Shadow in the Light (v.2)

This won't be one of my normal posts. I won't rant about something meaningless. I won't be making crude jokes or sexual innuendos. I'll keep my language tame and I'll make my point as best I can. This will be a post of serious observation.

We all have known at some point or another a person in our lives that strives for the best. They have goals and aspirations that they wish to achieve. The reach for the stars and beyond to improve themselves, their lives, their surroundings, or something else altogether. For whatever the reason, these people aim higher than most of us, and it's to that person that this is dedicated.

In all the time I've known you, you've always been reaching high. You've wanted to go above and beyond what you were and become more. You aimed for the stars in the hopes of becoming one. You wanted to be a celebrity in some fashion and set out to make that dream a reality. You've had your rollercoaster of successes and failures, but that has made you who you are. That person is my best friend and the only woman I will ever truly love.

We may have our disagreements and skirmishes, but getting beyond those has made us what we are, and I'm honestly very happy with that. I can't ask for a better partner in crime. I've watched you grow and bounce through many phases through our history, and I've had laughs and tears throughout. There were moments of pride and moments of fear and moments where I didn't even know what to expect.

Despite all of this, you're still reaching. You've set yourself up for a life that will bring you freedom and happiness. You're honestly more happy than I've ever seen you, even in the early days. Your goals are there, and I'm going to be there to cheer when you reach them. You continue to reach up keep aiming for the stars, but there's no need to become one. You already are a star, at least to two people. We love you, and we're proud of you, even if we don't always know how to say it.

So, all that said, I'll steal a cue from you, but I won't post lyrics, because they screwed me up before, hence why I'm on draft 2.

"Tits."


...


Fuck.

Here's where it gets weird.

This will be a first. I'm going to be doing the majority of this post from my iPad, so forgive me if it comes off a little wonky, or there are typos, or it randomly autocorrects something I don't catch. So, that being said, let us get on to the weird stuff.

Sexism. I don't really discuss that topic a lot. Main reasoning behind that is that I'm a guy, so it doesn't really concern me all that much. Still, there are times when even I, as an adult-ish male have to shake my head in disdain at how certain things are perceived. So, being that this is me, we shall relate this to things that interest me. Video games and anime.

Let me start with my most immediate examples. First off, the Dynasty Warriors series is like crack to me. Currently, I'm playing both Dynasty Warriors Next and Dynasty Warriors Xtreme Legends. It's no secret that in games female characters are always portrayed to be sex objects. Sex sells. I get that. However, there are a few times when this goes overboard. So, with Dynasty Warriors, there is a character named Lian Shi, supposedly the most mature of the females in the game. I suppose that they use this as an excuse to give her a pair of breasts that are of such a size that smaller women (like Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao) should be sucked into the gravitational pull of those celestial orbs. If that weren't bad enough, her default outfit has a skirt that is so short that the act of riding a horse causes her to flash the entire battlefield. Granted, it may work as a distraction to the enemies, but I'm sure there are a few distracted soldiers on her side as well.

Then, on the opposite end of the massive mammary spectrum is a character by the name of Bao Sanniang. Not as endowed as Lian Shi, she sports a slimmer physique, but her attire and breast size are still out of proportion for someone that leaps around as she does in the game. And I'm pretty sure sports bras weren't military issue in the Three Kingdoms era.



And then there's Soul Calibur 5. I'm sure everyone has seen the marketing on this game, using Ivy's tits as a poster. According to the game's story, Ivy is supposed to be 47 at this point. Really? 47? This?



So, enough with games. There's tons of stuff to support the sexism in games point. I didn't even bring up Bayonetta. Great game.

So, on to anime. Again, nothing new in this area, but one I felt that I needed to point out was in this "final" season of Bleach. Orhime has always had large breasts by the standards of the other characters in the show, like Rukia, Tatsuki and Soi Fon, but this last season has increased her chest as much as Ichigo's power level.



As with my last post discussing the decline of the anime industry in America, I reiterate that it seems Japan's belief is that people will only watch anime if there are massive sweater yams on every female character. I suppose I understand the mentality of giving the horny boys what they wanna see, but not everyone wants "Eiken" (I'm not even gonna link that one) style breasts in their face.


But yeah. The trick of using overly sexed female characters to sell games is nothing new. Hell, I fall for that trick all the time, even KNOWING what they're doing. And I spend most of the time using the very characters I'm talking about. I'm a guy. I can't help myself. Sexism is there, I can't deny it, but I also can't fight it. But right now, I'll leave off on this rant about ta-tas with some Dynasty Warriors awesomeness, and then the usual closing image.

"So say we all.."