#origins

I had an intense hankering for Morrigan and a Female Warden, so happy Pride Month everybody!! 

Word Count: 1827
Rating: Smut (18+)
Warnings: Pregnancy mention(s), light teasing, bickering, AFAB lesbian sex

Samara Cousland was a woman of refined birth. She came from one of the oldest houses of Ferelden, and had been trained to be a perfect lady, and a perfect warrior. She was beautiful, in face and figure and personality, and her smile brought light to the dreariest of days. 

Morrigan was none of these things. 

She had been told she was beautiful, once, but that had been from Samara, and Morrigan still didn’t know if she could trust the many, many compliments she received from the naive lady. She tried to believe them but…she was crass, and blunt, and angry - gods, she was always angry. It was easier that way, to pretend like nothing was alright in the world because, really, what good could possibly outweigh what was to come. 

Instead, she minds her place. She distances herself from the group, eats only what she is given, and speaks only when something relevant crosses her mind. She isn’t here to make friends with these people - she is here to end whatever it is mother has planned. She has a role to play. 

It reminds her of the games Samara invites her to play - to “pass the time and keep you sane”. She had to admit, trivial little games were easier to think about than bedding the oaf Alistair and bearing his child, and then Samara couldface the archdemon and…

Morrigan couldn’t consider that. She asks Samara to set the board again instead. 

Samara beat her every time - it was almost another one of their little rituals. The party would return from whatever little quest they went on, Samara would pass out the little gifts and trinkets she found wherever they went. She would eat, she would bathe, and she would pass stories round the fire until she made her way to Morrigan, giving her confident smiles. 

She moves pawns around the board with such confidence. Morrigan doesn’t understand how she can change the world like she does, affecting so many lives for the better. She almost resents her for it, the way she bandages every knee and acts as a martyr for all the hopeless dreamers. Instead, she watches as she moves a knight. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Samara says, a smile in her voice. She crosses her legs at the knee, resting her elbow on her thigh and her chin in her hand, “Do I have something on my face?”

“‘Tis that stupid little grin below your nose.” Morrigan retorts immediately, moving her piece. She sees it after she moves, that she can steal the piece. 

She does. “Oh, you love it.” 

Morrigan just watches her a moment, admiring her…well, all of her, really. She’s a beautiful woman, strong from lugging around a sword and shield day in and day out. Alistair had called her a desert bloom, offered a rose he’d carried in his pocket for weeks. Samara had accepted it with the grace of a friend, quietly disclosing to Alistair that she was, in fact, only attracted to women. 

Morrigan had overheard. 

Her mother had always convinced her that there were places in the world - there were pawns and kings, and they had their queens. Two queens on the same side of the board would completely ruin the game, the entire dynamic completely null with one slight change. 

But Morrigan couldn’t help but wonder. If two queens, on the same side of the board, surrounded by their army of knights and bishops and pawns, if they really needed a king to dictate the ending of the game. Or, perhaps, if the king were the equal of a bishop, or a pawn - a player in the game, but not the equal party. 

“You look a million miles away.” Samara says, fist on her cheek, “Come on, what’s bothering you?”

“What?” Morrigan fakes a scoff, “Nothing, I’m waiting for you to take your turn.”

Samara arches a brow, “Well, my dear, you would be mistaken. It’s your turn.” She puts on a lopsided little smile, and Morrigan blushes, clearing her throat and moves another piece - does a bishop move like that?

If it doesn’t, Samara doesn’t comment on it. “Now, what had you so distracted from our little game?” She looks over the board, pondering her next move. 

Morrigan looks at Samara, almost with a sense of urgency, and Samara must sense it, ignoring the board. “Alistair approached me while your party was away.” 

“Are you two arguing again?” Samara asks, completely used to their childish antics. “What’s caused it this time?”

Morrigan clears her throat, “Alistair has suggested that he believes we are…how did he phrase it?” She tries to put it lightly, then just sighs, “Caboodling.”

Samara laughs, shaking her head, “Did he put it like that? Caboodling?”

“I think I prefer fraternization.” She admits, busying herself with the board. 

She looks her over, but Morrigan doesn’t see it, considering she’s still trying to figure out if a knight was allowed to move like she was planning. Samara lets herself relax, smiling, wishing that she and Morrigan were…caboodling. 

“Well, it wouldn’t technically be fraternizing.” She explains, moving her piece, “I mean, if Alistair and I were together, we’d both be Grey Wardens, so it would be. But we’re just…friends. No fraternization if we do decide to caboodle.”

Morrigan almost cracks a smile, “Please stop referring to sex as caboodling.”

Samara laughs and shakes her head, “You started it, I won’t stop.” She leans a little closer, “What made Alistair think that we were…having sex?”

“Apparently he thinks that we make ‘kissy faces’ at one another.” She rolls her eyes, taking her move, “I think you share more romantic glances with that mutt of yours.”

Samara fakes a gasp, “Barkspawn is integral to the group.” She smiles at Morrigan, and she is undone. “He’s going to be the real hero of all this, mark my words.” Then, after a moment, “Checkmate.” 

Morrigan looks down at the board, perplexed. Her queen had captured her king, after knocking her queen from the board, and she feels like there is some symbolism, or a divine notion that she ought to adhere to. 

Instead, she sits back in her seat, “That…was a good game, Warden.” Morrigan does crack a smile this time, and Samara practically beams in response. “I daresay I enjoyed myself.”

Samara snorts - rather unbecoming for such a prissy noble - and smiles at Morrigan, “You better have, considering how often we play this damnable game.”

Morrigan smiles, then pauses, considering, “You don’t like this game?”

Samara shakes her head, “My father made me play it constantly - to help with strategy, he said. All I see now is a controlled, easy board. Nothing is so easy in the moment.” She smiles, much softer than before, at Morrigan, “It’s much better with you, though.”

“Because you win every time.” Morrigan shoots back, trying to hide the lump in her throat. No man had ever made her…pine. Was this pining? She was yearning for her touch, to know if her lips were really as soft as they looked. She wanted to know how her hair felt in her grip, to listen to her and take care of her Warden, her Samara. 

“Because of the company.” Samara says, still holding Morrigan’s queen piece. 

Caboodling. Morrigan didn’t understand why the idiotic Warden didn’t just refer to it as what it was - sex. Or, more honestly, she did. He was a virgin, inexperienced in the ‘heat of the moment’, in the ‘passion of lovers’. In that moment, though, eyes locked on Samara’s, Morrigan is convinced she wants to call it love-making. 

Morrigan licks her lips, watching Samara’s deft fingers turn the queen piece round and round, and suddenly, the Warden’s lips are pressed against hers. 

Her lips aren’t soft. They’re chapped, from months of neglect, and her fingertips are callous and rough, but she and Morrigan interlock more firmly than any king and queen ever have. It’s not an explosion of feelings or an eruption of passion, but Morrigan feels something coming to light - Morrigan is Morrigan and Samara is Samara, and they are together now. 

Morrigan knows she will have to leave one day. She will bear a child, and she will…

She doesn’t want to think about what comes next, because she doesn’t know. It is easier to have a plan, to know where the pawns will go, and what the queen will do, and when. 

Instead, she kisses Samara. 

She grips the front of the shirt she wore, like she might try to dart off and leave her. Samara’s fingers intertwine in her hair, and Morrigan stands, the board game forgotten as the Warden is led into the Witch’s den. 

Love-making, Morrigan thinks, her lips a breath away from Samara’s undressing her slowly, admiring every scar, kissing over the bone of her hip, across her collarbone. Samara shakes beneath her, and Morrigan’s name sounds like heaven on her lips. 

She kisses along her thighs, teasing. She is soft here, not untouched, but Morrigan finds that Samara grips the sheets and whines when Morrigan takes her time here. 

She has only ever lain with men, specifically men with assigned male anatomy - she has never evenseen another young woman’s body, unsure of where she is allowed to tread from here. 

“Are you…?” Samara asks just as Morrigan looks up to her, “Have you done this before?” She says, as if she is a mind reader - Morrigan knows she is not. 

Morrigan swallows and bites back, “I didn’t have many opportunities during the few times I left to wood, much less with…someone like you.”

Samara snorts, and it puts Morrigan at ease, at least a little, though she bristles, “Someone like me? You touch yourself, don’t you?”

Thinking of you, but Morrigan just nods, and dips her fingers inside, using the same tricks that get her off, watching Samara’s face so she could pinpoint exactly what made her whisper her name, what made her toes curl, her nose wrinkle - her favorite was how the Warden’s eyes shut, her lips parted and she ruts her hips into Morrigan’s hand, only to have the Witch pin her down with her free hand, kissing along her navel as she fingers her. 

Love. Morrigan thinks it’s a silly word. Laying with the Warden will not convince her so easily, but Samara is a patient woman. Two queens. The concept is still foreign to Morrigan, but she brings Samara to climax twice over before the Warden demands that it’s Morrigan’s turn. Morrigan just smiles, and then rolls her eyes as Samara teases her for it. 

Samara kisses at the curls between the Witch’s legs, “We’re caboodling now, you know that?”

“Oh, just shut up, and put that mouth to good use.” Morrigan looks up, but only so Samara can’t see her smiling. 

Samara kisses the inside of her thigh, “Anything for you.” 

Morrigan believes her. 

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Here’s a Kanji Origins to celebrate!

First is 水, which is a very common kanji because it is of a very common thing: water. It also has its own radical: 氵. So, 水 is supposed to be an image of flowing water, and it can if you imagine a river and its branches, especially if you write the kanji correctly. It’s a pretty basic kanji, so it has a pretty basic meaning.

Examples:

清水: spring water

水泳: swimming

下水道: drain, sewer

香水: flood

水曜日: Wednesday

Next is 川, which means river. It’s a picture of fast-flowing water…which I guess is a river. It sort of looks like one too, if you imagine the white parts as the river and the lines as the border, or see the lines as three separate rivers. It’s also pretty basic, so there’s really not much else to say about it. But, although 氵 is the radical for 水, you can also remember that 川 is also water related and has three lines, so you can also associate 氵 with 川.

Examples:

江戸川: Edo River

川面: river’s surface

川上: upper reaches of a river

川下: downstream

Now we start off with another kanji family, the family of 也. By itself, 也 means…well, it’s a really old kanji that means “to be” and is a picture of a washbasin. It’s really not used in anything except old sayings now. You don’t really have to know much about it as a beginner except that it exists.

However, 也 is used as a part of many common kanjis. The first we’re going to talk about is 池. This is a picture of water (水) being (也) still. So, it’s a lake, pond or reservoir. Because lakes and etc. are pretty common, 池 is a common kanji as well, but it’s not really flexible.

Examples:

電池: battery

池水: pond water

地線: pond in a garden

So, if water plus being = river, then what would 土 (earth) plus 也 mean? 地 is a more formal word for ground, specifically the one we stand on. To further this, it is also used in the term for the Planet Earth. 土 is just ‘land’, so it can mean things from soil to sand to country borders. 

Examples:

地球: (planet) Earth

地図: map

地震: earthquake

地区: district

The last thing in the 也 family you need to know for now (for there are a lot) is 他, or people (人) that are (也). 他 means “other” or “another”. Like if you were telling someone to pick up a ball, and they pick up the wrong one: “No, the other ball!”. 他 is pretty much that.

Examples:

他人: Another person

他国: Foreign country

他方: one (out of two)

他意: ill will (lit. 'other thoughts’)

他人事: other people’s problems.

Last is 文, which means 'sentence’ (like writing, not punishment) or 'literature’. However, it is also used in words that mean 'culture’ as well. This is a picture of lines interlocking, like how words and people are interlocking to make sentences and culture respectively. I like to imagine it as a person (or just their face) wearing a very cultured hat.

Examples:

文化: culture

文書: document, writings

文字: letter (of alphabet)

文明: civilization

作文: writing (an essay, prose, etc), composition

And that’s it! I can’t wait to get started on 14, because that’s my favorite number!

Happy March! Let’s March on with a new Kanji Origins!

So, first we have 立. Remember when we covered 大, and we learned it was a person standing imposingly? Well, 立 builds off of that. It’s an altered 大 that is supposed to look like it’s standing on the ground. I guess it sort of looks like it, except the legs seem inverted. Perhaps in the early stages of this kanji, the legs were straighter. Either way, 立 means “stand” or “establish”. It’s used in the verb 立つ, meaning to stand; 独立, meaning independent; and 役に立つ, meaning to be helpful. However, a good rule of thumb when you see 立 is that it means to stand, as at least half of its usages involve that meaning. 

Now, we have 音, which is 立 + 曰 (this is 曰, not 日!). In other words, establish + mouth. It means, ‘sound’, 'tone’, or 'pitch’. After all, when your mouth establishes itself, it does make some sort of noise. This is also a kanji that is its own word meaning 'sound’ or ’(music) note’, but it is also used in words like 音楽, meaning music; 音読み, which means the Japanese reading of a Kanji, and 本音, which means true feelings. About 本音, it literally means 'sound from the source’. If it comes from the source, it must be one’s true feelings.

So, 暗 is 日＋立＋曰. Sun + stand + mouth is….well nothing. 音 has no meaning purpose here, and is just to add a pronunciation guide. 暗’s meaning is 'dark’ or 'unseen’. It can be used in an い adjective to mean just that. It is also used in 暗闇, which means 'utter darkness’, 暗号 to mean 'password’ (lit. “dark number), and 暗合 to mean 'coincidence’ (lit. joining in the dark. Sort of like English’s 'out of the blue’). 

You might probably think that as 出 is 山＋山, but that would make sense, so it clearly isn’t. 出 is supposed to be a picture of a sprouting plant, and it sort of does if you imagine a stalk. It means 'to protrude’ or 'to bring out’. It’s used in 出る, meaning 'to exit’; 出席 meaning 'attendance;  and 出馬 to mean 'going on horseback’. Most importantly, it’s the opposite of 入口 in the form of 出口, which means exit. 

土 is often known to beginners because of its basic, nature-based meaning. 土 means 'earth’. It’s supposed to be a picture of a plant sprouting through the earth. A lot of people can get this confused with 士, which means 'seated person’. To tell the difference, I just remember the thought that 'a man’s arms can’t be longer than the earth’ (not a saying that I’m aware of, it’s just what I think of). Basically, 土 is earth because the top horizontal lines (which I see as the arms of the man) are shorter. In the case of 士, a man’s arms can be longer than the seat. 

Anyways, 土 is used in itself to mean earth. It’s also used in 領土 to mean 'territory’, 出土 to mean 'archeological excavation’ (lit. what protrudes from the earth a.k.a. artifacts), and 土壌 to mean 'soil’. It also is used in 土曜日 to mean 'Saturday’. 

Next is 生. It’s the 'sei’ in 'Sensei’, but it doesn’t have anything to do with teaching really. 生 is supposed to be a picture of a plan rising from 土 (the ground), and it means 'to give birth’, 'fresh/raw’, 'or 'life’. It’s used in 先生 to mean 'teacher’, 'master’, or 'doctor’.  (lit. previous birth. Like they’re older than you, so they can teach/help you), 学生 to mean 'student’, by itself it means 'raw, uncooked’, and it’s a verb in 生まれる meaning 'to be born’.

Last is one of my favorite kanji, 星. 星 is 日 with the pronunciation of 生. It means 'star’, 'planet’, or 'comet’. It’s used in words like 流星 to mean 'comet’ or 'meteor’ (lit. 'flowing star’), 火星 which is the kanji for Mars (fire planet? Get it? Sailor Moon fans get it), and 衛生 to mean 'satellite’. 

And that’s it for now! I’m going to study for my midterms!

We made it to ten issues! Yay!

Ok, let’s get started then. First is 白. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve seen this before. I means ‘white’. It’s a 日 (sun) with a dot on top of it. The dot is supposed to represent brightness like: OH KAMI THE BRIGHT SUN BURNS WITH A WHITE HOT LIGHT! 

It’s used in words from white (the color) “白い” to white man (Caucasian) “白人” to drawn sword “白刃”. Some points though: yes, white man is as mildly offensive as it is in English, although it leans more towards “cracka”. And now you might be wondering about the “drawn sword” thing. Well, when you see a sword out of its sheath, is does have a sort of white glow to it, so it sort of makes sense. 

Next is 百. It means “100”. It’s supposed to be “一” (one) plus the pronunciation of 白, which by itself is はく. 百 is pronounced “ひゃく”, so there is sort of a connection, but that’s it. I look at is as a 100 turned on its side, if you tilted your chin to the left. It strangely looks like the Arabic numerals for 100, so that’s pretty coincidental. 

Now we have 曰. 曰 is not 日. I know they definitely look alike at first glance, but take a good look at 曰. Stare at it. Peer into the depths of its very being. You’ll notice that unlike 日, 曰’s middle line IS NOT COMPLETED. That means it’s not 'sun’. 曰 means 'say, reason, history’. It’s supposed to be 口 with a line through it. In that way, it sort of looks like lips with room to breathe I guess. It’s more of an old fashion 'said’ though. Most modern speech would have you use 話す or 言う.

Next is 大, another fairly common kanji. It’s meaning? BIG. It’s supposed to be a man standing imposingly. And when you think about it, 大 covers more space than a guy with their hands at their sides. It covers a BIG area, so it’s big.

Next is 太, or as many t-shirts like to think of it as: “A”. It’s not A. In fact, I laugh whenever I see this on a t-shirt. Most commonly a shirt of ninjas where one says “Hi” and the other says “HIY太!” Of course it’s supposed to seem cool, but it’s actually pretty funny. 太 means FAT. It has the same sound as 大 and adds the dot to seem extra thick. This is why I call my friend’s ninja shirt her 'fat’ shirt. 太 becomes an い-adjective to mean 'fat’.

Also, side note if my Chinese isn’t terribly rusty (it’s been about seven years since I took it), but I think in Chinese 太太 (together, as a word) mean 'mrs.’ Like, after a woman gets married they become fat. It’s a little funny, really, in a “how did this stereotype come about” way. Again, it’s been a while since I studied Chinese, so the meaning may be a tad off, but the gist is the same.

Next is 天, another common kanji. 天 is often translated as “heaven”, but not like the Judeo-Christian Heaven as no one in China really knew that the idea of it even existed. It’s better translated as “The greatness above”, “Imperial”. This is why 天皇 or “Imperial” + “Emperor” refers to Japan’s emperor, as they (used to? I’m not sure now) believe that the emperor is a descendent of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess (yes, the Amaterasu that the Ookami wolf is based on). In fact, Amaterasu’s name itself contains 天 to be in full 天照 (literally Heavenly Shine). There is also 天気, which I would literally translate to “the mood of the greatness above”, or “weather”. 

(Irrelevant Side Pun alert. Ookami can be written in TWO ways in Japanese. One is 大神 and the other is 狼. 大神 means “Big God”, where 狼 means “wolf”. Guess what the Big God(dess) Amaterasu has to turn into in the game “Ookami”? That’s right. A wolf. Because why have homonyms if not to make obscure puns.)

Last is 犬, which makes me chuckle a little bit because I’m…well, I’m an Inuyasha fan. There! I said it! Are you happy, Rumiko Takahashi?!

But seriously, 犬 means 'dog’. I…I honestly can’t think of any links at the top of my head except how it sort of looks like a dog snout. Like the mid point is the nose, and the two lines going underneath it is the mouth. I guess you can work around that. The first image on this page tries to make the kanji into an expandable dog toy. A little bit of a stretch, but still pretty cool.

And that’s all for today. In other news, I passed the N3 JLPT!! Woohoo! Mugs of ginger ale for everybody!

Happy February! Like you all, I’m excited for Single Awareness Day tomorrow! So, as a SAD gift to you (I’m not sure if that’s a fortunate or unfortunate acronym), here’s the 9th K.O.!

First, we have 貝. 貝 is supposed to be a picture of a shell. Maybe not a good one, but maybe that was what shells in China looked like at the time. Anyways, before there was printed money, people would have to trade stuff of actual value, like gold, salt, their firstborn daughter, that sort of thing. Shells were very common as currency because they were sparkly and decently durable. So, 貝 is often used in kanji that have to do with money like 購, which means ‘subscription’ or 'buy’ or the '販’ in 販売 meaning 'marketing, trade’. Of course, there are black sheep roaming around, but you get the point.

員 is one of those black sheep. It’s made up of the radicals of 貝 and 口. A mouth and money? It means member. It can also mean 'employee’ or 'the one in charge’. In words, 員 can be used in '会員’ to mean the word 'member’, '議員’ means 'member of the Diet’ (Diet is a government group in Japan, not just a weight-influencing program), or '社員’ which means 'company employee’. It’s a very flexible kanji.

Next is 負. 負 is sort of weird. It combines 貝 and 人 to make….things a burden. A person working for money undoubtably has some sort of burden, right? They need a shelter, they need to eat, they need to buy Fire Emblem…that sort of thing. When 負 is used in the verb 負う, it means 'to bear, carry on one’s back’. It can also mean 'defeat’. 負け means 'defeat or loss’. In other words, 負 typically means something weighing down on a person, be it a burden or a loss. 

Moving out of the shell zone, we have 糸. By itself, 糸 means 'thread’. Seriously, this is a kanji that is its own word, with no Okurigana (the hiragana you would see after a kanji, like the 'け’ in 負け)! Most of the uses of 糸 are to do with string. There are also some figurative uses like '糸口’. This means 'clue’, but more literally it means 'the beginning of a thread’. Obviously, a clue is just one part of a bigger picture, so it is symbolic of the start of a thread. 

So last is 細. So 糸 + 田 (string + field) is…..thin, slender, or narrow. At first glance it may seem like it doesn’t make sense, but really think about it. It’s a field with the size of a piece of string. That would be pretty skinny. It’s also its own word to mean 'small, little’ or 'details’ (which are often small). Often it’s seen in the adjective '細い’ which does mean 'thin, slender’ or 'unlucky’ in billboard slang for anyone who plays.

And that’s it for #9. I’m thinking about writing more conversation related Japanese for the next Edu-post. Remember, any questions Japanese related are welcome! 

Ah, the days after finals are wonderful!

Anyways, here’s another K.O.!

The first kanji we’ll look at is 工. This is not the katakana エ. The hiragana is likely based off the kanji, as all hiragana/katakana are. But anyways, 工’s meaning is “work” or “engineering”. It’s often used in words like ‘factory’ and 'man-made’. It’s pretty simple, so I don’t know how to write a story to it. Maybe it’s a shovel with the sharp part in the ground? I don’t know.

Next is 右. This is a combination of 屮 and 口. In this case, we ignore that 屮 means “left hand” and just think of it as “hand”. A “hand” + “mouth” equals “right hand”. In a way, this makes sense, because most people in China (and the world) use their right hand to eat. 

So, with that in mind, it’s might be simple to deduce what 左 means. “Hand” + “Work”. This one actually means “Left hand”. I guess because you don’t just use your right hand to work, but also your left hand. I guess that’s how they did it.

目 is supposed to be an eye, so it means “eye”, but it can also mean “item opening”. But rather than an eye, I think of Bomberman. Look how you can only see his eyes, and they’re most lines at that! 目 looks like Bomberman put on his side, and you can only see his line-eyes. So that’s how I remember it. Of course, I highly doubt they thought of Bomberman when making that kanji.

Last today is 見. 見 uses the radical 目 and also 儿. 儿 is another radical for 人. 亻is still a radical of 人, but 人 just has two, ok. So “Eye” + “Person” is…..“To see”! specifically, it’s Eyes on a Person, so that you can see. It’s used in the verb 見る.

So the Kanji this time were very simple, so they don’t need much explanation. If I don’t post again soon, then Happy New Year to all!

Welcome to the next issue of K.O.!

So, first we have 化. Likely you’ve seen this before. It means ‘change’ and it is a fusion of the radicals 亻(remember for 人) and 匕. 匕 is a very old and rarely used kanji for 'spoon’. So, yeah. Person + Spoon = Change. 

I honestly don’t get that, but I did hear of a good interpretation of 化. Rather than spoon, 匕 is supposed to be a person upside down with the arms sticking out to the right rather than the left. This is supposed to show the change from life (upright) to death (upside down). If that was really the case, that would make way more sense.

Well, next is 花 which is 化 under the grass/plant radical. So, Grass + Change = 花, which means flower. This actually makes sense at a time when you might not have understood where flowers come from. Flowers grow in the grass and undergo change–or are a change from just grass–so it makes sense.

Next is 茶. This is probably one of the most familiar characters outside of Asia. It’s supposed to be Plant +人 (the roof-like part) + 木 (specifically a tea tree). This means Tea.  I remember this kanji weirdly as Grass-Roof-Ho, or a Ho is so poor, her roof is made out of grass, so all she can drink is tea. Even if it’s silly, a story like that can help you remember a kanji. 

友 is made up of two radicals: 屮 and 又. 屮 means left hand and 又 means right hand. But not the words 'left hand’ and 'right hand’. Radicals ARE NOT substitutions for actual kanji, they’re just symbolic. Anyways, you see a left hand touching a right hand, making shaking or holding hands. From this gesture, 友 means Friend. After all, to shake/hold hands there should be some sort of friendly relationship. 

Last is 口, another that may actually look like its meaning. 口 means 'mouth’. It does look sort of like one hanging open. It can also mean 'opening’ in that regard, and is used in words like 'exit’ and 'entrance’.