#never as an actual critique of the character? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

comradekatara · 14 hours

Note

I meant Hama and Katara... But thank you for the Kanna & Katara Link. I'll go theough it.

ohhh yes i obviously have so many thoughts on hama and katara as well..... hama is the embodiment of who katara could have become had a) her circumstances been slightly different (and worse) and b) had she had less emotional strength & resilience & desire to cling to her own humanity at all costs. like, the fact that katara gets multiple figures who embody the terror of her submitting to her most vengeful instincts and perpetuating the cycle of violence instead of working to end it is honestly quite beautiful, as that tension culminates in "the southern raiders" and katara lets herself prioritize her own humanity over her pain and rage and (totally justified) desire for revenge.

i know a lot of people think that hama and jet are the most politically confused aspects of the show, since they do play into the thing lok does where it's like "all oppressed peoples who employ radical means of resistance are simply cackling mustache-twirling terrorists," and while i do think that the way hama is framed at the end of "the puppetmaster" is in poor taste and lacks nuance, it's also pretty clear to me that a) their trauma is portrayed as sympathetic b) their stories are depicted as tragedies and c) atla doesn't actually demonize violent methods of resistance. like if katara wasn't literally the main character i'd feel much more comfortable making that critique (because lok does do this and it's liberal bullshit and it sucks), but we see katara use violent means of resistance as early as episode 6 of the whole show. she's literally framed as a hero for doing ecoterrorism; even when she's actually in the wrong in that situation, her desire to do whatever it takes to help people and encourage them to fight back against their oppressors is celebrated unconditionally.

the lesson katara has to learn from them is that she must never let her anger and desire for revenge consume her over her love for humanity and her drive to help people. jet and hama are both deeply traumatized in a way that made them prioritize wanting to wield power over others in the same way that they were once made vulnerable and helpless, and katara recognizes that instinct in herself too, that instinct in every person who has been subjected to that degree of violence. hama targets fire nation civilians out of spite, because she was once a regular girl from the southern water tribe who was targeted for reasons beyond her control, made to fight and treated like a villain. the reason she goes after "regular people" instead of targeting actual combatants is specifically because she knows that if the roles were reversed, the fire nation wouldn't care about differentiating her people in those roles; she's giving them a taste of their own medicine.

she used to be a resistance fighter who fought back against the imperialists on her land with everything she had, and it didn't work. she suffered unimaginable horrors, and in the process discovered an ability that would allow her to make others suffered the way she did. no, she's not a good leftist or whatever, but her motivation is understandable. she's driven by pain, not reason, just as katara and zuko are in "the southern raiders," just as aang is in "the desert" when he loses appa, just as sokka is in "the boiling rock." when one is hurting that badly, the desire to ease one's pain supersedes logic, supersedes one's core values in general, the values of grief taking its place. hama has been grieving her entire life; whoever she was before the raids is gone, and now she is someone shaped wholly by pain. and had katara not met hama, been traumatized by her, and thus vowed never to be like her, who knows whether she would have had the ability to take a step back and recognize within herself that she is standing over that precipice, and instead walk away from the threshold of violence, and back towards herself.

#ariadnesweb #asks #katara #hama #hama&katara #analysis #hama is kind of katara's sokka.... in the sense that sokka is aang's hama.....#they both have such similar struggles and are able to understand each other on a very profound level #but also must never submit to the logic that propels them become who sokka/hama already are #obviously hama's circumstance is more extreme #but both aang and katara must recognize their own humanity and never let themselves sink into the pain and be driven by it fully #whereas hama and sokka have already abandoned their humanity #in different ways. but still #that's for another post i guess #remind me to talk about sokka azula aang trio sometime #bc its crazy.#anyway i think i find hama more effective than jet to communicate this aspect of kataras arc #because hama is an elder of her tribe and she can bond with her in this incredibly special and culturally meaningful way #whereas jet is kind of just like. what if haru was an asshole #so uhhhh..... sure i guess #but we already know and like haru. so he's just kind of boring to me #whereas hama is awesome and i love her so much <3333 #(t shit that says in giant letters no one can tell im a dyke...)

48 notes · View notes

footemoji · 3 days

Note

favourite and least favourite things about canon sierra? asking because i want to see the perspective of sierra fans and want to know what they find likeable in her and how they critique her.

also would be happy to hear about your own version of her :3

my favorite things about sierra are definitely that she’s literally so cute oh my god i just wanna squish her little cheeks. and that she’s actually a really good contestant i know a lot of people say they wish she got eliminated sooner and such but she’s actually really helpful with challenges and probably knows the game more than the rest of the contestants

my least favorite things about her are probably her affiliation with cody, i don’t want her to not have her flaws i do wish they added her lack of social skills into a non romantic setting. i wish we got to see her going crazy meeting all the people shes been hyperfixating on instead of just the one

anyways i do believe sierra doesn’t get proper treatment by the fandom especially when shes not the only character who has done terrible things. i like to compare her to ezekiel, i feel like they’re both sheltered kids who never really got to experience how to properly interact with people. except ezekiel somehow gets a pass from the fandom and sierra doesn’t.

#total drama #td sierra

25 notes · View notes

11rosecat · 22 hours

Note

Hello hello!

I hope you're doing good

First of all I really like your writing ❤️

I would like to make a request, for bofurin + shishitoren with a Musician (pianist) S/O

If it's not too much bother! Thank you ❤️‍🩹

Character with pianist!reader (BOFURIN + SHISHITOREN)

Haruka Sakura

The first time when you told him you liked to play the piano he was more than shocked. He's never come across anyone with a talent like that, so when he sees you play for the first time he thought you were a worldwide genius with the brains of space and time.

Eventually, he ended up finding interest in the way your hands create all sorts of movements, there's a slight feeling of amazement whenever he watches you play.

Sometimes, when he's feeling nice he'll join you to play with you and this is your chance to teach him about the many keys. He looked almost frightened for no reason in particular but he ended up becoming a fast learner and picked up playing a simple song of twinkle twinkle little star.

Hajime Umemiya

When he caught a glimpse of you playing for the first time, he had to double take at your figure sitting on the seat in front of a piano to make sure he was seeing things correctly. He doesn't think of it as he'd never expect someone like you to play something so sophisticated, it's more of how impressed he is that you were able to take on that type of hobby.

He's one of the cheeky people that ask you to play certain songs. It's annoying to you whenever randoms ask you to play random music and expect you to succeed right away even though you've never heard of the melody before, but the way Umemiya asks if you could play is said in a way where he encourages you to try it out.

There are a few moments where he feels like causing trouble and will purposely press one of the lowest keys while you're playing to see if it scares you. It never works and he always complains each time when he realizes he didn't get away with it.

"Awh, I really thought that would've gotten you!"

"Hajime, you've done that like 10 times already..."

Toma Hiragi

The sounds of beautiful music playing in his ears made him think about how he would have never been listening to this genre of music if it weren't for you.

His music taste falls into rock and so the loud boasting guitarist and drummers was his go to music, but when he learned that you enjoyed playing the piano, only then he thought about opening his music taste to other genres.

When it comes to you playing the piano in general, he feels bad about it but he likes to watch you play more than actually listen to whatever you're playing.

If you have practice sessions he likes to pick you up and ask you if you learned anything new today.

Taiga Tsugeura

One of the very few people that is actually surprised you play. Normally speaking, a guy who's hobbies are working out constantly and a girl who's laidback that plays the piano shocks many people at how different your personalities are. You still love him though.

He offers to sit beside you on the bench if you're playing for fun and tries to mimic the way you play. It never works though.

Mitsuki Kiryu

He laughed? Not in a bad way but he laughs when he's caught off guard.

He likes watching you play as well and listen to the music at the same time.

He sometimes uses you as a background music whenever he's chilling on his phone and waits for you to join him when you're done practicing.

Hayato Suo

He's intrigued.

Surprisingly, he doesn't know how to play the piano but he knows how to read the notes.

He likes to help you with reading them although he could never play them in his life. He almost acts like your piano instructor.

He can tell when a note is off and critiques you about it. He still encourages and helps you.

Whenever your playing, he likes to stand right beside you and wait till your finish, he sometimes gives you shoulder massages after you're done too!

Jo Togame

When he found out, he called you Mozart.

He still occasionally calls you that name for the hell of it but he's still genuinely impressed that you play.

He's a bit annoying but he'll try to mess you up by placing his hands on your shoulders while you play. You'll question him what he wants but he stands there silent and starts to sway you from side to side in hopes you mess up.

Other times, he falls asleep when you play in the same room as him. He didn't expect himself to actually knock out when he heard the music you played, so when he woke up to you sitting on the couch beside him on your phone, he asked you what happened.

Tomiyama Choji

Sits there and listens. When he heard that you played the piano, just like Sakura he also thought you were a worldwide genius that could solve the natures of earth.

Obviously he didn't actually think that but he stereotyped you as a smarty pants. You yelled at him for that.

Since then, he's learned to shut up and listen to when you play. It's a bit creepy though, only after you finish the last note he'll walk up to you and say you did amazing.

#wind breaker #windbreaker #windbreakerxreader #hajime umemiya #hajime umemiya x reader #haruka sakura #haruka sakura x reader #jo togame #mitsuki kiryu #taiga tsugeura #toma hiragi x reader #toma hiragi #taiga tsugeura x reader #mitsuki kiryu x reader #jo togame x reader #tomiyama choji x reader #tomiyama choji

29 notes · View notes

expectopatronum81 · 19 hours

Text

I'll never understand why Lily is always just portrayed as a perfect social justice warrior who's some golden standard for the boys to try and reach up to and who's right all the time instead of an actual, flawed person. We hardly have anything about her in canon, so why do ppl insist on sticking to the same trope? I have often seen lily being portrayed as rather complex, in the sense of examining how the society impacts her, but not in the sense of being her being flawed or not immediately (or ever) right about/ good at everything

Prejudice is ingrained in the wizarding world, those fuckers like to hate on literally everyone, so there's a huge chance that their literature is going to be biased as well. Give me a lily who's trying to understand and navigate this completely new world with mythical creatures from scratch and who believes what the society tells her about them (even decent wizards like the Weasleys had certain prejudices, like against werewolves,half giants, and house elves,it's not just the Slytherins and DEs, so how can she tell what's right or wrong immediately?), and who takes a while to understand that it's the same sort of prejudice she's facing (much like ppl in the real world). Give me a lily who doesn't immediately, or ever, completely understand the complications of politics and the upcoming war as well as, say, characters like Sirius because, well, she's still a child who's new to all of this, and it's not the sort of thing she's ever had to concern herself with (unlike Sirius who grew up in a family that placed heavy influence on social standing). Give me a lily who's ready to make excuses for Snape not out of any reason that would make her look sympathetic, but simply because it wasn't affecting her personally until now (before anyone tries to point to that incident of her calling Snape out on his friends hexing Mary McDonald, she only raised concerns about Snape's company coz they performed dark magic, not because of their racist beliefs).

Or if that's too much to handle, we could at least stick to the few flawed things she does in canon. Like when she doesn't care to listen to Snape's version of the werewolf incident and relies on rumours instead, or when she almost smiles when Snape's pants are being exposed in front of a jeering crowd. People try to spin that around too to make Lily's perspective understandable and sympathetic, and sure, everyone has their own takes, but idk, there seems to be this great necessity to make it such that she's not viewed in a negative light for anything

Hot take, but ppl like to go on abt how women in fiction or in the fandom are critiqued too much, how people can't handle complex female characters, and how much they support women's wrongs, but they always end up confining female characters to being Good and Right all the time and characterize any constructive criticism/negative portrayal of the character as being wrong or mysoginistic.

#harry potter #mauraders #lily evans meta #lily evens #lily potter #anti lily evans #anti lily potter #in a good way #hp ladies #marauders era #women's wrongs

23 notes · View notes

lansplaining · 1 year

Text

I don’t think any character gets told by fandom to just... not want what they want the way that JGY does. Even Xue Yang! I never see anybody being like “well he just needed to get over the whole Xiao Xingchen thing,” because we recognise that someone capable of doing that, or willing to do that, would be a different character.

Obviously people complain Jiang Cheng should have chosen WWX over his sect/his fear of retaliation from other clans, or that both Lans should have defied their sect at various points, but for those characters, that conflict actually happens for them, too. Jiang Cheng does want to choose WWX, but in the end, he can’t. Lan Wangji does want to defy the Lan/society to protect Wei Wuxian and eventually does, and Lan Xichen does a version of the same thing the leniency of Wangji’s punishment.

But you don’t see people criticising desires that the characters themselves never question, and that are fundamental to who they are, the way people do with JGY. Nobody’s like “Wei Wuxian should have said fuck the Jiang, I don’t owe them shit and left Jiang Cheng to die or be coreless.” Or “Nie Mingjue should have left well enough alone and let JGY live his life.” Xue Yang’s really the best example to me, because he’s also a ‘villain’ in a manner of speaking, and nobody’s like “Xue Yang should have just not wanted revenge :(”. And yet, people are like “well JGY should have just not wanted his dad to love him” or “he should have just not wanted to enter cultivation society.”

And at that point-- as @labyrynth said in their tags earlier today-- he’s just... a completely different character.

(The answer: something something murder is sexy, something something striving for self-advancement is not.)

#some JGY fans do say that about NMJ lol #but u know what i mean #and i do think XY should have chilled the fuck out but like #never as an actual critique of the character?

33 notes · View notes

finalgirlsamwinchester · 1 month

Text

guy who so desperately tries to find god. who wants to have faith in a higher authority to guide him out of the hole he's in. from the weight of guilt from simply existing, as the person he is. but every time he thinks he's answered his higher calling it turns out he's made the Morally Incorrect choice and his path to goodness and holiness was the road to the devil all along

#now trusting god will give you a way out? there's your real crime!!!#guy betrayed by the protestant promise of a direct connection with god. but is also somehow. joan of arc.#see he never achieves actual martyrdom tho bc he's not allowed to stay dead lmaooo #sam somehow the most unintentionally catholic AND protestant character of all time #dean the atheist who sees religious predestination as the curse it is from the get go. framed as the narrative's Real Moral Authority #but also in the process reifying patriarchal familial power n authority. very very important Value of the Church #i don't think it's that deep. the show's attempt at critiquing christianity. but the way it reinforces christian cultural values???#'religious predestination and absolute faith in a higher authority...bad'#nice nice ok tell me more?#“so you should put your faith in family. in your patriarch (big brother)”#?????????#the thematic incoherence of it all. it's like the world's stupidest puzzle box to me. i can't leave it alone.#sam = maybe i can find god thru following my destined path. wait oh shit.#cas = maybe i can find god thru rebellion and seeking my own destiny. wait oh shit.#dean = god is fucking dead and me i also feel not so good #the “guy who so desperately wants to find god parallel” <- me coming out as a secret sastiel fan #both of them...finding god in de-[sniper on the roof kills me in one shot]#spn bible studies #j.txt

172 notes · View notes

itsalwaysforyou · 17 days

Text

jay not asking coach about letting lonnie onto the team bc he doesn’t want to do anything coach might disagree with…….

#‘coach trusts me…’ like what if i cried #man i wish they made more of a thing of jay being TEAM CAPTAIN #<- i’ve made a post before abt how easily he gives it up & jay not liking positions of power etc etc #but i do think he treats the role like it could be taken away at any moment #coach TRUSTS him. holy shit coach trusts him #the first positive adult figure in his life trusts him to take care of the team #train them and critique them and lead them to victory #and coach probably wouldn’t have cared abt lonnie being on the team #but jay is sooooo hesitant to ask #coming from the ‘if you want it take it and if you can’t take it break it’ guy #like this is the one thing he doesn’t want to risk breaking…….#and then obviously he gives it up!!!!!#he gives up the thing coach TRUSTED HIM WITH bc it was the only way to let lonnie on the team #& mr ‘my only dislike is women being unhappy’ was like I CANNOT REST UNTIL LONNIE IS ON THE TEAM #it’s suchhhhh a sweet gesture not only from a hashtag feminism standpoint #but also character wise for jay #like this precious thing that coach has trusted him with but didn’t really want that much anyway…..#it’s going to mean more to lonnie if she had it. even though it means everything to jay #oh it makes me crazy #damn my mum was right. i think too deeply about things #im like i analyse things a normal amount and then i’m writing essays about 1 line from descendants 2 #I AM UNWELL #anyway. jesus christ #descendants #jay son of jafar #EDIT i’m not finished actually #do you think jay fears the repercussions? what would happen if he went against coach’s word?#bc sure. he knows coach is nice. he knows auradon isn’t like the isle #but. ‘you don’t want to be at my house at dinner time’…….#he is still scared of his dad. you know. he can never get the lamp he can never do anything right

21 notes · View notes

sad-endings-suck · 1 month

Text

Blue Eye Samurai: regarding Mizu’s “plot armour” or her “ridiculously over-powered” abilities.

“Mizu is way too overpowered, it doesn’t make sense.”

I feel like a lot of people don’t realize just how much the mind over matter mentality plays a roll in Mizu’s “abilities”. Mizu isn’t the best because she’s physically the strongest, or had the best training, or the most experience, or whatever. Mizu is the best because she has single-minded focus and immense tenacity that borders on psychotic due to how intensely dedicated to revenge she has been for almost all of her life. All the years she spent training, all the time she spends taking out enemies, she is being driven by single minded focus and iron willed determination that never wavers. She has been sharpening and honing not just her body, but her mind, for exactly this. She has dedicated her entire life to her quest for vengeance, and in her own words, there is no room in it for anything else.

People also seem to be making a lot of assumptions about what kind of training and how much training Mizu has or has not had. As the audience, we’ve only been shown bits and pieces of Mizu’s past, which includes her experience learning martial arts. Asking shit like “how is she so good with a sword if she’s only self taught?” is like asking “how can she read and write if Master Eiji is blind?”. The answer is that Mizu has obviously learnt these things from more than one source, but documenting her entire education in detail doesn’t exactly serve a purpose to the narrative. We are explicitly shown in one of Mizu’s flashbacks that she’s been practicing with a wooden sparring sword since she was very young. It’s actually her child self that we see in that brief particular flashback. Not her teen/tween self, her child self. She’s also following the movements and instructions of an older man that is clearly a skilled samurai or warrior of some kind based on context (which y’all love to ignore). Besides, who else would want/need a sword from a master sword-maker besides an expert swordsman? How many skilled fighters from all over Japan have come to Master Eiji’s forge hoping for a blade, and wait with nothing better to do but train while their blade is being made? How many of them have divulged information about certain fighting styles (like Shindo-Ryu, which Mizu was familiar with despite never having been to the dojo before). Or practiced around her and with her? We are clearly shown through Mizu’s flashbacks that receiving training from a visiting client has not been unusual for her throughout her apprenticeship with Master Eiji, and her little spar with Blood Soaked Chiaki was no one time event. Yet Mizu is never given the benefit of the doubt by the audience, despite context clues indicating that she should be.

“Taigen has way more training in an actual dojo, so why is Mizu better?”

Whereas Taigen, while he was determined to become more than just a fisherman’s son and was driven to rise through the ranks of the Dojo and become a skilled samurai, did not have that same desire or determination to hone every part of himself to be the most deadly weapon he could possibly be, like Mizu did. Taigen believes in the samurai code of honor and upholds it in his own way (preventing him from learning how to “fight dirty” so to speak) and he also had a life outside of his training (he had a social life, he drank, he partied, he snuck around a lot to see Akemi presumably, etc). In fact, we actually never see Taigen practice, train, learn, hone his skills, or anything (to my recollection) throughout the whole season, until he’s bested by Mizu in combat. I’m assuming Taigen had to work quite hard for several years to become as good as he is, but I get the sense that ever since he has been regarded as a prodigy he has allowed himself to get cocky and maybe a bit too comfortable. He has always been the best and always thought himself to be the best, so he never needed to give 150% effort when he fought. In fact, as he got older and more practiced, and it became more and more apparent how much better he was than everyone else, he probably stopped giving his 110% and allowed himself to get a bit comfortable putting in 100% effort, and then eventually 80% effort (which is part of the reason why I think he’s so pissed he lost to Mizu in their first fight, because he knows he could have done better: been less cocky, been more tactical, more driven, etc).

We also never see Taigen meditate or mentally or physically prepare himself the way we do with Mizu. Mizu will pray before a major upcoming battle, not because she’s religious, but because she’s mentally, emotionally, and spiritually preparing herself. We even see Mizu submerge herself in very cold ocean water (during the winter mind you) as a ritual/practice of sorts that serves to center herself and prepare mentally and physically for what’s ahead when she feels herself getting “too emotional” or too stressed or unfocused or even just slightly off kilter. Mizu sacrifices every part of her life, so that she can be the deadliest version of herself possible. She has no social life. She has no friends, or significant others (Mikio aside). She has no other activities to participate in, because she’s been completely alienated and thus being anything but the best is not an option in her mind because she has no options. She tried married life. She had the best possible life that she could have had as a biracial woman in Edo era Japan. She did as she was told by her “mother”. She showed her true self to Mikio, just as he desired. Yet the blood and vengeance still caught up with her. She has no other options anymore. Pursuing revenge is the only thing she knows how to do, because every other avenue in life has been cut off from her. So she has to be single-mindedly focused on her vengeance, which means being as skilled and as dangerous as she can possibly be. She has no hobbies or jobs or responsibilities beyond sword-making (which allows her to become as familiar with the blade as possible) and training herself. If she has extra time, she uses it to practice, to train, to improve, to simply maintain peak performance. Such as when she was hacking through those trees in episode 2. Afterwards, we see Taigen attempt to replicate her training (by cutting down trees with his sword). Though even then, it was more about curiosity and trying to suss out Mizu so he could gauge her skill level, then it was about actually honing his own abilities (until episode 3 when he practices with Chiaki’s broken blade). Which does count as training in its own way (assessing your enemy), but my point still stands. Taigen does not have the same unwavering focus and force of will that Mizu does (partially because he does not actually want to kill Mizu, as we do see Taigen go cold blooded with focus when he kills Heiji Shindo, but those are whole other discussions).

“Mizu just has ridiculous plot armour, that’s the real reason she survives every encounter.”

I feel like people that think Mizu has ridiculous plot armour are just not at all familiar with the Samurai or Western/Cowboy sub-genres at all, or even action as an overarching genre on its own. I don’t believe I have ever engaged in a single piece of action media in which the protagonist didn’t have “plot armour” in some way. Basically half of all male protagonists from any and all modern western action movies ever, have been way too over-powered and been able to take a ridiculous amount of damage that should have killed them multiple times over. These action heroes (who in western media are almost always cis-het white men) have ridiculous plot armour in the most classic sense. Yet no one complains when it’s a white man. Only when it’s a queer-coded biracial woman of colour. Shocking.

In fact, you could argue that every main character in every fictional story ever told has plot armour to a certain degree, because having an entire narrative revolve around one character is inherently “unrealistic” and therefore the main character has plot armour, yes? No? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Oh, and on the topic of the samurai genre specifically (and many martial arts based action media) there are certain genre specific tropes that are nearly integral to the genre. One of the most prominent being the samurai/ronin/warrior/martial arts master that is “ridiculously over powered”. It’s literally part of the genre. In fact, the western/cowboy genre is quite similar to the classic samurai genre. Now, how many westerns have you watched in which Clint Eastwood or John Wayne shoot 5+ guys with one pistol before any of the guys they shoot even get a shot off? A lot I bet. Is that not the definition of “over-powered” and “unrealistic”? Or is it just a genre trope, or even perhaps, a genre staple? No one thinks Arthur Morgan (Red Dead Redemption 2) is over-powered. No one thinks that Joel (The Last of Us) is over-powered. In fact, when the TLOU show came out, people actually complained that Joel, the fifty-something year old man that has been living in a post apocalyptic wasteland for 20 years, was not badass or strong enough (he kills dozens of humans and super zombies and he’s legally a senior). So, who is the “judge” of what is and is not realistic in action media that borders on sci-fi/fantasy based on how “over-powered” the protagonists “realistically” are?

“It’s just weird that Mizu is so powerful when other characters within the story are not. It makes Mizu such a Mary Sue.”

Okay… so, with all that in mind, let’s circle back to where I started when referring to Mizu as someone driven by unwavering determination, and how that affects her “abilities”. That facet of her personality and motivation is nothing new when it comes to the action genre, especially for protagonists of revenge storylines. Think of Kill Bill or John Wick. Why does John or the Bride keep going and keep winning even when they are constantly getting injured and always fighting. Is it because they are simply that much better than everyone else? Yes and no. No, because they are not superheroes (technically), but also yes. Because their single minded determination and need for revenge drives them to push that much harder than anyone else on their skill level. They are the best, but they win against everyone else that is also “the best” because they want it more. They need it more. Mind over matter. They are willing to endure what others are not through sheer will and pure cold rage. Mizu, Beatrice Kiddo, John Wick, and so many more similar protagonists in action-revenge narratives don’t keep winning and keep getting back up no matter how inured they get because they are just “that much stronger and more talented than everyone else”. Yes, they are extremely skilled and would probably be one of the strongest and most deadly combatants/killers in their respective universes regardless… but their refined skill and raw talent and power are not the only reason they win. Their unwavering force of will, extreme determination, ice cold fury, and single-minded focus on revenge is what drive them to be that much tougher. Their tenacity is their superpower. They want to win more than their opponent does. They need to win, because this is their one and only goal in life as of now. Mizu (Blue Eye Samurai) Beatrice (Kill Bill), John (John Wick), they all share a philosophy in life when it comes to their revenge, which basically boils down to “Either I kill you, or I die trying. There is no middle ground, there is no negotiating, no other choice, no path of least resistance, no other goal or motivation. You will die, because I ain’t fucking dying until you do.”

Mizu doesn’t have plot armour and she’s not over-powered. She is an archetypical protagonist of the action-revenge narrative and the samurai/western genre as well. She arguably even has better reason to be completing the feats that she does than John Wick or The Bride, because the medium of Blue Eye Samurai is animation and not live action, and the genre borders on magical realism far more than Kill Bill or John Wick. Now, how many anime protagonists (probably almost all male) can you think of that are “ridiculously over-powered” especially compared to any live action counterparts, but no one complains about it? Why does no one complain about it (aside from misogyny)? Because the medium of animation inherently has different “rules”, expectations, and set standards for suspension of disbelief, than the medium of live action film or television. For example, is it ridiculous and unrealistic when you’re watching a Looney Tunes cartoon and Bugs Bunny’s legs pinwheel in super-speed for 3 seconds straight before he starts running, or when he runs off a ledge and gravity just lets him hang there for a sec so he can look straight at the camera before he falls? No, it’s not “unrealistic” or emersion breaking, not even a little, but why? Is it because any of those things seem even remotely probable or “realistic”? Of course not! It’s perfectly acceptable because the medium, genre, target audience, atmosphere, art/animation style, narrative choice, storytelling style, and more, have all established that Bugs Bunny defying physics is normal in Looney Tunes, and therefore not a “plot-hole” or “unrealistic”. In fact, if Bugs Bunny or Tom and Jerry didn’t defy physics in ridiculous ways all the time, then it feels far stranger and off-beat than if they did. Same goes for pretty much all action anime. If the characters in those stories were strictly limited to what is 100% humanly possible in real life, most of those animes wouldn’t even have storylines anymore. They’d be turned into completely different content that may be unrecognizable from the original source material. Or wouldn’t even have any material anymore because all the characters would be dead after their first fight scene. So why is Blue Eye Samurai being held to a different standard?

Now, do y’all get it yet?

#long post #mizu #blue eye samurai #👏 genre and👏 medium matter👏#so does author intention >>>#if a story is telling a narrative that you personally don’t like but it is succeeding at what it set out to do that does not make it bad!!!#so sick of white boys on the internet calling any physically capable or martially skilled female character a Mary Sue #and it almost always boils down just to gender #a female character could be ridiculously overpowered but so long as there is a male protagonist that is even more overpowered they don’t ga #but as soon as there is a female protagonist with any kind of proficiency a male character in the story doesn’t have all hell breaks loose #if i hear one more man so much as utter the words ‘Mary Sue’ in my vicinity ever again i will be resorting to Mizu style conflict resolutio #men never learnt what the term ‘Mary Sue’ actually means and if you don’t know what something means then either research it or stfu #it’s such loser behaviour that shows such a pathetic measly capacity for any kind of critical thinking or reasoning much less media analysi #anyway rant over #this was sitting in my drafts #blue eye samurai analysis #mizu blue eye samurai #taigen blue eye samurai #taigen #overpowered #plot armor #media analysis #mizu bes #bes taigen #netflix bes #feminist critique #bes #blue eye samurai meta #reading comprehension #rant

23 notes · View notes

the-names-kam · 5 months

Text

every time someone draws izzy and stede skinny and/or with straight noses, a fairy loses its wings

#ofmd #our flag means death #izzy hands #stede bonnet #stede bonnet ofmd #kam talks #my post #this is technically a joke post but i’m actually so mad that this is still a HUGE problem in this fandom #and i literally never see anyone getting critique or criticism for it #like i’m sorry with the way some people draw izzy. that is an entirely new character #okay sorry for being a hater on my joke post it will happen again </3

34 notes · View notes

fitzrove · 6 days

Text

Started watching a "problem with greek myth retellings" video and it began with a blurb montage like "Condemned by the misogynist guys of history, this is the true girlboss feminist story of [A WOMAN]" and like. brb writing one of those about crown prince rudolf. It's ok he's like a misunderstood girlboss to me<3

#NASJASKSDFKDSLFDGJDFJ #joking. since those retellings seem to be often bad #fun fact i do have ideas for like a black teen comedy series with mary as the protagonist where the ending is like a harrowing twist #like you think it won't go that far but it does and the point is that she had historical agency and her own problems and personal journey #but in the end it spiralled catastrophically due to both crown prince rudolf related events and others #unfortunately writing one would draw the ire of both misogynist rudolf conspiracy theorists (how dare you suggest women have agency) AND a #certain type of feminist media critiquer person: (1) how dare you cover a topic like that flippantly 2) how dare you make rudolf anything #but an inhuman monster of a r*pist murderer gr**mer or whatever in the story #like idk man.. other male characters portrayed as romantic interests in mainstream media are toxic r*pists all the time. like omg i hate ho #'the great' handles p*ter and catherine because i was rooting for them to remain toxic and for catherine to kill him or whatever but then #she starts falling in love with him in s2 and everyone in tumblr is like omg hot sexy toxic romance. like cant we have ONE series where #straight romance doesnt inevitably become the overbearing focus?? i had wlw ships for that show.. they never pulled through...#anyway um yeah. the way i would portray rudolf in that is that mary sees him as this romantic hero which is emphasised in the way its shot #but he's constantly acting in kinda offputting and strange ways and is occasionally pretty pathetic and weird ASHDJFJF #^^ that's never been a deterrent to anyone ever. most rudolf biographers want to [redacted] him this has been proven by the way they write.#the only ones that dont are me (well not a real biographer but a rudolf enjoyer nonetheless) and brigitte hamann /hj #(she actually doesnt salivate over his appearance like frederick morton does xD only quotes 2 contemporary women commenting on it)

10 notes · View notes

rotzaprachim · 7 months

Text

fundamentally at odds with any us based franchise that fandomizes war as a money maker

#This is about sw actually. Looooong post in me about sw as rhe armchair leftist forever war #Because it is in fact a world in whiff the capitalist machinations of Disney mean that the war can literally never end #There has to be new trauma new suffering new real world pains metaphorised into fictional characters often #Whiter and/or paler and/or more goyishe than the people who bore and bear that pain in real life #And ultimately sw is a terrible franchise to use as source of leftist ideology or critique because it fails utterly to imagine what s #Liberated world actually looks like #Ultimately reiterating the worse of the both Neo liberal and armchair tankie ideology:#That liberation comes only in the violent battle to get there #Not what comes after #IM DONE #No one knows how to act rn but the sw fandom has been extra extra bad

24 notes · View notes

seaweedstarshine · 12 days

Note

Hi! Long time no yap but I've been really bothered by this thing and I know you're just the person I can go to with this (even if we don't always end up agreeing at times).

I got into a tiff with someone in a comments section of a post that was about Amy (Which character do you think deserved to become a villain? or something similar). They brought up Amy's abuse of her boyfriend. I may have tried to defend Amy (key word is tried. I am officially rubbish at debating) but then I may have said something? Because they said that I (and apparently a lot of other fans) was excusing Amy's abuse because of her trauma. It got me stumped because isn't young Amy's treatment of Rory rooted in her trauma? Did I miss the memo where we separate trauma and abuse? Am I missing something?

That statement bothered me a lot because if there's one thing I never want to do it's defend an abuser. So here I am, humbly asking and hoping to clear the muddy waters.

Your really confused and disturbed moot, Tia 💌

TIA!!!!! Thanks for the ask 💌 , and I send you all the hugs.

Discussion of abuse, trauma, ableism, infidelity, and unhealthy relationship dynamics beneath the cut.

(First off… while I really appreciate your faith in my explaining skills <3 <3 <3 my passion for traumatized characters and mentally ill+neurodivergent rights doesn't make me especially qualified to fully clear muddy waters especially not knowing the full context, but I feel you, and what follows is my informed perspective!)

Speaking generally first, harm done in media is best examined by the impact on the audience, with a different lens than harm done to real people. While relatable experiences in media can be useful and validating and incredibly important, you can’t be “defending an abuser” when the abuse is fictional. It's actually normal for traumatized/ND/mentally ill people to project onto mentally ill villains, when villains are the only significant representation for those stigmatized symptoms in a media landscape that excludes and demonizes us simply for existing. RTD can't stop people who hallucinate from reclaiming the Master's Drums and projecting onto the Master, for example — 90% of the best Doctor Who psychosis fic by psychotic authors is about the Master, whether RTD likes it or not. It's not true crime.

(This is speaking generally. Amy Pond is very much not the Master.)

Abuse is a behavior, and there can be many reasons for it, but reasons based in trauma don’t make it not abuse (some forms of generational trauma can propagate abusive parenting styles, when the parent thinks abusive parenting is normal, or lives entirely vicariously through their child). This absolutely should not be taken to mean trauma correlates with abusive behavior; rather that abusive behaviors from traumatized people are more likely to present in specific ways.

Abuse is also a targeted behavior, based in control — not consistently displayed C-PTSD symptoms as seen in Season 5 Amy Pond through many aspects of her life. Mental health symptoms don't become abuse just because they hinder one partner from meeting the other partner's needs. Any life event can do that.

Without knowing the context of the arguments, this is the aspect of their relationship I've seen you talk about before (which I also feel strongly about), and what I assume is what you were debating? So, here I will talk specifically in regard to Season 5.

We all know Amy — she's never attached to Leadworth because she never wanted to leave Scotland, no steady therapist because none of them stick up for her, can't stick with one job yet her first choice is a job that simulates intimacy because her avoidant behavior (a known trauma response) isn't sustainable to her wellbeing. Rory knows her fears of commitment stem from her repeated abandonments, it’s why he’ll always wait for her, and it's why he blames the Doctor “You make it so they don't want to let you down.”, who apart from having caused a lot of her trauma, has actively taken advantage of her being the “Scottish girl in the English village” who's “still got that accent,” because he wants to feel important, so yeah, I think interpreting Amy's issues (and how Amy and Rory transverse them) as Amy abusing Rory indicates a fundamental misunderstanding of their relationship, as well as a misunderstanding of the (raggedy) Doctor’s role in Amy’s formative self-image (which of course she works through in Season 6, but I am sticking to Season 5).

Abuse is always based in control. That just doesn’t fit here. While Amy's detachment from her real life includes things like calling Rory her “kind of boyfriend” (which she is upfront about to his face; differing commitment levels isn't abuse, though it can be a relationship red flag for both parties IRL) — her Season 5 disregard of Rory’s feelings occurs only in response to the fairytale embodiment of her trauma. It's never a response to Rory; it's a response to the Doctor, who stole her childhood and led her by the hand to her death. She cheats on Rory with the Doctor in her bedroom full of Doctor toys, drawings, models, she made from childhood to early adulthood.

(And yes, like many repeatedly-traumatized people, Amy is prone to being sensitive and reactive. Take her “Well, shut up then!” line in The Big Bang; but given Rory responds to this by hugging her, clearly he doesn’t take it as her actually dismissing him. He knows her better than that.)

And by no means do I meant to imply this is fair to young Rory, poor Rory, who's left struggling with the feeling that his role in her life is in competition with the role of her trauma (aka the Doctor). But not every unhealthy relationship dynamic is unhealthy because of abuse. Labelling Amy's treatment of Rory in Season 5 more accurately isn't the same as excusing her harmful choices — but making mistakes is part of being human, Amy's mistakes are certainly understandable, and she works through them out of love for Rory.

If there's one thing to say about Moffat women, it's that Moffat allows his female characters the same grace that the male characters *coughTENcough* have always had, to hurt and struggle and make realistic mistakes and overcome those mistakes and to heal without being demonized.

Amy isn't perfect, but she is a fully realized character, and her story gives us a resonant depiction of childhood trauma.

#abuse #rtd critical #anti rtd #im NOT really anti rtd but im tagging it that because some people block that tag and uhhhh this post strays into rtd critique #maybe he does regret how he wrote the master! we'll never know because rtd is very anti-admitting-his-own-mistakes #words by seaweed #anyways tia i am. SO relieved you’re not upset with me about our last disagreement?#i high key jumped to conclusions after the lack of reply to the last DM? so thank you for this ask it's great to hear from you #sorry you were in a debate about this! that sounds extremely awful.#anyway i'm gonna WAIT at least a week to tag Amy and Rory to avoid this showing up in the character tags right away haha #because I am KINDA scared the anti-media-literacy ppl will find this (I had to include the first part tho its important)#(lack of distinction between harm to audience *in fiction* and irl harm *to actual ppl* leads to problematic public apologies where-#-public figures apologize to fans they let down *instead* of the people they actually hurt. no it doesn't work like that)#(parasocial relationships are not more important than real victims agency or privacy)#editing to say..... yanno what? ive come to terms with not all the posts with the following tag been about the doctor #and I am planning to make a post at some point about the nd aspects of Amy+the Doctor's connection which this stuff IS relevant to soooooo #(eleventh) doctor is neurodivergent tag

8 notes · View notes