turns out he was given orders to murder his entire family and his one condition was that Sasuke would get to live is like… what the fuck dude. It’s both backtracking to make Itachi weaker as a character and also, somehow, even more of a psychopath in my opinion. And, like, sure, Danzo maybe used Shisui’s Sharingan to unbreakable genjutsu him into it, but I don’t think that really absolves Itachi.

All that being said, theoretically in this kinder world of Road One, we never get to that point. Additionally, there’s less pressure on Itachi to continue to excel SO OVERTLY since the clan isn’t getting isolated and also because Shisui is still there and alive to share the burden.

BUT, I do still… the idea that the Uchiha elders have been wanting one of the clan to become Hokage is something that I hold to be true unless proven otherwise. I do think the clan elders would push more for Itachi to be Hokage—because he is clan heir and so has the pedigree, while Shisui (just as powerful, literally Flee On Sight in the bingo books at such a young age) I think we’ve fandom agreed is an orphan or at least a lesser branch of the Uchiha clan.

Anyway, all of the above leads me to: Shisui and Itachi trying to PR campaign for their sister-in-law Shikako (who WILL be an Uchiha once the marriage actually) to be the new “best candidate” for an Uchiha Hokage. Like, really just them listing off all of her accomplishments to not only the Uchiha elders but the rest of the clan (who, again, already quite like her).

I also think, in this universe, that Shikako would DO SOMETHING about Sora-ku once she feels a little more comfortable making decisions—or, at least, making proposals with attached logistics—for the Uchiha clan. Like. It’s a huge chunk of territory that seems to be an abandoned city. But it’s apparently functional enough to have a community of sorts of black marketeers and a support system. Like, it’s not so out of the way of things that nobody bothers with it, which implies that it could be rejuvenated with the time and resources. I think I read a theory once that it’s because Senju used their skills to desertify the area so there just wasn’t enough food to support a city of that size. BUT, now they’ve got Shikako. And Shikako’s connections. Whether that is the ANY clan alliance or Tenzo/Yamato or upper echelons of Hidden Mist’s administration (Haku is an ice user, yes, but like he and Zabuza wouldn’t throw a squad of Mist nin with water nature to help with irrigation at Shikako’s request for free) or even the literal oasis creating ancient god Gelel.

So, you know, she’s more than proven herself to the world. And with the Sora-ku rejuvenation, already brought a level of prosperity to the Uchiha clan than they could ever imagine. “Shikako for Hokage” is not a hard sell for Shisui and Itachi whatsoever (and also, they do think Sasuke would be so happy as her First Gentleman/trophy husband)

Yeah, that’s kind of all I can think of for this prompt in terms of it being different than how the Nara clan or DoS canon clans for that matter would view her meteoric rise. Hope you enjoyed, anon.

[supernovaae]

List of all 80 Espers still in the running for Hottest Esper (05/01/24 | Alphabetized)

Abigail (Frigga)

Adrina (Chantico)

Ahmed (Geb)

Alice (Gullveig)

Anna (Persphone)

Archibald (Mictlantecutli)

Asenath (Nefertem)

Ashley (Heimdall)

Brewster (Garmr)

Camille (Hati)

Catherine (Hela)

Cecilia (Isis)

Chloe (Medea)

Chu Yao (Tai Yi)

Clara (Hera)

Drew (Anubis)

Eira (Freya)

Elaine (Nyx)

Embla (Ymir)

Ethan (Pan)

Everett (Tyr)

Farrah | Aminah (Tiamat | Abzu)

Fatum Sisters (Nornir)

Feng Nuxi (Nuwa)

Feng Xun (Fu Xi)

Fu Shi (Suan Ni)

Fumitsuki (Kaguya-hime)

Gabrielle (Njord)

Gaius (Zeus)

Ginny (Hestia)

Hailey (Hephaestus)

Heng Yue (Chang’e)

Hilda (Hypnos)

Hyde (Hades)

Ife (Meretseger)

Ikki (Tsukuyomi)

Intisar (Kauket)

Javid (Shamash)

Jiang Jiuli (Chiyou)

Jiang Man (Meng Po)

Jin Qiu (Ru SHou)

Jin Yuyao (Queen Mother)

Leora (Athena)

Li Guang (Vermilion Bird)

Li Ling (Nezha)

Liam (Xolotl)

Lian (Jiao Tu)

Lin Xiao (White Tiger)

Long Mian (Ao Bing)

Lucas (Apollo)

Mateo (Prometheus)

Mavis (Mictecacihuatl)

Nicole (Nephthys)

Norah (The Muses)

Ollie (Osiris)

Ophelia (Thanatos)

Parmi (Ninsun)

Raven (Odin)

Sachiko (Hare of Inaba)

Sally (Sif)

Sander (Set)

Sienna (Gaia)

Su Jue (Daji)

Tang Xuan (Sun Wukong)

Tevor (Sphinx)

Tiye (Nut)

Toland (Tezcatlipoca)

Triki (Loki)

Uday (Sopdet)

Unas (Shu)

Valeria (Quetzalcoatl)

Wu You (Dijiang)

Xiao Yin (Azure Dragon)

Xuan Pin (Jiutian Xuannu)

Yamato (Izanagi)

Yu Ran (Bai Ze)

Yu Xu (Jing Wei)

Yun Chuan (Yang Jian)

Yuuhime (Izanami)

Zora (Amunet)

[luna-loner]

Duality: The True Beauty of Kanzaki Yukiko

It's best girl's birthday! And what better way of celebrating than to gush talk about why I love her so much? Fair warning, this is going to be a long read 'cause when I start rambling about my girl, it's hard to stop ;)

The title pretty much spells out what it is that makes her character so unique in my humble opinion, but honestly, it has to do more with how her duality is handled rather than it simply existing.

Two Sides Of The Same Girl

Yukiko's character can be roughly broken down into two aspects: the Yamato Nadeshiko, and the Gamer Girl. Hardly can we imagine these two things going hand in hand given how their connotations and presumptions differ vastly from each other. Whereas the Yamato Nadeshiko paints the picture of an ideal Japanese woman, often submissive and obedient, the Gamer Girl invokes a more modern and frivolous image. Maybe she's a tomboy, a nerd, an irresponsible embodiment of chaos, or a hot babe with a console; but she certainly wouldn't be an ojou-sama in a kimono and geta sandals.

In Yukiko's case, the Gamer Girl is a stark contrast to the Class Idol we were first introduced to. Dyed, wavey hair replaced the prim and proper Hime cut. Brown eyes, once filled warmth and kindness, were now hardened, and the polite smile that often accompanied them was no where in sight. Rather than meekly clasping her hands in front of her, our gamer showcased a tough exterior. Rather than elegance, she radiated a badass vibe.

I'll be honest; when I first watched the episode, I thought they were going with the "True self" route with the newly-revealed gamer aspect.

Thank Matsui that's not the case because that would've been cliché and sexist. "Hey, see this ladylike character over here? Yeah, that's not who she really is. She's actually a hardcore gamer with a filthy mouth and big gremlin energy :D" (wooooow, what a girlboss *eye roll*)

@/o0o0thorn0o0o and I actually discussed this a long time ago and she told me how the reason the plot twist was so shocking wasn't because it made you go, "Oh, she was a gamer this whole time?" But rather, "Wait, a girl like her can be a gamer?" It's what makes her a breath of fresh air and a very unique character.

It's why I don't like it when people play up her gamer side until it becomes her whole personality. I've seen fics that erase her growth and revert her back to her 2nd year self and I'm just thinking, "Why...?"

Yes, I'm aware that everyone is entitled to their own interpretation of the character, just like how I am entitled to express my disdain of said interpretation 😇

A Lady, Not a Loser

Yukiko's arc concluded with her learning to embrace herself and stop worrying about how others perceive her. She never traded her modest, feminine attire for gamer merch, nor did she feel the need to denounce her interest in flowers to permentantly adopt a skull motif. My lady doesn't need to do any of that because she can walk into a damn arcade as herself now, thank you very much!

To some extent, the Class Idol persona is just another aspect of Yukiko's true self. She's genuinely a nice girl who gets along with everyone, which is one reason why she's popular with the boys; it's not just for her looks. She's still earnest and diligent, so don't expect her to be obsessively gaming in class or pulling an all-nighters. In fact, her doing that would just make her arc meaningless. That girl on Ryuuki's phone represented a terrible version of Yukiko-- stressed-out, overindulgent, and unsure of her place in the world.

But just because she's quiet and reserved doesn't mean she's lost her rebellious streak. She gave her dad the finger when he disapproved of her career choice. She stood up to Takaoka even after witnessing how violent he got with Maehara, and of course, we have this iconic scene:

I will forever thank Lerche for adding the raised pinky finger to this magnificant scene. Look at this! Look at how my girl's putting Ren in his place like the lady that she is <3

And then there's the time she gently threw ladylike out the window XD

Her duality enjoys playing games with us and constantly challanging our presumptions of Yukiko. As stated before, I initially thought Gamer Yukiko was the real deal, but later moments in the series, as well as the details from the Roll Book, proved me wrong. She's not your typicial gamer girl, or your typical Yamato Nadeshiko. She fits perfectly in those two boxes, but never stays put in either one. You have to expect the unexpected and the expected from this girl. The moment you think you have her figured out, she either subverts your expectations, or fulfills them when you don't expect her to!!

Conclusion

I wouldn't go far as to say she's a very deep and complex character (if we're strictly going by canon), but she isn't one-dimensional either. Both sides of her are equally important and to dismiss or downplay either one would be a major disservice to her character. She's just the perfect blend of two unrelated tropes, wrapped together to give us something new and interesting.

I mean come on, she'd obviously play DDR in a Kimono and geta sandals and still win. (Meanwhile, everyone's just standing there wondering what the logic behind this strange phenomenon 😂)