Parents: What Do You Want For Your Birthday?

Thistle and Mithrun bedrot together. And that's fine days are hard sometimes

Haha hello crispy nation i’ve returned and given you christopher with Sharp teeth because 90% of people i draw have sharp teeth and i cant Not add them

Mithrun's desire as an SA analogue

TW discussion of SA and detailed breakdown of aesthetics evoking SA. The way I discuss this is vivid in a way that may be triggering, though there is no discussion of actual sexual assault. Just survivor's responses to it.

People relate to Mithrun and see his condition as an analogue for a few different things, like brain injury or depression. And I think all of them are there. But I also see Mithrun's story as an SA analogue, and Ryoko Kui intentionally evokes those aesthetics. I think it's a part of Mithrun's character that a lot of people miss, but I very much consider it text. This is partially inspired by @heird99's post on what makes this scene so disturbing; so check out their post, too :)

So to start off with, the demon invades Mithrun's bed, specifically. There's even a canopy around it, which specifically evokes this idea of personal intrusion; the barrier is being pulled apart without consent or warning. The way the hand reaches towards Mithrun's body from outside of the panel division makes it almost look like the goat stroking over his body. It's an especially creepy visual detail; similarly, the goat's right hand parts into the side of the panel as well. It's literally like it's tearing the page apart; but gently. So gently.

Mithrun is in bed. It is his bed that the demon is intruding on. He's in a position of intimacy. The woman behind him is a facsimile of his "beloved" that he left behind; the woman who, in reality, chose Mithrun's brother. He is in bed with his fantasy lover, who is leaning over him. While this scene isn't explicitly sexual, it is intimate. And it is being invaded. The goat lifts Mithrun gently, who is confused, but not yet struggling.

The erotics of consumption and violence in Ryoko Kui's work(remember that the word 'erotic' can have many different meanings, please) are a... notable part of some of her illustrations. I would say she blurs the lines between all forms of desire: personal, sexual, gustatory and carnal, in her illustrations in order to emphasize the pure desire she wants to work with and evoke to serve her themes. Kui deploys sexual imagery in a lot of places in Dungeon Meshi, and this is one of them.

In this case, horrifically. The goat's assault begins with drooling, licking, and nuzzling. The goat could be enjoying and "playing with" its food. But it can also be interpreted as it "preparing" Mithrun with its tongue as it begins to literally breach Mithrun's body. The goat also invades directly through his clothing; that adds another level of disturbing to me. There's nothing Mithrun can do in this moment of violation. Mithrun is fighting, but he is fighting weakly, trying to grip on and push away when he has no ability or option to. All he can do is beg the goat to stop. And it doesn't care. This all evokes sexual assault.

The sixth panel demonstrates a somewhat sexual position, with Mithrun's thighs spread around the goat's hunched over body. In the next, the goat pulls and holds apart Mithrun's thighs as he nuzzles into him. The way the clothing bunches up looks a bit as if it has been pushed up. It has pinned Mithrun down onto the bed, into Mithrun's soft furs and pillows. It takes a place made to be supernaturally warm and comfortable, and violates it. It's utterly and intimately horrifying. To me, this sequence of positions directly evokes a rape scene. I think Kui did this very explicitly. These references to sexual invasion are part of what makes this scene so disturbing; albeit, to many viewers, subconsciously.

This is also the moment the goat takes Mithrun's eye. Other than this, the goat seems exceptionally strong, but also... gentle. It holds Mithrun's body tightly, but moves it around slowly. It doesn't need to hurt Mithrun physically. But in that moment, it takes Mithrun's eye. Blood seeps from a wound while an orifice that should not be pierced is penetrated. This moment, the ooze of blood in one place specifically, also evokes rape. That single bit of physical gore is a very powerful bit of imagery to me.

Finally; it is Mithrun's desire that is eaten. After his assault, Mithrun can find no pleasure in things that he once did. He is fully disassociated from his emotions. This is a common response to trauma, especially in the case of SA. It's not uncommon for people to never, or take a long time to, enjoy sex in the same way again; or at all. They might feel like their rapist has robbed them of a desire and pleasure they once had. I think this makes Mithrun's lack of desire a partial analogue for the trauma of sexual assault.

Mithrun's desire for revenge was, supposedly, all that remained. Anger at his assaulter, anger at every being that was like it; though, perhaps not anger. Devotion, in a way. To his cause. I don't know. But the immediate desire to seek revenge is another response to SA. But on to Mithrun's true feelings on the matter.

This is... So incredibly tragic. Mithrun feels used up. Like his best parts have been taken away. Like he's being... tossed aside. This certainly parallels the way assault victims can feel after being left by an abuser. Or the way assault victims feel they might be "ruined" forever for other partners. These are common sentiments for survivors to carry, and need to overcome. In the text, it's almost like Mithrun feels the only being who can desire him is a demon who might "finish devouring" him. That that's his only use. It's worth noting that Mithrun trusted the demon. Mithrun's world was built by the demon, and Mithrun, in that way, was cared for by the demon. I think this reinforces Mithrun's place as a victim.

There's also something to be said about Mithrun as a victim of his own possessive romantic and sexual desire. The mirror shows him his beloved just dining with his brother, and it infuriates him. He doesn't know if the vision is real, nor if she has really chosen his brother as a romantic partner. The goat then creates a whole fantasy world where she loves him. As Mithrun's dungeon deteriorates, she is the only person that continues to exist. Mithrun continues to have control over her. And that is the strongest desire the demon is eating, isn't it? There's something interesting there, but I don't know what to say about it.

In conclusion, I think Mithrun's story is an explicit analogue for sexual assault-- though, certainly, among other things! The way the scene plays out and is composed explicitly references sexual violation and invasion of the body. His condition mirrors common trauma responses to sexual violence. And, at the end, he finally realizes he can recover.

Let's end on a happy Mithrun, after taking the first step on his journey to recovery :) You aren't vegetable scraps Mithrun. But even if you were-- every single thing in this world has value. Even vegetable scraps.

crispy with some sbs characters because God he’s been taking over my brain. i’m so normal (lie) i like to draw him teeeheehe eeheee i’ll probably post more soon i Love him

mothy, im begging you. please write a song about the owner of the marvelous gift bell. please please please. i need this parallel margarita who throws hands at people for 72 hours straight without sleep. PLEASE IM BEGGING YOU

wanted to do a more up 2 date comparison between living rat and dead rat………

once i get the motivation i want to actually draw up the full TD cast urrgghh

master of the heavenly yard deleted scene

i'm not great at drawing, i hope none of you mind much. i just thought it would be cute.

General headcanons of mithrun and Kabru’s relations hip ? You can add some past!mithrun ones too 💗

Oooh sure!! Thank you for asking of course!!

- It would take them a couple of years to get together, Kabru realizes how he feels for Mithrun first but waits for the right time to say. Mithrun, however, after years of thinking “he’s a friend, a really really good friend who crosses my mind at least twice every hour, whose smile makes me feel warm, who i will die for” finally understands his affection for Kabru, blurts out his confession immediately.

- They would keep their relationship between closed friends, publicizing it means more trouble for the newly found kingdom and kabru’s prestige and position as the court counselor because people think elves are untrustworthy, they would be like “the advisor is banging an elf?! We’re doomed as a kingdom!” Lol. Kabru doesn’t really care because he loves that man to his grave, but mithrun is worried he will be the downfall of kabru’s career.

- They don’t argue a lot, but when they do Mithrun is usually the one to apologize first because it scares him to death whenever it crosses his mind that this trivial gripe they’re having might be taking up what little time Kabru has left with him due to the lifespan difference. They both desperately want to resolve the fight and get back to being lovey dovey as soon as possible lol.

- Mithrun’s parents know about his relationship, but they don’t care that much as long as he keeps it a secret and doesn’t disgrace his family’s name because in their eyes their son had died 40 years ago. He doesn’t see them a lot, once every 10 years or so, one time Kabru insisted on meeting his family if they are going to get serious, he begrudgingly agreed, a terrible idea as it ended with Mithrun teleporting his soup to spill it on his parent’s head and storming out holding Kabru’s hand after they made snarky comments about Kabru.

- Kabru likes to be the little spoon, Mithrun doesn’t mind this.

And here’s my headcanons for past Mithrun:

- Despite his arrogance, he was extremely self-conscious, always fretting over how people perceived him, how a strand of his hair was out of place. He spent a lot of time on the upkeep of his appearance like doing a 10 step skincare routine twice a day even though elves have naturally flawless skin.

- Most of his ex-lovers were people for whom his brother had feelings, he would specifically court them to “win” over his brother, trying to prove to himself that he is superior. These relationships didn’t last because his partners felt like his love for them only goes so far.

- Ever since he was a child he was made aware of his bastard identity, he was told that because of his silver hair and eyes he was lucky enough to be taken in and brought up as a lawful child. Because of this he hated (and loved) his eyes and hair, even though they were his ticket to life of luxury, he felt like he was reduced to less than a person, he was rather a replacement for their legitimate but flawed son. (Now that you think about it lol his situation was kinda the opposite of Kabru’s, who was literally almost killed by his father’s family for his eyes)

- Because of him being born from infidelity, he had to make up for it by surpassing his brother, in fact he spent a third of his life doing so only to be shipped away to the army in place for his brother. Just like that he was thrown away.

One of my main problems with Honey I'm Home and its lore is: We get these gorgeous designs, many of them diverse and interesting and fun to look at... and then they get sidelined by both fans and Ghost themself for yet another edgy white boy. I'm not saying that any of Ghost's stories are bad just because they have white protagonists, but it just seems so frequent that they direct the most attention to their white characters and make them either protagonists or the 'Cool Bad Guys'- (1/2)

That’s an interesting take, anon! I hate HIH for different reasons than yours, but hearing your perspective on it was definitely something I hadn’t considered about the lore and characters

And yeah I’m with you on the whole diversity thing. It’s like, take a look at all of GHOST’s characters pre-HIH:

(And this isn’t even counting the mascots for their other songs)

Then there’s the Honey I’m Home cast:

And boy, now you’ve got me wondering how many fans of HIH saw this cast of characters and thought, “Wow! A lot of POC characters in one of GHOST’s new stories, finally!” only for literally most of the attention to be drawn to Norman and Charon

Just... wow. That’s gotta suck. I’m sorry to hear that you feel left out because of that, anon.